News at Lifepointe IGNITED Youth Ministry

Day 4: Lose It All

2011-07-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Rush of Fools rocking their best song at student life camp.

Day 4: Group Shot

2011-07-21T11:48:00.001-07:00

The group got soaked.

Day 4: Water Day

2011-07-21T11:22:00.001-07:00

It's so hot! Thank goodness for water day. Our group is in there somewhere...

Day 3: Early Morning QT

2011-07-20T05:24:00.001-07:00

We just finished breakfast and are getting charged up for a great day.

SL2011 Girls Family Group

2011-07-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Angels of Awesomeness

2011-07-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

Several of the girls (this is just three of them) decided to be nice
and pick up people's trash in the dining hall tonight. One lady called
them angels. To quote Amelia, "I love this and can't wait to do it for
the rest of the trip!" Go team!

Day 2: Rec Video

2011-07-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

We beasted the human ladder race :)

Day 2: Rec Time Pics

2011-07-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Go Red Rumble!

Student Life Camp 2011 Day 1

2011-07-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Devoted. (Deuteronomy 6:5) That is what I hope each of these 19 people
learn to be by the end of this week. Please pray for each of us by
name to experience God in a big way.

Day 7: Cedar Point

2011-07-15T14:29:00.001-07:00

How do you remember a mission trip after you get home? That's right,
tattoos! One of the guys took it to the extreme...

Day 6: Starbucks really helps!

2011-07-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

The crew tore it up again weeding, painting and cleaning up a garage.
We all joined in the afternoon to work at 'Medwish' packing supplies
for medical missions and clinics. It was a great day. Everyone
celebrated with a big slushy.

Day 6: Blink!

2011-07-14T11:00:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day that Team Blink (Blue and Pink) got to work together on a service project. Since we have 2 vans and 3 teams we had to split up, but it's cool because it really helped us grow closer together during the times we were together.

Here are some pics of the painting project we worked on. We had to scrape all the old paint of off the entire front of the garage, which was surprisingly fun. I am so proud of our team. When lunch time came and the other 2 groups had brought the food to us Team Blink wasn't content with taking a break. We finished that garage before we ate and the team worked really hard on it.

Day 6: Random Pic

2011-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Heres a pic for Sean, PJ and Clayton's up and coming band "Jello
Pudding Pops." seriously we were just helping clean up the movie night
and I snapped this pic.

Day 5: Men's Shelter and Yard Work

2011-07-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today started early and ended late. My group did an amazing job
serving guys who really needed a smile and a morning meal. The rest of
the day we spent serving people in the community doing yard work. My
group served a lady named Mrs. Gail who was so excited that she was
going to check put Velocity with her daughter. Everyone beasted it and
transformed people's lawns and shrubs. We rounded out the day with a
movie night we helped put on for local kids.

This is a pic of my group in downtown Cleveland after the men's
shelter. If you're a parent you should be very proud of your son or
daughter. I know I am!!

Day 4: Finishing The Box

2011-07-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today was a long day. We finished passing out 10000 flyers inviting
people to Velocity Church. Here are some pix of some of the group with
the their empty box and celebratory slushies.

Day 3: Photo of the Day

2011-07-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

The photo says it all. Justin found it while passing out flyers

Day 3: Handing Out Flyers

2011-07-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Today our group began the challenge of handing out up to 15,000 flyers
inviting people to church at Velocity. There was a great attitude
among the group as everyone walked in pairs from house to house
leaving flyers on the door.

Many people quoted the park we had lunch in as a highlight for the
day. As you can see from this pic, three of the girls learned how to
walk on water. We passed out more after lunch but had to call it quits
due to rain, got all cleaned up at the YMCA and headed out to dinner.
We spent a lot of time tonight hanging out and bonding as a group.

Day 2 Pics Pt2: Working at the Kiddie Company

2011-07-10T21:07:00.000-07:00

Day 2 Pics Pt1: Working at the Kiddie Company

2011-07-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

Day 2 - "Here Today, Juan Tomorrow"

2011-07-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

(Sorry this is a little late. There is no WiFi in the building we are staying in)

Hi everyone! Elizabeth here. Like Todd said, we got up and ready pretty early and headed to Velocity to help them set up. Some of the teens split up and helped in the children's ministry. It was muy divertido! BUUUT…..I AM NEVER HAVING KIDS!!! haha oh jkjk :P they were wonderful :)

After church was all torn down, we stayed at the Kiddie Company to help them. We cleaned windows, cots and we changed light bulbs, vacuumed, and we power washed playground toys. We stayed at the Kiddie Company until 4 and then we headed to the pool to take showers…however, some of our group stayed and went swimming for a bit.

For dinner we ate tacos…they were very yummy! We are so blessed to be able to stay at this church, it is so nice here - we have two rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen (even though it is hard to find pots and pans to cook in), and a hugeee "dining room."

Tomorrow we will start working in our separate groups (Grellow, Blink, Orple) and get to help out the community in a few different ways. :) Pray for safe work and experiences that will impact the community and our lives.

Miss y'all! :)

-MT11 Team

Day 2: Velocity Church & Kiddie Company

2011-07-10T06:24:00.000-07:00

What a great team! Everyone got up, ate, packed up, cleaned up and got
to church by 8:15!!! We are at Velocity Church waiting for services
after helping setup.

Please pray for us this week. Last night we learned a few things about
Cleveland. In Raleigh the economy is down but it's nothing like here.
When people speak about Raleigh it's usually positive and about
growth. Here it's not so upbeat and in fact the city is shrinking. In
Raleigh about 12% of people are connected to an evangelical church
and, while we have a long way to go to reach 100%, here in Cleveland,
less than half a percent are connected to such a church. As teens in
Raleigh many are connected to a youth ministry and have friends who
are too. The lead pastor here shared that he knew of no youth
ministries anywhere in the area!

Pray for God to use us to connect one life at a time this week to help
lift the spiritual darkness in this place. Know at home that we are
blessed beyond measure both economically and spiritually and thank our
father for that.

We miss you Lifepointe!!!!!

Mission Trip Day 1 Late Night

2011-07-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

How do you feed 21 hungry missionaries? Well five full carts is a good start...

Mission Trip 2011 Day 1

2011-07-09T21:50:00.001-07:00

We made it safe and sound today to Cleveland OH. We scored some great
pizza in 'Little Italy' at Mama Santas before meeting up with the guys
from Velocity Church to get settled into our lodging for the week.
Here's a shot of my top notch copilot hard at work on the way there :)

Heading out!

