Bowling 2012...Such an Adventure!
So on the brisk and windy 45 degree Tuesday, Bobby, Jesse, myself, and our gang of 14 CCers met at GFC at 1:00 p.m. (three gang members were meeting us there. tehe). We broke the students into three groups so that we could easily keep track of them and their belongings (and not have what happened on the Girl's Lunch Day happen again-cough bag left at TGIFridays. cough Megin running 3 avenues in giant healed boots. cough. hehe); we went over some basic rules (like not wandering off by yourself no matter how old you are b/c there are mean people who like to trap and steal people of all ages and sizes), and then we were off and on our way.
We managed to use our city issued subway passes without a glitch, and although the wind was causing this Georgia-girl to feel like she was taking a field trip in Antarctica, we made it onto the D-train safe and soundly (after the kids pointed out that I was first leading them to the UPTOWN D and not the DOWNTOWN....it was a test I told them. Just a test to make sure they were on their toes ;)!).
We entered the train and found our seats. I fought Andy Liu for the corner seat, won, and he piled in next to me. I leaned my head in the corner trying not to think about how much hair disease and lice there could have been on the wall b/c I was very tired. I saw Bobby and Jesse were keeping close watch, and I knew I was 'oh-so-sleepy,' and decided that since recently I had been experiencing more than usual fatigue and headaches, I would try to shut my eyes for 5 minutes or so. This is when Andy begins taking pictures of me on his i-touch with the special mac picture features that distort your chin and nose and such. I didn't mind. He made me open my eyes each time so he could show me the pictures. I still didn't mind. I closed my eyes again, and tried to relax.
Then Simon started in, "MS. MEGIN THIS IS OUR STOP!" It jostled me, even though I'm sure we'd only been on the train a few minutes. I opened my eyes, saw it is not our stop, and said, "Very funny. Don't do that again." I closed my eyes again. I heard Andy and Lisa and Michelle laughing and taking pictures, and then Simon did it again, this time with more force and fear. I darted up, once again saw it was not our stop, and looked him sternly in the eye "Not again Simon. I mean it." He looked scared that time. I got through. He his mouth.
So it had been about 10 minutes total, and that's when IT started....and by IT, I mean the TORTURE. By IT, I mean the REASON we had not RETURNED to Maple Lanes even though it had the best prices. By IT I mean...
The Train Ride OF DEATH....
It seems the kids had organized a rotation ahead of time, with the exception of like two of them, and during this rotation, they would all burst out frantically, HOW MUCH LONGER? WHEN DO WE GET OFF? IS THE NEXT STOP OURS? DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING? ARE YOU SURE WE AREN'T LOST? Their tones were serious, delirious, petrified, mortified, annoyed, desperate. One student starts trying to explain to Jesse how we HAVE to get off at a different stop and walk a different way, like, our lives depend upon it. No joke. They are even getting Bobby involved, and I see him out of the corner of my eye move over to the Subway map, sit beside it and study it for a while, glance at me, and then move back to his seat. That's right Mr. Bobby, don't even ask me anything. I'm not in the mood. I'm about ready to strangle something. I keep telling them. "I know where we're going." THEY DON'T BELIEVE ME. They are panicking. I keep telling them to "calm down." I told them ahead of time the subway ride would be around 36 to 40 minutes. They think I'm seriously taking them to Hell or to their deaths or that the train is going to run off the tracks into a black hole or something.
I get up and move seats, trying to distance myself from the pleas, but it doesn't help. They just ask and plea louder. I'm getting looks from other sane adults on the train, looks of "Hey white lady, why are all these Chinese kids yelling at you? Can't you make them shut up? What are you doing with them anyway? Did you kidnap them? And why don't those Chinese men over there say anything?"
Finally we get to the stop right before our stop. The doors open. The kids cry, "CAN WE GET OFF HERE," and I lose it. I say "YES! FINE! GET OFF HERE. I THINK WE CAN OFF HERE TOO." I hear a kid in the back ground go..
"You THINK?"
I want to punch myself in the face and sleep forever.
We get off the train and they start running ahead of me. Do they know where they are going? No. Of course not. It's at this moment that I recall 5 years ago when I started this job how people would say "You have such patience. It takes such a special person to do youth ministry." And I would think "psh. No it' doesn't. They're just kids. It's no big deal." Well, I was new. I was fresh, and I was WRONG. haha It DOES take patience, and a SPECIAL person, and yesterday all I could think is "I AM NOT THAT PERSON!" haha I laugh now. only now.
I manage to corall the kids in the corner of the station and give them a stern and loud talking-to to let them know that 1)I am not pleased and 2)what rules they will follow from here on out.
So we begin our 4 or 5 block walk to Maple Lanes. The kids follow in suite, hopefully too scared to disobey. I led and didn't look at their faces. It was freezing, and my demeanor matched. As we reached the alley, a lady met me at the door and said "It's crazy in there. Have fun" (sarcastically). I said "thanks." We walk into the see of children, and I tell the kids to stand over in the corner with Bobby and Jesse (who are probably as afraid of me at this point as the kids are. Heck. I'm afraid of me), and I begin pushing my way through the mob of teens and kids to the counter. I manage to make my way up to the front, and then two other teen girls make their way up to either side of me. There is one man there. He sees me first, but somehow figures he should wait on those two girls BEFORE me. I'm fuming inside, but trying to remain calm. It's no big deal right? Plus, I'm representing a church group. I can't curse, not in front of the kids. (I'm being dramatic. Don't freak out Pastor Albert).
