For eight years, our youth organization (ELIM) has been putting on a festival week called LetFest. If you have been reading my blog or listening to my stories for any number of years, you have surely heard of the festival before. If you're just tuning in - LetFest is a multicultural, multigenerational, multifaceted citywide outreach event - but before you start rereading all those piled-up "multi" words, it should be stated that this year we didn't have LetFest.
This year, we had LetWork.
Team LetWork
While many aspects of LetFest and LetWork are similar (still sports, English, and music classes; still a team of Americans from Minnesota; still a team of young Czech leaders; still lots of fun and great food, etc.), the main concept of the event was flipped. Instead of focusing on citywide outreach, we focused this year on raising up the young leaders and students we already have within Elim. Hence the transition from "Fest" to "Work" as we challenged the youth to jump into leadership roles, translate, and plan. The main leaders took a step back and like a coach in any sport, gave feedback and encouragement from the sidelines. During the week, I still had a wide-range of responsibilities, but nearly all of it was centered around motivating the youth. I was the lead for the English Classes (2 kids and 2 student classes) and made sure they had enough scissors and sharpened colored pencils. (Okay, it was a little more planning than simply gathering scissors and sharpening pencils, but you get the idea - I was there mostly for supportive measures.) Even as I moved around between classes, I found myself most frequently in the youngest class for multiple reasons: 1) it's my "sweet spot" as I taught that level six years, 2) they occasionally needed a personal translator for some of the littlest kids, and 3) they're really cute! I enjoyed watching these kids come out of their shells during the week and embrace the time with their classmates in rounds of laughter, and I loved watching the leaders become bold in their translations, ideas, and suggestions as the week progressed.
WaterBalloon War Day During LetWork
Before the events (sports, English, and music) began, we had a few days for some leadership training. I led an interactive seminar on Leadership Strengths that helps youth identify their strengths so they can grow more in their talents. After the seminar, we were splitting into the groups we will be with for the events. As I was organizing groups, I got to a cluster of three young friends. I knew it would be best if they divided into the two classes, but I was definitely unsure of how to split 3 by 2 and came to the conclusion that I was fine if they all decided to be together to help in one class. Another of the Elim leaders said, "Why don't you just ask them if one of them wants to teach in the second class?" I admit, I didn't think that this tight group of three would split, but after the question was asked, one girl immediately said, "I'll go!" I hesitantly asked, "Are you sure?" She pulled out the Leadership Strength Worksheet I had just handed out an hour before - "Look, my strength is 'Friendship-Builder.' I can do this." One morning, we asked this youth student if she could translate the announcements during team-time. She agreed and was doing so well, we asked if she would stay up front and translate a daily testimony, she agreed and her confidence grew as she spoke, so we asked if she could stay at the front and translate the program. The 13-year-old had translated the whole morning program in front of over 30 people - most of whom are her peers! It was exactly what we had hoped for this week.
Enjoying S'mores!
Our club location backs up to the city skatepark - a place that is known around town with not such a great reputation. Being so close to the skatepark, we have experienced some of its challenges, but more greatly meeting and being in contact with many of the youth who desperately need to see God's love. As a part of LetWork, we set aside one morning to clean the skatepark. Our team joined together with some of the most frequent skatepark youth as we spent the morning in various tasks to clean the grounds. We had a large dumpster full of trash, but the trashcan at the skatepark was unused and forgotten. The ramps and grounds looked so nice and clean when we finished that the next day a few of the skatepark kids stopped by our building asking for more garbage bags. Apparently, some other visitors had tossed more trash under the ramps, but the skatepark kids now had a new standard for how they treat this place.
With the newly cleaned skatepark and lots of new friends who frequent the ramps, our Elim team decided to have a two-day competition for the kids at the skatepark. I love that we took LetWork events right to these students! I was up close and cheering them on as I learned the names for each trick and their personal styles on the scooters. A few days later, I was at the train station with the Americans to go for a debrief time in Prague when a couple of these skatepark kids came up and gave me a quick hug. I thought they may be confused that I was leaving back to the States too, so I stated, "I'm not leaving, I'll be back in a couple days." One said, "Yeah, we know. We just wanted to say hi." I melted. The leader next to me saw it all happen and melted too. We watched them interact with the youth group kids and the leaders at the train station. They fit. I'm so happy God has Elim where we are.
On the last day of LetWork, we had our classic Hawaii Party to conclude the week of events and activities. Some kids who were unable to come to the events all week excitedly arrived to the Hawaii Party. I lost a limb for the whole afternoon as a 6-year-old clung to my hand for hours of the party. I didn't mind one bit. Just before the evening program began, I grabbed a coloring sheet and a box of crayons for the 6-year-old. Between the coloring sheet and the speaker's stories, she was entertained until the last 5 minutes of the program when all the energetic excitement of the day caught up with the little 6-year-old who fell asleep on my lap. Wise words from my mom came back saying "let a sleeping child rest." And so, I was pinned down.