2011-07-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

Headed to Cleveland with Ignited Youth!!!

10-12th Grade Mission Trip 2011

2011-07-06T19:38:00.001-07:00

Our mission trip team of 21 is getting ready to leave this Saturday
morning for Cleveland OH so please pray for us and the work we are to
do. I can't wait to see God move on this trip. Keep an eye out for
nightly blog updates from the team.

Day 5: Saying Goodbye to Mission Camp '10

2011-06-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

We are now all officially home from mission camp 2010. It was a great trip filled with a lot of fun memories. We served others, heard some "good preachin'", celebrated the fact that many of our students more fully surrendering areas of their lives to Christ, had a student dedicate herselves to missions/ministry, witnessed two guys devoting themselves to lifting each other up for the rest of high school and generally grew together into a stronger group. The theme of the week challenged us to ask, what am I 'DEVOTED' to? We redefined passion from faith based on personal feelings, emotions and excitement to faith based on continual sacrifice to God's will. Being passionate for something doesn't mean that we are simply excited about it, it means we would die for it. Much of the week was devoted to understanding that living as a Christ follower means that we will have to face trials and we will have to pick up our cross and walk daily but in that trial we have one thing the world doesn't, hope.

Personally I love the time at camps to connect with students and share in the wonder of watching them walk toward God, watching them make decisions that will change the course of their lives for good, watching them grow into young men and women of God. Those students who wanted to be 'unstuck' in their faith were moved and that is one of the most exciting things to watch.

Students: I appreciated your general willingness to open your heart to God both through the camp and also through us as leaders.
Parents: Thanks for sharing your kids with us this week.
Meghan, Tyler and Taylor: Thank you so much for your dedication to sharing God's love with our students! As always, it was great to serve with you.

- Todd

Day 4: Saying Goodbye to the Children's Center

2011-06-16T13:38:00.001-07:00

Day 4: We Are All Sleepy

2011-06-16T04:46:00.001-07:00

Good morning everyone. I'm really tired. So are the students. Isaiah
40:30-31 is our verse for strength.

Day 3: Missions Continue

2011-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Some of the crew finishing cleaning all the outside toys at the
children's center.

Day 2: Getting Ready For Worship

2011-06-14T16:29:00.001-07:00

Day 2: Missions Begin

2011-06-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

We made it to the mission site today. Here's a quick pic of a few
girls hard at work spray painting a fence. Will update more tonight.

Camp Day 2: Morning Celebration

2011-06-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to all the girls singing Justin Beiber.

8-9th Grade Mission Camp Day 1

2011-06-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Day 1 at camp is all about settling in, finding your way around and seeing how the group is going to become a team. This year's camp is shaping up to be an exciting one with a great group of students. Just to give you a few highlights of the day, after getting on the road, eating at Wendy's and checking in we migrated to our dorms. It always seems to take forever to get checked in and then in a matter of minutes the everyone has their beds setup and bags unpacked. This year the guys are in a hall style dorm with bathrooms shared 1 bathroom for two rooms (1 shower: 4 people) but the girls hall style dorms are 1 bathroom to an entire wing of the dorm (4 showers: 40ish people). That should prove an interesting challenge. After getting all unpacked we had our camp orientation, dinner and our evening 'celebration' worship service. Our band is called 'The Museum' and they are really engaging the whole camp in worship through music. Clayton King is our camp Pastor speaking each morning and night on what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ. The whole camp is centered around Deuteronomy 6:5 which Jesus quotes in Matthew 22:36-37 as the greatest command. Clayton really drove home the idea tonight that a devoted follower of Christ isn't driven by feelings or emotions but rather by dedicated seeking of God's will through a healthy daily walk. He conjectured that passion isn't just this emotional high of being on fire for God and making a shallow commitment but rather being willing to endure pain and suffering in order to glorify God.

Please pray for our group as tomorrow we begin our daily mission work at the Children's Center for the Physically Disabled, a public school not far from the university here in Winston Salem. We will be playing with the kids and helping wherever needed. I know they plan for us to paint and do yard work. I hope our team really takes hold of the words in 1John3:16-18 as they serve tomorrow. Please check back for updates and leave comments.

In the USA

2010-07-24T09:46:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update to let everyone know that group 1 has made it to Miami and we are getting ready to enjoy our 4 hour layover. See you all soon!

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Last Day Rap

2010-07-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great day living it up in Antigua. We stepped up our highlight rap from last year. It was a big challenge but we pulled off the first three sections before the lemonade workers shut us down. Check it out:

Previous Pictures from this week

2010-07-22T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hope you liked them! :)

Love Hallie and Lauren

Green Day!

2010-07-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hallie and Lauren here. Writing the blog again tonight because the boys have declared themselves lazy...

To start off the day we went to the ghetto for the last time. We saw many of the kids we had been hanging out with all week and were very sad to say goodbye. After a long, long prayer we broke into three groups; dishwashers (Eman and Jennifer H.), kid helpers (Lauren, Nate, and Dean), and paint removers for our big project of the day (Hallie, Tanner, AJ, Caroline, and Jen C.). Todd was overseer of all.

Dishwashing for almost two hours, Eman and Jennifer talked LOTS about the ghetto and how the future of its inhabitants will unfold. A myriad of dirty cups, bowls, silverware, buckets, and even the kitchen sink were washed by these two incredible dishwashers! Eman felt like an old man with gray hair and wrinkled fingers afterward.

Lauren, Dean and Nate hung out in Lucia's classroom for the morning class. Lauren hung out with Diana and she showed her all her school work that she had accomplished. Dean played matching bingo with two Limon students. Nate played "Where's Waldo?" with the rest of the students.

Tanner, AJ, Carolina, Jen C., and Hallie were assigned to start the project that would eventually take all the students help to accomplish; painting both Limon's door... inside and out and the rod iron bars on the window. To begin the painting we had to scrape all of the old paint off first. This task was tedious and a lot of work for little result. We spent an hour scraping before giving up and wiping the door down with water.

Finally the morning class let out and we grabbed the BRIGHT lime green paint and began the two hour paint job. Caroline and Jen C. went upstairs to Miarita's classroom to paint shapes in the bathroom and stripes on the outside wall of the bathroom. Hallie, Lauren, Tyler, Todd, and Tanner were painting the first door and the window. AJ, Nate, and Dean started scraping the second door. OIL BASED PAINT WAS A BAD IDEA!! Quick drying, thick, and permanent (especially in Tanner's beard), it proved to be a real challenge to get it all done. Hallie and Todd were on the inside of the first door, with it shut, painting the back. They knew they had been exposed to the fumes too long when Todd exclaimed; "I think I smelled it drip!" and they both proceeded to laugh for 10 mins while everyone else looked at them like they were high...

