Tis the season

It's official. The Youth Group gatherings have come to and end last week till mid January.

For Jr. Youth, we had a Christmas party where our youth pastor gave a little talk - simply noting a few things from Matthew 2 - then we had the youth split off into their small groups to pray for and encourage one another. In their groups we had them decorate their youth leaders as christmas trees (some took creative liberty with that) and were judged accordingly for their outfits:

DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING PICTURES HAVE PEOPLE'S FACES COVERED BY SMILEY EMOJIS FOR IDENTITY PROTECTION. NO, THEY DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE SMILEY EMOJI FACES. SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION - THIS IS A TYPE OF PHOTOSHOP. ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE DISTRACTING THIS ALSO MAKES THE PHOTOS THAT MUCH MORE FUNNY.

  

After the judging, the youth pastor and I handed out hot chocolate as the youth in their small groups came up with christmas carols that they would sing a line from and if anyone else had it, it was to be crossed off. 

It was awesome to see the youth get into the party and we even ran out of time and didn't get to finish the "christmas carol" game. 

It's been a delight and honour working with these youth leaders and getting to know them personally has been a blessing. I pray that the Christmas break will be good to them and they will come back refreshed and renewed in the New Year. 

As for Sr. Youth, it was relatively the same program wise, except we had a "Christmas-ween" theme where we could dress up for the evening. Since it was "Christmas" and "Halloween" themed, my interpretation was that we had to go as something that involved both of those aspects, as it turns out, that was not necessarily the case, but I went as the "Ghost of Christmas past" 

 We had a Christmas punch station, were our church's intern served up drinks with fancy names. We also had some cookies and cakes all provided by our youth pastor and the night was a relatively chill one. The youth were not as into the program stuff, the dress up and carol games, like the jr. youth were, but the night still boded well.

I am also very thankful for all the youth leaders and youth who are dedicated to the youth group. I pray that over the break there would be a renewed sense of involvement and delight for the program, if not then for the youth pastor and I to have a better understanding and way of improving the program, or seeking what God want for our Sr. youth in the New Year.

In the next little while, there will be no youth group, but there will be plenty of opportunities for me to reflect, rest, and study about personal, spiritual, and thoughtful matters. Stay tuned still.

For now, Merry Christmas!

~To God be the Glory