"Hey, you wanna play follow the leader?" When was the last time you asked that question? Probably a while if you are older than 10, but whether you know it or not, it is a game we play daily. We follow our parents example. We follow our friends examples. We follow the instructions given by road signs, teachers, bosses and TV commercials. If we profess to be Christians, we probably even try to follow Jesus. But where does Jesus lead? How does Jesus lead?

Being a follower of Christ is not something that comes easily to most of us. So the Presbytery of Santa Fe is hosting a senior high retreat at Ghost Ranch, April 1-3. Teens in the 9th-12th grades are invited to come and enjoy a fun filled weekend while learning how, where and when Jesus calls us to follow on the path of discipleship.

On Sunday, Sept 19 at Albuquerque 1^st Presbyterian Church, youth and adults gathered together for a fellowship event we called “Noodle Palooza”. Our intent in hosting the event was to provide a time and place for youth within the Presbytery of Santa Fe to reconnect with friends they had met at previous retreats, as well as make new friends. “Noodles”, as silly as it seems, have a way of bringing out the wackiness in the best of us, so the presbytery youth council pooled their “noodles” and came up with more “noodle” games than you could shake a…well, shake a ”noodle” at! We started off the afternoon with a few get-to-know-you games, moved into some real challenges like “parts passing”, “flippin’ burgers” and a couple of “noodle” relays. To end the evening, everyone met outside and tried to knock cups of water out of each other’s hands with the “noodles”. That game made a real splash! Dinnertime entertainment was provided by a very talented youth from St. Andrew Presbyterian church who created a slide show of photos from our trip to Presbyterian Youth Triennium this past July.

�"Noodle-of-a-good-time" quiz.- Each number on the left corresponds with an element of our time together.See if you can match them up correctly.

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1. 60�������������������������������� a. number of pizzas ordered to feed everyone.
2. 20�������������������������������� b. number of congregations represented by youth in attendance.
3. 17�������������������������������� c. number of hours we�played together.�
4. 8��������������������������������� �d. number of participants.
5. 3���������������������������������� e. number of "Noodle Palooza" games we played.
6. 10���������������������������������f. number of times the word “noodle” was used in this article

Prayers of thanks go out to everyone who helped plan and participated in the event. The youth council would like to invite any adult or youth who is interested in youth retreat and fellowship opportunities to contact the presbytery office for more information.

Answers* (1.d, 2.e, 3.a, 4.b, 5.c, 6.f)