We finished painting the first door and Aj, Nate, and Dean had finished scraping the second and began painting. The window was almost halfway done.
We finally got the job done eventually and felt very proud of our work.

We ate lunch in the car on the way to Campo de Marte to play futbol (soccer) and basketball with the muchachos and Shorty :). Gringos (White people) and Chapinos (Guatemalan guys) tied the game of basketball. For soccer, they Chapinos gave us a break and made the teams equal (some of both on each). Team 1: Shorty, Eddie, Todd, Hallie, Dean, Eman, and Tyler (sub). Team 2: Tanner, Nate, AJ, and the rest of the chapinos. Team 1 won thanks to Eddie, chapino numero uno! Afterward Todd bought all the amigos, including us, Shucolos (dirties). mmm delicioso!

We got home, showered, ate refried beans with eggs and tomatoes and got ready to go to Cafe Barista. The coffee was very good and we learned about the guys with the guns in every parking lot... :) dont worry! they are for OUR protection!

That's all for tonight! We will write tmrw after Antigua! We love you! And Dios los bendiga! Translate THAT!

P.S.- View our pics from the week so far!

Day Cinco!

2010-07-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hola amigos! We back, We safe, No worries yo, we going to get coffee, or a cup of joe, write mo later that's foe sho.

PEACE

( read as a rap )

Wednesday!!

2010-07-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Guatemala!! This is Hallie writing because Todd went to play ultimate frisbee with a disc he is convinced is an antique.... typical Toddifer...

Today we went back to Limon and hung out all day with the older kids :) ages ranged from 11 to 15. In the morning class we played a fun game where all the kids circled up and the person in the center would leave for a moment while the rest of us decided who to follow. Then they would enter the room again and try to guess who the leader was! Very entertaining for all! Lots of laughs and smiles from kids and adults! Then we did a bible study with the kids about forgiveness which is something they really need to understand according to the teachers at Limon. We heard testimonies from Nate and Monica (a Limon teacher) and then broke into small groups; boys and girls. We read the bible and became closer to the kids through our own stories and experiences as well as their own.

After the morning kids left our group of 12 cleaned the whole school! All three floors! We swept and mopped and cleaned the windows while the teachers were in a workshop which felt amazing! Helping them clean the place where they work all the time and better these kids lives felt like a job well done!

After cleaning we ate lunch and then began our home visits. Today we would cross the Limon-Mandarina line. We split into two groups to accomplish this. One group went to see Emerson and Arnold Contreras' house (Hallie and Todd's sponsor kids) and Luis Menchu's house (AJ's sponsor child). Both experiences were very eye opening and heart felt. :)

We all got home safe and sound with some ice cream in our bellies! Thanks Todd! Will write more later and hopefully add some pictures! Hasta Luego!

ps- HEY MOM AND DAD. from lauren. haha.

Wednesday

2010-07-21T16:23:00.001-07:00

We are back from the ghetto. More later. Everyone is stoked about the
skype call home in an hour.

Guat-e-maler

2010-07-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary,
Today was like TOTALLY a bueno dia! We spent the day chillin' w/some amigos en La Esuelita Limon. We made like the cutest EVERRRRR!!! The kids were SO cute! After making bracelets w/los chicos pocos we went to the futbol field to jugar some futbol.

After we got back we ate lunch and I was like SO hungry like oh my gosh lol rofl!!!!:) PB&J for the win!

Despues de almuerza we went to our home visits. Dean, Tanner, Me, Jennifer C, Hallie, and AJ went to visit Dean sponsor kid. La chica de Dean se llama Andrea and she lives with her abuela during the day while her mother works. Dean's child's face lit up when he gave her the gifts he had for her and she started to cry while he was holding.

We met Tanner's chica (se llama Rosario) at the school in the afternoon. Rosario and Tanner both were smiling from ear to ear as Rosario abrio los regalos de Tanner. The joy was very apparent on both their faces.

Lauren, Todd, Tyler, E-man, Jen H, and Caroline went to visit Lauren's 2 sponsor kids. Se llaman Diana y Sharon. Diana's house was just 1 big room w/5 beds all smashed together for 7 people total to sleep in.

Sharon lives with her parents y su hermano con su abuela in a 2 story house. "She was beautiful....she was so gorgeous," says Lauren.

So basically today was like UBERLY AWESOME and we def made an impact on the kids and they definitely made an impact on us as well.

Manana vamos a reportar mas noticias para sus chicos y chicas en la Carolina Norte.

Love,
Nathan Bruce Seaman
Reporting Student Extraordinaire

PS Si no sabes unas palabras que en espanol y eres un gringo aqui es un link de un sitio web que puede traducir para ti..... http://translate.google.com/#en|es|

Monday Day 1

2010-07-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Day 1 was awesome. We played soccer almost all day and had some great moments with the kids. We closed the day with a group gathering and shared wins. Meeting sponsor kids, playing with the kids, awesome hugs, team safety and unity as a team have all been great. We were moved by the level of poverty and can't wait to get back to the ghetto tomorrow to hang with the smaller classes. We will be continuing all week ministering to the Limon school and are excited about some unique opportunities that will provide. We are planning out a bible study to use with the older students on Wednesday. Then bed. More info tomorrow.

Please pray individually for our team as we enter day two
Orange: Caroline, Dean, Jen, Todd
Purple: Hallie, Jen, Nate, Tanner
Yellow: AJ, Eman, Lauren, Tanner

World Cup Day 1

2010-07-19T15:57:00.001-07:00

We are out of the ghetto. Chowing on dinner. Mas info later

Good Morning Guatemala

2010-07-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

We are all up and getting ready to go. Here's a shot of the purple
crew fixin' us all lunch for the day.

We're here!!!!!!!!

2010-07-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

After a long plane ride and hearing allll about the food that group 1
got to eat in business class, we are finally here! Tita and Ronnie
drove us to the house and since it's winter it started raining!!
Question: who brought rain jackets? Answer: NO ONE!! :) how about a
rain dance? We exchanged our money and now we are about to go grocery
shopping. More updates later! - Hallie and Lauren

Flying First Class

2010-07-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Living it up up front... (plus Nate and Emmanuel)

Second Class Crew

2010-07-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

We are chilling in the back of the plane while the other group is
blessed to be all the way up front.

