Sam Wong

I grew up at LGCC (North Bay represent) and moved down to SoCal after high school. After spending 7 years there, I have returned to the land of the Warriors. Fun fact: I didn't know what a browser was until my senior year of college and now I work in tech. Also, I like Angry Birds POP.

I felt like giving back to the youth group that I grew up in and I had felt God calling me to minister to teenaged students. Looking back, I wish I would have known God on a deeper level, but growing up here, I was too focused on doing well academically and with sports. Even though I got into basically every college that I wanted, not putting God as a second priority to other achievements is something that I wish had been ingrained into me at a younger age and something that I feel many kids struggle with here (definitely augmented by parents expectations and peers).

Aside from the obvious fact that all the students in Kairos are awesome, I have really enjoyed getting to know some of the high school students on a deeper level. I've had such a good time being a counselor, and God has really blessed me by allowing me to see some of our Kairos kids grow in their faith, accept Christ, and become baptized. Also, the group of counselors that I have had the opportunity to work with has been amazing. Helping out does take up a lot of time though, since it is a weekly commitment, but it is so worth it.

I have learned that no matter your background, you can help out. The group of counselors that currently help out are so diverse, and I honestly probably wouldn't have gotten to know them had it not been for Kairos. I've learned that the diversity is really helpful, since the students also come from a variety of backgrounds, so different counselors relate to different students better. I believe God's kingdom in the future will demonstrate this kind of diversity when people of all nations come to worship him.

Students can be very busy with their tutoring, extracurriculars, social activities etc. It's just a function of living in Silicon Valley. We have to learn to prioritize and make time for God. Pray that we have enough counselors for next year. We want to be able to give each student the individual attention that they need/deserve, but it can be difficult if there are too few counselors. God will always provide - when I was going through youth group we have half as many counselors as we do now, it just wasn't ideal and I wish there were more.

Children are the future. I'm seeing more and more successful entrepreneurs that are millionaires, managers in the workforce, ministers, TED talk speakers, missionaries etc. in their 20s and early 30s. That's only 10 years away for some of the older high school students in Kairos. Only 10 years of nurturing and growth before they are off shaping the world. If we want a God-centric world, with ethical and moral boundaries, with our leaders making decisions that glorify God, we need to care about our youth. Invest in them.