I have really been horrible at this blog thing, not as horrible at keeping a journal, but still, not great. Also that is way too many commas for one sentence. Anyway, that is not the topic of this blog. Back in June I was invited to be a counsellor for the neighboring stake's youth conference. That meant I needed to take 3 full days off work and spend it babysitting teenagers. I was not thrilled about this idea- being as I didn't even like teenagers when I was one. Well against my better judgement I felt like that's where I needed to be. I was assigned a group of 10 girls all about 16 yrs old. I also had a co-counsellor with about 10 guys the same ages. Well right off the bat one of my girls came in with more attitude than I was ready for. She really didn't want to be there and she made no pretense about hiding the fact. I was not prepared for this- I guess I should have been but I had worked the 4 days leading up to the conference so I was already really tired. I was totally relying on the spirit to get me through it...and I was nervous about this one.
well the day turned out just as I had anticipated, my girls kept disappearing and this one girl was like a poison, her attitude rubbed off on all the girls as the day wore on. I had to continually leave the activities to find my missing girls...it was exhausting and I had to keep reminding myself it was all going to be worth it in the end. I had to stop telling myself that I should have used my PTO for a weekend in Disneyland. right?! Anyway, that night we were all driven to the amphitheater by the temple where they did a concert for the youth and on the way there I was in a car with my poison child. I don't think she knew I was in the back of the van because she was talking to a mom from the stake about how stupid the whole thing was and how she was NOT coming back the next day and the best part was, the mom was agreeing with her and encouraging her attitude. There were a few other girls in the car that agreed with her and weren't planning on coming back for the next two days..I'm not going to lie I wanted to just sit back and cry. I felt like I was wasting my time. I sat at that concert with the realization that the next morning, I may only have five out of my ten girls come back. I seriously felt like a failure.
I knew I only had one choice. I poured out my heart in prayer for the entire hour and a half. I didn't really hear the concert. We had a 45 minute devotional coming up after the concert on the fields by the Temple. I needed to say the right things....I knew this was possibly my last chance to make a difference in these girls lives and to maybe talk them into coming back. But I felt very strongly that they NEEDED to come back. Well we started our devotional, I'm not even sure what I said but I bore my testimony to these 20 teenagers about the Gospel and the blessings of the temple. And when it was over at 11:30pm I went home and died in my bed. I can't even remember when I had ever been that tired after only one day.
The next morning at 7am I returned to do it all over again, not knowing how many of my kids would come back. To my surprise by mid morning I had 8 of the 10 girls back. My poison girl didn't return and she had taken one with her, but I felt a miracle had occurred that I didn't lose any more. Those 8 stayed the whole weekend and I developed a love for my kids...I still don't love teenagers- mostly the attitude- but I felt of the strength of their spirits and what they can become and it did turn out to be a great experience. was my patience tested to its limits? yes. Did I have an emotional breakdown at the end of the 3 days from lack of sleep? yes. Was it something I would do again if I was asked? Most definitely YES.
At the end of the 3 days I found a small note in my bag. It was written by a very quite girl in my group-one I actually thought hated me- She thanked me for coming and told me how she really felt we connected and that she could relate to me so well....surprise!! didn't see that one coming, but I guess we never do..I guess that's where faith comes in....you don't always get to see the difference you make but that doesn't mean it isn't happening.
well the day turned out just as I had anticipated, my girls kept disappearing and this one girl was like a poison, her attitude rubbed off on all the girls as the day wore on. I had to continually leave the activities to find my missing girls...it was exhausting and I had to keep reminding myself it was all going to be worth it in the end. I had to stop telling myself that I should have used my PTO for a weekend in Disneyland. right?! Anyway, that night we were all driven to the amphitheater by the temple where they did a concert for the youth and on the way there I was in a car with my poison child. I don't think she knew I was in the back of the van because she was talking to a mom from the stake about how stupid the whole thing was and how she was NOT coming back the next day and the best part was, the mom was agreeing with her and encouraging her attitude. There were a few other girls in the car that agreed with her and weren't planning on coming back for the next two days..I'm not going to lie I wanted to just sit back and cry. I felt like I was wasting my time. I sat at that concert with the realization that the next morning, I may only have five out of my ten girls come back. I seriously felt like a failure.
I knew I only had one choice. I poured out my heart in prayer for the entire hour and a half. I didn't really hear the concert. We had a 45 minute devotional coming up after the concert on the fields by the Temple. I needed to say the right things....I knew this was possibly my last chance to make a difference in these girls lives and to maybe talk them into coming back. But I felt very strongly that they NEEDED to come back. Well we started our devotional, I'm not even sure what I said but I bore my testimony to these 20 teenagers about the Gospel and the blessings of the temple. And when it was over at 11:30pm I went home and died in my bed. I can't even remember when I had ever been that tired after only one day.
The next morning at 7am I returned to do it all over again, not knowing how many of my kids would come back. To my surprise by mid morning I had 8 of the 10 girls back. My poison girl didn't return and she had taken one with her, but I felt a miracle had occurred that I didn't lose any more. Those 8 stayed the whole weekend and I developed a love for my kids...I still don't love teenagers- mostly the attitude- but I felt of the strength of their spirits and what they can become and it did turn out to be a great experience. was my patience tested to its limits? yes. Did I have an emotional breakdown at the end of the 3 days from lack of sleep? yes. Was it something I would do again if I was asked? Most definitely YES.
At the end of the 3 days I found a small note in my bag. It was written by a very quite girl in my group-one I actually thought hated me- She thanked me for coming and told me how she really felt we connected and that she could relate to me so well....surprise!! didn't see that one coming, but I guess we never do..I guess that's where faith comes in....you don't always get to see the difference you make but that doesn't mean it isn't happening.
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