Weeks 3 and 4

The adventure of hanging out with youth on a tropical island continues.  I’m surprised at how many activities the youth ministry does with youth where no message is presented.  For instance, in high school ministry we recently had a dodgeball night, which consisted of an hour and a half of playing dodgeball in the church to the sound of secular music being played so loud that it was difficult to talk to anyone there.  When I was in youth ministry, I was used to dodgeball night meaning playing a game of dodgeball for twenty minutes as part of an organized Wednesday night program with worship and a message immediately following the game.  While activities, like dodgeball night, may keep youth coming to events, I’m not sure it is as effective as it could be.  For instance, the middle school ministry does a ton of fun activities with kids and gives the kids opportunities to come on Sunday morning to worship and hear a message and on Monday mornings for a short Bible Study (typically followed by a trip to the beach).  The fun activities work well in attracting kids (the middle school ministry here boasts roughly 80 kids attending during the school year), however keeping those kids engaged, especially when they earn the freedom of a driver’s license in high school, is still a struggle for this youth ministry (only a small handful of seniors were present on a Sunday morning when they were called to the stage so that they could be celebrated).  Seeing the issue here, I’ve been pondering the idea of what would happen if there was a more formal program in place to teach these kids the fundamentals of Christianity (I’m gaining excitement to begin researching in the fall how the catechumenate, an early church practice of helping people transition from secular society to membership within a church, may be somewhat present and could continue to be applied today in youth ministry).  

I was encouraged this week to see three instances where high school kids were grappling more with the Bible.  The first instance was a spur-of-the-moment Bible study held after a Crossfit session.  While it was short, it got the kids thinking and engaging with Scripture.  The second instance was on the Thursday night program.  The middle school director spoke to high school students about freedom and the importance of going all the way rather than returning to their previous life.  He was open with confronting the students with the numbers of those attending middle school ministries vs. those who graduated within the church.  Talking with a few students afterwards, they all loved the message.  The third instance was on Friday morning.  I started an all girls Bible study with the promise of donuts for those who showed up.  I got six girls to come and they all quickly agreed they wanted to study Proverbs.  Originally I was a bit thrown off by them wanting to study Proverbs, but as we worked through ch. 1 that day, it was amazing to see how different things that had come up throughout the week, such as the message about freedom the night before, all were able to come together in this study.  I’m looking forward to continuing this study and hoping to see further instances where the focus is on God as we hang out with the youth.

On a different note, I enjoyed going to see two movies with middle schoolers this week: Inside Out and Jurassic World.  When going to the movies on Kauai, there is really only one place to go, a small theater (4 screens), which only accepts cash.  I found it entertaining that the one Pixar movie that comes out during my time in Kauai has an opening short that is based on tropical islands.  I also found it amusing that the line about Hawaiians ruining pizza got more laughs from the audience than the line about San Fransico ruining pizza (Inside Out).  You can also tell that you are watching the movie on Kauai when after seeing Jurassic World you feel like you are driving on the island of the park (fortunately, one can tell by the numerous wild chickens on the island that no land animal is about to eat you).

Sunset at the lookout

Spent the night with high schoolers at Hale Koa last night.  Some of the kids had the grand idea to go further up the road to see the sunset from the lookout.  Needless to say, my heart was happy to be back among trees at Hale Koa and stood in awe of the majesty of God at the lookout.  

Kukuiolono Park

Reflections on Week 2

It’s incredible that we are already in the middle of June.  My time here has simultaneously flown by and crawled by.  Week 2 was full of ups and downs, which I suppose is to be expected when one spends over 43.5 hours with youth (since last Wednesday).  I am continually surprised at the way youth ministry is run here.  Edge (middle school ministry) especially does a ton of activities throughout the week.  These activities are started by the middle school ministry director, several interns, and a handful of high school students who want to invest in the lives of middle schoolers (which is really cool to see)!  The activities are a chance to hang out, get to know one another, and show the kids that somebody cares for them.  While conversations about God are not discouraged, they haven’t been encouraged by the staff either.  Organized digging into God’s Word happens for Edge on Sunday mornings at church and Monday morning Bible study.  Last week there was great attendance at the Monday Bible study, however this week there was not as many kids (though it was encouraging to me to see the high school staff talk to the middle school director afterwards to brainstorm ways that they could attract more kids and make the study more engaging for the kids who show up).  It has been a great learning experience to see what the church does to attract students and reflect on ways to get students who show up for the activities to also engage with God and what it means to be a follower of Him.

