Evendays

I’m off to the French Ascension (yes, Thursday is Ascension) Retreat in the Ardèche region. I’ve only got a teen class and a pre-teen class to prepare, along with KP and other duties. 

The teen class is on The Body of Christ, which leads me to John Michael Talbot’s melody of Teresa of Avila’s prayer:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

On Tuesday evening, Wife, Daughter and I were heading home from the Marseilles Chorale concert in Geneva when the 10:30 PM news came on the radio. The reporter announced the arrest earlier in the day of a senior from Daughter’s High School at Daughter’s High School. The young man was pocketing a loaded pistol, along with two extra, full magazines. In his backpack left in his Home Room were extra munitions. Immediately we asked Daughter why she had said nothing. She said that they had known something was up, but that when teachers came by to explain later, they said the student had wanted only to take his own life. They did not mention that he was fully equipped to kill himself many times over. So the thing had slipped her mind.

Daughter said yesterday was a media circus. Barriers were put up to separate students from press. Reporters would interview any student who had anything to say. Rumors flew.

Wife and I could do but one thing: Thank our Lord for the protection of all the students. Praise to him for a brave teacher who kept the student talking. And gratefulness to the Father for the police who got it all right, and fast.

There has been a garbage strike going on in Naples for months. Seems that the Mafia controls the garbage pickup and disposal, and they decided to flex their muscles. There is garbage everywhere, stacked up on every other corner. Plastic bags float in the wind. Gulls and dogs nip at the garbage.

But the 14 youth who went on the mission trip never mentioned these things. When asked what they had seen, not a one mentioned the piles of trash or the nearby sea or Mont Vesuvius towering in the background. Not one.

They said they saw people who gave up their beds and slept on the floor so their guests could rest comfortably. They said they saw fellow Christians looking out for their guests’ every need. They said they saw hospitality that they’d never seen before and a desire to share Jesus with the inhabitants of the city of Naples.

They said they saw God at work, and that His perfume was invading the streets of Naples.

That’s what they said. 

 

The armistice began at 11 AM, Paris time, on 11.11.1918.

As of yesterday, there were but 2 French veterans of that war who were still alive. During the war itself there were around 8,500,000 military deaths. During the war, the French suffered a 75% casualty rate (1.3 million dead. 4.2 million wounded.)
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We had 6 youth from the Geneva church come and visit from Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Our Sunday singing was much improved. They were fun to have and an encouragement to our family and to the church.

In the afternoon, we tried to practice a Skype video conference call that will performed on December 2 with the College church in Fresno. The call worked but the video didn’t. Our capable technician in Fresno was up before 6 AM on Sunday morning to hook up with Beijing, Nairobi and Lausanne. It seems that video conferencing is possible for PC’s, but once you add participants, it doesn’t work for, ehem, us Macs.

Daughter, Wife and I got back home from the Annual 4 day Teen Retreat last night after a 5 hour drive. It’s something I organize each year, a retreat I inherited from two great, older guys who were looking for a naïve "young" man who would carry on the tradition. 12 years ago I had lots of ideas and about 35 kids. Today I have a lot less ideas, but still about 35 kids (though their places of origin have very much changed). It’s amazing what God can do with a few Bibles and some new songs, ping pong, soccer and basket balls, especially if He sends some good weather your way. Add pizza and pasta and hamburgers and fries, ice cream and popcorn, campfires and evenings of crazy games, late nights and a full moon, mix well, and see what happens.

Long live youth ministry. 

When we first got to Switzerland we were young, energetic, and full of good ideas. (Now we are less young, still energetic, yet looking for new ideas!)

Wife went to the nearby retirement home (Bethanie) and asked if she could adopt some residents. Just visits and such, but the organization was very suspicious. After a bit, they suggested two ladies to visit, and that lasted a couple of years.

In the early 90’s, two or three of us would go up there after Sunday worship and visit with 3 residents without any family.

3 years ago, we met an old couple from the neighborhood who started coming to church. They were good friends of the director of Bethanie, and that opened the doors to concerts and visits to the institution by university students.

Bethanie hosts a short worship period on Friday afternoons. About 40 show up, including our neighbor friend who is now a Bethanie resident. We now organize one of the worships each month.

What impressed the residents was not the exhortation (which was marvelous) or the new songs they learned (they were great), but the fact that Sons 1 and 2 were present. They loved singing, praying and shaking hands with young Christians.

And they’re looking forward to us coming back this afternoon.

How do you tell if you had a great teenage weekend retreat or not?

• You could count the number of wounded (one broken arm, one foot in the eye).
• How ‘bout the number of conversions? (0 and still counting).
• Maybe the hours of sleep you got per 24h? (outside of the Bible studies, about 6.5 hours).
• The number of baskets you scored in a row without missing during the big match? (4).
• Or the quantity of mushrooms picked? (3 pounds fresh, 5 ounces dry).
• The number of new songs learned? (5).
• The number actually sung? (easily 150).
• Kilos gained? (1).
• Kids disciplined? (0).
• Smiling faces? (44).
• Goodbye tears shed? (100s).
• Prayers said? (1000s).
• Lives touched? (only God knows).

My favorite measure? It was over way too fast.

It’s time for our yearly All Saints Teenage Retreat in beautiful Ardêche, France. Even though it’s not quite All Saints Day and even though I’m not a teenager, we’ll be attending for the 15th time. This is only my ninth time to direct it. And there is a great group of workers who support this ministry.

Many of our youth don’t have youth groups in their local assemblies. For example, our kids are the only ones their age at church. So contact with youth from other cities is essential, in addition to the Bible Groups they attend at the local schools.

Our theme this year is the book of James. We’ll talk about the tongue, hypocrisy, helping those in need… The discussion groups always start slow, but once they get going, there is no stopping them. And the games. They love the games. My brother, the youth minister, gave me a couple of good ones last night that I can’t wait to try.

Thanks for dropping by. And if your in Ardêche, don’t hesitate coming to see us. The food is excellent, the communion divine.