My group spent the days in either primary or comp (about 7th grade and up) schools. At the primary schools, we led assemblies. Now, Wales doesn't have separation of church and state so we had the very interesting experience of doing a Holy Week skit in front of small children. Since my group didn't have any guys in it, I got the interesting experience of playing Jesus and being crucified multiple times a day. Our assembly also included a testimony by one of the girls in the group, and some songs such as Deep and Wide. After our assembly, we'd get to go into classroom and answer any questions the kids might have about Christianity or America or anything.
When we went in to the comp schools, we took over the RE (religious education) classes. We talked to them about betrayal and forgiveness. This was interesting because we'd break in to small groups and really get to talk to them about what they believed. It was amazing how many of them just hadn't made any sort of decision whatsoever about what they believe in. The small groups were definitely my favorite part of going in to the schools. We met some really cool people and were constantly challenged to answer the tough questions.
At nights, we'd go to different youth groups to run them. We tried to be an encouragement for the few kids who actually were Christians in Wales, and just as importantly, encourage the adults who are tirelessly trying to reach these kids who hurting so much. I met some really sweet kids on these nights and also some very rude and hurting kids... some nights just ended in heartache.
These kids were my anchor. I knew a lot of them from last year, so it was really nice to be able to build on those relationships. Up top is Josh, Rea, Niall, and Lewis, who are all regular attendants of the church youth group and on the bottom is me with Ceinwen, whose the pastor's daughter. I can't tell you how much I care about these kids, how great I think they are, and how much I hope to see them next year.