Shoreline (high school ministry) is dramatically different from Edge.  Overall, there are less activities throughout the week (and lower attendance at the activities that do happen).  One of the main activities is crossfit every Tuesday and Thursday (between chasing middle schoolers around and crossfit, I’m going to be in better shape by the time I go home).  Shoreline had their first summer program night which was similar to ones I had seen back home in that it included a time to just hang out, worship, a brief message, and a game.  They also have AP Bible study for high school students (led by a young couple).  Not many students attend this study, but those who do are engaged in it.  Most of the high school students are freshmen and sophomores.  This brings up a difference between Edge and Shoreline: unlike Edge which has the luxury of immobile kids who long for a ride to the beach or North Shore, older high school kids can drive themselves and don’t need youth leaders to drive them places to just hang out.  Thus, Shoreline is forced to be more creative in ways to attract students to come hang out with them.  

Outside of organized events, I spend most of my time trying to connect with high school girls.  Two highlights from this week included getting up early to take a few of them to see sunrise at Shipwrecks, and taking a few of them to Kappa’a to go bike riding along a path that runs next to the ocean.  Yesterday I was asked by a group of high school kids to take them up to the North Shore after church (now that they realize I’m willing to do things with them and take them places).  On the way back, one of them asked me how I was able to remain so calm, being that they had been playing loud music and screaming as I was driving.  I simply responded, “I have a younger brother.”  This satisfied the question and they returned to their loud music and screaming.  The major part of the answer for myself though was that as things got loud, I would turn my focus to God praying the same prayer that I had been praying for months leading up to the internship, that He would give me a heart for the students here.  Since being here, I’ve added onto that prayer that God would be preparing a woman to come here and serve these students long term.  (While there are several men on the staff who have been here for a while and plan to continue investing in these kids, women leaders have come and gone (esp. since they have mainly been interns).  It is clear that the girls here are eager to have someone who will actually stay longterm). 

Sweet Potato and Coconut Shave Ice

The bike path

Sunrise at Shipwrecks and Lumahai Beach

Shipwrecks

Kauai Week 1

It’s a bit intimidating flying to Kauai on an evening flight when they pass out the agriculture declaration forms and you are unable to fill in the address of where you will be staying.  Coming here is the biggest leap from my comfort zone I have taken in a long time.  So far the experience has been a bit overwhelming, but I’m beginning to settle down into the rhythm of life here (doing chores around the house where I am staying and the study of Greek and Hebrew have helped in the transition).  

Youth ministry is run here in a completely different way than I have seen it run at home.  Instead of weekly meetings and a possible Bible study, the church here does that, but the staff also hang out with the kids throughout the week doing crazy things (like driving across the island to go jump off Hanalei pier, or going to see the original Jurassic Park movie in a park where part of it was filmed).  These activities are things I saw youth groups at home do maybe twice through a school semester, but here, they are regular occurrences.  Ministry to the youth is really grounded here in what it looks like to share life together, not just how to orchestrate a persuasive message to kids who show up on Wednesday nights.  With that said, however, after talking with many of the older kids, it seems as though while there are more crazy adventures throughout their time in youth group, they are no more likely to hold on to their faith than kids at home.  I’m eager to dig more into this idea of sharing life together as a way of youth ministry, and explore ways to help these kids grow closer to God and be equipped to hold onto that faith as they grow older.

You know you are living on Kauai when:

-you are sharing a room with a wild gecko who somehow got in and can’t seem to find its way out

-you go to see Jurassic Park in the place it was filmed

-going to the beach happens regularly

I’ve also learned something important about the roads here while driving what the church calls whales (15 passenger vans): roads here are not like roads in Washington.  The other day while going to get gas, I saw the gas station up ahead and being on a busy street, I wasn’t eager to make that sharp left turn without a turn lane.  I saw a turn lane less than a block before the gas station which seemed to curve around towards the back of the gas station.  I, alone in the whale, took that turn thinking that the roads are in grid formation and there would be other roads to quickly get me back on the main road if this particular road did not get me to the gas station.  4 miles later, 3 of which were composed of a twisty and hilly single lane, two-way road through fairly dense tropical jungle, I made it back to the main road.  Needless to say, I’m sincerely hoping and praying that the old mini-van I have the pleasure to use during my time here will not break down again, as it already has once since I’ve been here (fortunately not while I was driving it).

Until next time, 

The trees where "life found a way" - Jurassic Park