Venezuelan Mini-YES Training

It was March 23rd, ten minutes past 6 pm, and I was nervous.

"We're not ready. I haven't finished the powerpoint presentation yet. Where's Anthony with the 60 copies we made of the notes? Will we have enough notes? The kids that were just here, where did they go? Will we have ANY kids? What TIME is it?!?"

We were experiencing some difficulties. Having just returned from Valle Guanape late Saturday evening two days before, and having been in Aruba to renew visas the week before that, we hadn't had much time to get this opening class together.  I felt caught unprepared for what might prove to be the most significant thing we do here in Venezuela: pass along three months of YES training in 5 one hour-long class periods to the youth of the church. In Spanish.

 

We had planned to give 6 classes in all: Inner Healing and Forgiveness, Sexual Purity, Identity in Christ, Dying to Self, Decision-making/Conflict Resolution/Christlike Relationships, and Crossing Cultures related classes. Each of which Irene and I had to translate into Spanish, not just the lecture, but the notes as well. We had made a poster and hung it up in the sanctuary. There were notices in the bulletin and on the powerpoint

announcements that these classes were taking place on such days, at such a time, and that anyone was invited (which was news to me when I read the notice). Despite the promos, the only reason we had anyone at our first class was because the youth worship choreography team happened to be practicing that afternoon and Pastor Ceferino insisted that they stay for our class, which he assured them would be short. 

Maybe because the leader of the worship choreography team is the Pastor's nephew or maybe because they wanted to be hospitable to the foreigners or maybe because, let's not totally discount this possibility, they actually wanted to come, they stayed. As nervous as I was (and I was only running powerpoint), Irene was more so. She does not like teaching children much and she likes standing in front of lots of people her own age even less. She needn't have worried. Though shaking faintly at first, she soon found her stride, prompting laughter at her spontaneous jokes and nods of agreement at the relevance of her elaborations.

Over all, the class was well received and provoked enough interest that we had a similar number of young adults and teenagers, some new, attending our second class on Sexually Purity the following Thursday. There had been some discussion about whether or not we should even give this class. Irene had not understood much of the class back in the States and was worried that it wouldn't speak to Venezuelan reality (according to the Pastor's daughter) where even within the church, the youth are already sexually active. I countered that if that is the reality, it should be more necessary for us to present this class rather than less. We would just have to talk about it differently: stress why sexuality purity is important and desirable up front using LOTS of scripture references to back up our claims rather than just leaving it at our say so and then ending with a section about how even though their state of virginity may have ended, sexuality purity is a lifestyle that God can restore to us, again with lots of scripture. I wanted to leave them with hope rather than guilt.

Even though convinced of its necessity, I was still scared to teach this class. I expected one of two responses: loud, angry, physical protests at my impossible challenge or smug snickering as the naive American cluelessly insisted on boredom. Instead, the class went over well. Surprisingly, we even had a great discussion about the negative effect the surrounding culture has on behavior and thought patterns towards purity. I felt like these kids, or at least the vocal ones, were also convinced that this was an important topic, one worth fighting for.

They also had enough interest in the classes and respect for us to ask if we could postpone the class for the following night since it was the first night of Holy Week vacation and they were going to a weekend lock-in of sorts as an evangelism tool for their unsaved friends. I was impressed that they had asked, let alone that they had coordinated this other event. We agreed since it looked like our whole class had already planned to go to the lock-in. Truth be told, I was glad for the break because translating 3 or 4 pages of notes plus other handout material pages the day of the first class and over the next two days for the second had taken quite it's toll on me.

Having made good use of Holy Week to finish Tuesday the 6th's class (notes, extra handouts, lecture, and powerpoint), I felt much more prepared going into my lecture on Identity in Christ (with a brief plug for dying to self since there was no time to fit in a 6th class). It was so good to see that our little group came back. There's no longer the obligation to come. No one is standing over them forcing them to come this week. They want to be here. I want to be here. 

 

Learning from our mistakes and improving on what we had already done helped us this past second week to feel more confident and more prepared in giving the classes, and I think our preparation made the classes more interesting and more valuable for the kids who attended the classes too. Irene's class on decision -making / conflict resolution / Christlike relationships on Thursday and our joint class on cross cultural understanding both went so well that the kids were asking if there were more classes. I'm going to choose to believe that's because they wanted more classes not because they wanted to make sure they didn't have to go to anymore. Regardless, we've been faithful in carrying out what Pastor Ceferino asked of us, what we also feel God called us to do. We've planted the seeds, now we have to trust that God will continue to work unseen in these kids lives.

Oh well. I know it may not seem like much, but looking back on these classes now that they're over, I feel like Moses looking over the Red Sea. What lies behind me used to look like an vast expanse, impossible to cross, and You brought me through it, Lord. We made it.

It's a good feeling.