youth club

The church we have been part of here has a youth club that meets Friday nights at Mosaic, a cafe near our apartment. Todd and Zach have been going for the last few weeks. Zach has a lot of fun and has made some great connections with other kids. Amanda, the leader of the youth group, is full of energy, engages so well with the kids and has given Zach something to look forward to each week.

Tonight the kids had a treasure hunt. There were four teams. Each team had to find 8 clues to the treasure. The clues were hidden in businesses around Mosaic. It was great fun and wore all the kids out!!

While the kids were out searching for their clues, I was hanging out with two other Mom's at the cafe. Ji Yeon and Sunny. I speak basically no Korean but they knew some English. Somehow we managed to talk--me with my cell phone and them going back in their minds to when they learned English in middle school. Yes, I did say my cell phone. There is a feature on my phone where I can type in a word and it gives me the Korean word and definition. So, when we were stuck, I typed in my word, showed them the word and then we would continue on in our fragmented but warm conversation.

I don't know why but these moments energize me. It's difficult and a bit tiring but mostly I feel energized by the encounter.

We exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. I hope to spend more time with them. Ji Yeon and Sunny desire to learn English and I desire to learn Korean--we're a perfect trio! Before we left they said, "we come tonight so that we can meet you." "Ne" was my reply. Yes, that's probably true.

I got Ji Yeon and Sunny to play some Mario Cart on the Wii with me. It was hilarious. Basically, we just giggled and felt very silly. Their kids laughed when they came back and saw them playing. I was ready to play a few more games but they were done.

Zach and Lia in their winter uniforms.