It's Game Day - January 1, 2017!

Hello Everyone and Happy 2017! 

It's been a while since I wrote an update on what's happening with the youth. 

I still maintain it is clearly one of the best callings I have ever had, and at times

one of the most challenging.  I feel like the Lord's hand has been with me for the last 11 months. On January 28th it will be one year. Hard to believe time has flown by so quickly!

Due to work travel and Christmas falling on Sunday, I was away for a few weeks. As I thought about how I wanted to start the year, I could hear one of my young women ask, " Are we playing Jeopardy ? "  She would play a game at every lesson if given the option, and she's good at them too! So with her specific request in mind, I decided to create version 2 of our Jeopardy game.

Now you have to know that the young women felt completely gypped at the end of our last game. They were clearly ahead, and in the spirit of the actual game,

I decided to make the last question of a point value where the young men could come back and win by 1 point if they got it right, which they did, fairly and squarely. However, they have never let me forget it - or the young men!  So 

in their minds, this game was going to have the ending they should have had the first time. 

I did a review of what we talked about in 2016 and came up with categories that were both easy and challenging.  And for the first time ever, there were as many young men as young women, an even 5/5.  Usually our class is heavy with young men, but this week worked out beautifully and included 2 guests from Utah visiting family. You would never have known these kids were visitors. They blended beautifully with our teens.

I leave it up to them to create team names, and this time the battle was going to be between " Championship Alpacas" and " Apple Pie, Bow-ties and French Fries". The latter was a compilation of what the young men liked and included input from  each of them. I thought it was pretty clever.  I'll have to ask how the young women decided on that name. More than anything, I knew Champions were how they saw themselves, long before the game started. :)

The categories were Scripture Chase, Fill-in-the-blanks, Storyteller, Covenants and Commandments and It's a Numbers Game.  I felt this time that the teams were pretty evenly divided, both in knowledge and ages and personally, I was excited to see who would win. 

As I watched the game, I was struck by the things that have changed in the last 11 months. Finding scriptures comes easier to them, they offer more thoughtful responses, some are  remembering the stories in the scriptures, some have even completed reading the Book of Mormon. I've watched our youth mature, taking on new callings as leaders.  I feel the Spirit as they answer questions with pure faith, and ask questions that require reflection.

I've seen them grow taller, smarter, and choosing to deepen their roots in their faith. Words can't adequately describe the love I have for this class. I consider it both an honor and a privilege to have this calling. It has grounded me in my faith through regular scripture study and earnest prayer as I strive to know what lessons are best to share with them. I am blessed beyond measure for this experience at this time in my life. 

And in case you are wondering, the Championship Alpacas did indeed win without question this time around. It came down to the last question and ended

exactly the way they envisioned.  The score is now 1-1.  I see another game in our future. 

For me, however, they are all winners. Every Sunday they choose to get out of bed, regardless of how much sleep they have had, they arrive and participate. Early or late, scriptures or not, they could be 100 other places and they are here in our class. And for me, that is a winning recipe for developing a testimony of Jesus Christ, and a love for the scriptures and their faith. 

 Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below!

- Rachel xoxo

 

Keeping the Commandments - When the Rubber Meets the Road

I'm a few weeks behind in my stories about my class, so I'll start with today and work backwards.

First, I think my class finds it both cool and weird that I would write about them. When I spoke with them today about it, I found out one of the girls actually went to the page to check it out!  No one is more surprised than me that there is any interest in the things I have to say about them. Although, it could quite possibly be that they are worried I'll tell some secret, which isn't the point of this blog at all. It's more for me to remember what I taught, what they thought and to keep a journal of this extraordinary group of young men and women. Now on to today's tale.

We had 8 youth today, 5 young men and 3 young women. I love every one of them! Their personalities, their laughter, the things they say that they don't think I hear. (And if they only knew that my ears work much better than they think!) They are a blessing to me and keep me on the right path.

The theme for the month is Commandments, and this is lesson #2. In case you are wanting to learn more about the lessons we teach our youth, you can click here:Come Follow Me - September - Commandments

The lesson I chose for this week is: What blessings does Heavenly Father promise if I obey the commandments ?

The most important scripture I can think of that explains this basic principle of how blessings work with our obedience is found in Doctrine and Covenants 82:10 which states: " I the Lord am bound when you do what I say. And when you do not what I say, you have no promise. "  It could not be more clear.  Obedience brings blessings!  And Heavenly Father is under no obligation to bless us when we aren't listening to him - and He gives us hundreds and hundreds of chances!  Still, there are going to be those times when we will blow it and we need to stop, change our course and start over.

I realized today that the youth don't understand what the commandments are related to the Church.
They know the should's/should not's of the Church, but I can tell it is kind of a gray area. My guess is because no one has ever said to them, " We are commanded to pay tithing. We are commanded to love one another. We are commanded to fast", etc. It is simply something they do, so defining it as a commandment may be new to them. We truly have our own language in the Church.

I also recognized that they haven't yet learned about what tithing is used for, who benefits from fast offerings etc.  As the youth grow in the Church they learn more about the "why" as they continue to learn about the "how".  Line upon line...

