I'm Afraid . . . Part Two

Well, I am happy to report that I survived the youth lock-in 2007. It went as well as it could be expected... no kids got hurt or sick, no fights, nobody got lost, and a great time was had by all the kids.

Lessons I Learned:
1. There is no limit to crazy games that teenagers will play at 2 am.
2. Man Hunt (aka Hide and Seek) can entertain 14 year olds for hours.
3. Soda, Soda, Soda; Coffee, Coffee, Coffee= a youth pastor's best friend for staying awake in the middle of the night.
4. When planning an all-night event, it is smart to keep the kids out of the church for as long as possible. (I did this and it worked!)
5. Colored hairspray can really work wonders for creating team pride during group games.
6. Don't take large groups of teens to a restaurant unless you are ready to stop them from making spit wads and throwing them at each other.
7. Eventually, kids will go to sleep, you just have to put send them to their sleeping bags and turn on a movie.

The great chaperons helped the event run smoother than I thought it would be. And, I stayed up almost the entire night-- taking a cat nap from 5:15 to 6 am while trying to play Clue with a couple of the kids. Everyone was secured from the church at 7 am and I was in bed by 7:35 am. I'm still recovering, I think, sleep wise, yet SO glad to have this event past me.

I've posted some pictures below of the evening as proof that we actually made it through. Thank you for your prayers.