"Welcome To Miami" - Will Smith

2010-07-18T05:53:00.001-07:00

Landed safe and sound in Miami. Guatemala here we come. We all missed
you at church this morning!!! - Todd

Leaving for Miami :)

2010-07-18T03:48:00.001-07:00

Raleigh to Miami

2010-07-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

We are in the Raleigh airport getting ready to board the first leg of our flight to Guatemala. Everyone is pretty tired, but we are all very excited for what God is going to do in us and through us.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Leaving In The Morning

2010-07-17T22:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished packing. Only a few hours left before we leave for Guatemala. Hope the rest of you are in bed sleeping because 5AM at the airport comes pretty early! - Todd

Only 2 days left until the High School Mission Trip 2010 - GUATEMALA

2010-07-15T20:53:00.001-07:00

Please be praying for our team of 9 high schoolers and 3 adults as we prepare for a challenging week serving in one of the largest urban slums in Central America, La Lemonada. We will be posting updates of our trip all next week. - Todd

MS Camp & HS Mission Camp 2010

2010-06-24T14:37:00.000-07:00

About this time a week ago 33 of us were 4 days into one of those "mountain top" experiences like Matthew 17 where we felt closer to God and to each other than we had just a few short days ago. This time last week I was headed to a youth pastor's meeting where we shared with each other the weeks victories and defeats. Last week students from our ministry took big steps in their faith. For some it was releasing a burden they had been carrying to a leader who could pray for them and allow God to begin to heal them. For others it was an appreciation of health in contrast to the kids we served through mission camp. For some it was the unity that had developed amongst peers that were previously disconnected. Some students were moved by songs like "Lose it all" and "We All" and decided to swap the music they jam in their headphones from songs that dragged them down to songs that lifted God up. Others totally surrendered their lives to Christ and asked for Him to make their dead bodies alive in Him.

I am sure that once home some students shared every moment with their parents sparing no details while others left their parents wondering if their child had even gone. Rest assured that every student left changed in some way whether they express it or not. Something impacted them. At the end of that youth pastor's meeting the speaker David Rhodes shared that he wanted to celebrate and encourage those students who are connected to Christ but maybe don't feel like their journey has amounted to anything yet. He wanted them to know that although we may feel like the seemingly worthless biblical character Epaphroditus we read about in Philippians 2, our devotion to remain in God's love and be faithful with the little things is worthy of celebration even if those around us think it is pointless. That is just what we did in a big way. I can say that David's message that night, the worship time that followed and the time our kids spent encouraging each other and me later that night was a highlight of my week.

To all my fellow campers: Thanks for all the awesome moments of brokenness, excitement, laughter and celebration that you allowed me to be a part of. Thanks for being patient with each other as we navigated the treacherous paths of relationships and thanks for not judging me as I walked around camp singing "Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh..."

To all the parents: Thanks for trusting us with your most valuable possession. I pray that your children with live lives passionately connected with Christ as a result of every event, phone call and conversation that we as youth leaders are blessed to be a part of. Thanks for your patience and support as we attempt to partner with you to draw your kids closer to Christ.

In Him,
Todd

PS: If you want to stay connected this summer, check out the Wednesday Bible Study we are hosting at the Hub. Go to www.ignitedyouth.com and then click the Bible Study link for more details.

My Favorite Part of Student Life 2010

2010-06-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

So, the trip is over and everyone is home and I'm not even sure this blog will get checked again until the next trip we go on, but I felt compelled to share my favorite moment from student life camp.

On Thursday night after a huge celebration service we went back to our church group time and began to discuss the fact that we were leaving to go home the next day. What happened next was amazing, all of our students began to discuss ways, very practical ways, that they could continue to live out their faith once they got home, back into the real world. They realized that it is easy to live out their faith at a Christian camp where you can walk up to people and say "Fist bump for Jesus!" but back in the real world, at school, at work, or even at home that doesn't always fly. The rest of the world doesn't respond the same way. So the students came up with all these practical ways they could live out their faith, it was like a huge brainstorming session and while they were discussing Todd began writing down all their ideas. They asked themselves the question "why not me, why not now?"

I can't wait to hear about how these words on this board turn into real, tangible actions.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Red Rumble!

2010-06-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of the Red Rumble team that our middle schoolers were a part of this week. This is just after our activity time where Brett, our team leader leads us in a devotional. These activity times have been some of the most apparent times where I've seen our middle schoolers bond and become united. It has been a really cool time.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Last night's worship

2010-06-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic of Rush of Fools rocking out as we prepared to learn how
God calls us to RELATE to Him and each other. Why not me? Why not now?

Camp day 4

2010-06-17T04:56:00.001-07:00

Just getting ready for the last full day of camp. Found four girls
waiting to go to quiet time. Apparently it doesn't feel good to get
poked in the eye... -Todd

Twins

2010-06-17T04:28:00.000-07:00

Todd and Molly did not plan to be twins today, but you know what they say about great minds. Not sure if that applies here, but here ya go.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Middle school guys!

2010-06-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here's the middle school guys out in front of the wake forest university cafeteria before our soaked activity day.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Rush of Fools

2010-06-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick, blurry peak of Rush of Fools leading worship this morning.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Camp Day 3

2010-06-16T04:59:00.000-07:00

Student Life 2010 Day 2 Wrap Up

2010-06-15T21:11:00.001-07:00

Wow! What a day. Today was filled with worship, teaching and heat, more specifically sweat (at least for the middle school guys group). While the high schoolers were at their mission sites the middle schoolers hit the fields for recreation time. We played all kinds of games that were focused on team building, it was great. Our recreation time tomorrow is called soaked, so I guess you can imagine what that means, yup, no hope whatsoever of not getting wet. So that should be exciting!
After dinner and the 2nd fire alarm that went off in the girls dorms (nothing serious I promise) we headed to a really powerful time of worship and a message that connected with everyone listening, not just the students. Some tears were shed and emotions were high, but most of all the spirit of God was alive in that place. God's presence was present and the room was filled with music and prayer. It was awesome to see these students respond to God. Lifepointe's mission is to help people connect with God, I can promise you, students did tonight.
So after Eddie leading us in some individual and group trust falls, we are in our rooms and going to try to get some sleep for another long, but exciting day. Peace.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Camp Day 2

2010-06-15T15:09:00.001-07:00

We just finished up dinner and are getting ready for our small group
Bible studies. We are going to explore Ephesians 2:8-9 & Acts 3:19 and
ask ourselves what we need to REPENT from to grow toward God. Just thought I would attach a picture of the chapel we are having worship in so you could get a feel for the campus. The girls dorm is just to the right of the chapel and the dining hall and guys dorm are both behind me. -Todd

Mission camp lunch break

2010-06-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

The high schoolers have been working hard cleaning toys and chairs,
stuffing envelopes and filing papers at an amazing childrens center
for physically disabled kids. We took a break to eat lunch and play
some spoons. Back to main camp this afternoon to join the rest of the
crew. It's great to see these teens living out 1 John 3:16.

