Exam Week.

In the words of the notorious GLaDOS, "I'm still alive". However, exam week has begun to bare down on me. So I will be adding occasional pithy little posts so that my devoted six (6) fans can monitor my sanity. Let the games begin.

Annoying Dude

So today, an annoying dude yelled at me on the street. He was driving his truck, and I was returning to my apartment. I was waiting for the light to turn green at the main intersection before my apartment. The WALK and DON'T WALK signs are notoriously bad at that intersection. I waited for the light to turn, and when it did I proceeded on my merry way... at least until I heard a horn blare behind me. I turned to look and saw the truck fly around the corner. As he did, he looked at me and yelled "DON'T WALK" in a tone that was like he was training a disobedient child. He also pointed to the sign as he was driving in an angry matter.

This action upset me. What did I do to upset this stranger?

I have the ability to read. I understand the full implications of all that this sign means. It is there for my protection and keeps everyone in order... or at least it should if it works properly. But from almost a year of experience, it never works properly. However, I also understand that maybe this guy doesn't know that. So he can't really be blamed for that. Sure, he could have been a tad more polite about it, but that kinda stuff isn't a huge deal to me. He could have been making sure that I could hear him over the traffic by yelling, and merely supporting his argument by pointing to the sign. So let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

But still, why did this action get under my skin?

I guess it is because one of the things that annoys me most is being misunderstood. I knew that I had the right of way on the street today despite the broken sign. But the other guy didn't. And he assumed that I was stupid and could not read the sign. ANNOYING. Now, he will forever think of me as that "stupid kid who tried walking across the street when it was my own turn". I don't like being that guy. But there is nothing I can do now to change his mind. But maybe I can clear my conscious by blogging about it. So in conclusion: I AM NOT STUPID, AND I CAN READ JUST FINE. Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

What is YHM?

This past week, I found out that I was selected to be the chair of the Youth Hostel Ministry program at Wheaton College for the 2011-2012 year. Woot! I am pretty excited for this opportunity. But what is YHM?

By definition, YHM is a 8-10 week program which sends students to join the traveling community in Europe with the purposeful intention of serving and sharing the gospel. Sounds like a pretty straight forward mission right?

In many ways it is. Still, along with that mission come difficulties. The biggest thing I had to deal with was my own self-expectations. Going into the summer, I thought that I would be meeting people all the time, and that sharing the gospel was going to happen all over the place. I saw myself making great arguments that an unbeliever couldn't resist. I saw myself listening to people's troubling life stories, and preaching the gospel to miraculously make it all go away.

I would never have told you that those were my expectations. And I would have been sincere. I honestly believed that I was not expecting those things. But deep down, I was.

Meeting people is easy. Young people who travel Europe often travel for anywhere between 2 weeks to over a year in small groups or completely by themselves. Without any outside companionship, this time can be tiring. Even if you are traveling with people who you enjoy being around very much, you are bound to get tired of them (trust me, I know from experience). So naturally, when traveling you want to meet new people just to spice things up a little bit. Wish I had known this before I left...

However, not knowing this, the fear of not being able to meet people, was one that plagued me before I left for my YHM trip last summer. I am an extreme extrovert and the idea of trying meeting new people every day for two straight months was a daunting thought. This fear persisted even as my "team" began our travels. We pulled into the train station in Frankfurt, Germany, found our hostel, and headed upstairs to set down our backpacks. We were still getting settled and enjoying the view from our room when a fellow traveler came into the room. Almost immediately, he asked us if we wanted to go out and walk around the city and just hang out. He hadn't even gotten our names yet. We joined him and the girl he was traveling with. The next day, we hung out again, and had another girl join us. Obviously, meeting people was not difficult.

Britta and Jake with New Friends!

But that fear of not being social enough was not the only fear I went through. Of course as you are traveling and talking to people about your faith, you are bound to be met with some questions. If that were not the case, and every single person who met a YHMer converted immediately, then I think the ministry would be much less effective. Yep, that's right LESS effective. Yes, in terms of converts and the Kingdom, YHM would be the most successful ministry EVER. However, this would greatly diminish an aspect of YHM that is just as important: the growth that participants get as they deal with questions and hardships. The ministry of YHM is already an effective and life changing ministry. I have spoken to many past participants, and each one of them has talked about the change that the ministry has played in their lives. These changes must originate somewhere. Often, the questions come from fellow travelers. I know that in my time, I had to deal with my share of tough questions. And I can honestly say that the ministry of YHM raised more questions about my faith than it answered. However, in the working through of these questions, I have become more sincere in my faith and belief.

Don't get me wrong, I did not spend my summer quivering in a corner. I had many enjoyable experiences. I got to know 3 of the most awesome Christians ever, Jake, Britta, and Lynn. Being on their team was a pleasure in and of itself. Yeah, things weren't always peachy, but they were never bad. I met a ton of new people, Alex in Frankfurt, Dominic and Nop in Munich, Griz and Afeara in Interlaaken, Rebby in Salzburg, and many more. I got to watch the sunset with 25 (not an exaggeration) Christians in Riomaggiore, Italy. I got to see the beauty of the Swiss Alps. I found an amazing church family in Prague (a city that by the end of the summer felt like home to me). I was able to openly talk with people who believed something very different from me. (This was a first for me because I had grown up in an almost entirely Christian environment.) I met people and got to know them. It really was a time of growth through trial.

So what really is YHM? It is a time for students to push themselves, a time to engage with a wholly secular world, a time to encounter God in the questions life, a time of new friendships both close to home and worldwide, a time of great growth.