Early morning seminary

When we moved to Philadelphia, we prayed frequently that we would be guided to an area where we could serve the Lord as instruments in building the Kingdom of God. We felt that we ended up in the right place. And last Sunday, I was called to be the early morning seminary teacher. Whew! What? First of all, that's a lot of time. And it means sacrificing our morning ritual of cuddling, packing Nick's lunch, and kissing goodbye every day. But I feel prepared and upon reflection maybe I should have seen it coming. To be honest, I was very excited. I love teaching. I love the gospel. I love having a project. Seminary fits the bill nicely. My only apprehension came from the circumstances: I was called a week before classes were supposed to start, none of the inner city kids knew about seminary, and we didn't have a space in which to meet and teach.
A little more about our ward here: it is different from the average Latter-Day Saint experiences I've had in Utah and North Carolina. Many members are immigrants from Africa, a few from Persia, and the teenagers represent the first or second generation of those immigrants born here in America. Sacrament meeting is a whirl of color--bright Afrikaan dresses and traditional garb light up the brown pews and beige walls. The ladies wrap  and tie tall, boldly-neon scarves around their heads. Every third row or so, you can see a blond girl in a pastel skirt with a cream-colored blouse, corralling a couple toddlers, invariably a transplant from Utah who followed her husband to Philly for school or work (this is the category I technically fall under). 

Fast and testimony meeting is a delight. During any occasional pause between testimonies, a member of the congregation will burst out in a spontaneous, spiritual song. He'll sing it loud and slow, with conviction, until he has shared his message and his a capella reverberates in the air. If there aren't any pauses, you'll still get to hear the sung testimonies over the pulpit. They'll stand, deliver a beautiful verse from the heart, and then share a few words. I'm getting better at catching the gist of what's  being said in meetings; it's a toss-up between born-and-raised-in-the-hood Philly kids and everybody else speaking what I think is Creole/Broken English. My ignorance reminds me of being a missionary in Korea, and I know from experience that as time goes by, I'll learn more about these other cultures and be able to participate more. Really, our ward is charming and unique.
Anyway, Sunday they called me and set me apart. Another sister was also set apart; we'll be team-teaching to help lessen the time commitment. Thursday, they had found a space to rent close to the majority of the youth's homes (ahem, smack dab in the middle of what some might consider a bit of a sketchy neighborhood). The following Sunday, day before classes, we went with the Bishopric to 14 houses and invited the kids to come the following morning.
Monday morning I showed up bright and early. The alternate teacher came, as well, with her daughter Sarah. Another mother showed up with her twin 14-year-old girls. And then! The only boy from the students we had visited, Hansen strolled in ten minutes late. I was overjoyed! The day before, he had opened the door with no shirt on.
"Hi, is Hansen home?" I asked.
Choking on a giggle, he said, "No."
The first counselor in the bishopric said, "Come on, Hansen, give her a break."
"So, you're Hansen, huh? I'm Jessica," I said and shook his hand (what 15 year old doesn't love a strange girl from church shaking their hand ?).
I got the sense that he could be a great leader in the church; he's very sincere, and sweet. But, he's also very focused on fitting in and being cool.
Day 1 was great. I was impressed with their creativity during the icebreaker activity. I gave each of them a sheet of paper and asked them to make something out of it that represented an aspect of their interests or personality. Everyone* made something insightful and I was surprised with the insight it gave to their interests. 

*Hansen didn't touch his paper, he just told us he liked football. But he did participate during all the other activities! I was just so happy he came!!
I sent them all off after committing them to reading the Book of Mormon daily. I had high hopes that they'd start bringing friends and soon we'd have a whole classroom of kids eager to learn the joy of the Gospel.
Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll let you know how the rest of the week went. Some disappointments, but also some very sweet, tender experiences.