by Jenna Kim

Hola! My name is Jenna, and I had the unique opportunity during this trip to be a youth helping to minister to the youth of Tucumán, Argentina. Though one of the main focuses of the trip was the evangelistic campaign, we had the opportunity on both weekends before and after the campaign to gather for various activities with the “jovenes y adolescentes” (young adult group and the youth group). The first Saturday, we spent the whole day at the park, alternating between messages, soccer matches, and meals. That evening we had our first official youth meeting, where we gathered and listened to Cesar – who also works with the youth back at home in San Diego – speak on what it means to have a cross-centered youth ministry. It was very refreshing to see the consistency of the mindset towards ministry, in that, like we often say, missions is simply doing church somewhere else, and the way in which we would desire to teach and equip the youth here, we would make every effort to do the same there. Throughout the week, we got a chance to interact with some of the youth on a closer basis, as many of the youth girls ministered to the team by preparing and serving meals, and as many youth joined the door-to-door groups as we shared the gospel throughout the “barrios” (neighborhoods). That in itself was a great encouragement to me, and really caused me to consider if back at home, I really am taking advantage of every opportunity to serve the body in joyful humility, or if I use youthfulness as an excuse to only be catered to.

At the end of that week, we had a night youth gathering. That night, we taught them some classic Lighthouse games, including pantyhose wars and the screaming game, all of which made for a very fun and memorable time, with many memorable quotes (“Ay no!”). After all the games, I actually had the chance to share my testimony with the group, and then Teddy gave a message regarding love within the church body, an issue that is very applicable, particularly among youth, where social conflicts and insecurities are all things that youth in particular deal with a lot. But as Teddy shared, the love of Christ truly transcends all these things, and the unconditional nature of God’s grace on all of us as equally sinful rebels should truly cause believers to be unified in the cross and therefore desire to extend a reflection that same grace to one another. That same Christ-given unity was what really made this trip so sweet, in being able to join with like-minded brothers and sisters, all of us being equally in need of God’s grace and all desiring to present our lives as living sacrifices for God as an act of worship, and to do all we can to pass on the greatness of God, that others may worship as well, and partake of that great love.