I Let My Mind Wander

2011-07-28T10:42:00.003-07:00

14 years...seriously? It's been that long? I know many people know the story, and I certainly know there are way more difficult stories out there...I'm just wanting to share ours as we celebrate the precious gift that was given to us on July 28th, 1997.

14 years ago was simply one of the best, and then worst days of my life.

The day started with Liz's water breaking...being that she was 9 days overdue, our first thoughts were, "It's about time!"

So we went to the hospital, called family and friends and anticipated what every couple about to have their first child do; that we didn't really know what to anticipate, but were totally excited to go through the experience!

As the day wore on, and we began to see worrisome looks on nurses and then doctors faces, we had little idea as to what we were in for over the coming hours, days, weeks and years. We knew it was very serious when we were told that Liz's sister wouldn't be able to be in the delivery room. It was for husband only. Just before the emergency C-section that was now in order (due to not being able to get a good heart reading on the ultrasound/ekg thingy) they had a brief meeting with us to let us know a "worst case" scenario. In that scenario there was the possibility of about 7 different things that could all happen, up to and including Liz not being able to hold our son right away, and me having to follow them out of the delivery room to the N.I.C.U. (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Well of course, the entire worst case scenario they had laid out happened, all of it...

They didn't want our new baby to cry right away, as they were aware that he had Meconium Aspiration and the risk of developing pneumonia was a good one. This is basically where the baby has a bowel movement while still in the mommy's tummy, and then runs the risk of having it get into the lungs prior to birth. Obviously, a very dangerous thing. So as soon as Caleb was pulled from the tummy they tried to suck out all of everything with big turkey baster looking things. Not the best thing to watch as they put them in both nostrils and down his throat.

From there, they do the response test on hands, feet, etc to check for initial reactions, etc (APGAR?). This all took about 2 minutes, then we were off to the NICU...

I can't even tell you everything that was going on...so many people going a million miles an hour while I just sat there alone...praying, crying, wondering if my wife was ok, and if I'd be able to ever hold my son. We had a lot of family and friends in the waiting room, hoping to do as most do, celebrate, but I couldn't really get them word.

Within about 20-25 minutes of his birth, Liz had been wheeled down to the NICU, and we were talking with the head Doctor. She told us that there were indeed a lot of complications, among which he was at a very high risk of Pneumonia, and that an initial x-ray/ct scan/something showed his heart might be deformed. That it was showing as "boot-shaped". They felt that an open-heart surgery, and possibly even the need for a transplant was a possibility. (We later found that this was due to the valve that is supposed to close allowing a human to breath oxygen instead of fluid hadn't closed properly yet. This usually happens when the baby takes the first big breath I guess, but I'm not totally sure). They gave him a shot that closed the valve over the next few hours and now it was wait and see about the pneumonia.

I had gone out to give a brief update to the family and friends and there were a lot of tears and prayers, then I went back and forth between my wife and son.

In the coming days, Caleb began to show just how much of a fighter he would be. He battled the pneumonia for about 72 hours and it was definitely touch and go. He improved though and was just about ready to come home when the Doctor noticed him having "Focal Spike Seizures". Basically his eyes would fixate looking up and to the right and his body wouldn't do much at all. It became apparent that something else was significantly wrong....

After MRI's and CT Scans and who knows what all else, it was confirmed that he had indeed incurred some brain damage, but there was simply no way to determine how much....now here's where the story gets really good and the motivation for this blog...

For weeks we hung out in that NICU. Liz and I would pray, and just ask God to let Him come home, in whatever capacity God saw fit. We would tell him about Jesus, and the Angels that were protecting him. I would go in and just talk baseball for hours, tell him all about how the game was played and the people who played it.

At one point in those first few weeks that Caleb was in the hospital, my wife asked the Doctor, "Will he know he's even alive?" and the Dr's response was simply, "I don't know"

My son may have Cerebral Palsy, but we are so totally blessed to he his parents. We believe that God specifically chose us to be this special young man's mommy and daddy, and it's an absolute joy each and every day. He is relatively very high functioning considering what he has been through.

