by Grace Wu

Some highlights from this past year in Lumos are:

• June: Graduations galore! Three of the youthies graduated high school, and one stayed around in Lighthouse and is now a part of CollegeLife. Two graduated middle school and are now freshmen in high school. One graduated from 6th grade in elementary school and started middle school this year. Graduations also mean the arrival of new youth kids. Our two newest additions just started middle school this fall.
• August: We had our first joint youth retreat with LBCSJ’s youth group at UC Santa Barbara. LBCSJ got to UCSB before we did, and hid in a dorm room to surprise us. The youth kids (myself included!) were ecstatic to be reunited with their best friends for a weekend. Some highlights from retreat were exploring the campus, an “Untalent Show,” and listening to preaching from both JR Cuevas and Roger Alcaraz. To honor them for their work, we had a “Build-a-Pastor” game where we made models of them from sand at the beach. Though it was a 5-hour drive from SD, the long journey was worth it for such a sweet weekend of fellowship.
• September: By the time school started in September, our staff looked very different from summer. Out of 7 staffers, 4 had stepped down to meet other ministry needs. That meant there were only 3 of us left to do the work of shepherding, planning, and supervising the entire youth group. I was doubting how we were going to pull this off. Planning youth retreat was stressful enough– how were we going to plan for an entire school year?
• October-December: God has a funny way of working everything out. As I was worrying about the staff shortage, God was working in the hearts of several people who had a desire to serve on youth staff. They have been observing Bible studies, attending study hall, and offering input during small group times. Their love for the youth is evident in how they prioritize spending time with them and teach them.

I am looking forward to see what works He will do in youth group in 2012!