Camp day 2

2010-06-15T05:44:00.001-07:00

We starting to get into the routine of camp. Already had breakfast,
quiet times and fit in a little ultimate frisbee. Reading Zechariah
1:3 and asking what do we need to RETURN from as we run back to our
God who never left us?

Student Life Camp: End of Day 1

2010-06-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

A.J. here. It's 11:45PM and all of the middle and high school boys are actually in their beds with lights out, surprised? Me too! it's been a crazy day so far, from sun and heat to monsoon like rains, but their is no doubt that God is moving in this place. I'm excited to see how God works in the lives of these students this week, as well as in me. I will mostly be hanging out with the middle school guys, so my posts may seem pretty random, but it should be fun.

A.J. Viola
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Monday - Camp Day 1

2010-06-14T20:56:00.001-07:00

Thirty three excited students and leaders made it safe and sound to Wake Forest University today for the start of Student Life Camp 2010. Rush of Fools are some great musicians who love the Lord and David Rhodes is doing a great job connecting the Word with our everyday lives. Can't wait to see how we all RESPOND to the message. If you want to follow the study we are doing here, read Micah 6:8 and ask yourself how you will respond to God's call.
- Todd

Friday Camp Day 5 - Homecoming

2009-07-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

We packed up, had breakfast, painted our faces blue, did quiet times, rocked out at worship, took a group picture and then hit the road. The ride home was a bit rough with torrential rains, hail, wind, and a few downed trees, but we made it safe and sound. Despite the crazy weather, it seemed many of the campers took a much needed nap in the van before returning to their eager parents. God truly blessed our Middle School Camp experience this year. It was a great trip with a great group which I am excited about repeating next year.

In case you were wondering, here is some info you might want:
Songs I remember Unhindered playing:

"Happy Day" by Fee
"Light This World" (the one they had everyone jumping to) by Unhindered
"Father Will You Come" by Unhindered
"I Am Free" by the Newsboys
"Healer" by Hillsong (Nothing is impossible for God song)
"We Shine" by Fee
"Holy Is the Lord" by Chris Tomlin
"Amazing Love" by Billy James Foote
Unhindered's website: www.unhinderedworship.com
Unhindered has a new album, "Be," coming out soon.

David Nasser's website: www.davidnasser.com

Student Life website: www.studentlife.com

Thursday Camp Day 4 - Finale

2009-07-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the last full day here at Student Life Camp 09. Many of us agreed is was overall the best day yet. There was fun, there was amazing worship, there was great teaching and some great group discussions. Many of our group have felt God tugging at their heart in some way to connect more with Him. Many feel called to step up their service to God, dedicate time to learning about Him or just praising Him more with their life. I thought a group trip down to Sonic after our final Family Group Meeting was a great way to end the evening. I want to encourage you to ask your kids for details of how they have seen God move this week. I bet some of them will surprise you! It is my prayer that our spiritual high would be sustained throughout this next year. Despite the fact that we have to leave, I can't wait to see you all tomorrow at the Hub. Thanks again for the honor of being your kids youth pastor.

Wednesday Camp Day 3 - Be A Cat

2009-07-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today was water day and it was FUN! You know it is going to be a good day when you start off by locking yourself out of your room only to find that the night before Scot had accidentally taken your keys to his room (crisis averted). We started off with yet another breakfast in the dining hall followed by quiet time. The morning session led to some great discussion in family group. After lunch we went out to the rec field for a bunch of water games. After water day we had fun at free time, dinner and the evening session. Another good family group discussion, late night and pizza party (guys only) and it was off to bed. The first picture was taken from Student Life's website today.

Check it out: We were group of the day on Monday. This is a copy of the text from Student Life's blog so you can see their interview.

CAMP • 7.14.09

The first time at camp is always scary, but the students from Lifepointe Church in Raleigh, North Carolina are having a blast. The students at Lifepointe are most excited about hearing Unhindered this week. Students also enjoy the humorous videos shown during Celebration. Lifepointe brought thirteen students to camp this week.
This week at camp students hope to experience a closer encounter with God. Also, Paige, a middle school student, said, “I hope to make it less about me, and more about God this week.”
Students at Lifepointe believe that their size sets them apart from other groups at camp this week. The students are more like a family than a group, which they love.
Student’s favorite part about their youth ministry is the ability they have to go online and submit questions anonymously. Then during their Sunday night youth time their youth minister Todd Fischer, answers them.

Tuesday Camp Day 2 - Pressed Like Olives

2009-07-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

Nick, Scot and I are bringing you the daily update. The day has been long and full of fun and randomness: 7:00 am breakfast, supreme court justices, Stupid Ninjas at lunch, unifying rec time, ice skating, a case of lost and found, family time, pirates at the dome, keyboarding ninjas in the courtyard, and a pizza party at midnight. David Nasser and Unhindered lit it up tonight with an amazing retelling of the crucifixion of Christ at amazing detail. It caused us yet again to slow down and ask, "why we are here?" We just want you to know that we are having a great time and learning a lot.

Stupid Ninja Game in the corner...

Monday Camp Day 1.1 - Late Night

2009-07-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

It seems like it has been a whole day since the last post even though that was only a few hours ago. Let me start by giving you a mental picture of the event. Liberty's campus is very picturesque with mountains all around. We are staying in really clean three story hall style dorms. They are awesome but it seems the guys AC is not working so pray for some cool weather. If you walk down a ridiculously long staircase you arrive at the dining hall. The dining facilities are huge and the food is pretty good. About a block up from that is the main meeting center for the camp. It is a small basketball arena but it really nice inside. That's enough about the buildings, now for the good stuff. To start our evening off right, we got a healthy dose of humor when the camp rules were delivered. Seriously, ask your kids to tell you about the flannel board video with the flames and dinosaurs! The band who is playing is called Unhindered (www.unhinderedworship.com) and they have one goal in mind: to get every single person in that arena worshiping God. So far they seem to be doing a good job. Here is a picture I took of our group. I blurred it so you can't tell who is who, but you get the idea

They also started a series of powerful skits aimed to get the kids to think about their level of faith, how real it is to them and how they might share it. David Nasser did a great job walking the kids through Isaiah 6:1-5 showing that even in the midst of all the woes of our lifes, God is still in control, He is still holy and he will always desire to "ruin" our lives (remove any obstacle we hold closer to us than Him). We finished the night out with a little Lifepointe time outside in the cool mountain air, playing silly games and talking about the days events. I challenged them all to think about why they are here and to consider what they wanted to get out of this. I got a great bunch of responses which proved many of their hearts are open to listening to God. If you contact them, please help push them to answer this question.

