You read correctly, "pray" not "play." Although I questioned for a moment when asked this question if the six senior high boys really wanted to go out to play instead of to pray.
You see, I spent most of my weekend with Jr & Sr High youth - and don't get me wrong I love all of my youth - but sometimes i hate LOCK-INS! Here is a short play-by-play of one reason why:
Saturday ~
1:30am ~ Youth Leaders are trying to herd the last of the youth towards their room for bed.
One youth, we'll call him Herman, is shoving several pieces of pizza in his mouth and washing it down with Hawaiian Punch. A youth leader says to Herman "that's exactly what I do to get ready for bed each night, shove down a few more pieces of pizza and some Hawaiian Punch." We laugh!
1:35 ~ We must physically take away the Hawaiian Punch and continue to heard what we think (& hope) is the last of the youth down the hall to the room they'll be sleeping in.
1:45ish am ~ Head count ~ we're missing 1 - or I mean 2. Three leaders locate the two missing boys "hiding" under a table in a downstairs Sunday school room. Why? don't ask me???
Missing boys returned to their sleeping room only to find a table blocking the entrance - from the inside. Can we all say FIRE HAZARD!
(side note: the girls are all in their room and getting to sleep)
(back in the boys room) the guys are warned that it's time for bed and to get to sleep. Several excuses and questions are asked - all replied to in a NO fashion. We think boys are actually getting to 'sleep' at this point. So, the leaders all get settled and plan to try and get some sleep themselves.
Now, in nine years of ministry I've learned there are two great places for me to sleep - one is my own bed - that's not really an option here - so second place is right outside the door to the boys sleeping room...so I get comfy as I can - sleeping on a church floor and start to drift off...
...then I hear the door - six high school boys emerge from the doorway - and this is what I hear - "can we go outside to pray?" I kind of had to check to make sure I was really hearing this....my response after a laugh was NO - I know you're thinking how horrible of a youth director to tell his youth they cannot pray. Let me set this straight - my "NO" was to the 'outside' portion of their question - not to the can we pray....
I suggested they each go back to bed and they could pray themselves. Apparently they didn't yet know how to take that suggestion from a leader and really follow it....they proceeded to turn around go back towards the door and make a circle and then they're praying....and singing....ahhhhhh I just want to get to sleep (note: it's now past 2:30 am)
They go inside the door and I'm assuming make home on the floor right inside....cuz for the next 30+ mins I hear whispering and talking....
This concludes the short play-by-play of why I sometimes hate lock-ins....the jury is still out on whether or not we'll have another!
~C
4 comments:
You already have two more planned for this year I think it is a safe bet you will have another lock in.
PS - Herman is hilarious.
Perhaps it's time to re-think or change some rules when it comes to Lock-Ins.
I do think it's interesting that they wanted to pray-yet not together in the place they were in or already at. Of course, that could be out of respect in regards to anyone else in the room.
Regardless, I feel your pain my friend. It's one of those minus' that pays off down the road.
So rest up and enjoy your rest-cuz soon enough you'll be right back at it-maybe not another Lock-In, but more planning and sacrifice.
So pray that you will be re-energized and ready to face the new day! :)
We say a prayer for you everytime 'Herman' and our 'outdoor prayer' leave for a youth group activity.
BTW - I slept very well knowing that they were under your careful watch.
Keep up the great work!!
Chris you know how hard this makes me lol. and we didnt want to go outside as in the cold and not inside GS, just outside of the room, like Jeff said, because we didnt want to wake up the others. we didnt expect to wake you up. hahah sorry. if it makes you feel any better, we didnt get much sleep either :)
but we did have a very good convo ;)
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