Youth News

Plans have been made and tickets have been purchased to take the teen girls to the Revolve Tour in Philadelphia in November.  Revolve is a spin off from Women of Faith, geared for our teenage girls and will involve Christian music, drama and guest speakers.  Revolve is relatively new; only in its third year.

The kids are also already discussing possible destinations for next summer’s mission trip, as well as possibly participating in some fun activities in the upcoming months, such as swim parties, lock-ins and a possible amusement park day trip.

Our fund raisers planned for the year are two car washes; one in the fall and one in the spring, as well as our annual Souper Bowl soup and sandwich sale.

We will keep you informed of all dates!

YouthWorks 2008

  Submitted by Hanna Simane 

On June 29^th, 2008 eleven members of the CLC youth set out for the town of Monessen, PA otherwise known as The Mon Valley.  Paula Livers, Kim Jones, Don Forcino, Kirk and Dane Livers, Chris Davis, Shawntelle Forcino, Hanna Simane, Molly Harmon, Corrina Ricker, and Rachel Ober were ready to set out to do God’s work that week.  The trip had an impact on me as well as many others. This week we would be put to work doing house work in the local neighborhoods or help lead a VBS type program called Kids Club with the children of Monessen.

          On Monday morning we found out that we would get a chance to work on both activities doing Kid's Club as well as working on the houses. So our group of eleven split up into two, one being Don, Chris, Dane, Shawntelle, and Molly. The other group was Paula, Kim, Kirk, Rachel, Corrina and myself. My group would start off with Kid's Club first and Don’s group would start with the houses.  We then departed for the day, house work leaving the Schooner Center (where we stayed) and the Kid's Club workers hanging back to get ready for the day ahead.  As we stayed back to get ready for the fun filled day with the kids, Kyle, one of our leaders for the week, discussed what would happen the two days we were there.  Our talk ended up being a half an hour of him discussing the “expectations”, because when children hear the word rules, it immediately feels like this isn’t going to be fun.  So he gave the “expectations" for us as well as the kids. Kirk and I were confused as to why he was telling us all of this. Almost all of the kids on the trip had been through a Youth Works site before. Later we found out why he talked for so long. We kept preparing for the day and got all the activities ready for the kids.  Kirk, Kim, and I then headed out to the neighborhoods to pick kids up for the day and bring them to Kids Club.  When we arrived at the Manor, kids came running from all directions and we looked at each other in shock and got out of the car to start transporting kids to the Center where Kid's Club would take place.

          After two or three trips back and forth all the kids had arrived.  Once they were all there we would play board games inside until it was time to start skits and songs.  Everyone was to grab a buddy which we all did. We were to keep an eye on our buddies and make sure they were following the “expectations” and had fun.  The day was chaos; kids running everywhere, some misbehaving, others behaving. It was definitely a crazy day filled with excitement and frustration.  We were all worn out by the time they left. We also realized why Kyle stressed so much on the “expectations”; because there were more misbehaving children at times then there were behaving children.  We would then do the same thing the next day which was extremely tough.

          Once we survived the two days of Kid's Club, we then got to switch roles and go work on a house the last two days we were there. So on day three Don’s group went to Kid's Club and my group went to go work on one of the apartments that we would be assigned to. When we got to the Manor where we would be working we met the person who runs the Manor. His name was Butch. When I heard his name was Butch I was immediately scared as was Rachel. I pictured this big guy, tattoos, mean, "get-the-work-done-now" type of guy, but he wasn’t at all. Now don’t get me wrong, he was big and he had the tattoos but he wasn’t mean in the least. So he showed us to the apartment we would be working on. He gave us our assignments then said, “I don’t care what you guys do, just have fun!” Him saying that was just unforgettable; he was just so happy to see everyone there getting some work done that would take our group of ten a couple days to do, but if he had to do it with a few other guys, it would take him three to four months to do. He just wanted us to have fun and it was so awesome that he wasn’t worried about getting the work done, he just wanted us to have as much fun as possible.  I then said to myself "he’s a pretty cool guy", and he was.  Our work on the apartment would be painting the whole interior of the apartment and also cleaning out the kitchen.  Let me say this wasn’t a normal kitchen. The stove was covered in grease and other stains as well as the oven.  The sink had cigarette butts and old rotten food in it, and the refrigerator had bugs and what looked like soda or some sticky substance in the bottom.   We cleaned for about four hours straight and it was definitely some hard work.  So we all decided to take a break and go eat our lunch. At lunch we started discussing the two different jobs we were doing this week in Monessen and someone said that Kid's Club was mentally tough but this work was physically tough. That was completely true and the way everyone felt.  We finished lunch and continued on the apartment and did the same sort of thing the next day.

          Not only did working with the kids and working on the houses have a big impact on me as well as others, but we participated in so much more:  a prayer walk that took us around the town of Monessen to show us key places where violence had happened in the past.  We also walked down what used to be drug alley. It was a great experience to see more of the town and also pray for the town. We also went to a church service many people from the town attend. Now this service wasn’t one of our services with stand up, sit down “Thanks be to God” things. They called this service a "bumping service" and it really was.  When we got there we were immediately standing at the front of the church dancing and singing. I thought this was just really neat to see how other people praise God. I think it was something that everyone should experience, because there are so many ways to praise God other than just the way we do.

          One thing that had an impact on me and always will every year is that we do a foot washing service.  It’s just amazing to hear the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.  I mean it's Jesus, son of God, who sits on the ground and washed his disciples’ feet.  I can’t comprehend that; that someone so powerful sits down and washes someone’s dirty feet.  That’s what gets to me: the feeling of someone so much older and wiser washing your feet. Who would do that? I guess it’s out of love, that someone loves you so much they would wash your feet.  That’s what happens during the Service.  The Youth Works Staff washes the adult leaders' feet and then our adult leaders wash ours. It is such an overwhelming feeling that it brings tears to your eyes and it’s just amazing how you can look around the room and fifty other kids are sitting around, not a dry eye in the place and they're feeling the same things that you’re feeling.  That, I feel impacts me the most and makes me feel so loved, and it's the one thing I look forward to on each trip we go on and every trip after.

          I, as well as the rest of us, would like to thank the church so much for your support and donations for this year and every year getting us there.  Without you, it wouldn’t have happened. I, and the rest of us kids, would like to thank Paula, Kim, and Papa Don because without you guys that week we wouldn’t have made it. Thank you so much and God Bless!