Well, as I sit here listening to him in his room playing his new MLB2k11 Video game (thanks to Roger and Missy!), and doing his own personal play by play of every pitch, he's cracking me up! One of the greatest joys Liz and I have is to hear my son laugh, or make us laugh, or put a smile on other people's faces (let's face it, my kid is hilarious!) and looking at each other and asking...

"Does he know he's alive?"

2011-07-10T19:42:00.001-07:00

Today's "End of day" update is a little earlier because our NightTime Open Air show was rained out....we are all back at the Hotel afer a long and succesful day :)
Going back to last night...
We did a "Road Show" that was a ROAD SHOW! We were set up on and in front of a little sidewalk, that was on a bridge! It was a small bridge that went over a creek in the middle of a crossing of 3 roads that come together. The music went very well, and we set up the puppets behind the bridge support, what a blast!
Alex Lam shared a very personal testimony that truly spoke to the hearts of the people. Kiegan Basso also did a wonderful job of sharing his story and offering a challenge for people to follow Christ.
Rusty did an outstanding job in one of the more difficult places we've had to preach. As I said, we were right on a bridge, and there was constant traffic of cars, bikes, and pedestrians. He was able to stay focused and told about a situation in his family, and then explained the Gospel clearly. Following his message, our entire team went into the crowd and had a lot of conversations with people and invited them to the church we were at this morning. Your prayers for him were heard and God definitely answered them. I've actually challenged him to think about giving the message again tomorrow night, assuming we don't get rained out. Not sure yet if I'll ask him to do it for sure, so prayers not only for Rusty as he thinks about it, but also for each of us for whichever ones does the Gospel message at the evening show.
So it was a great night! And got us fired up and prepared for our long day today....
Again, I"m sorry I can't upload any pictures, my connection here is one small bar and it just takes too long. But I can't wait for you to see the pictures of your students dressed up for Sunday Services here in Jamaica. The girls all had hats, and the boys all wore ties! Quite a sight!
The first Church we visited was called Bethesda Gospel Hall. They had a "Communion Service" at 9:00am that lasted an hour. This was a pretty solemn service and went for about an hour. Although they had no instruments, or music, they had "old school" books with words to hymns (not hymnals). It was kind of cool to hear them sing and praise by memory only, without the beat of instruments or notes on the page.
At 10:00am They had their "community service". This started out with more hymns led by the Pastor or the Deacon in charge of music. Right before they turned the service over to us, they asked us to stand and sang a song to us...it was a very neat and warm song. They also asked if there were any birthdays, and a number of people told them that Allyson had her birthday on the 4th. So they asked her to stand and the whole church sang her happy birthday!
Our group played a few songs and did the "Everything" drama and it went very well. Kylie Shared her testimony and it totally tied into the entire morning's message. They asked me to give the message (I was prepared that this might happen, and had prepared a lesson from John 9 about the blind man that come to know Christ as he his blindness was cured. I tried to stretch out the message, as they are used to people preaching for an hour or more. I was able to go about 45 minutes. (I just kept asking myself "What would Jeff Gentry do?") Although we were at the church for about 2 1/2 hours of the service, the Pastor said, "We will be getting out quite early today" as a part of his closing remarks...kind of funny :)
From there we went to the second church just up the street and it was another 2 hours of church. We did puppets, some music, puppets and a drama. Kevin Mays shared his testimony (after playing in the band) and it was great to hear how he felt the calling of God to start going to church. (It has also been a blast to watch Kevin play bass because he's left-handed. We don't have a left-handed bass. Kevin has been practicing for months with the bass upside-down/backwards! So he's playing the bottom strings of a right handed bass, very cool!) During the drama, right at the exact second where "God" (Rusty) makes the rain fall, it actually began to rain outside! With the doors and windows open, this was an awesome effect! What a great God moment!
One of our contacts here did the message and the power went out halfway thru the message as it was POURING rain. Which it did on and off throughout the day. He still had a great message and I actualy made a few notes for a future sermon :)
After lunch we went to our VBS and your prayers for Cari were answered as well as she did a great job of introducing Elijah. They loved the puppets and I may or may not have had some extra fun behind the puppet stage throughout the show :)
We will be going back in the morning for about 3 hours of VBS...
I'd love to write a little more, but I'm getting yelled at because we're going out for Jamaican Ice Cream!
The day was great!
God Rulz!