This class is full of "what if" questions. And honestly at times, it is hard not to laugh. Their imaginations run wild and sometimes we are waaaaaay off course! But part of being their teacher is to know that delicate balance between spiritual lessons and lighthearted learning.

The hardest part of the class today, for me,was the end, and as I type this, that feeling is still sitting in the pit of  my stomach. This is my "when the rubber meets the road" experience.

 In my work life, I am the team captain for our company at a local charity event. The annual walk takes place on a Sunday, and is scheduled to happen on September 18th. Being the captain now for the 3rd year, I look forward to participating, to fundraising and to spending time with my colleagues.
However, today was different.

I had just finished giving my lesson about obeying the commandments, and talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy. I had one more thing I wanted to share - I would be out next Sunday.  As I made mention of my absence, one of the boys wanted to know if I was going on vacation,and for a split second I wished I was. It certainly would look better than making a choice to break the Sabbath. As I explained that I would be participating at the charity event, I felt so uncomfortable.  It reminds of words I have heard in holy places, " Is there no other way ?"  And those words have been in my mind and heart the rest of the day.

While I could have lied to the youth about my choice, I decided being honest was better. I wanted them to know that this is a hard choice for me and I would rather teach them than go on the walk. And sometimes, there are choices like that.

I wanted so much to put a big red bow on my lesson - to tie it all up nicely that I did the right thing and it was easy as pie, but the truth this, this one isn't quite so easy.  The unsettled feeling I have in my stomach tells me that I need to explore ways to be able to keep this commandment rather than giving in to the situation at hand. I may end up at the same location and I may end up at the walk, but I will have asked for guidance to find a solution rather than accept that obedience in this instance isn't possible.

In the Book of  Mormon, Nephi faced challenges as well. 1 Nephi 3:7 says,  " I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." 



It is now my turn to find the way to accomplish the thing which I am commanded to do AND accomplish the task I was asked to do at work.  Even I don't know the outcome of this story, but I have faith that the Lord's hand will be in the details. 

Have a blessed week!

RMC 

Come Follow Me - A Peek Behind the Youth Sunday School Curtain - The Backstory

Who actually wants to be a youth Sunday School teacher ? Me, that's who!  I wanted this calling and a year ago, I actually asked to the Bishop to please call me.   But it wasn't time and so I waited, not knowing if I would actually be called.  For some reason, I felt like I could make a difference in the lives of these youth, and selfishly, this calling always refocuses my spiritual efforts.

You see, if I was called this would be the 3rd time.  Some people would wonder if God has a sick sense of humor to call a single woman who has never had children to wrangle these souls, not once or twice but three times.  Yes, I am certain He has to have a sense of humor! 

The first time I was called I was 29 years old. I was in the middle of a divorce, and my very wise Bishop knew that I needed a calling that would help me stay spiritually solid during a time of personal turmoil. That clearly happened, as I needed to be 100% on top of my game to teach that class. I didn't have that calling very long, and considered it a blessing to have survived it the first time. 

The second time I was in the Bay Area. I walked into the class and a young man sized me up and said in a mostly sarcastic voice, " So are you here for good or are you leaving ?"   I instantly felt the urge to hightail it out of that room, never to be seen again. However, I resisted that temptation and shot back my own response, " I'm here for good. Are you going some place ?"  "Nah man, I'm here."

"Good, then we'll both be here for a while. Why don't you tell me about the other teachers you have had."  Pandora's box was now open.  I sat and listened as the class shared with me the revolving door

of well meaning adults that had been in their class over the last 2 years. If my memories serves me correctly, they had 6 teachers in those 2 years. I was astounded. Why in the world would that be happening ? If there is ANYTHING youth need, it is reliable, predictable, stable adults in their lives. 

There was a part of me that was angry. I knew these youth deserved something better. 

On that day, I made an agreement to that class. I would either be there myself or I would make sure they had a substitute they both knew and were comfortable with. And I asked the Bishop to please not move me for at least a year. They needed to settle down, create bonds of trust with each other and I wanted to create a safe space for spiritual questions to be asked. I was blessed to teach those young people for 2 years before I moved to a different city.  On my last Sunday there, they invited me to join them in Sacrament meeting, and one by one they got up and bore their testimonies.... and their teacher shed tears of absolute joy to see how much they had grown and how strong their testimonies had become.  It was a send off I will never forget.

On January 28, 2016, I was blessed to receive the call to teach youth Sunday School for the 3rd time. 

I could not have been more excited! And honestly, if I had paid the slightest bit of attention to who was actually going to be in my class, I would have thought twice. I mean who can handle a class comprised of mostly boys!   I speak 2 other languages, but I don't speak teenage boy! Thank goodness for a sprinkling of young women to give some balance.  Overall, they are really great kids. 

I can say that now, nearly 7 months later. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing a few of the inspiring moments of teaching this group, the lessons I share and the spiritual gifts I receive from them. I look forward to sharing this journey with you. 

See you soon, behind the curtain!

RMC

And if you would like to know more about the curriculum for our youth,
click here: Come Follow Me, Youth Sunday School Lessons