My husband was invited to give a message at a youth group this past Saturday. I thought we could make a date of it and we left the kids w/ my ILs. I took the time to shower, make-up, dress-up, etc... If i may say so... i looked pretty good :) I was excited to hear what Mathias had to share w/ the youth & to see all the "kids" from before we moved to km81. I have several things coming to me that evening.... (HAHA!)
1. It wasn't my church that was hosting the meeting. It was the other congregation. I had expected to see a bunch of people I knew and in the end there were very few familiar faces. Not a big deal at all! I got to meet amazing people who had amazing stories to tell of their lives, etc. Just unexpected.
2. "Muy bien, y Ud?" (*sigh*)... How to translate this.... The English language has no formal pronoun. There is I, you, he she, it, we, they... and what is considered formal You. But it's still not formal enough. Spanish & German have the Usted and the Sie. If you speak in the Usted/Sie form you mean serious respect for the person you're speaking to. I'd go up to the youth (feeling pretty young myself).. "Hey! Que tal?" and they'd reply (standing up straighter, looking me in the eyes and keeping their body to themselves) "Bien, y Usted?". At first i'd look at the speaker in the eye to gauge their seriousness... are they playing w/ me? Did she REALLY refer to me so formally? Indeed. I'm old and deserve respect (*double sigh*). My sarcastic mind looked around for an usher to respectfully "usher" me to my designated seat. HA!
3. After the pgm the kids came out of the building to mingle and chat. I looked around seeking a corner to wait for my husband to finish his obligatory chit-chat. Never did finish scoping out the territory... One by one young ladies approached me to share about themselves & their uncertain future. Well, there weren't so many... just 2... and then a couple who approached both of us together. But still! I was amazed by the comfort these young adults had to approach us... to seek us out to share their concerns. I have to admit that this was one of the most touching experiences that evening (although the age thing did cut a close second...). I never was the kind of person people would come to for advice or direction. Most of the time my comments are "walked around." Not interesting or not to the point. So you can understand how these honest questions threw me for a loop. God whispered to my heart... "You can do it! They'll listen." and i opened the floodgates and spoke my heart to the 2 girls. It felt great to feel God's guidance and follow his direction.
:)
Cindy
