Last Monday teachers and students went back to 'normal life'!
Ours reported being very satisfied with their teachers and having the relevant important friends in the class with them.
I've finished planning the first term's Youth Group activities/themes. I found they almost all fall into the category 'Social Justice, Integrity and Commitment'. We've lost a couple of excellent elements in the group - one girl is in Canada for 3 months on exchange, another has to stay in Lyon for her studies - and our group is mainly boys 14-17/18 years old! Mmmm....... I'm not exactly the sporting type, so I'm hoping that lively discussions will do the trick.
Our boys can be quite cynical about the world. ,"It's not worth it the effort!," is the phrase I hear most. They are not very idealistic and not yet all convinced that Christianity is the way to go. I'm hoping the themes will broaden their horizons, will show them that even a drop in the ocean is worth it, and that they will be convinced that committing to Christ is vital as well as a commitment that translates into action and compassion.
Apart from my programme (my co-worker has a heavy workload this year and can't be as involved), the teens have a combined youth group 3 times a year (Sept/Feb/May) and will participate in our Church Union's Youth Gathering beginning Nov. The theme this year: ,"BE YOURSELF, BE FREE!," - yes, the title is in English - it's cool to pepper one's conversation with English words! Based on 1 Cor 10: 31 '..whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God' and will be about creativity, art, dance, music - expressing oneself and one's faith with the idea of witnessing.
There are 2 generations of French who have no contact with real Christianity. Pray that we can inspire our youth to explore their faith and be relevant to their generation.
