Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ice Cream Olympics

The traditional end of the year bash for Hinsdale Central Young Life is called "Ice Cream Olympics." This year, Ice Cream Olympics round 1 was rained out. Round 2, however, was a big success. We had 3 teams competing--the Sophomores, the Juniors, and the Almost Outta Heres (combo of Seniors and 8th Graders). Our games progressed from milkshake relays, to the chocolate sauce accuracy test, to ice cream scoop put, to a full out ice cream and shaving cream war.

Why do this?

It's so beautiful to watch a group of kids who otherwise wouldn't be together kick back and have good, clean (well, technically dirty) fun. When we first released the kids to the war at the end, I heard one girl ask, "what do we do?" Society tells kids, and adults too, that we have to be clean and put together. It tells us that we only mix with specific groups. It tells us that we have to keep our emotions reigned in. This night broke a lot of those imposed rules. Kids of all grades and friend groups mix together, laugh, get messy, and have fun. To a kid, it's just another fun night at YL. To me, it was a picture of the kingdom. All bets are off in the Kingdom of God! My prayer is that the kids present will look back on this night as something different and great, and one day be able to identify and claim exactly where that difference came from!


Team "Almost Outta Here"


Grant's chocolate sauce accuracy wasn't so much accurate :)


Group shot after the crud war--cleanest team wins???