What's your story?

The Crew (Keller Park Youth Group) has been meeting for almost 2 months now. We have kids from 5th grade to about 11th grade so things can be interesting with the big age difference. This youth group experience has been a much different environment (to say the least) from what Ali and I are used to. Games such as musical chairs often ends with a few kids puncing walls, leaving abruptly, or sitting alone in a corner the rest of the night. The kids can be a handful at times, but we are enjoying this time with them as well. :)

Our theme right now is "What's your story?" We want the kids to know that everyone has a unique story that God has given them that is important. We want to provide a safe place for them to share their story with their peers and us as leaders. We felt like the best way to create this type of enviroment was to have the leaders share their stories first. This did not go exactly as planned as the kids were often disrepectful and disruptive during the sharing time. I began to become discouraged because I felt like The Crew was not becoming "a safe environment to share in." At the rate we were going I felt like the kids would never open up. However, just recently (with lots of prayer... funny how that works), things have begun to get better. Some of the kids have approached us leaders individually and began to open up about their home life, feelings, etc. That has been encouraging because now we can begin to help them find healing through Jesus Christ. It will still be a long process, but Ali and I have constantly been reminded to "stay faithful." Faithfulness has been a common theme since our time of being here in Keller Park. It is not always easy to follow Jesus, and can be very difficult to trust His plan, but we have found truth through Scriptures that has led us to believe that trusting, following, and obeying Jesus is the only way to live. It's funny (or ridiculous) how often I need a reminder of those truths.

-Kory