2011-07-09T15:17:00.003-07:00

Mid Day Saturday...

Today has been a travel day...got up and had breakfast at 8:00am...then left for Port Antonio about 9:15. We stopped at a place called Buccaneer Jerk & Juice for lunch. I wish I could upload pics of the food, this was an epic SCOOBY SNACK! Some had jerk chicken while others had jerk pork. I went with the jerk pork and it was awesome! Also had some of the best spicy hot sauce I've ever had! We were able to make arrangements with the owner of the restaurant and we put in an order for 15 bottles of the sauce which we will pick up on our way back on Tuesday (I ordered 3 bottles, only about $3 american a bottle).

We have checked into the hotel Tim Bamboo and the rooms are the nicest we've stayed in during any of my 3 trips to Jamaica. There is no pool and the internet is quite slow, but at least we have it! The rooms are amazing, and we are looking forward to a great night of ministry tonight on the street. Please pray for Rusty as I've asked him to do the main message/gospel. This will be the first time he's done a night show presentation. It will be a great experience for him, so please pray for his clear thoughts to be from God and peace of the Holy Spirit to help him deliver the Word.

Tomorrow we have 4 shows, that include 2 church services (different churches), a VBS (pray for Cari Day as she leads it!) and another night show. Going to be a long day, but we are excited!

I'm sorry I can't post pictures from this hotel for the next few days, it takes to much bandwidth, and would literally take hours...

Dinner time is soon and then we are off to the show...I'll try to write a little more tonight, but may not be able to, as the internet is not consistant.

Blessings!

GOD RULZ!

TN

2011-07-09T15:14:00.002-07:00

This was Friday Night's blog...I posted it on Facebook, but wasn't able to here...

Can't type a lot as my battery is almost dead...but please check the updated pics!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150251373146728.322118.548186727

We are back from another all day trip, where we went to 3 places. The first was a government run home for kids with disabilities, it was a very emotional experience for me. The kids there were beautiful, and our kids loved on them like crazy.

2nd stop was an infirmary for older people, also government ran. Mainly at both places we didn't even do any of our show, we just talked, and hugged, and smiled. With the first stop we did do a couple of puppet song that the kids loved!

3rd stop was another street show, Ben and Ginger shared their testimonies. The ride home was absolutely hilarious as Ben went crazy leading songs from Star Wars, Weird Al, Elmo and many many more...the man is a gifted entertainer...hope he blesses youth with it and becomes a youth pastor!

I was very proud of each of the kids and had some neat specific interaction with Kylie, as I had her come and just take a hand of a young girl at the first stop. The girl couldn't speak, and really didn't move. But at one point as Kylie was just telling her how beautful she was, and how much Jesus loved her, the girl squeezed her hand very tight. What an awesome thing to know that the simplest of things can share the love of Christ!

