I had a meeting today with Huberto, one of the youth ministry students at the seminary, and another leader from a church in the North of the city.
The guy was pretty discouraged because he had called all over to different churches trying to get someone to speak at a youth event that he is having this weekend, but nobody wanted to participate. Huberto agreed to speak at the event, and Rogelio is looking forward to having him there.
Part of what we are trying to do here in Mexico is connect youth workers who often feel alone and discouraged in their work. I am reminded of the times of fellowship that I had with the network of youth workers back in the States. Attending meetings with them often gave me a better sense of what God was doing in my ministry and in my community. I wasn’t alone.
So, Huberto and I have decided that we are going to start a network meeting here in our area for those youth leaders who want to attend and be encouraged. Our first meeting will be on Saturday, October 27, and we will be inviting everyone we know who works with young people so we can support each other and get to know each other. Please pray for this network as it grows.
(image via: Noël Lee)
I gave the first exam today to my YM 110 class at the seminary. They said it was easy (even though I don’t think anyone got all the answers right). I say that it’s good that it’s easy. I want them to learn. If they do well on the tests, it means that I’ve done well at teaching them the material.
Anyway, we’ll see what they say about the final exam.
UPDATE: I just finished grading the exam. High score: 91. Low score: 75. Average: 84.4. Not so sure it was as easy as they thought.
My new group of students are great. I love it when you share something that you think is basic (because you have taught it many times), and they “get it.” They are full of questions and seem to be enjoying themselves in class. I barely know them, but it seems to be going well. Of course, if they were writing in their blog, they might be writing something completely different. Funny, huh?
I just stepped out of the last class for my first week this year. It was a good week. I have some new students and some old students, and I really am enjoying teaching them.
Something interesting about my classes is that I always seem to find myself telling them that I don’t have the answers. They sure do ask some really good questions. I have always seen my job as getting them to think seriously about youth ministry within their context and culture. I suppose that the barrage of questions indicates that they are thinking.
Yesterday was the first day of the 2007-2008 school year. As I walked into chapel, I realized that there are a lot more students here this year than last year. I think we have around 20 new students in the seminary, with 2 of them being new youth ministry students. I think the total number of students must be around 60.
We had our first classes yesterday, and they went rather well. It was great to be back with “my students” again. We talked about our summers, and it was great to hear about what is happening in the lives of these guys and girls. I am excited to be starting the new school year. I believe it’s going to be a great year with many opportunities.
