SOUTH CAMPUS – A door has been opened for many high school students beginning their path of leadership.

High School students at JCS West Campus were given the opportunity to go to the South Campus and lead the little Eagles toward God. This week was a learning experience for both Eagles and Eaglets. Each day there were certain lessons to be taught to the little kids. The high school students had to learn how to take responsibility to teach their little buddy the important lessons about God.

The first day was a fun day. We all got to meet our buddies. The South Campus students are super sweet and kind. The first day was all about teaching them the importance of trusting God. A story from the Bible that was connected to the theme of the day was Noah’s Ark. We did many activities that were related such as a 3D craft of a rainbow, teaching that God keeps His promises. Day 2 was all about obeying God and learning the story of Jonah and the Whale. This was a fun one for the kids because it was a fun story to connect to. Day 3 was about how we as Christians need to follow God. This was a little challenging for the kids because the story to connect was Jesus gathering the 12 disciples which can be hard to understand at their age. It was still a fun day because we did many fun games and activities and at the end of the day, they understood the lesson.

The last day we learned to believe in God. We learned the story about Peter walking on water. By the end of the week all the high school students had bonded with their little buddies, inspiring them to trust, obey, follow, and believe in God. Throughout this week we made many fun memories that we will all cherish forever.

As for high school students, this was a hard role to take on. We had to guide the kids each day. While the kids were learning about God, we were learning how to be leaders. Although it was challenging, I am very thankful for this opportunity. Nina Ferreira was one of the students and she says that to become a leader you need to have responsibility, courage, and honesty. She says, “I learned how to become more responsible so that way I can influence my buddy in the right path.”

Another student, Miley Russell, says, “South Campus taught me to be a leader by being a role model to my little buddy and guiding her thorough the week. My goal was to have God reach out to her while having a great connection.” Many of the kids at the South Campus look up to high school students, so it is important that we are good role models and demonstrate good traits. Not only did we learn about how to become leaders, but we learned patience. Ava Camejo states, “This opportunity helped me learn patience and grow a connection with people I had not had before. It also helped me to show kindness 24/7.”

Lastly, this experience has helped us grow closer to God in countless ways. A freshman here at JCS, Jessi Turpin, says, “Being at the South Campus helped me grow closer to God because I felt as if all the kids were my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I loved being around them. Also, the stories from the Bible were nice to learn about again because I had not heard about them in such a long time, so it was a nice brain refresher.”

This opportunity was one to remember. We all learned many new things and grew spiritually. Being at the South Campus sparked leadership, and this is just the beginning of the path to becoming a leader.