2011-07-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

So yeah, God totally showed up today!
We started the day off with breakfast at 8:00am...the team had to be ready to be gone for the enitre day out "On Ministry". We did 3 shows and drove for a total of about 5 hours to the various locations around the island.
Our first stop was a government run home for children...the approx. age was 6-14 years old. There were probably between 30 and 40 children total living in the complex. Our performance area was about 20 feet sqaure, and it was on an angle about 45 degress...we knew it was going to be a neat show right away because the kdis saw us coming from the street corner and started clapping. We did the "normal" routine of songs and puppets, and a drama...Alyssa Gentry shared her testimony and the kids really responded to us well. Lots of hugs when we left, and they really didn't want us to leave, and admittedly, it was difficult. Zach Sharp gave the Gospel, and the kids were bery respectful and responsive.
From there we went KFC for lunch before preparing for the hour and a half trip up the hill to a boys home run by "Miss Irene"...what a sweet lady. She's been doing a Mother Theresa type of work on the island for over 30 years. She and her staff care for over 30 boys who have been abandoned or gotten into minor trouble. Age range was 6 to 16 or so, and their love for this sweet woman was palpable. One snag here was that another team from Ohio had already been there for half of the day doing ministry (they were not associated with our group, they were an independant group that comes to the island regularly). They also planned to spend the remainder of the day there. So we played a little soccer with them and waited for their craft time to finish and then did an abbreviated show (about 30 minutes). Marquis gave his testimony and Rusty shared the Gospel. It was kind of neat to "turn over" the boys that made diecisions to the team from Ohio.
Then it was another hour drive or so to dinner at Burger King (believe it or not, the kids are actually tired of American fast food, they want Jamaican food!), before heading to our night show in the Westmoreland area. This was an incredible event, and easily the early hi-lite of our trip here. There were at least 100 people there, including a local pastor and some of the church body from another church there.
One quick thing about this show is that we knew it was going to be awesome before we ever got there...because we were randomly pulled over and our driver's (Mr. Beddie) papers were checked and challenged for a good 15 minutes. It was pretty cool to see the kdis go to prayer over the situation, and the respect they showed as he got back on the bus.
The show started right in the middle of the neighborhood, at a market type area. Some of the ladies from the church kicked off the show by singing some of their local worship songs! What a fun challenge and blessing we had when our band (Hannah and Cristian on guitar, Missy on piano, and I was on bass) was expected to figure out what key they were singing in, let alone try to figure out their songs. Did I mention that singing ability is NOT a requirement to lead worship for the Jamaican people? But worship still happened and it was amazing! Props to Hannah for picking the notes by ear and having the rest of us follow her!
We did a rather long show (probably close to 2 hours) and the heat and humidity were intense. Nothing like the intensity of the Holy Spirit though! Zach Baumgartner and Kalena Skvarek both gave meaningful and effective testionies. Zach Sharp was an excellent Emcee, as he broke into a full Jamaican accent for the entire show. We did both of our dramas and they were very well received. The night concluded with me giving my personal testimony and the opportunity for people to turn thier lives to Christ, and for believers to get rid of some of the temptations they may have been beginning to give into. Can I just say Annie Abate and Wuanita Fraley would have loved this group, as there were "Amen" and "Praise Jesus" comments all over the place. Kind of fun to interact while preaching!
Following the challenge and prayer, I had some fun conversations with people, including "Carol" who has been divorced twice, but wanted to begin to follow Christ with her life again. Many of our team were interacting with the peole and it seems many lives were changed and connected with the local body of believers.
Our bus ride home (about an hour thru twisty but beautiful green terrain) was a blast. Full of energy as students shared their stories, lots of laughter with Emma and her Kazoo, and our NextGen sound tech Kristen's amazing laugh kept everyone in high spirits.
As I type many of the students are in the pool on a simply beautiful night. The weather feels almost San Diegoish, and we are looking forward to tomorrow's ministry.
Tomorrow's sites will be a different taste as we'll travel first to a government run home for kids with Disibalities, obviously gonna be a special place for me. Then we're off to an infirmary to simply visit and share with some older folks facing serious medical issues.
This is my 3rd time here in Jamaica, and I have to say, today is easily in the top 2 or 3 days of ministry here I've experienced. The group is a bonded and tight as ever, and spirits are so high as the Lord is working in great ways!
Sorry no pictures tonight, as it takes an incredibly long time to upload them here.
Please keep praying, and be very proud of your kids, they are ALL stepping up huge!
TN
GOD RULZ!

