Hey Everyone! Like I said before we left, I wasn't sure we would have internet once we got to the school and, alas, we did not. I got to update the blog on the first night but not any others because the "secret" computer was not available.
To sum up the trip, it was amazing! After talking with just about every student, I feel they all learned a lot and grew even more! Thursday nights service was in particularly awesome. It is called the "concert of prayer' and it's an interactive prayer service. The staff at World Changers this year did a great job at challenging our students to pray for those in their neighborhood and those around the world as well. As our students began praying, they were broken for the lives of their friends and family who don't know Christ. We took a long time in our youth group devotion time that night to pray for those friends specifically.
After this time of prayer, we took another minute to acknowledge those called into ministry or missions in some way, shape, or form. We had 9 students come forward!!! My heart dropped and I was so blessed by what God was doing in the lives of our students. I was called to ministry when I was in high school so we made sure to take some time right then and lay our hands on this group and pray for them.
This one night kind of summarizes our whole trip. It was an amazing experience to serve and love on the students and just watch them grow spiritually. I am so incredibly proud of this group that I cannot explain it to others. I have never been more proud of these students since I have been at Graceland for the past 5 and a half years.
Parents- you have amazing kids! Keep raising them in a Godly home and keep pushing them to know Him more! It's great partnering with you!!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
World Changers Day 1
Hey everyone! I have to hurry with this post because I am on a secret computer at the school!
Today went awesome. We got up this morning and ate breakfast at the hotel and then loaded the bus. We stopped on our way to the high school where we are staying for lunch and then headed over to start our week with World Changers.
We were greeted on the bus by the team (which is awesome!) and then got settled into our rooms. This school has no AC so it was a little hot today in the school even though it was only about 90 outside. We had a whole day of stuff planned and really loved every minute of it. The worship leader here is awesome and the speaker is good as well. Your students are amazing. Most of them volunteered for a position on their crews which means they are stepping up in leadership positions. I can't tell you how awesome it was and how proud I am of them. You should be the same way!
We will leave VERY early in the morning to head to our worksites and work the day away! We love you all and can't wait to see you at the end of the week!
Check Facebook later tonight for our VLOG entry #3! Love you all and be praying for us!!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Free Day
Today was an amazing day from the start! We all got to sleep in a little late and then hit breakfast in the hotel lobby. We got to make waffles and eat fruit or bagels or cereal. We met up after breakfast and then headed to church.
When we arrived at church (The Chapel at Crosspoint), we headed inside and found our seats. Worship was awesome! There were a lot of song that we aren't used to but it was great. After worship, the pastor got up and began his message for the day. This is the first part where I really saw what God was doing with us on this trip. The pastor's message was on spiritual gifts which lines perfectly up with our Bible study we are teaching on Wednesday afternoons. His message about how we are gifted had some really great insight and points. One of the thing he said was that when asking about our spiritual gifts, we normally always ask how we get our gifts. In reality though, we need to be asking ourselves why we got those gifts. Then he made this point: "Your gifts are not for you to be put on display, but for Christ to be put on display." He was essentially saying that instead of using our gifts to raise awareness about ourselves, we need to use our gifts to raise awareness about God. He should be who we look to and who we worship, not ourselves because of what we can do or because of what we have. It was a really insightful message especially with what we are covering in the high school this summer.
After church we loaded the bus and headed to lunch at the mall. We ate in the food court and had about 45 minutes to walk around the mall and look. After lunch, we loaded the bus again and headed to Niagara Falls. We unloaded and headed to the overlook where you can see the American Falls. It was pretty cool but I will be honest, I thought to myself, "This is ok, but nothing special." It looked like a normal waterfall. I was not very impressed.
It was time to go to Maid of the Mist which is a boat ride that takes you up to the falls and into the "mist" coming off the water. We loaded the boat and put on our ponchos so we didn't get soaked. Then we started off towards the falls. As we passed the American Falls, I took a second and rethought what I had originally crossed my mind. This waterfall was HUGE. As we passed the American Falls and then headed to the Canadian Falls I realized the total extent of the massiveness. As I stood there, I was reminded our God is so incredibly great and awesome. I was and am a mesily human being who is sinful and deserves nothing in this life and the falls just reminds me more of that. As you stand there on the boat's deck, you realize how small you really are in the world. While all of this was running through my mind, one of the students spoke up and said, "I can't understand how someone can believe in evolution when you look at something this amazing. How can you think there is no God?" At that moment, I was reminded of why I do what I do as a student pastor. I do this because I want students to realize how awesome our God is and how undeserving we are of His great love for us. I do this because I want them to be COMPLETELY changed! I want their lives to be never the same!
There was a lot running through my mind during this day and God was really working in my life and teaching me and showing me SO much.
After Maid of the Mist, we loaded the bus and headed to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We ate and Levi Mays did the Blazin' wings challenge and won! He was proud of his t-shirt he got!
We loaded the bus yet again and headed back to the Falls for fireworks and to see the lights. There was so much this day made me think about but, most of all, it made me really appreciate having a relationship with my Father! Praise God for who He is and who is promises to be everyday!!
Love you all (especially Mallory Lee Barker)!!
