Youth Ministry Stories #8 (and "The Bob" was born)

The mission team with some of the VBS children

Each summer we take a short-term mission trip.  I've have done this with every church I have been apart of.  My youth director even led these type of trips when I was a teen.  In 2006 we took a trip to Pass Christian, Mississippi. It was less than a year after Hurricane Katrina, and the town was devastated.  We took a group of 25 teens to spend a week running a Vacation Bible school, do some light construction, and serve food to the volunteers rebuilding the area.  We camped out 5 feet from a graveyard, encountered robot crickets, and even had a bit of drama (you know who you are).  It was an amazing trip, and the Lord impacted the teens and the adults present.  When I was planning the trip I asked a handful college friends to join us and to help lead.  All of these friends were former students from past youth programs.  Two of these friends were Steven Rinaldi and Josh Bell.  They had both been students in the young life program I helped to lead in the mid 90's.  

Steven and Josh during a VBS skit

Bob Hallock was one of the adult leaders who was on the trip with us.  Bob rented and drove up a mobile RV for he and his wife to sleep in at night.  The porch part of the RV became hangout-central, and each evening after our worship time we would all sit, talk about the days work, and tell stories.  One night Bob was telling a handful of stories about his life.  He told about his time in the Coast Guard, his stint as a game show host, and few other stories.  I have to admit Bob has some really great stories, and Josh and Steven were enamored with him.  Josh and Steven began to tell their own stories about Bob.  Since they had just met Bob they just made the stories up.  In these stories Bob was climbing Mount Everest shirtless with no climbing gear, killing Grizzlies with his bare hands, or scoring the winning touchdown in the superbowl with his helmet off.  During the story telling the boys decided that it was not good enough for Bob Hallock to be one of the people in the world named Bob.  He was not a Bob.  He was "The Bob", and he has been called "The Bob" for the past few years.  During the rest of the mission trip the stories about Bob stories morphed into Chuck Norris jokes with Bob's name inserted...

Josh trying, unsuccessfully, to be like "The Bob"

• "The Bob" doesn't read books, he just stares them down until he gets the information he wants out of them.

• Superman wears "The Bob" PJ's to bed.

• "The Bob's" tears can cure cancer; too bad he has never cried.

• "The Bob" doesn't sleep, he waits.

These days when I talk to Josh or Steven they always ask about "The Bob", and as usual "The Bob" is just fine.

Steven and Josh

"The Bob" 

Josh and Steven agree "The Bob" is awesome

"The Bob" being awesome without trying