2011-07-05T21:30:00.002-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AWESOME WIFE LIZ WHO LET'S ME DO THIS! :)

We made it! We are in Jamaica! Solid rain here, about 87 degrees...actually very nice...but obviously very humid.
We really had no issues on the flights, with a couple of minor exceptions...the Baumgartners who were flying in via South Dakota, via Denver, via Dallas, were delayed in Dallas by 45 minutes and there was some concern they would cut it pretty close to our departure time, but they made it with an hour to spare...the only other minor issue was a few of our group had to sit solo in some middle seats with strangers, but at least we were all on the same plane...no biggy...
The atmosphere is kind of like the first night of camp...lots of kids wandering around without really knowing what to do...some of our guys already went in the pool, kind of fun in hot, humid, rainy weather...
We already collected the money for coffee, market exhange, and Dunns River Falls, and loaded up the van for the first ministry stuff tomorrow...
With help from Kalena's memory skills, here's the basic plan for tomorrow...
Breakfast at 7:00, leave at 8:00am...going to a school to do a show....then back to the hotel for a quick break then another school for a show at another school at noon....back to the hotel for lunch at 2:00 and a little free time till dinner at 5:00...then a "Street Show" at 7:00ish....so first day and we'll already have 3 shows to do...which is cool because it means all 3 bands will most likely have the opportunity to play, we'll use most of the puppet songs, and each of the two drama teams will have an opporunity (or 2) as well....nothing like hitting the ground running...
The weather has been rainy every single day for the past couple of weeks, but supposedly will take a break tomorrow before resuming the following day...most of us don't really mind the rain, it keeps us cool...kind of a pain to move the equipment, but worth the pain :)
Also, there is another team coming in from Florida, apparently their fist time coming, and we are going to be "showing them the ropes" a little bit...they'll be shadowing us for the evening show...
The latest plan is that we'll be here at the Hotel Montego for 3 days (until Saturday) and the good news is that obviously there is internet here, and it's pretty strong...so I'll be able to blog at least once a day :)
I get to room with Chris Chapman for a couple of days, that's an extra blessing!
Everyone is healthy and excited to do work for Jesus!
Have a great night! Hope to share the results of tomorrow's first day of ministry at the end of the day!
TN
GOD RULZ!

2011-07-01T07:05:00.002-07:00

So here we go...a short final post from HUME/SD 2011

We are off to the beach where at least one student (Alex Berthusen) will be getting baptized...next to leading a person in their prayer as the receive Christ, is the blessing of being able to baptise someone...can't wait!

Had a neat time with Brian Kitson, my former campus life director from high school, being a last minute guy counselor for us this week. What an awesome thing to share with a guy who played a HUGE role in my comittment and walk with Christ...so thankful for Brian. He came by my room last night and had some neat words of encouragement and affirmation, from the unique perspective of knowing me for so long. I love that guy :)

Another special way I was blessed yesterday, as the camp called all of the youth pastors to the stage to let their churches know where we'd be doing our "Church Time", which they reserve for the teaching time on Thursday morning. The youth pastor standing next to me?? One of my former youth, who is now a youth pastor himself. Pretty cool. I'd seen him a number of times at camp, and we'd talked and hung out already, but still just a neat moment to stand side-by-side with him in front of youth together.

There truly are many, many thoughts that I want to write out...so if I'm awake, I'll write one more P.S. on Saturday...if I don't end up writing, then know this...this has been one of the best weeks of camp I've ever been involved with.

Pray for safety as we head home! Hope to be there by 5:00-6:00pm

GOD RULZ!

TN

2011-06-30T02:13:00.002-07:00

Had a great time at the Padre game...had quite the adventure getting back on public transportation...had to run a block to catch a bus, but we made it :) ...oh, and the Padres won!

Youth Pastor dinner was really great. Got to touch base with some friends that I haven't seen in about 365 days (since the last dinner)...

Evening meeting was awesome as usual...a chance mainly for the Christian students to really evaluate their walk, and make decisions to simply stop doing the things they know they shouldn't be doing, or to start doing the things they know they should be doing...a number of our students made that choice tonight! Lots of personal decision stuff going on, God is def moving!

Our "guys only" time was yet another hi-lite for me personally. I don't mean to disrespect ladies in any way shape or form, but I want to try and explain something about us guys....there is a thing that happens when we as guys get to a point of humilty, and we are able to lay down our walls and be real with each other, that is simply the sweetest feeling we could have.

You see, despite whatever label or mask we try to put up, deep down, every guy wants to have a "Johnathon", like David had in 1 Samuel. We want a guy we can just sit and not say a word with, and know that he absolutely understands everything we're saying.

