With a grant from The University of Alabama, Lutheran High School South graduates organized a sports and life skills camp for New American teens associated with CFNA. They called it “Week of Wisdom.” The goal of the camp was to inform and equip the participants to make wise choices even in the face of peer pressure. But that’s not all! What would a camp be without having a little fun?!

“There is a mission behind the fun,” said Riley Schelp, an intern at CFNA, who organized the event. “The key to working with teens and urban youth is drawing them in with something fun and then teaching them something along the way.”

Schelp, who runs track at the University of Alabama, applied for the grant from the University. She solicited the help of other Lutheran South graduates, including Cody Schrader, who plays football at Truman State University; Dawit Mulat, who will run for Lindenwood University this fall; Kritika Basnet, a premed student at St. Louis University, and Trevor Fiala, a Concordia University Nebraska student who plans to work in teen ministry. The graduates brought other collegiate athletes with them, including Megan Patton, who runs track at the University of Alabama and Jaden Barr, quarterback at Truman State.

Event Staff. (l _r) Megan, Riley, Amri, Sumitra, Aminata, Cathy.

The teens from CFNA met at Lutheran South daily for a healthy lunch and then listened to guest speakers who addressed topics like drug use, pornography, sex, and suicide. The heavy subjects were then followed by a little fun, including scavenger hunts and relay races. The teens participated in soccer, football, and even cooking instruction as part of the Week of Wisdom camp.

“They are talking about real stuff,” said Carol Buckman, advisor of education ministries at CFNA and founder of the organization. “And they are learning skills to cope with reality - the heart wrenching and the great.”

By Riley Schelp Sophomore, University of Alabama Member, Concordia Lutheran Church, Kirkwood

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Wisdom Week