Young Adult Catholics

For about two months now, each Saturday evening Caryn (the other volunteer with me in Chile) and I gather with a small youth group that we lead at our local chapel. Although we first fought the idea of us leading a youth group, nervous that our Spanish wasn’t ready for teenage slang and concerned about the sustainability of the project, we were finally convinced to at least give it a shot. We decided to give it our all, inviting every teenager we’d met, giving an announcement at church (certainly a daunting task in a foreign language), hanging up signs around the neighborhood, talking to everyone we knew. At our first few meetings we were highly disappointed when only three young people showed up. We had worked hard on making interesting and exciting plans. . .but spending so much to prepare for so few people seemed, well, like a waste of time. We were at a loss of what to do and had a fairly pessimistic outlook on where this group was headed.

But, we stuck with it, though not very sure of ourselves. Now, two months later with a normal group attendance of about five (although we can claim to have about eight on a good day), this group is forming into a supportive community. The members wholeheartedly throw themselves into our newly begun volunteer projects, playing with small children who face malnutrition and developmental challenges and planning projects for senior citizens at a retirement home who haven’t seen their families in years. This weekend we somewhat nervously introduced a Scripture reading activity, as sadly we know that many of them have only had Bible reading experiences in which they are told what to think about the Scripture and not ask questions. The group responded extremely positively, though, and seemed relieved to be able to ask questions openly about the passage. There were no answers, but there was honest discussion among the group–we could have hoped for nothing better.

As our youth group community grows together and continues to think about the importance of each decision we make, I find myself continually happier to be working with this group. What began as a shy, uncomfortable group is growing into a place of trust, hope, and laughter. Whereas it can be difficult to lead a group stumbling through the language and cultural barriers, the members of the group show great patience and a genuine desire to help–whether it be with sick babies or two twenty-something year olds who live far from home.

Things may not be going exactly as Caryn and I had originally hoped, but sometimes, when we’re open to it, the unexpected turns out better than we imagine.