Tonight, a lot of those walls are starting to come down. To see the way these guys are bonding would do any movie proud. My prayer is that they can keep it up, that they can stay true to the commitments they've made to become crazy in love with Jesus...

After that...Roberto's run! Dropped about $250 on food (fortunately I had snagged the menu on Monday, so I called it ahead). SO GOOD! Everybody finally got to bed about 2:00 or so...most of them said they'd be at the Optional Dawn Patrol at 7:00am...we'll see :)

Great Race tomorrow for Rec...then gonna get some body surfing in during the afternoon...Peace!

TN

2011-06-29T09:48:00.004-07:00

So here's some of the current random thoughts...as my mind wanders...

As counselors, we know some of the ways that God might use us this week. We are prepared to be with students, hang with them, be there FOR them...yet it's always fun and such a joy when God gives us those "extra" ways to be used. Whether it's a conversation with a student that we may have thought we didn't "connect" with, or a completely fresh view from a speaker, or whatever, always fun to see that we as counselors can grow too :)

Praying for my volunteer staff this week has been such a joy...I love watching them interact and be the true "youth pastors" to the students that are in their direct care...please continue to lift them up for physical strength as the week continues, wisdom as they share into the lives of the students, and patience as Satan tries to attack and break the connections being made by the Holy Spirit

Going to Petco Park today! Gonna see the Padres and KC Royals. A friend of mine here from SD already had pre-purchased our tickets. The Hume/SD staff has been amazing as they've arranged for us to take sack lunches and transportation down to the Stadium! We're going to take the Trolley back to campus after the game, the kids are excited! (Actually we'll take the trolley to Old Town, then take the public bus back to campus...

Tonight is the Youth Pastor's dinner...always a treat to go hang with the leaders from each church and share stories, and encourage each other as fellow youth pastors

Today is "Double Spirit Day"...campers will get extra spirit for dressing up and going crazy with the theme of "Rhinestone Cowboys and Bedazzling Bling"...kind of fun to have a "macho" guy come by last night as I was having a deep conversation with another guy in the dorm and ask me "Hey Troy, do you know where the Bedazzler is??"

Watching the "Spirtual Light go on" just never gets old...to see a young person truly attempt grasp for the first time the love and care of our Abba Father, our Daddy, is humbling and amazing...that's what this pic is about...and his new "brothers" coming around him...

I love seeing the bonding of 30 guys become a brother-hood. There are so many different aspects to camp, but I really think my favorite part is our "all-guy" time back in the dorm lounge right before "lights out" each night...one of the neat things is that Hume/SD's lead counselors have begun to come and hang out with us during that time, cuz they can see God moving

Jamie Smyser was the girls champion in Kajabi-Can-Can yesterday during rec! First time she'd ever played it...the other girls in her group were calling her "A BEAST!" (that's a good thing)

Felt amazing this morning after getting a few hours of sleep, waking up and taking a shower before heading to breakfast and our counselor meeting...only to be told by one of my staff that I looked horrible...lol...age catching up w/ me??

Hoping after rec today as we take the camp picture that we'll be able to get our "traditional" front left spot...it's difficult to hold a spot for 60 people in a sea of over 700

I still occasionally wonder why I get to do this for a living...I'm so blessed...

Tonight is our annual late night Roberto's Mexican Food run....I'll be driving down about 10:00pm for about $150 in food! Nothing like Carne Asada before going to sleep!

2011-06-29T00:25:00.002-07:00

I am thrashed! In a good way, a very, very good way :)

I'm in need of sleep in a deep way, so I'm going to try and make it short, but meaningful :)

Morning Chapel this morning...Tuesday mornings are typically "Missionary Morning" at camp...my prayer many times is that 1) the kids get something tangible to take home, 2) the speaker will be able to relate and communicate effectively with the students 3) the speaker won't be boring (sorry if that's harsh, just keeping it real) A lot of times a Missionary speaker might have trouble relating to teens is because the message revolves around making students feel guilty, or not realizing the COMPLETELY different place American teens are in: They are brought up with "The American Dream", and then a strange missionary comes in and tells them to leave everything, live in the poorest possible places and trust God. A difficult task indeed.

