The Student that Lived
This incident was a very scary one to say the least.  I was home, getting ready for bed after a fairly normal youth service, when I received a phone call from Amy, my JR High director.  She wanted to let me know that a parent had arrived to pick up her son only to find out he was not at the church.  They had called his home to see if he had gotten a ride with another student, no such luck.
I hurried back to the church where we started looking all over the property for him.  As I rounded the corner of the back of the building back toward the parking lot I saw a police car arrive.  I knew went to talk the officer since we had called and I was in charge.  To my relief the student that lived got out of the back of the cruiser.  Turns out he decided to walk home all 10 miles at 9:00 well after dark had fallen, and was picked up by the officer as the call came in to dispatch.
We were all relieved to see him safe and sound but I couldn’t help but think: he had called his mother and she was on her way, what would make him decide to walk home.  I have been involved in ministry for long enough to know that Students don’t have a problem asking for a ride, money, or anything under the sun.  But I was definitely not prepared for that little adventure, by my bible college education.