Last but certainly not least, I have a way you can send your kids a note. The basic gist is that you send an email to the camp, they print it, I pick it up and hand it to them. If you want to send them a note, see some more camp pix, watch the message videos or just read another camp blog visit this site and click "EMAIL A STUDENT."
http://camp.studentlife.com/experience/?cn=09LIBU01

Monday Camp Day 1 - Road Trip

2009-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Student Life Camp has officially begun! Our little group of twelve set off for Liberty University today at 9 and arrived at 12. We are all checked into our dorm rooms, up to speed on the camp rules, excited about worship tonight and ready for dinner. I am excited to spend a week with a great group of teens as we seek to strengthen friendships, offer worship to God, have tons of fun and grow to a more passionate relationship with God. To all the parents out there, thanks for sending your kids here with us!

Here are a couple pictures from lunch that I hope will make you smile... (Check out Holly's crossed eyes in the second pic)

MT09 "After The Final Shovel" - Post Trip Updates

2009-07-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

Our mission trip team was part of ASP's week 2 summer program. Here is an update on what future groups (week 3&4) have achieved since we have been gone. Thanks to Haley from ASP for the updates. I will post more as they become available.

ORANGE: (Fairly Oddparents)
Week 3 continued digging four feet out from the patio. They almost completed the digging necessary to lay the first course on the retaining wall, so Week 4 will finish digging and then they the first course. After that, Week 4 will continue digging in order to lay the second and potentially third courses.

Week 4 finished the majority of the rough digging on this project. They also laid the first and second courses of the first tier of the Great Wall of Wyoming County. Week 5 will continue working on the first tier of the wall.

PURPLE: (Catdog)
Week 3 finished the foundation by shimming the piers under the house and the girders under the addition. They also finished framing the underpinning and installed blue foam. Inside the house, they removed the kitchen ceiling and insulation in order to reinforce the trusses. Week 4 will begin by installing a rooster roof over the kitchen then installing new insulation and ceiling tiles. After that, they will move into the living room and repeat the process in that room.

Week 4 installed the rooster roof above the kitchen, added lathing strips inside the kitchen for the ceiling tile, and made progress in framing out and installing foam and tin on the underpinning around the side of the house and the addition. They also installed vents in the underpinning and built the first of two access doors. Week 5 will finish the underpinning, remove the insulation from the living room, reinforce the trusses in the living room, and start digging a trench from the water tank in order to lay new PVC piping.

YELLOW: (Rocket Power)
Week 3 finished digging the drainage ditch and installed the corrugated pipe drain tile as well as 14 tons of gravel. The drainage ditch is now complete, so Week 4 will begin repairing the bathroom subfloor by digging new foundation piers under the bathroom so that two girders can be installed to support the floor.

Week 4 dug and poured footers under the bathroom and set sonotube piers. Week 5 will build two girders to support the floor and then move into the bathroom to replace the subfloor.

MSC09 - Coming Soon

2009-07-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

We are only a few days away from Middle School Camp 2009! I am excited about our first ever middle school camp and the adventure that awaits at Student Life. I will post updates here as the trip progresses (if internet is available) so you can live vicariously through us. - Todd

MT09 - Post Trip Thoughts

2009-06-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

It has been over a week since we got back and I just wanted to write to update everyone on the end of the trip. We left the ASP center for an adventure in the wild outdoors at ACE Adventure. We had a blast playing on the inflatables in the lake, racing through the mud obstacle course and camping in some very nice tents. As we sat around the fire singing praises to our King and felt the exhaustion of our bodies, I couldn't help but reflect on how God had worked in the hearts of our teens and leaders on the trip.

Although there were no sermons delivered, no small group times with well planned out questions or mandatory quiet times in His word, God was still moving. He revealed himself in individual conversations, in moments of worship, in the strength of a rock, in the beauty of nature and the hearts of some of our families. I am reminded as a pastor that our God is in control of this ship we call Lifepointe IGNITED and He will find a way to move even when it would seem the opportunity is not there. Our God is a jealous God who seeks after our hearts removing all other obstacles from His path. I am so blessed to be a part of watching this happen. Praise to you God!

Get your passports ready for next year: MT10

-Todd

MT09 - Thursday - Day 5

2009-06-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

"Teen Talk" Thursday started off great,
beginning with the delicious pancakes we ate.
Off to the work sites not to be late,
team orange used Taco Bell as motivational bait.

The Orange crew sweated as the dirt flew,
Yellow played in the mud too.
Purple dug holes like they always do,
but after all, they are the best crew.

Orange said "Don't taze me bro."
Team Yellow rode 4 wheelers yo,
Purple saw spiders and said whoa
Santa arrived and said Ho, Ho, Ho!

Our mission trip team has a horrible stank,
and the 12 passenger vans are growing quite rank.
Tonight is our picnic by the river bank.
I hope we get to let the music crank.

The teens lead the charge to finish the week strong.
Monday through Wednesday felt terribly long.
This morning we woke up with a very loud song.
Even still, I can't believe the week's almost gone.

Thanks for your comments and all your prayer,
Its good to know that you all care!

MT09 - Wet Wednesday

2009-06-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Just for fun we took a silly, I haven't woke up yet, this is my bed head, photo.

Orange Team: Got dirty in the mud, smashed 725 cans, found a chicken coop, and a pot of nasty beans.
Purple Team: Began framing for skirting under the mobile home, Jennifer cut a lot more rebar, and Dan got chased out from under the house by a huge spider (vowing never to return again).
Yellow Team: Had a break through moment when the ditches were connected, had ballin' hamburgers, and Caroline was attacked by a giant worm.

Todd's note: Tonight is culture night so we are in for bluegrass music and some more good eats. Spending time with other groups here just affirms what a special thing we have here at Lifepointe. I am so proud of these students and leaders, their efforts, their attitudes and their conduct. I am glad that this is not just an event free of bad things but rather an trip filled with positive things. On an unrelated note, who knew Tanner could play patty cake so well?

