Float Friday

It's been 2 months since I have seen my 6th grader SOZO Kids who are all "grown up" now and have moved on to middle school.  Some were fairly confident about what middle school would be like while others were nervous about what they heard upper classmen would do to 6th graders (reminds me of my thoughts about starting jr. high!)  

So when the opportunity came to attend the weekly "Float Friday" outreach (connected with SOZO and YFC) that happens at one of the local middle schools, I jumped at the chance!  Float Friday happens right after school in the gym and has a similar feel as SOZO Kids...games, crafts, a message and root beer floats to cap off the time.

I waited outside the gym doors with the Float Friday team for the final bell to ring and then was met by a rush of kids in green and khaki as they poured into the gym.  There are typically 75-120 kids every week who attend and more than 80% of the school has come and heard the Gospel.  God has been moving powerfully here and other public middle schools have been calling to see if they can have a team come and have a similar program at their school!

Immediately I began to see kids who had been a part of SOZO Kids.  I had such a rush of emotion as I saw each of them, hugged them and knew that they were continuing to be a part of something where they were known, loved and learning more about Jesus. 

Soon the gym was filled with kids talking, playing basketball and dancing...which, if you know me well, you can guess where I was :) There was a group of about 15 kids doing the "Cha Cha Slide" and I was in the middle of them!  One of the girls dancing with me was "Alisha", who I have known since I started SOZO Kids and she introduced me to her group of friends and then hung out near me for much of the afternoon.  

For part of the time we were split into stations and I was leading a game of Ultimate Uno and had a group of boys (who I had never met) playing with me.  Within minutes, one of the boys started sharing unprompted about how he is going to visit his mom for the first time this weekend.  Later, another boy melted down in tears because another wasn't playing the game right.  Wow.  These kids are so in need of what Float Friday offers...and they are just that--still kids.  

The rest of the time we had a large group game, they heard a message about the Prodigal Son (told in "urban" terms) and had their root beer floats.  It was so fun to be there (I think I saw at least a dozen kids I knew) and see what goes on.  I am eager to drop in again--hopefully on a monthly basis!

This past weekend, there was a national prostitution sting and 23 children (under 18) were arrested locally.  Of those, some were middle schoolers, as young as 12.  Hundreds more are suspected to be involved in our county.  (For more information on this story, click here.)  It is still very overwhelming for me to think about kids this young involved in prostitution...but it only puts a greater fire in my heart to continue to reach the kids as young as possible so that will not be an option for them.

Praise God for Float Friday, for the kids I was reunited with, for a team of people to serve with who are committed to these kids.