Then a large bouncer looking man comes by and hands me and this equally frazzled looking woman a slip of paper with a number written on it, 400 and something. I look down at the number and realize it is telling me I have to wait to be called upon. Immediately I look up and say rather loudly and to no one in particular "BUT I HAVE A RESERVATION!" I felt like Elaine from Seinfeld. The bouncer man looked at me and said "Ok, what time?" And once again, like an idiot, I just said "I HAVE A RESERVATION." He said, a little slower b/c he must think at this point I'm a little s.l.o.w. "Yes, what time?" I said, "2:00." He said "Name?" I said, sheepishly, "Grace Faith Church." He said, "Ok yes, you have lanes 37-40." I glance around and only see people, floods of people. So I look back at him and say "Are they together?" He says "Of course. 37 THROUGH 40. Next to each other." I say "Ok. Should I pay?" He says "At the end ma'am. Just go play." I walk away, kind of stunned...a little in shock. That was simple. I don't think I expected simple. I'm a little numb actually.
I find the kids and Jesse and Bobby and direct them to our lanes which, when I see them, look about as beautiful as the Promised Land God promised to Moses and the Israelites. It was so nice, 4 large lanes all to ourselves. We flooded into them and bowled to our little hearts' content. I forgot I was mad at the kids, and we just all played. It was great. The only thing that wasn't great is that we had to use our subway pass by 4 p.m. so we had to leave the alley by 3:50ish, so at like 3:30 I had to put back on my drill sergeant hat to make sure we got our games finished, our stuff together, our picture taken, our bill paid, and our bodies walked back to the train by 4. Next time, we'll go earlier so that the kids can play two games AND use the arcade. Sigh I really hate drill sergeant hat. It messes up my hair for one thing.
I also didn't really talk to Uncle Bill and Aunt Emily much, but I did get to talk to Becky a lot (-insert :) smile-), and I talked with the girls a lot who were there :).OH and I bowled (with bumpers) my highest score ever! (113) I also got to watch Lisa and Tiffany Chin create a new type of bowling, the backwards bowling where you let go of the ball and it rolls opposite of the direction of the pins. :) Lisa bought a pizza, and Michelle offered it to everyone. Simon won a free tutoring pass by getting the highest score, although Matthew gave him a run for his money. The highschoolers were trying to win a prize of $1 since they don't have to do tutoring anyway. Jacky wore a bowling glove. The boys bowled with force, and the balls rolled so fast down the lanes. The girls plopped their balls down, and it often looked more like ping pong or a pinball machine. Mei Lin mistakingly called it Volleyball a few times. I gave Allison the new name of Neighbor since we live next door to each other. And Sharon and Judy didn't lose any of the 0982347253 bags they brought with them :). All in all, it was a GREAT day.
The train ride back was not that bad. The only scare was that after we got to the station and saw construction, we had to walk a few blocks to the other side for the entrance to the D, and then the station manager almost made us go back to the other side again to get our pass signed, but then he didn't. Whew. Then we rode back, and the kids didn't act like I was taking them to the black hole of death this time. I guess going into Manhattan is less scary than going toward Coney Island?? Sheesh.
I suppose one SERIOUS thing I contemplated yesterday was this, though- I don't know if you've even made it this far in this LONG post. The above has been amusing and entertaining, but what follows is the serious side. I had this thought at the beginning of the train ride to Maple Lanes, and I still felt it after all the commotion of the entire day, so I know it's a thought from the Lord. As I sat and watched Michelle and Lisa fiddle with their i-touches and iphones, I pictured them when I first met them 5 years ago and thought about how God has allowed me to be a witness to their and Andy's lives for the past 5 years, and not just theirs. There are other students' whose lives I have witnessed for 5, 4, 3, 2, or even just 1 year. And it has been a blessing. By saying blessing I don't mean 'obvious happy, fun, enjoyable' type blessing. Much of it has been hard. There were times the kids were bad or frustrating. There were times they did not cooperate, times they didn't come around as much, times they did poorly in school and didn't respond to our love, but they were there yesterday...which meant...they were still AROUND. All these lives....they're still AROUND even if there have been ups and downs. And even when witnessing their lives has been fun, being HERE has been hard for me personally. But witnessing lives in this committed fashion is something that short term missionaries are not afforded. Yes, they only have to stay in places short amounts of times, but then they only see short periods of the work and growth in lives. I met and touched/was touched by many lives when I would go to China during the summer, but it was hard to keep up those relationships after only meeting for a few months and then never meeting again. To have a deep, penetrating impact on lives, we must be willing to give years, not summers, of our time. That does not mean that we have to give those years in places we hate being forever, but it does mean that perhaps bouncing constantly from assignment to assignment will keep a person from the blessing of being able to follow through on a relationship.
Unfortunately, I think many of the relationships I have invested in with the students probably mean more to me than to them, but that's because of their age, and I can't blame them for that. And I know that when they get older and look back, they will be glad they had people around them to care for them and hang out with them. And I'm grateful to God that even though I am a screw-up of a person, He's been able to keep this ministry afloat despite me and my failings, and that He's been able to meet the needs of kids and families so that they would stick around. He's used GFC to be a little bit of a lighthouse to the community and to love some young lives. He's done it all.
So until next year when we bowl again...at a bowling alley yet to be determined....because who knows if I will ever brave that ride to Maple Lanes again ;)....tata- and happy trails!
Comments
Fun :)
I HAVE A RESERVATION!