MT09 - Tuesday - Day 3

2009-06-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

This update is brought to you by Hallie, Dean, and Dan the man with a plan who came here in a van from Japan ;](later replaced by Maureen and joined by Sam) As we embarked on the third day of our sick-nasty conquest we encountered several tremendously gargantuan boulders, putrid smelly septic tanks, and mountain-made hot-dogs.

Team Orange, building a retaining wall, experienced lots of rocks and dump truck loads of dirt. The man whose retaining wall we are building, told us more about himself and how life is in the Appalachian Mountains. Tanner finally conquered his arch nemesis boulder and we found the worlds most remote taco bell :).

Team Purple is working under a trailer putting in footers and foundation. It poured on our tiny heads and Jennifer did her rain dance to Brittany Spears. :/ Unloading cinder blocks and 80-pound cement bags were labor intensive. Jennifer also cut rebar with a skill-saw, screaming the whole way! Our trailer owner came and spoke with us while we worked.

Team Yellow, more digging! Lots of rocks, lots of dirt, lots of fun. They got to talk to their family a lot more. The father came out of his shell and gave them lessons on how to dig West Virginia style. Massive productivity improvements followed. Sam and Eddie showed their lack of teeter totter skills, kittens attacked the crew, and they scarfed down some mountain chili dogs.

[Todd is taking over the blog now] We finished the night off with an amazing worship lead by our teens for the entire group (80 people), ice cream, and good fun. Tomorrow a few of our students are going to lead a devotion for the group (LB1, LB2, HK, SK & TW). I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They are doing more than just rebelling. They are living the life they were meant to live. I can't wait to see what happens as the week moves on. Thank you to all those who supported us and made this possible.

MT09 - Monday - Day 2 Intro to the sites

2009-06-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

By now you are all wondering what we are doing up here in the mountains. We have no cell reception and no way to contact you (except amazingly we have wifi!). Right now, I am sitting between two really cool people. Sam is so clean. Lauren E smells real bad. We have had a long day of work at three different sites and we are all waiting our turns to get to the showers. Here is a breakdown of our teams:
1. The orange team was digging out a mountain to install a railroad retaining wall. It is an overwhelming task but there were too many smiles and laughs to count. We spontaneously broke into song, hi-ho, hi-ho its off to work we go and then named ourselves each after our favorite dwarf. (Orange Team: Dan R, Hallie, Jemma, Lauren A, Lauren E, Tanner, Todd)
2. The yellow team was digging a very long ditch to make a french drain. There were tons of rocks so it felt like a chain gang out there. Shady in the morning but hot in the afternoon. The owner of the house blared bluegrass all day to complete the Appalachian experience. To quote Sam, "Digging is not really fun, but at the end of the day, it feels good to help people." (Yellow Team: Caroline, Dean, Deanna, Eddie, Kevin, Sam, Tina)
3. The purple team had the most technical job. Crawling into a 3' tall crawl space under a mobile home digging foundation holes was a bit dirty to say the least. Due to a broken saw, they cut rebar by hand with a hack saw. What fun! This is one group of tough cookies. (Purple team: Brandon, Dan C, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Maureen, Paul)

MT09 - Sunday Day 1 - The trip to nowhere

2009-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

We set off from the theaters to travel to Wyoming County WV to a little town of Brenton. The trip was full of fun: We almost ran over a small flock of geese, we sang a song about bananas, we held our breath through a bunch of tunnels, passed some gas (or at placed blame), we missed a few turns, we traveled down some crazy roads but we arrived safely about 6:15pm. They saved us some dinner, we grabbed our bunks, had a intro meeting, they took the leaders to their houses and then sent us off to bed. These are big rooms with lots of people in them. (I was so glad that in my room of about 25 guys no one snored!). More tomorrow night!

Important Dates

2009-01-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

Make sure you save the dates:

March TBD: Spring Event - Raleigh, NC
June 14-21: High School Mission Trip - Mountains of VA (www.asphome.org)
July 13-17: Middle School Camp - Lynchburg, VA (www.studentlife.com)

More info coming SOON.

Weekly Devotionals Now Online

2009-01-03T07:12:00.001-08:00

We have added weekly online devotionals to the tools that we provide to help you grow closer to God. Just as you can subscribe to get the news from this site by entering your email in the upper right of this site (http://ignitednews.blogspot.com/), you can also subscribe to have the weekly devotional delivered directly to your inbox in the upper right of that site. Check it out at http://igniteddevo.blogspot.com/

Rebelution Rising

2008-12-30T13:07:00.000-08:00

This spring we will be focusing our attention on how exactly to live the life that God calls us to live. Inspired by the book "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris, we will be starting a journey of teenage rebellion against low expectations to strive for the standards that Christ sets for us. We can't wait to see you at Fuel each Sunday night from 6-8PM at the Hub.

New School Year

2008-08-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a great summer with lots of fun times. I am excited that our weekly youth group is starting back up in a few weeks. I can't wait to hang out with the whole group again this Fall as we dig back into God's word and grow together in our relationship with Christ. There is a lot of new stuff on the horizon so keep your eyes peeled.

(You might also check out our youtube page for highlights of the mission trip and other funny videos - www.youtube.com/lifepointeyouth)

MT08 - Day 9

2008-07-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

God was certainly in this place with us! We closed out our trip with a prayer of thanksgiving for the many blessings He has poured out on our lives and a plea for Him to reign in our hearts as well as those we ministered to. We left the house at 1:00PM and headed back to our normal lives filled with a renewed heart for worship. We can't wait to see all our families waiting for us at home!

MT08 - Day 8

2008-07-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

What a relaxing day. Whether it was soaking up rays, playing guitar, riding in the boat, reading a book or playing on the dock the MT08 team lived right today. We closed out a fun day with a powerful night of worship and encouragement.

Tomorrow we plan to get up, finish our encouragement time, eat lunch and then hit the road around 1:00. We should arrive at the Hub around 5:30PM tomorrow afternoon so be looking for a call from your team members to let you know the exact time.

MT08 - The Lakehouse

2008-07-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

We are all here, rested and ready for a day of fun and relaxation. Most of us are awake and eating our first hot breakfast of the trip right now while Boat Captain Perry, First Mate Daren and Deck Hand Dan R get the craft seaworthy and in the water. More later today.

MT08 - Rock Stars

2008-07-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

The mission trip team is famous. Canadian 'rock star' Victor Crowl invited us to be in the background of his so called music video. I think the crew was actually on candid camera...

(If I get pix I will upload them later...)

