SixEleven | Horizon Youth Group

 “Ok guys, remember, act like normal people!”

“My grandma has a black dog! Let’s go to my grandma’s house!”

“I have an idea, let’s look in Los Suenos!” (A town 25 minutes away)

“RICARDO, RICARDO, RICHARD, RICHARD” (the task was to “find a Richard”)

“Um excuse me Mel, what kind of pizza are we eating later?”

These are just some of the funny lines I overheard from the kids in the Horizon Youth Group as we competed in a photo scavenger hunt through town. In addition, this was the the first kick-off event of “Sixeleven”, the official English-Speaking youth group. With so many English-speaking-international families living in Jaco, an English-speaking youth group is a welcome idea. In fact, until this point, there haven’t been any Christian-ministry resources for youth-aged English-speakers.  

Fierce Competition

First of all, imagine five outgoing-and-energetic 11-14 year olds and you are looking at my team. We were in fierce competition against two other teams, each with two adults, one vehicle and one hour to complete as many “tasks” as possible. I was with the Pastor of Horizon Church, Daniel Barrett, and we rode in the classic church van. One funny moment was watching my team “perform a memorial service for a smashed toad” on the side of the road. The kids all got really into it, fake crying and shouting “WHYYYY!” Also, I loved seeing their excitement and dedication to completing each task no matter how difficult it was. 

Future Plans

When the hour was up, each team met at Sarah and Daniel Barrett’s house to review the photos and eat pizza. In fact, this was the best part of the night as each team had taken hilarious photos. We explained to the youth that we wanted to have more of these types of event and eventually begin meeting weekly as well. They were all so excited to hear this, and in turn it made me super excited! In conclusion, I love working with youth-aged kids so I can’t wait to see this youth group continue to develop.