Well, OK, so I'm not a "Youth Pastor" or even the wife of one! But for those of you who know my husband I thought you might enjoy what it's like when "we" come up with a good idea and how we go about planning it. It's kind of like this:
T: I want to do a trip for the outgoing seniors.
Me: You mean, kind of like a "senior sneak"?
T: A what????
Me: A senior sneak, you know, where you tell them to pack for a weekend but they don't have a clue where they are going. We did that when I was a senior and our youth leaders took us to this gorgeous beach house in Rhode Island where we hung out for like a last blast thingy...
T: Well, sort of. I want it to me "missional" though, not cushy. Like New York City. Urban Impact.
Me: Ah, sounds cool. So, you won't tell them where they are going?
T: No, we won't tell anyone.
Me: Well, you should tell the parents, they have to know.
T: Why???
Me: Do I have to explain why? (yada yada yada)
T: OK, OK, we'll tell the parents.
Me: How will you pay for the trip?
T: The kids will pay.
Me: So, they will be paying for prom, beach week, summer trips and now this. Are they going to be able to afford New York City on $20?
T: I'm sure we can do it, how expensive can it be??
Fast forward, 2 months later, after the kids have agreed to pay $75 for a weekend somewhere they "don't know about":
Me: Alright, so $75/person, the rooms cost you $50, the subway pass is $12 (totally wrong!), food is another $10 (haha) and you want to take them all to the top of the Empire State building?
T: Yeah, it totally fits in with my message. It has to be something big...
Me: Have you thought about gas? parking? incidentals? and you want to take them out to dinner??? What, on $2/person???? IN NYC?
T: I'm sure I can find a place...
Quick fast forward, after I spend 3 hours researching and printing out menu's of every restaurant within his price range within walking distance of the youth hostel in the Upper West side off Central Park:
Me: OK - here is a compilation of all the restaurants online that come somewhat close to your budget.
T: Wow - how did you find this?
Me: Google.
T: You're hired. Haha!
Fortunately, this trip was a success. We were slightly over budget and when that happens the old Shengster has to pitch in some dough!! It's all fine! Really, my point here is that most of the time I don't get to participate in the actual event, even when I would love to. I would love to go to NYC, or Brasil or even just Baltimore. Right now, it's just not in our budget and there are some things we feel are inappropriate for our children. Just because I don't go, though, doesn't mean I'm not involved in many of the aspects of Space. No one knows about it. I'm the invisible space walker! Well, more visible than God but not really visible by outsiders.
Here are a few reasons I don't go on trips with T right now:
1. I stress him out!! He took me to DC this summer and it was an interesting trip. We are both suburban through and through, but just because we are doesn't mean we don't notice what's happening around us - at least I don't!! T planned it so we would walk from the Metro "two and a half blocks" to this soup kitchen. He didn't have much of an idea where we were heading but in Northeast, we stuck out like a sore, sore thumb. I was surprised at how many things T didn't see, so much so that I nixed the idea of dragging these kids to Adams-Morgan for dinner since T had never been there before and was just going to "find his way" around at 5 pm. He didn't like my executive decision. He didn't invite me to Baltimore!
2. Our kids!! Em is 4 and soon I think it will be easier to take the girls, but our first consideration when planning these events is to focus on what's best for the students going. We do not ever want them to be babysitters, we want them to learn something about God, something about themselves and how God would have them respond to the experience. If we want that experience to include our two little girls, we'll have them all over to our house for a meeting, which we do a few times a year. Otherwise, right now, a 7 and 4 year old are just too distracting!
3. My mission: right now, I'm just learning what my ministry is in this whole Space thing. We have spent a couple years working on T, actually probably longer than that. I can remember sitting in my car when dropping off our then youth pastor's (now Genex pastor) wife and telling her that my small group leader husband has a passion for missions and for teaching students and that I really saw him in a role doing just those two things. I had envisioned this job for him long before he did it or embraced it. I made him take Perspectives, a class on world missions, and stick with it even through the death of my father. It was stressful, but he LOVED the class and it was a great distraction for him in a very bleak time for us.