MT08 - Day 7

2008-07-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

It was a good day to say goodbye to "The Big Easy." We woke early, finished packing the vans, ate our last so called continental breakfast, and headed down to the French Quarter. We met up with some students from a local youth group, "The Upper Room," and handed out hygiene kits to homeless. This was way outside the comfort zone of most of our students. I was so impressed to watch them approach, talk to and pray with complete strangers!

We all met up after that for some fun in the oldest part of the city. A few went shopping but most went down to ride the ferry across the river. Since we missed the boat by a few minutes w

e turned into the the New Orleans Aquarium for some much needed AC. We had fun petting the sharks and rays and watching the otters and penguins. After a short walk, a little confusion and short line we were sitting down in Cafe Maspero for some cajan cookin'. We polished lunch off with some beignets from Cafe Dumonde, then loaded up and headed to Lake Hartwell.

It was a marathon drive with a stop for dinner, shopping for groceries and a bleary eyed search for the house through "The Mist." It was exciting to arrive at 3:00AM last night to our fantasy lake estate. What a sweet pad! After some early morning footsball we crashed for the night.

MT08 - "The Reeds"

2008-07-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a second to honor two guys on this trip that you may not know. Kevin and Dan Reed have joined our group all the way from Maryland and, despite not knowing anyone, have fit right in. They have been such a blessing for me as the leader because they selflessly do everything you need before you ever ask. They each have huge servant hearts and have been invaluable to our team.

MT08 - Day 6

2008-07-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the end of our regularly scheduled programing. We led the VBS for the last time this morning and said goodbye to our new little friends after lunch. It was pretty touching to see the way they surrounded our team and held on for dear life. I literally had to pry kids off of some of our team members. As I reflected on the VBS, I noted that the kids moved from standing like lumps on day one to dancing with us in worship on day four. They could recite back the virtues and obviously thrived on the attention that we had given them. The only thing that didn't change was the insane noise level when they ate lunch. I wished we had brought along our own "sa-kur-ity." I want to give a shout out to Sommer because the leaders at this program were blown away by our planning and execution of the VBS.

We also finished our work project today. The team finished insulating the entire house and installed sheetrock in about 70% of the ceilings. It was an amazing feat for a crew that had little experience. The owner was very appreciative as it brought him one step closer to helping his daughter move back to the city with her family.

After we ate dinner and chilled at the hotel we all ran up the road to a little "snow ball" (like a high end snow cone) stand and then walked over the levy to Lake Pontchartrain for a stroll on the beach. I was amazed to see Ryan surfing the epic waves on his salvage surfboard.

It was a great day! This has been so much fun for me and I can't wait until tomorrow. I am so thankful to have such a great group to pastor. - Todd

MT08 - Day 5B

2008-07-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

What happens when you mix our MT08 team with another youth group, a bunch of really good food, lots of sugar, a significant amount of sleep depravation, a very small room and an ailing AC unit? You get an awesome youth led service where God was praised and everyone left with a big smile. Our students led worship, gave testimonies and presented a message of grace to a group of their peers with a quality that left me in awe. The coolest part is that many of the students from the new orleans youth group agreed to meet us on Friday to help minister to the homeless downtown.

MT08 - Day 5A

2008-07-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the van waiting for the group to finish getting cleaned up from a third day at the work project. I want you to know that each student and leader on this trip has put in everything they have without grumbling. Parents, you should be proud of your kids right now! Well, Jennifer, Hannah & Lauren might have gotten into a little bit of trouble...

MT08 - Devo 4 (Tues Night)

2008-07-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

The Chistian walk is not easy. It reminds me of a running a race. I was a runner in high school and had a joke with my teammates that around the 300m mark of the 400m dash it felt like someone threw a refrigerator on your back. We called that feeling "The Fridge." It was the time in the race where you either won or lost. Similarly the Christian walk takes perseverance to win the race.
Luke 9:23
Phil 3:15-16 (MSG)
2 Tim 4:7-8

MT08 - Day 4B

2008-07-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

It is almost midnight and we are all sitting around seeing who can do the most random things. I have seen all kinds of stuff including touching your tongue to your nose, an intense look called dragon nostrils, something that can only be described as a rock on a stick and a unique talent of braiding your toe hairs. All of this was spurred by an impromptu ice cream party after a creepy shopping trip and a few laps around the pool. We had a nice evening meal and devo down at Matt's Place. It was a rush to get to dinner because we worked so long into the evening. Most of us worked on the drywall and insulation at the house while a few others mowed grass at BBC's office. Both projects made significant progress. The VBS was fun today as we started to develop relationships with the kids. All of the MT08 team was on their A game today despite an obvious level of exhaustion.

MT08 - Day 4A

2008-07-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

We are all up and ready for another day. Breakfast definitely leaves a little to be desired and the bags under our eyes are prevalent. Off to VBS. Enjoy the pix. More later...

MT08 - Devo 3 (Mon Night)

2008-07-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

God calls us to spread his message to all those in need. He will do the watering.

Matthew 13

MT08 - Day 3

2008-07-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

What a day! It was a life lesson in flexibility. We started with Todd being late again (TM's fault), taking wrong turns (JC's fault) and found that the VBS kids arrived an hour later than we were told (?'s fault). The skits were stupendous (DH, DH, RM & HK's fault), the dances were delightful (LB, LB, TH, DH, BM, CW's fault), snacks were succulent (BM & TM's fault), games were great ( DC, LB, DR's fault ), crafts were creative ( JC, HR, CW's fault), and the word was wonderfully worth while (PC, LB, KR's fault). Eddie and Deanna arrived just in time for the closing scene (Pilot's fault). The whole program allowed us to really connect with the kids (MTo8 Team's fault)

After lunch, we arrived at the work project (GPS's fault) and started hanging insulation (Home Depot's fault). There was a lesson on hanging insulation (TF's fault) and drywall (Arthur's fault), a general lack of tools (planning's fault) but a great attitude which helped us cope with the heat (global warming's fault).

We got our grub on and then bounced to the shelter. Everyone was a bit nervous walking in but our fears were calmed when we realized we were all there together looking for a safe haven. We spent the evening in a chapel service sharing the gospel of Jesus. The band played, Hannah & Danielle shared amazing messages and we all felt God's presence during "Amazing Grace" as the people sang along. The team served dinner and the shelter guests shared their stories with us afterwards. It was a great day that left us exhusted!

Seriously, I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of this group (God's fault).

Comments Welcome

2008-07-07T01:00:00.000-07:00

Just a note to you following our trip: I am sharing your comments with the students each day so if you want to share, click comment below any one of the specific posts. - Todd