A meeting with the youth

As I wrote earlier, Alex has been investing a lot of time in the youth group at the local Wounaan church, helping them get together, get organized, and start reaching out to others.

One of the big obstacles in their minds is the lack of funds.  Every time anyone starts talking about doing an activity our outreach, the first big objection that comes up is that there isn't any money.  Most of the kids are students, and some of them are working to pay for their own schooling; their parents are at home in the village, and unable to contribute much.  For them, just having bus money for the week is a big deal.  One young lady missed school for a week because her shoes had broken and she couldn't buy another pair.  At another house we visited, the young man who was home was having a cup of coffee and crackers for supper, while the girls had bought one hot dog to share for supper.

So the thought of having them money to do an outreach, visit another village, or plan an activity seems out of reach for them.  Wanting to challenge them a bit in the way they see money, Alex spoke on that subject last night during their youth meeting. I had them meditate for awhile in the true value of money, and also talked about being sensitive to the needs of others, not only looking out for one's own needs.

As an illustration, Alex gave a $5 to one young man, and asked him to take a moment, think and pray, and pick one person in the room to give that $5 to.  After much thought he gave the bill to the Pastor's young daughter (she's a pre-teen, but I guess she wanted to listen in on the youth meeting).  Afterwards one of the young ladies in the group came up to Alex and shared that while they had been quiet, she had suddenly felt a strong impression that the pastor's daughter had a specific need, and was moved to compassion for her; later she went and embraced the young girl, and encouraged her.

 
Alex returned encouraged that this idea of being aware of other's needs was taking root.  Pray for these young people as they take steps toward obeying God and that His values would become a reality in their lives.
Ubicación: Chepo, Panama

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