I must admit, I was a bit nervous each week when he would come home thinking, "He's going to pack us up and we're going to India!" I was shocked when his conclusion was that he is a mobilizer, although now it's not as surprising. God has continually placed both of us in places and positions where we are ministering to Christian students. It makes a lot of sense right now. So, out of all this came Space, and it was totally a God thing. I woke up one Saturday morning with this idea and it grew right there in our bed! T ran and got his computer and we hashed out this HUGE plan, only about half of it is actually being carried out right now. God fed this desire we had with these crazy ideas and when we are faithful to him, he feeds us some more.
So, my job? I guess I'm a channeler - not a really Christian thing to be, I guess, but I love to listen to God and share with T what I think He wants us to do. I don't always know for sure, but we try not to be afraid of the unknown. Hard for me! I bake cookies and brownies, cater lunches for 20 ( or 50 - he's never sure how many are going to show up!), Google things, copy and bind things and dream a bit. For now, I really think that's what God has planned for me. Someday, when He's ready to send me, I'll go.
And the Black Hole? We were a bit in the hole, and while we were going to pay for the kids to go to the Empire State building, the line was tooooo long. So, they went to Ground Zero instead. God did some neat things in the hearts of those kids and it was so worth it. We were just talking last night about where to go this year. We'll let the intern take care of it!! That way we won't have another discussion about whose idea it was :).
Here are a few reasons I don't go on trips with T right now:
1. I stress him out!! He took me to DC this summer and it was an interesting trip. We are both suburban through and through, but just because we are doesn't mean we don't notice what's happening around us - at least I don't!! T planned it so we would walk from the Metro "two and a half blocks" to this soup kitchen. He didn't have much of an idea where we were heading but in Northeast, we stuck out like a sore, sore thumb. I was surprised at how many things T didn't see, so much so that I nixed the idea of dragging these kids to Adams-Morgan for dinner since T had never been there before and was just going to "find his way" around at 5 pm. He didn't like my executive decision. He didn't invite me to Baltimore!
2. Our kids!! Em is 4 and soon I think it will be easier to take the girls, but our first consideration when planning these events is to focus on what's best for the students going. We do not ever want them to be babysitters, we want them to learn something about God, something about themselves and how God would have them respond to the experience. If we want that experience to include our two little girls, we'll have them all over to our house for a meeting, which we do a few times a year. Otherwise, right now, a 7 and 4 year old are just too distracting!
3. My mission: right now, I'm just learning what my ministry is in this whole Space thing. We have spent a couple years working on T, actually probably longer than that. I can remember sitting in my car when dropping off our then youth pastor's (now Genex pastor) wife and telling her that my small group leader husband has a passion for missions and for teaching students and that I really saw him in a role doing just those two things. I had envisioned this job for him long before he did it or embraced it. I made him take Perspectives, a class on world missions, and stick with it even through the death of my father. It was stressful, but he LOVED the class and it was a great distraction for him in a very bleak time for us.
I must admit, I was a bit nervous each week when he would come home thinking, "He's going to pack us up and we're going to India!" I was shocked when his conclusion was that he is a mobilizer, although now it's not as surprising. God has continually placed both of us in places and positions where we are ministering to Christian students. It makes a lot of sense right now. So, out of all this came Space, and it was totally a God thing. I woke up one Saturday morning with this idea and it grew right there in our bed! T ran and got his computer and we hashed out this HUGE plan, only about half of it is actually being carried out right now. God fed this desire we had with these crazy ideas and when we are faithful to him, he feeds us some more.
So, my job? I guess I'm a channeler - not a really Christian thing to be, I guess, but I love to listen to God and share with T what I think He wants us to do. I don't always know for sure, but we try not to be afraid of the unknown. Hard for me! I bake cookies and brownies, cater lunches for 20 ( or 50 - he's never sure how many are going to show up!), Google things, copy and bind things and dream a bit. For now, I really think that's what God has planned for me. Someday, when He's ready to send me, I'll go.
And the Black Hole? We were a bit in the hole, and while we were going to pay for the kids to go to the Empire State building, the line was tooooo long. So, they went to Ground Zero instead. God did some neat things in the hearts of those kids and it was so worth it. We were just talking last night about where to go this year. We'll let the intern take care of it!! That way we won't have another discussion about whose idea it was :).
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