Our 1st Big Night in Kissimmee

The first official youth event that Marilyn and I took part in after arriving in Kissimmee was a "welcome aboard" dinner and pool party at the home of Dr. Jill Painter.  It was a great night and a wonderful opportunity to meet and greet many of the youth and adults who would be a huge part of our lives in the day ahead.  There was lots of food, lots of fellowship, and a few unforgettable moments.

I learned very quickly that Dr. Jill (in picture at right with Philip Christian, Brian Watson, Ben Thacker and a reclining Todd Willis) had a unique relationship with many of the students at FUMC-K, both past and present.  Several of them treated her very nice house like a second home- because it was!  They raided her refrigerator, went from the pool to the house while still wet and just generally behaved as if they lived there.  I could tell Jill loved every minute of it.  And the kids certainly loved Jill.  This was the first of many parties and meetings that took place at her home during my years in K-town, and the first of MANY amazing times that Marilyn and I spent with the good doctor- including the night our son was born.

I remember spending a great deal of the evening trying to put names and faces together, and trying to put all of that with the letters I had received from many of the youth before my arrival.  It was memory overload, but it had to be done.  I remember sitting in Jill's living room and just soaking in the conversations around me, trying to get a feel for this new group of youth, and feeling very much like an outsider.  I had just come from a place where I knew the lives of the students so well; I knew every inside joke; I knew who could be picked on and who was extra sensitive;  I knew it all!  Now I was starting all over, and feeling just a little scared about it all.  Maybe I wouldn't fit in.  Maybe I was in over my head.  I just didn't know.

At some point during the evening everyone gathered in the house and John Willis made an official introduction.  Several little speeches were made about how happy we were to be there and about how happy they were to have us there.  John was talking about new beginnings and new excitement, but as often happens with a group of teenagers they had fallen into their own little conversations.  John's son Todd Willis, a high school junior at the time, was chatting with his good buddy Matt Wheeler about something as John welcomed us to Kissimmee.  Just as John was introducing Marilyn and I to the group, Matt said something Todd found difficult to believe, and Todd yelled out, "Get outta' town!"  Since it all happened at once, it sounded to everyone like Todd's response to his dad's welcome was to ask us to leave.  It was hilarious, and we roasted Todd unmercifully.  For the first time that night, it felt like home.  Somehow, with that one off-hand comment, Todd had broken my tension and reminded me that youth are youth no matter where you go, and that as long as I stayed faithful I was going to be just fine. 

Almost 20 years later, I still love hearing from Todd and discovering what is going on in his life. And on April 20th, I will be gathering with with a number of friends from Kissimmee for a little youth group reunion.  The group that I once felt uncomfortable with is now a group of some of my favorite people in the world.  It makes me very glad I didn't take Todd's advice and "Get outta town!"  

Because of Jesus,