Observations...

I find myself learning more and more about myself and the people around me as I go through life. Each day brings on a new idea, new thought, new situation. This weekend was the middle school retreat and I was a student leader. Going into it I knew that my goal was to befriend the kids (mainly the girls) and try to get into their lives. I got a small glimpse into their lives and it gave me a major flash back to middle school. Honestly I hated middle school. It's living hell. The kids are brutal and no one is real because they are trying to fit in. The popular kids are really loud and obnoxious and the quiet kids get shoved aside. I saw that happen some this weekend but I also saw that this group was somewhat different. The kids that tried and actually wanted to befriend people got that chance. There are about 20 or 30 kids that all hang out and get along. They make me laugh because they try to make this big circle so everyone can hear what everyone is saying....it doesn't work. When I asked one of the girls why they form this massive circle where no one can understand what is going on they couldn't really give a reason. They kind of laughed at it also. I enjoyed watching the kids get a chance to be loud and rambonxious when they normally get told to shut up. Friday night we played the longest game of "Little Sally Walker" I've ever seen. If you've never seen the game lots of dancing and yelling. The kids loved it. They got a chance to goof off and be kids. I loved being with them and feeling that age again. The weekend was a blast and I loved the teaching we had. The lesson was on plugging into your community and plugging into God. The kids seemed to really like the topic and the discussion group was encouraging. I can't wait to see how these kids grow up and show themselves to the world. Until then I hope I can be involved in their lives. I made some friends this weekend and I'm super duper excited about going on mission trip with them. What a great goup of kids.