Last weekend I volunteered to help out with the youth group "lock-in." It was myself, and two other leaders in charge of 15 teenagers. The numbers increased and decreased throughout the night, and I think 15 was around the highest number that we had. I was obviously not the main leader because I barely knew the kids and could barely speak French. So it was interesting to observe, but also be a part of it when I could.
The evening started with a pizza dinner at the church. We went around the table introducing ourselves by saying our name, age, some of our hobbies, and the worst food we had ever tried. I said that trying sushi was probably my worst food experience. I got a few cries of protest when I said that because apparently sushi is pretty popular here. To those of you who love sushi, I am sorry but I don't get it and I don't think I will ever love it. I have had a few sushi rolls that were ok, but the thought of raw fish just makes my stomach twist. Now that I am writing this, I do remember having a really bad piece of rabbit the first time I went to the Czech Republic 10 years ago. Even my parents, who have had rabbit before, said it wasn't good at all. Anyway, moving on.
After dinner was cleaned up we had a small devotional and discussion led by Pastor Ben. We talked about how we can serve or help our neighbors whether they are Christians or not. I still didn't understand it all, but it was an interesting discussion nonetheless. Pastor Ben left after that to leave us with our fun.
The whole group played a game and watched a movie before going to bed that night. The game that was played was called "Loup-Garou"[pronounced loo-garoo] which means "Werewolf." The game was a lot like the game of "Mafia," but it was also very different. In this game you had werewolves, a witch, an inspector of sorts, a cupid, a savage child, a peeking-child, a person who could kill another person when they were killed, and finally the villagers. It took me a while to get all of these characters and their powers straight, but in the end it was fun. No one "killed" me in the night, which was kind of a relief because that happens to me a lot when I play "Mafia" back home.
After a couple rounds of that game, it was time to pick a movie and set it up in the church basement. The movie that was chosen was Inception with French audio. I tried to watch it, but it's hard to follow along when the movie is in a language you don't know and you yourself don't have the original script memorized word for word. Plus I was very tired from the long day of having worked at the conference the night before and the morning of this event. I lasted maybe half an hour before I went into the other room to read.
What surprised me, was one girl who also stayed in the other room throughout the movie. She wasn't there because she was tired or anything like that, but because she knew the movie wouldn't be good for her. Here was a 12 (or 13) year old girl, who already knew that this movie would not be helpful to her if she watched it. I wish that I had that same thought process when I was her age. She shared with me what the comic book series she was reading was about. I found her to be a very refreshing and special sort of girl.
Of course the movie didn't end until after midnight and it took a while for all the girls in the room to calm down and sleep. The next morning we got up early to have breakfast and clean the church and set up for the morning service. I was too tired to stay after the service to have lunch with them. But they seemed to still have a good time.
Every person is going to be different from another person no matter where you are in the world. But I found that even though that is true, people who are going through the same stages in life (such as teenagers) can still share some of the same traits. I watched these kids here, and I remember what teenagers I have had around me in my past, and I see many similarities. Teenagers love fun and games, especially fun detective group games such as "Mafia' or "Loup-Garou," and movies. Many of them are smart and bright, some are shy and quiet, while others are loud and excited. There are still those teenagers who sleep with stuffed animals, and those who tease you about little things such as a stuffed animal or snoring. Some jump up to help and others need more persuading. No matter how similar they can be as a group, don't forget to let their individuality surprise you.
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