When we arrived at church (The Chapel at Crosspoint), we headed inside and found our seats. Worship was awesome! There were a lot of song that we aren't used to but it was great. After worship, the pastor got up and began his message for the day. This is the first part where I really saw what God was doing with us on this trip. The pastor's message was on spiritual gifts which lines perfectly up with our Bible study we are teaching on Wednesday afternoons. His message about how we are gifted had some really great insight and points. One of the thing he said was that when asking about our spiritual gifts, we normally always ask how we get our gifts. In reality though, we need to be asking ourselves why we got those gifts. Then he made this point: "Your gifts are not for you to be put on display, but for Christ to be put on display." He was essentially saying that instead of using our gifts to raise awareness about ourselves, we need to use our gifts to raise awareness about God. He should be who we look to and who we worship, not ourselves because of what we can do or because of what we have. It was a really insightful message especially with what we are covering in the high school this summer.
After church we loaded the bus and headed to lunch at the mall. We ate in the food court and had about 45 minutes to walk around the mall and look. After lunch, we loaded the bus again and headed to Niagara Falls. We unloaded and headed to the overlook where you can see the American Falls. It was pretty cool but I will be honest, I thought to myself, "This is ok, but nothing special." It looked like a normal waterfall. I was not very impressed.
It was time to go to Maid of the Mist which is a boat ride that takes you up to the falls and into the "mist" coming off the water. We loaded the boat and put on our ponchos so we didn't get soaked. Then we started off towards the falls. As we passed the American Falls, I took a second and rethought what I had originally crossed my mind. This waterfall was HUGE. As we passed the American Falls and then headed to the Canadian Falls I realized the total extent of the massiveness. As I stood there, I was reminded our God is so incredibly great and awesome. I was and am a mesily human being who is sinful and deserves nothing in this life and the falls just reminds me more of that. As you stand there on the boat's deck, you realize how small you really are in the world. While all of this was running through my mind, one of the students spoke up and said, "I can't understand how someone can believe in evolution when you look at something this amazing. How can you think there is no God?" At that moment, I was reminded of why I do what I do as a student pastor. I do this because I want students to realize how awesome our God is and how undeserving we are of His great love for us. I do this because I want them to be COMPLETELY changed! I want their lives to be never the same!
There was a lot running through my mind during this day and God was really working in my life and teaching me and showing me SO much.
After Maid of the Mist, we loaded the bus and headed to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We ate and Levi Mays did the Blazin' wings challenge and won! He was proud of his t-shirt he got!
We loaded the bus yet again and headed back to the Falls for fireworks and to see the lights. There was so much this day made me think about but, most of all, it made me really appreciate having a relationship with my Father! Praise God for who He is and who is promises to be everyday!!
Love you all (especially Mallory Lee Barker)!!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
We Made It
Hey everyone back home! We made it to Buffalo safe and sound. We ended up leaving the church about 15 minutes early this morning. Once we were on the road, we settled in and got ready for the long bus ride. We began our first feature film of the day, Tangled, at about 9:45. After the movie we hung out some more and then started our second movie, Finding Nemo. Pretty much right after the movie was over, we stopped for lunch outside of Columbus and we made awesome time.
After lunch at either Taco Bell, McDonalds, or Arbys, we loaded back up and started on the second 4.5 hours of the trip. We watched Incredibles and part of Despicable Me during the other half of the trip. When we realized we were early, we decided to stop to go to the beach on Lake Erie. It was fun but a little trashed. The water was pretty gross but it was still fun. We tried throwing rocks at this buoy in the water. None of us could hit it but Graham Jones got the closest on his last throw. He gets the prize!
We loaded the bus back up and then headed to dinner. We stopped at Chipotle, McDonalds, and Subway. Once dinner was over, we got on the bus and headed to the hotel. The Sleep Inn is nice and it was great to get off the bus because it was beginning to smell a little. Now we are hanging out and getting showers. We will be in rooms and lights will be out at 11pm so we can get up and get ready for church in the morning!
Check back tomorrow and we will have another update! Love you all and miss you tons (especially you Mallory Barker)!!!!
After lunch at either Taco Bell, McDonalds, or Arbys, we loaded back up and started on the second 4.5 hours of the trip. We watched Incredibles and part of Despicable Me during the other half of the trip. When we realized we were early, we decided to stop to go to the beach on Lake Erie. It was fun but a little trashed. The water was pretty gross but it was still fun. We tried throwing rocks at this buoy in the water. None of us could hit it but Graham Jones got the closest on his last throw. He gets the prize!
We loaded the bus back up and then headed to dinner. We stopped at Chipotle, McDonalds, and Subway. Once dinner was over, we got on the bus and headed to the hotel. The Sleep Inn is nice and it was great to get off the bus because it was beginning to smell a little. Now we are hanging out and getting showers. We will be in rooms and lights will be out at 11pm so we can get up and get ready for church in the morning!
Check back tomorrow and we will have another update! Love you all and miss you tons (especially you Mallory Barker)!!!!
Friday, July 8, 2011
We Leave in 16 Hours!!
Hey everyone! Just wanted to remind you of a couple of things as we get closer to leaving. We have 16 hours left and I can't wait.
1). As I was packing, I remembered that everyone needs to pack SHOWER SHOES! Believe me, you won't want to go barefoot.
2). If you have a passport, bring it. We might try to go to Canada if we can!
3). Spend some time in prayer tonight for our trip.
4). Be at the church at 8am!!
See you all in the morning!!
1). As I was packing, I remembered that everyone needs to pack SHOWER SHOES! Believe me, you won't want to go barefoot.
2). If you have a passport, bring it. We might try to go to Canada if we can!
3). Spend some time in prayer tonight for our trip.
4). Be at the church at 8am!!
See you all in the morning!!
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