What I didn't realize until after that moment was that God needed to make sure I was in this spot. Without the sleeping child, I would have jumped up to help with the next part of the program, but God needed me for His program. In the last sentence of the message, the speaker had told the audience to find a trusted leader if they had questions. As the room cleared, I remained stationed on the floor when a club kid came and sat down next to me and started asking some great questions like "If you are a Christian, do you have to pray?" and "Is it required to go to church if you believe in God?" We chatted for some time about what it means to be a Christian and to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I quickly picked up that the kid was interested in becoming a follower of God. I instructed him to grab the coloring sheet and a crayon the 6-year-old had left out, and I proceeded to draw for him a broken path that only Jesus can fill as a bridge to God. As my right arm was propped under the still sleeping child, I relied on my left hand to draw the illustration... upside-down to face the boy... in Czech, and with a faded blue crayon. Talk about God using our imperfections for His glory because that picture didn't have a straight line anywhere on the page! I asked the boy where he saw himself on the picture. He pointed and explained. Then I asked him where he would like to be. He pointed to the side with God. At that moment, another Elim leader walked by. I flagged him over knowing it would be best to have a fluent Czech-speaking, guy leader continue. Still, I was pinned down by the sleeping 6-year-old, but God needed me there still as this important conversation was almost interrupted twice. I shooed them away and prayed for no more distractions. The boy prayed and received Jesus' love. His smile glowed as he said, "I don't know how to say how I feel... I guess amazing!"
Shortly after the 6-year-old woke up from her short nap, and we joined the rest of kids outside. The boy stood next to two classmates, a couple girls from Connect Club. I was nearby and heard him tell the girls he just prayed and received Jesus. The girls excitedly pointed at him saying, "You are a Christian?!" Then they pointed at themselves, "us too!" The boy noticed me looking on and said to me, "I only have a New Testament at home, but I know there is more to the Bible. Where can I get one?" I said, "I have one for you." "Really?! When can I get it?" "In two minutes." "Oh! And how much will it cost?" "For you, absolutely nothing."
Enjoy this video I made from the time at LetWork (mostly with the kid's class!)
The end of the school year picked up really fast as I finished all my English Classes for the summer, wrapped up Bible Studies and planned for summer get-togethers, prepared for activities at LetWork, and squeezed in a mini-vacation that last weekend in June. Since it was all rolling so quickly, I didn't get the chance to write about the last lessons I had with the kids, so here are just a few pictures from these wonderful groups. (And one of my favorite stories at the end!)
Kid's English (Class A)
Kid's English (Class B)
Little Linguists
Connect Club
Our last meeting with Connect Club was a memorable afternoon as one of our leaders gave the program message for the first time and walked the girls through what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Through using a book, colored beaded bracelets, and a flannel graph, she showed the girls what believing in God really means for us individually. While some of the girls have heard this multiple times before (and even have similar bracelets already), they were the ones most excited to repeat this life-changing message as they elbowed their buddies and pointed to bracelets they were already wearing. As the message came to a close, our speaker asked the girls to consider a life a Jesus and that the leaders are available if they would like to pray.
After this time, two of the girls flagged me down and pulled me into another room. One is a little "revivalist" who catapulted this girls group to begin meeting last November and gave her life to Jesus last summer. The other girl is a friend she started bringing to group months ago. The conversation went something like this...
Girl 1 (revivalist): Kendra, you know how our speaker told us to find a leader today if we want to pray and have a life with Jesus?
Me: Yeah.
Girl 1: [Friend] wants to pray.
I turned my attention to the friend and began asking some questions about how she felt personally in regard to the message. It was then that I quickly realized Girl 1 was pulling in closer, watching how I lead the conversation. I knew then that it wasn't about me and the friend, but Girl 1 had been talking with her friend about God's love for much longer and was a personal testimony. So I directed my attention back to Girl 1.
Me: Tell [Friend] what life with Jesus means for you?
Tell [Friend] what is it like to be a Christian at home or in school?
Tell [Friend] why you believe this is the best decision you made?
I took a sideline, prompting and coaxing this little revivalist in how to share her faith and lead her friends to Christ. She took on the role naturally and I silently praised God for her commitment to faith! Girl 1 then asked her friend if she wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus too. The friend said she was ready and wanted Jesus in her heart today! I started a generic prayer, and asked the girls to make it personal for themselves (since my Czech language limits fluffy, deep theological prayers, but it didn't seem to bother the 11-year-old and 12-year-old next to me). I prayed, Girl 1 made the prayer personal (and grammatically correct), and her friend followed suite. After we said "amen," I looked up to see two wide grinned girls. Looking to the friend, I asked:
How do you feel?
Friend: I feel something comfortable and nice inside me!
Me: That's the Holy Spirit in you!
Girl 1: That is what the blue bead on our bracelet is - the Holy Spirit with us.