"It's about the journey, not the destination." - Joe, leading our opening devotion.
I have had several people ask me how on earth we come up with the events we do. Without sitting through one of our planning meetings, there is no way for you to ever comprehend the conversations that result in our crazy events. I do not want to subject anyone to have to sit through our meetings, but nor do I want you to have to continue to wonder what the creation of these events entails. So, at our last meeting, I decided to type everything that was said, so that you can get an idea of the insanity that leads to awesomeness. So here you go. The following are direct quotes, unedited, and in the order they were said. There were 2 adults, 1 high school student, and 2 middle school students. I did not edit, rearrange, add to or leave things out simply for effect. This is as raw as it gets.
"I need a non-procrastinating button. Like a shock collar for when I procrastinate, so I won't procrastinate anymore."
"I had a crap load of ideas, but forgot"
"Do you remember one?"
"Can I have a cup of water?"
"No."
"Costume party! No, snow theme!"
"Yeah, we could do that in Winter."
"Lets do a summer theme. With a mini pool!"
"No, let's do that Santa pal thing..."
"Secret Santa?"
"YES!"
"Penguin theme."
"I can walk like a penguin."
"Dress up as your favorite reindeer."
"Gangster theme. I'm a boss."
"Bubble, harry potter, hobbit , Lord of the Rings..."
"BACK ON TRACK PEOPLE" - (Student to the leaders)
More club theme ideas:
"twin, backwards, kidnap, hip hop, cops and robbers, that one sounds like someone will get hurt, ice cold, black light, MIRROR CLUB!"
"LET'S BUILD A MIRROR CLUB!"
*farting noise*
"Fear factor, minute to win it..."
"FEAR FACTOR!"
"We could get fish! I have a real fish."
"I could get salmon and cod."
"I don't like fish in water."
"I could bring a dead fish."
"I have a question, is it really possible to swallow 24 live goldfish?"
"Ooooh. That sounds like a good game."
More club ideas:
"Bigger, better, best. Find your leader club. Baby club..."
"I can bring a real baby!"
"Me too!"
"Nerd club?"
"I can't rock a nerd club."
"I was a ceiling fan for Halloween."
"Couch Olympics, pizza Olympics."
Kidnap club was what decided on. Even though none of us knew what a Kidnap club would entail...or where the idea came from. So we made it up.
Random quotes throughout the rest of the brainstorm process:
"let's use noodles, you can't really get injured with those."
"Have you guys ever heard of Mike the Headless Chicken?"
The something strange happened. All 3 or our student leaders ), asked "Is there anything else we need to plan?"
"Um...we haven't planned anything."
"Well, I have to be home at 8:00."
"Me too."
"Me too."
*everyone glances at the clock, to see that it is already 8:00*
And they all got up and left. They literally all got up and walked out the door. This left Emily and Bethany to do all of the planning... Literally all that had been decided, in one hours time, was that they wanted to have "Kidnap Club." What on earth is a Kidnap Club? We still have no idea.
I turned to Emily and said "Emily, we have been here for an hour, and the only thing I have learned is that we have 2 students who are willing to bring live babies to club for a game."
We spent a moment laughing about the insanity of the conversation that had occurred over the last hour, and then got back to the planning process.
And what did we come up with? 45 minutes later, we had YouTube Club. What is YouTube Club? Well, it sure has nothing to do with kidnapping, that's for sure.
Next Thursday, we will split all of the kids into equal groups (with one leader in each group), give each team a video camera, and give them 30 minutes to make a video. At the end of the 30 minutes, the teams turn in their cameras, and the footage gets uploaded to YouTube. Whichever team gets the most views on YouTube over the next 2 weeks, until the next Wyld Life event, wins the prize. Something BIG. Like a pizza party, or ice cream, or a trip to the movies. Something cool. We haven't decided. Maybe a pet penguin....We haven't decided yet...
I actually still don't know how either kidnapping or YouTube got worked into the mix. We are pretty excited for YouTube club though. I will be posting links to the videos as soon as they are uploaded. Make sure to watch them, share them with your friend, and help the kids get lots of views. :)
Joe, our high school helper, led the beginning of the meeting with a devotion, where he talked about how the journey is more important than the destination. He shared how during his journey in his walk with Christ, when he focuses on the moment, seeking God TODAY, and not worrying about tomorrow, that's when he is able to really draw closer to God. Sometimes, in Young Life, that's a good lesson to remember. Even though sometimes our journey can be confusing and seem like it is leading nowhere, just like our planning meetings can be, I believe that God is big, and that he is intentional. I believe that if we really stop and focus on our journey, we are going to learn a lot more than if we keep just trying to focus on the end goal. And hopefully, when we learn to live in the moment, seek God in every moment, and take a moment to sit back and embrace what God is teaching us here and now, we will learn something.
And I'm sure we will learn something more profound than learning that there are multiple kids who are willing to bring babies to Young Life for a game. Or that there are kids (okay, and maybe one adult) who think swallowing 24 live gold fish is a good idea...
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