My Personal Transformation

It started on the first youth mission trip I attended in 1998. I had never spent time with teenagers. I was a typical parent - maybe worse than average. I was very hard on my daughter - to behave, to get good grades, etc. I remember that she started listening to the Newsboys - Christian soft rock - and I criticized it for no other good reason than it was "her music" and not my music. I was just outright disrespectful - just because it was different.

Then came the mission trip. I was thrown in with a double crew from all over the US. We were near Four Corners in New Mexico. I was so energized by the experience I could not sleep at night. I think my tranformation occured mostly while sitting and talking with some of the kids. I remember talking with Sarah Townes for at least two hours while riding on the van. She was a senior and talked freely about her hopes and dreams. I shared some of the many things I had learned over the years. I remember that as a transformational experience. During the trip, I just sat and talked with other teenagers and I was astounded at how interesting they were. I did not realize what I was missing by not having such conversations. I saw other adults on the trip who had no interest in talking to the youth or listening to them or respecting them.

When I was a teenager, there were several people in a Presbyterian Church who showed me respect and God's unconditional love. It hit me: how can you demonstrate God's unconditional love to someone who does not feel like you respect them??