Generation Zealous

For whatever reason, people feel the need to name generations. There are “Baby Boomers,” “Generation X,” and “Millennials”. I’m not sure why we’re skipping over Y, but my good friend, Google, tells me the current generation of teenagers is “Generation Z”. Frankly, that doesn’t seem like someone put a whole lot of thought into a name. People often complain about whatever generations come after them, but, as a Gen X-er, myself, I think we need to lay off the Gen Z-ers. Having spoken to a couple of teenagers who attended MK Camp, I’m here to tell you, they deserve our respect.

Maybe complaints about today’s teens stem from the fact people aren’t expecting enough from them. That isn’t the case at MK Camp (or with MKs in general). There, older teens are given the opportunity to step into the role of counselor to younger kids, while still enjoying the perks of being campers themselves.

Isaiah

Seventeen-year-old, Isaiah, has lived in Honduras for two and a half years, but this is his first experience with MK Camp. He’s no stranger to responsibility, though. When his family hosts visiting teams, Isaiah works along beside them to build a campus of foster homes. These homes, which will each house a foster mom and dad and four children, will allow foster children to live in a family-type setting. The time away from school for mission work means Isaiah will likely take an extra year to complete his high school education. He hopes to one day attend college in Mississippi and study electrical engineering.

Isaiah did attend MK Teen Retreat, back in June. He said the retreat is more laid back, though the schedules are about the same. As he put it, “Here, there is more responsibility because there are younger kids.”

Trey

Trey has only been in Honduras for a year and three months. Moving from Michigan after his freshman year in high school to live in a remote mountain village was a shock to his system. MK Camp has been a time for him to build relationships with his unique peer group.

When asked about how he has liked being a counselor, Trey said, “It’s been enjoyable. It really has. It’s been pretty easy because most of the kids are very respectful.”

There were twelve campers on Trey’s team. He said, “I took one of the larger teams. There are seven kids in my dorm room, ranging from seven to sixteen. The sixteen-year-old is a co-counselor.”

This is great experience for the young man who said, “I’m hoping to go back to the states for college. I’d love to be a youth pastor. Yeah, I’d love to do that.”

If Isaiah and Trey are at all representative of the younger generation, perhaps we should change their name to Generation Zealous. - posted by Christi