Dear Fusion Youth...

Dear Fusion Youth,

To those who have been here from the beginning, who were part of the first four, who were pushed into cars on a Friday night against their wishes. Who spoke to us in fake accents or who didn’t want to speak to us. When there were so few that you could have the couch to yourself, to those who have laughed with us, laughed at us, swam in their clothes, have eaten nasty things, made new friends, brought along a friend, came along with a friend, or who have only come along once before and are wondering what’s going on.

 You have been a part of Fusion Youth, and for that we are forever grateful. For the last time,

Welcome to our home!

But this letter really starts with a thank you.

Caleb: When I came to Lagos I had my issues with the church and was not particularly fond of it. I loved Christians and was a leader for Christian Surfers, delivered food to poor communities, mentored at risk teens, but none of it was through the church, I was allergic to church, happy to sit and listen and happy to leave. I wanted to learn more about God but that was all I wanted from the church, a lesson. So when the chance to take the youth came up we were super quick to say no thanks. We joke about you guys being reluctant to start coming along, we were the first to start that trend. I remember when Rebecca turned to me one evening before we went to sleep and said “I think we should do youth” my reply was very unmemorable “ok, but we do it together” then I went to sleep, I don’t know if my lovely wife had any idea of the rollercoaster she was getting on. But spending time with you has taught us about faith in action, not just doing what you want to do, but what God wants you to do, and when you put your heart into it, it becomes what you want to do. This is also the reward of faith and I have expanded this to other areas of my life and it is now more a part of us and our family than it ever was, but why did Rebecca say yes…

Rebecca: Mrs Tate asked us on our first ever trip to LCF if we would be interested in taking Youth. We laughed as we shook our heads, no way, we were both teachers and the last thing we thought we wanted was to give up our free time to spend with a bunch of teenagers. But as I watched a few of you, and saw the struggles that you were facing with school, with relationships, with peer pressure and the struggles of living in a city like Lagos, I began to hear the small quiet whisper of the Lord as he started to put a supernatural love for you in my heart, which I knew I couldn’t ignore. Oftentimes God calls us to things which at first seem ridiculous to us, and go against what we think we want. And that’s where the importance of obedience comes in. Because we said ‘yes’ to God, it meant saying ‘no’ to other things. It meant saying ‘no’ to spending Friday nights doing other things, it meant saying ‘no’ to travelling some weekends because we had Sunday church – but it meant saying ‘yes’ to something far more important. You. We said ‘yes’ to you. We said ‘yes’ to learning about self-sacrifice, we said ‘yes’ to learning far more about God than we ever could have imagined, We said ‘yes’ because God wanted you to know that He loves you more than anything else. We said ‘yes’ to the joy that comes from spending time with you. So, thank you.

We have only ever struggled to know what to do at youth twice maybe… the rest of the time the plan would just appear and we could go to work on it, we have a big bible and a big God after all. Do you know how many different thoughts, interpretations and angles there are out there about everything! Wow, it is exhaustive. If we are looking up a verse of scripture for you guys we have essays, thesis’s, commentaries, sermons, just ask Google, the world is available, and the world has a lot of strange opinions. Many made to suit their own needs. But faith in action needs no interpretation, and always looks like a humble serving heart, something this group has in abundance.

It is cooking pies, painting the walls, writing a card, giving out shoe boxes, doing action songs, teaching card games or snakes and ladders for hours, praying for your brother, bringing snacks, feeling someone’s hurt and celebrating their successes. It is making your own values, and being a community, when your group is the answer to the prayers of the group, God is working in you.

In this group you made something happen, it was too small to just turn up and do nothing, you had to invest. You sang, danced, acted, made dads laugh and mums cry, YOU are fusion youth.

So thank you, thank you for turning up, for filling the couch, the chairs, sometimes the floor, for not using your phones, for leaving your shoes at the door, for greeting us with hugs, cleaning up, and praying with us. You have blessed us and our house beyond measure.

Now your lesson, our parting advice. The final take home message.

When we looked back over the themes of our youth nights this last two years, they can pretty much be summed up with two statements.

     1)    Life is an adventure best spent with God on your side.

     2)    You were blessed to bless others, forgiven to forgive others and loved to love others, so show the world God’s, blessings, forgiveness and love -giving him the credit as it is due.

We have tried to teach you about a big God, who holds all things including us in an unconditional loving embrace, we also tried to teach that leaps of faith need to become normal and are essential, how else do we grow, how else did we end up in Lagos! We have tried to teach you that “there is nothing you can do to make him love you less” and that the God who got you this far will walk beside you and can take you the rest of the way, “you are going to make it” if you walk with him on the narrow path.

How did we do? Did we teach you these things? and more importantly did you learn from your time with us that Jesus does not go out drinking on a Friday night, that the world will not like you when you don’t give in to the MTV lifestyle, that how you live is more important than what you say (or listen to on a Sunday). That you are amazing, and well loved…

Did you also learn from us that these cravings inside of you can only be satisfied by the overwhelming love of a God who poured out his love for you? That you will never find wholeness in money, in the things you do, by getting good grades or in another person? If you have learned these things, then we are able to leave satisfied that our mission with you is completed. If not, then we pray that God would continue to do a work in you so that one day you WOULD know and remember always that you are well loved.

Now the big question, what will happen to fusion youth…?

Fusion youth is not a thing, it is a people, it is you. So what will happen to Fusion Youth? It will change. Change is inevitable and essential in growth; some of fusion youth will go to college and have more control over their own lives than ever before. They will be confronted with situations and choices which they never had before and the quality of their choices will be a reflection on the time and effort others have invested into them and they are now responsible for themselves, free to lead or follow others. Others of you will go to new schools and to a new grades, you will also choose every day to live as a Christian and shine your light, or, to not. Others will be here and will still carry the name of Fusion Youth, or maybe they will change the name, but they will still meet and they will still pray, still eat things never meant to be eaten and laugh together.

You will get to meet the new leaders (God willing) before any of you leave, test them out and get a feel for what you are in for next year. But there will be 9ish less of you and you will never sit in these seats as a group again, you may never hold hands and pray together, or you may. As long as you are here as long as you play and pray together fusion youth or whatever it is called will go on.

And as for us, we will be praying for you, each of you, all at different places of your lives, who joined us at this place in our life so we could move forward together for a season. You are well loved.

My parting advice, when in doubt stop talking and start praying, then keep praying, and when you finally speak, do it with a quiet voice, with the authority of one who has had their prayer answered and a God who is alive.

Finally we want to end the letter with a confession,

After countless games, lessons, Nooma, prayers, waves at the beach, meals, hugs and hours together…

… we are going to miss you guys. Our house never feels so full of life and love as when you are here, we will miss you. You are well loved and will be well missed.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, may he make his face to shine upon you, and may he give you peace. 

 Love Caleb and Rebecca x