Reflection on the Youth Mission Trip

Written by Ryli Mozolak

On the last night in Clarkston Georgia we, as a youth group, decided to debrief our time together on our mission. We sat around on couches, chairs, and the rug when we were presented with a question: “What is one word that describes the trip to you?” We could say any word as long as we could explain why we felt that the specific word encapsulated how we felt about the mission. As we went around in a circle, many words were thrown around including eye-opening, perspective, community, and humbling. When it came to be my turn the only word that seemed to come to mind was “experience.” Now, this may seem vague in the sense that in general, the trip was an experience, however, I didn't mean it in that context. This trip gave me experience in areas I have never had the opportunity to further. Clarkston Georgia is a unique little town that only covers 1.857 square miles of the 3.797 million that the United States is made up of, but here are communities and ways of living that I had never witnessed, problems I fortunately have not had to endure, and languages I had never heard before. I felt as though I was thrown into a melting pot filled with many things I would not see in my everyday life.

One of my, and the groups, favorite tasks during the week was anything to do with the children that lived in the apartment complex nearby. This was a large community with many kids that loved to play games, dance, jump rope, and climb trees. The first time we had the opportunity to meet these children was during an art lesson in which we led an art project that involved drawing and then creating a collage over top. These kids immediately saw us walk in and welcomed us with open arms…very literally. I walked out of an apartment and was greeted by a little girl who, without any hesitation, gave me a large hug and then walked me over to sit with her during the reading portion of the lesson. These children just wanted attention and love and the ability to provide that basic necessity was a good feeling. We got to draw with the kids, listening to their requests and then trying to accommodate. They didn’t care how good it was, trust me I drew some questionable dogs, however it was the act of having someone to play with that was enough for them. Many turned to playing superheroes, or using others as a jungle gym, while others just wanted to sit with us and play with our sunglasses or hair.

To connect back to my idea of experience, with these children I learned how to create relationships with kids who maybe did not know much English or struggled to communicate what they wanted. I learned how to lovingly direct children who were presenting bad behavior without coming off as pushy or bossy. I learned how to set up games and control a group of children in an orderly manner, because believe it or not, jumping rope can cause many issues! All of these lessons just from simply playing with a group of children.

Another area in which I gained new exposure was the act of praying out loud, in a group, over different subjects. Multiple days during the week we were driven out to the schools in the community. High schools, middle schools, and elementary schools were all on the list for our team to visit. Coming into the trip I knew I struggled with intentionally praying, as well as praying out loud, fearing judgment or that I would never have the correct words. When we went to these schools we were split into groups and we would walk either on campus, or around the school depending on the permission we were given and we were asked to pray over everything whether it was the school itself, the staff, students, for God to be a part of the school year, anything was acceptable. As we walked we began to take turns praying. Whether it was a short prayer or a long one, it was accounted for. This was something that stuck with me, I do not need to have a fancy prayer with big words for God to hear it. I do not need to fear judgment when it is an honest prayer from my heart. As the week went on I began to become more comfortable praying in front of others and over different subjects. I prayed multiple times over the group whether it was before devotional or after worship, I began to become more confident in my words. Along with finding confidence, I was able to see ways God was using my prayers. While giving backpacks out for the new school year, my group was able to speak with some residents in an apartment that went to the schools in which we prayed over. This moment was really impactful for me as I was able to see our prayers were connected to something and making an impact. The mission overall had so many other important lessons and experiences, but these are the ones that I will really cherish. I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in the work that Envision Atlanta provides and look forward to hopefully finding more work in which the same experiences are given.

Broken Cisterns & Living Water: My Youth Ministry Philosophy

Written by J Punt

One of the highlights of my undergraduate experience was a short study abroad trip to Israel in January of my junior year. We toured the whole country—from the Negev wilderness in the south all the way up to the Golan Heights in the north. Along the way, our most frequent stops were ruins of ancient biblical cities, each one dating back thousands of years. While the makeup of each ancient city varied, if you explored long enough you could always find an enormous underground reservoir that was made for holding vast amounts of water, a cistern, somewhere near the city center. You see, every city in Israel needed a large, dependable cistern because they were always at risk of siege from one of the huge, power-hungry empires to their north or south seeking to set roots in the region. Since city walls were difficult to penetrate with limited military technology of the day, warlords often surrounded a city and simply waited until the victims either had to open their gates or they would die of hunger or thirst. Without a generous stockpile of water, cities couldn’t last more than a couple days before they had to give in, but with a deep cistern they had a much better chance of being able to outlast their outside attackers.

When the prophet Jeremiah rebukes Israel for forsaking God he talks about cisterns. “My people have committed two sins,” he says, “they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer. 2:13).

When kids grow older and begin to enter that tumultuous, wild, beautiful season of life during which they will begin the process of building their own identities and their own lives, they’re going to run into some growing pains, some road blocks, and some hurt. They may even feel like they’re under siege at times. And the difficult reality is that there are so many broken cisterns out there for them to pursue in their moment of trouble that might seem attractive at first, but will ultimately let them down in the end because they are not deep enough to fully satisfy.

In my own life, I have found that knowing Christ, connecting with his people, and working to serve his kingdom, is the only reliable source of abundant life that one can lean on, even when the enemy armies come. My prayer for this youth ministry is that in a world full of broken cisterns calling their names, we can help our students know how dependable, reliable, joyful, and true is the spring of living water, so that one day they can echo the words of the disciples saying, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

Waypoint Church, thank you so much for being who you are! Amelia and I are so excited to be a part of your community!

A Mother’s Reflections at Graduation

Written by Erika Castiglione

When people ask me how I’m feeling about my oldest graduating and heading off to college, I normally say I’m feeling “all the emotions.” I’m sad when I think about how quiet our house will seem without her running commentary on everything, or how much I’ll miss running errands together while listening to Broadway music, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to hear the chorus to Carole King’s “Where You Lead,” without getting a little misty eyed.

I’m also feeling fear because I know this world is no safe place, anxiety over whether or not we’ve prepared her well, and the bittersweet reality that life here is temporal (seriously, where did time go?).

Thankfully, there is also excitement when I think about what is ahead of her, like all of the opportunities to grow, form deep friendships, and develop and use some of the gifts God has given her. I’m also interested to see the ways God will use this shift in our family dynamic to bring out different things in all of us.

As I look back at baby pictures and reflect on what now feels like a very short amount of time to help guide another image bearer from infanthood to adulthood, the sweetest emotion I feel is an immense gratitude for the grace of God. I’m thankful for his grace in allowing me to be a mom to my three children, and in the process catch even a glimpse of my heavenly father’s heart for me. I’m thankful for his grace that has covered a multitude of my sins and quieted my fears when so often I have felt the weight of my helplessness to protect those I love so deeply from pain and heartache. And I’m thankful for the grace that guides us now into this new stage we call “adult-lite” (not fully independent but getting there) and all the stages that will follow.

I know I’m not graduating from motherhood, but I also know my role in her life is changing. From carrying her inside of me, to dropping her off on her first day of kindergarten, till now, parenthood is in many ways an exercise of letting go. Yet, with each loosening of my grip on the three children he has entrusted to Danny and me, I cling tighter to my heavenly father. I’m so grateful he will never let go.

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”-Deuteronomy 31:8