But today was different. The Speaker (Luke Everett, www.ranchosordomundo.org) is simply the best (BY FAR) Misisonary speaker I've ever heard. He's actually easily in the top 10 of speakers I've ever heard, period. Please take a couple minutes to check out his site, I hope to take a group of students there SOON! He's deaf, and he leads an amazing ministry to the deaf children of Mexico.

For free time today, over half the team went out on a service project. We repainted the parking lot lines for a church at one of the biggest intersections in San Diego. Lots of people honking and waving. Apparently this church has been somewhat Stagnate in their faith, so for the commuinity to see the change is already paying huge dividends.

Tuesday nights are typically "Decision Night". Long story way too short (but my eyes are literally closing as I'm typing, so sorry if there are typos), 4 decisions to follow Christ that I know about. Two of them, very first time decisions to trust the Lord with the rest of their lives!!!!!!!!

I can't share their names yet, as I want to be respectful of giving them the opportunity to talk to a parent first.

I'm hoping tomorrow (after we get back from the PADRE GAME!!) to post a blog of simply my random thoughts, no really explanations or long paragraphs...

Good Night, GOD IS SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

TN

2011-06-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

So this is one of those "gonna be shorter" ones...been a long, and awesome day...
I've uploaded a new album in the pics pages so make sure to check it out...
Day started with Dawn Patrol...an optional early morning worship time before breakfast. I was pleased with the number of our students that showed up! :) Always great to start the day praising God
After Breakfast was the monring chapel session, the story of David continued as we began to see the jealousy of Saul taking over. Worship was lead again by 330 Plan (Based on John 3:30, go look it up!)
First day of rec was awesome, quite a site to see 700 campers going crazy on the rec field during "4-way games". Johnathon White won the guys of Kajabi-kan-Kan! You must understand the enormity of this accomplishment, and the prestige that comes with it...Kajabi-Kan-Kan is a glorius battle in the kingdom of youth ministry (you'll see a few pics if you look at the album)...this game is simply the greatest rec game of all time...the Knights of the Round Table would wish to have even a piece of the glory that comes with being victorius in this game...way to go J-DUB!
After rec was lunch, then a trip to the beach. Most of the group walked down the boardwalk, and some played volleyball and or went in the ocean...good times, good times...
After the beach was dinner (did I mention how amazing the food here is?!?!) and then evening Chapel.
Once again worship and the message were right on target. Tonight we dealt with the fact that we are all sinners that lose focus sometimes. King Saul lost his focus off of God and turned it to watching David. Peter, after getting out of the boat, took his focus off of Christ while he was walking on water and began to sink...the parallels lined up...
After a bit of free time and hanging with students, it was back to the dorms.
Our guys have been meeting in the main lounge area of our dorm right before going to bed. In two short nights, this has become one of the highlites of camp for me. It is awesome to sit and be real with these guys..to laugh about dumb stuff that guys laugh about and then share confusion, understanding and growth as we disect the days lessons. Lots of honest sharing happening here, and tonight I let the guys in on why my favorite name of God is "Abba", which means "Daddy". I'll let your sons tell you about it...be sure and ask them!
After the guys' meeting it was time to get ready for bed. One of the guys came into my room to talk...full of tears, and a broken heart. For me, the next hour and a half or so is why I continue to follow the calling of God to minister to young people. While I may never fully understand why I get to do what I do for a living, I'll never take it for granted. To be put in a position to hear a young man bare his soul as he searches for the truths of God, and how he is trying to come to grips with what it means to be a true Christ follower is humbling. I love your kids with everything in me, and yet to be able to hopefully convey to them that my love for them is so far short of the love of our "Abba" Father is where my heart is.
Tuesday is more of the same, and for free time about 1/2 of the group is going to be doing an Urban Missions Service project..should be awesome...more of the kids want to go, but the spots are totally filled to overflowing
Tuesday night is typically "decision night". The Gospel is clearly presented and I'm praying that the students that don't yet have that personal walk/relationship with the Lord will break down their walls, and set aside their doubts and fears and take their first steps of faith into that love relationship with the Lord.
Please be praying for our staff of volunteers, they are doing amazing! I'm so proud to be serving with them!
Today's random thoughts...
Yep, that's about it...it's late!

