Africa

I am going to be writing an essay for college writing about worldwide disease. Actually, this can relate to my blog topic as well. YL has many opportunities to be involved with and my friend Aly went on a YL mission trip to Africa last summer (2008). The purpose of the trip was to run a Young Life camp for the poor African children. Everyone is aware of the disease present in Africa, so I was curious how she dealt with this on her trip. When asked why she decided to go on the YL trip, Aly responded that she wanted to "experience Africa's culture and people." She stated that she was exposed to a whole orphanage of sick people. She saw many HIV+ children and saw sickness everywhere. Malaria is a common disease in Africa which is spread by mosquitos. I researched that in some areas of Africa, it kills 2700 per day! Of course, Aly was exposed to this, so she had to take Malaria pills constantly. Her pills began 2 months before, lasted during the trip, and finally stopped three months after. She had various shots for other illnesses she could aquire while in Africa. I can imagine that this 17 day long trip was lifechanging. Aly said her new experience made her realize how much better we live. If Moline was taking the trip again this summer, she would love to attend! I think it would be awesome and I would LOVE to do something like this. There are fundraisers to help with the cost. While Aly received the trip as a christmas gift from family, fundraisers are a great option to make the experience more affordable!
Thanks Aly:)

CLUB

Based off of Carly's comment on my last post, I think some people are confused about what exactly a typical YL club is all about. She sounded a little confused about what happens at 8:08. That's when club officially starts, which is a random time, but usually kids hangout a little before. Arriving at 8, or earlier, is a good time to show up because everyone is waiting outside the club room doors. When the music turns on, or the leaders burst open the doors at 8:08, everyone piles into the club room. Each club has a different theme that games revolve around. This also means the leaders, and sometimes kids, are dressed the part. If you check out this site, you will see different club games and all the planning that goes into a club, the themes, and activities. Right after everyone enters club, the leaders will explain a game the whole group can play, since kids tend to arrive late. After club has gotten started, the leaders do small skits and introduce the "mixers." These are quick games which usually involve just a few people who volunteer to go up on stage. Be prepared to chug a liter of pop, eat something gross, get a pie in the face, or challenge someone in a hard core game if you volunteer! After some fun, there's got to be some singing! If your vocal chords are a little rusty, it doesn't matter at YL. Being out of tune is the way to go. Once things settle down, a leader goes on stage and shares a story from the Bible and sometimes a funny story to go along with it. The message is never boring because it's pretty brief and easy to relate to. After that, club is over and everyone either lingers around or makes a mad dash to Whiteys. YL usually gets over at around 9:15 or so. (Incase you have an early bed time and wanted to know.)
So theres a more detailed description of club! :)
Peace.