Stories

Our youth centre thrives on stories. They're what break our hearts, what keep us going, and what make us laugh. We often hear stories over a long period of time, a piece here, and a piece there. The struggles, successes and experiences that we all experience become intricate parts of our stories.

Aaron has been working on a video project with a coworker, Jeremy, over the past few weeks. We often use videos in our discussion with the youth as a way to foster deeper thinking on many life, character, and faith issues. Aaron and Jeremy have a desire to produce some of our own, so that they reflect the needs and perspectives of the youth we are working with. They are making it highly collaborative with the youth, and have teens involved on every level from video production, to writing original music, to even writing the scripts and stories that will evolve into short films. With that in mind, Aaron asked one of our young men simply to write a story. He did not assign a topic, length, or give any limits. Last night, this young man came up to us at the snack bar of the youth centre, and said, "It's eight pages, I did it this afternoon."

Once we recovered from the initial shock of his submission (keep in mind that many of our youth do not show strong initiative or desire in school), we read his story. It is a story about life after high school, and is a mix of his current life and circle of friends, struggles he has experienced recently, and dreams for the future. It is raw, honest, and gives huge insight into his world. Some parts have been exaggerated, others idealized, but let's be honest, that is often what draws us into movies and books. His story is a springboard into the much bigger picture that is his life.

It is both a privilege and an honour to share in his story. We hope that the discussions that come out of his written story will lead to opportunities to add value to his life in the bigger story. We pray that we can encourage him in these dreams, reveal the hope that Jesus Christ has offered him, and support him in the journey. Before last night, I was interested in the project that Aaron had begun. Now, I am truly anticipating the opportunities that it will allow us, and if there are some videos produced along the way, they are icing on the cake.