With the teenage girls group that meets at the Women's Center each year we have three cycles that last about four months each. In each cycle we talk about a different topic. This past spring we talked about health, and in the summer we talked about dating. Now we are starting friendship. At the end of each cycle those girls that have had good attendance are invited to a fun activity. When we finished the summer, I invited the girls to the base where we crafted a slip and slide- something they had never played on before.
When we first explained to the girls what we were going to do they didn't seem to think that was a good idea. Angie, my summer intern ran and flung herself at the slip and slide and they thought it looked painful. They decided rather to use the plastic as a sit and slide and had a blast!
At lunch time, a student who was with us on the last two-week outreach of the summer served them Mexican food. It was a neat opportunity for her to test whether she could cook without her mom's help and an opportunity for the girls to be exposed to another Latino culture.
I am really excited for this fall cycle talking about friendship. Thus far we have talked about turning the other cheek (Matthew 5) and had a vibrant discussion about how our sinful nature tells us to do quite the opposite. We read from Luke and John about how Jesus demonstrated turning the other cheek when he was being abused prior to and during the crucifixion.
We have also talked about conflict styles and will soon talk about listening. My goal for this fall is to present topics that help them to understand how God relates with us and how we can related in similar ways with our friends and family. There is a lot of conflict in Los Higos, so pray that God would use this cycle to reveal to the girls how He relates to them and how they can also relate to one another in that same way.
