Jr. High Youth

Ah, yes. The memories of being in Jr. High. So much to forget... and laugh at.

It was the last event of the year at the youth group I have been volunteering with since March, and I wanted Faith to be there. She wanted to come too, but I made her do a whole bunch of cooking before we went. If you were one of the youth at RCF Church and remember the "moss balls" we made you eat during the Amazing Race one year, I once again laugh at you. Faith and I spent the afternoon making up Pakora (deep fried dough balls with curry spices, chick-pea flour, onions, and spinach) and authentic Chai tea for the group since we were doing the Amazing Race. Of course, since we were dealing with Jr. High's, we didn't let them out of our sight and kept them within the general vicinity of the church. Nonetheless, it was amusing. The team that I led won because hey, I'm competitive and know how to get my kids to participate. We accomplished feats like making our way through the Amazonian jungles blind-folded with natives flinging darts at us (sounds almost like Coach from Survivor), we built a pyramid in Egypt (11 people involved, 5 people tall), and choreographed a dance on the Serengeti to "The Circle of Life". Adventurous!

It was fun, except for the part where I barely saw Faith during the night because she was stuck at the India / Pakistan station and we didn't have enough group leaders without me. Faith watched as teams tried to eat the Pakora and drink Chai Tea all evening. Some claimed to be finished, and Faith later found remnants of broken Pakora under the table as they cheated their way through the task, leading to a loss in points. One of my guys was dry-heaving in the bathroom immediately following his experience. It was amazing to hear so many guys and girls whining and unable to finish such a small amount of food over 10 minutes... At least we as adults had a good time laughing. Seriously, Faith's a great cook! And more - according to one of the boys in my group. Kids just don't appreciate our ecclectic taste in food, I guess. I mean, Moose Jaw is pretty generic when it comes to eating experiences, even though it has more Chinese food restaurants per capita than most places in the country. There's nowhere to buy sushi or asian subs, one half-decent mexican dive, and the Greek place. Oh, and there's the Thai food place we haven't eaten at yet. Maybe it isn't as homogenous as I make it sound - but really, it's hard to find a good Chinese restaurant in town. Or anything.

Our international experience at Jr. High youth was fun. We almost doused Pastor Jim with the Gatorade bucket at the end of the evening (it was the students' idea, honest!). There were chips, bubbaganoosh, salsa, hummus, and lots of good stuff to eat from all over the place. Yep. Who knows what we'll be doing next - working at camp or in a church, at home or internationally, the options are pretty wide open when you don't have a clue what exactly you're supposed to be doing besides following God wherever he may lead. Keep praying for us in this regard.

As we were leaving Faith's food station, I mentioned that she is my wife. One of the boys piped in, "She's hot!" Faith and I both got a kick out of it. I mean, I think she's hot. You just don't hear a lot of people other than Jr. High's saying it out loud. I should have asked him, "What, you don't think I'm good enough for her?"

That reminds me. Last week Faith dropped in to use my computer when I was at chapel. She sat down and started typing away. The guy sitting next to her looked at her, did a double-take, and then went on to his conversation with the professor. When I had returned from chapel and lunch, the guy asked me, "So, was that your wife that was in here during chapel?" When I confirmed it, he told me that he thought she was just a random college student who had sat down at my computer at first. "She looks so young!" If she was as young as he thought she was, I would have married an 11- or 12-year-old! Vive la Jr. High!

- Mark