Mission Impossible: [IMPACT] Edition

[Original post: June 28]


IMPACT was back at KUC this past Thursday. It was Mission Impossible night; I’ll try to explain later. Let’s get started….
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Registration went easier this week as everyone was participating in the same activity. About 120 kids showed up ready for the game. Tony Fuller and his worship crew from Cross Current cranked up the music and got the night started with some good worship.

GM James called for the “Champions” of each church represented. Each one was to introduce themselves, the church they were representing and say what their favorite food was. Being teenagers, French fries and fried chicken were on the menu. Someone mentioned KFC as the favorite food and that must have stuck in Tuan’s mind; he said he went to KFC, as his church. Tuan goes to Faith Christian Fellowship [FCF]. This is the kind of situation when church acronyms can cause a problem, but it was a common mistake.

James went on to explain the mission of Mission Impossible. Lisa and I handled some last procedures with the registration, so I missed most of the rules. The lights were turned off and the kids were let loose!

Sort of. It was about 6:30 p.m. and it’s summer, so the sun wasn’t quite down yet; darkness adds to the fun of the game. The sun went down soon enough. I was assigned as a marker for Kaleo [KUC], the “Sniper” of Building B. Snipers were also posted elsewhere, like on top of the welcome center. The kids would redeem…um…something for ammo [water balloons]. Remember, I missed the rules here and there, but that’s okay.

With the balloons, they could try to take out the snipers and get points. The snipers were incognito mostly. They would “shoot” the players by spotlighting them with flashlights. The markers [me] were to tag the kids that either got the sniper or had been shot by the snipers.

“Death-stalkers” [is that right?] roamed the grounds with light sabers, a courtesy of Yoda himself, I heard. TonyandShayna [or Mr. & Mrs. Worship Fuller, if you prefer] had a little too much fun with stalking the kids. Just in case things got too out-of-hand, there was a First-Aid room set up.
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When time was up, everyone was corralled back in the gym for a little more worship and the message. Barrett Awai [Fellowship of Christian Athletes] started by talking about how he used to go to KUC back in the day. Then he recounted how he became a believer in Christ, went from a believer to a follower, and the difference between the two. I’m sure many of us can relate to accepting Christ the Savior only to later understand that Christ is also the LORD and what that entails.
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All in all, it was a good night! Who wouldn’t have fun running around under the cover of darkness? I was wiped out just watching. It wasn’t very nice when Kaleo’s victims ran away before I could tag them, but most kids complied with the rules of engagement. Aya monitored the First-Aid room though there were no major injuries to report. Arthur was a marker for Lisa [PVBC], the sniper for Building A just across the yard from us. James should have a better idea of who was positioned where to do what.

Clean up was a little more complicated. Cups of popcorn fell to the floor inside and down the stairs outside. Corpses of water balloons were all over the grounds. Luckily, we had a pretty good-sized group helping out. Mr. Kamimura [KUC/Cross Current] began with the sweeping of the gym; Henry [LCC], Geoff [New Hope] and also Kalani [KUC youth] joined him. Cross Current worship and the usual suspects in media [Kevin, Tad and Joel] packed up the equipment. Others that helped in cleaning up: Joanna [KUC]; Zach and his sisters [KUC]; Mrs. Kamimura and sons [KUC/Cross Current]; two generations of Kwongs [KUC/FCF]; the Torres; Brandon and Meeka [KUC]; Jared, Joel, Tim, Cory and Kaleo [KUC]. I am so sure I’m missing names; I apologize! But MAHALO none the less for the good work!

Next week is the big Video Game Challenge! Thursday at KUC. I’m sure there will be other activities for those not VG inclined, so come anyway! Two things will be for sure; good music [Native Roots] and a good message [John Sherrard, former Ministry Director for YFC] are in store for all!

Mahalo!

[*No kids were harmed during the writing of this entry.]