Let it Glow, Let it Glow, Let it Glow

Well it seems I've finally made it past this weekend. The lock in arrived and I managed to survive. Barely. I spent most of the week painstakingly cutting out small neon foam shapes and painting them so that the sanctuary would be transformed into a black light party. While it was tedious, most of the frustration was worrying that it simply wouldn't be enough for such a large spanse. However, Thursday night I went to the church hoping that my decorations would be enough. At 3am, nine hours later, I was finally able to leave the church knowing that my work was almost done. Friday, I awoke with a jolt as I remembered all the things that still needed to be done. I got to work with the help of Sarah and we miraculously got done just as the kids arrived. After lots of pizza, cookies, a message, and face paint the kids were able to go inside. The kids were crazed as they ran around looking for their first game station, hoping their team would win. The underdogs won and we moved on to some group games and an all out glowsticks war. Once the kids has sufficiently worn themselves out, we watched movies for the rest of the night. Most of the kids held strong and stayed awake until 4-5am if not all night. After cleaning up in what I can only describe as a fog, I was finally able to head home. Though admittedly, I fell asleep in the shower for a moment and I felt like I was coming down from some horrible high, I knew it all was a job well done. I have finally paved the way. It may seem a small step but for our youth group it was nothing short of a leap. While a lock in tends to be a youth group staple, we never had one. You  see, a normal and functioning youth group should have different activities throughout the year for the kids.  However, these kids haven't experienced that and after about 8 years of fighting, I've finally won. Teenagers are at a horrifying age where their emotions are constantly threatening to destroy them  and sometimes nearly do. They are at a make it or break it point and in the state of this world, they need somewhere to turn and know they are loved. This ultimately is the point of the events. Sure the kids have fun and soak up staying up all night and playing games but it goes beyond that. They develope safe and healthy friendships that will help them brave out the coming years as well as get mentorship on  their spiritual growth. That is the real point of a lock in. Yes the hours are long, you spend the day before getting everything ready and are exhausted before the event starts. There will always be that one kid you want to deck, and  the event never goes quite as planned, but at the end of it all you'll hear the kids chattering in excitement about it and you'll know it was all worth it.  I was so happy to hear the kids talking this morning about their favorite parts and different little happenings, until I heard the dreaded sentence..... You should do another lock in for November!