Joys

These past few weeks one of my joys has been visiting with three groups of young people who are forming youth groups or youth base communities.

I met in early June with leaders from these groups and promised to visit. They asked me to lead a session on friendships.

My approach to working with groups is to involve them as we develop a theme. Participation is essential, but not only as a tool to learning about something. Participation is really important so that those who participate recognize that what we learned is not something I gave them or even shared with them. We learn together and my role is to help them enunciate what they already know and to help them analyze it critically.

It was a blessing to work with these highly motivated young people.

But I was also surprised in two communities by what they are doing.

In San Agustín, they regularly visit the sick or the needy.

In Delicias, I arrived early and spoke with one of the catechists who is also a member of the youth community. He and two other catechists work with little kids, aged 4 to 7. They teach the kids basic prayers and teaching. But they also regularly bring the kids – all forty or so of them – to visit a sick woman in the community. What a way for these children to learn about being a follower of Christ, the Servant.

At the end of the meeting in Delicias, they planned for a group to go the next Monday to help a member of the village who had been in a car accident. He cannot do his farm work very well – and this is planting season. Three of them went to help him.

I am impressed and grateful to be able to work with such wonderful young people.