2011-06-26T23:34:00.004-07:00

First Day of HUME SD SH/2011

So Saturday night about 8:15 I receive an email on my phone. (This is one of those times that I'm glad I have the ability to get email on my phone). The email is from my contact at the Bus Company we charter our transportation through. Roughly 10 hours before leaving with over 60 people, this is not the person I want to hear from! And to top it off, the email simply says, "Troy, I need to talk with you asap, lost your number, please call" UH OH!!

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Fortunately, by the time we connected, the problem had been averted! Apparently the bus we were originally scheduled to take was having major AC problems. Not good going through the desert! (We went on that ride a few years ago).

But as the verse says, God worked it out for good. The outcome??? We rode on a brand new 2011 bus! Flat screen TV's everywhere...super comfortable, great engine, made good time. We arrived at camp, with a second batch of flowers for Aubrie (the amazing Hume Office Administrator at camp, she likes Stargazer Lillies) that my wife puts together every year. Our check-in was pretty seemless. All of our pre-registration sign-ups (surfing, kayaking, etc) went w/o a hitch. Everyone had their Health Screening forms taken care of, the balance payment was on the penny, it was smooth.

I have to say a huge thank you to all of the people who made today's process run so well! (Colette, Angie, Lori, Missy, Charlene, Renee, Staci, Nancy, Deeanne, Debbie, Kris F, Kris A, and the guys who helped movet the tables this morning. I am SO SORRY if I missed anyone!) When we walked out of the registration at camp, one of the staff came up to me and said how impressed she was with how well organized I was, that it was the best she'd ever seen, if you can believe that! Well, I told her it only took me about 20 years of doing camp, and the help of a whole lot of people to get it that way! So thank you all for you're part of the process, we have a great team!

Anyway, after hanging out for a bit, we went to dinner and my buddy Brian Kitson showed up, to be our final guys' counselor. This is indeed a special treat for me, as about a year and a half into my walk with Christ, (I was 18), I had stopped going to church. As my Campus Life director, Brian decided to come pick me up for 2 or 3 weeks in a row and take me with him, and I've been walking with God ever since. Brian was a huge influence in my life at a time when God knew just who I needed to help guide me.

Following dinner, we went to "The Opener", Hume/SD's kickoff of the theme for the week. This is about a 25-30 minute production, that they coudl easily charge money to visitors to see. It was one of the top 2 or 3 openers I've seen in all my years of going to Hume! It's easily as good as any other, and I can't really even think of anything to top it...simply awesome. It's a western "All-In" theme, as I know most of you know.

The speaker is on target right of the bat. As they have introduced the story of David, and how he had to go All-In during his life. Tonight's challenge looked at David and Goliath, and he pointed out 3 things that David knew to be true about God: 1) He's alive (living), 2) He's active and 3) He is without limits. The early challenge to the students is to see what it's gonna take for them to put ACTION to their stated beliefs. It's gonna be a great week!

And now, in no particular order, my Random Thoughts for the night:

He's Gonna Be Fine: Already had our first trip to Urgent Care. One of the kids has a nice swollen jaw from the busride. It looks like maybe the alitude caused a flare-up of where he got his wisdome tooth out about a month ago. (Mom was already contacted, don't worry, it wasn't your son!) We've got him on antibiotics, and yes, he'll be able to finish the week with us...

Better late than never: After confiscating 2 phones, I had 3 more turned in tonight...good to see the Holy Spirit doing conviction on young men

"The greatest among you will be your servant": Taylor Bader has a fallback position at any restaurant as a busser...he probably cleard about 200 sets of dishes tonight, what a servant!

I'm a meteoroligist: The weather is beautiful! Perfect!

Old students are like a boomerang...:

Robert Ramirez (Horizons' graduate 2010) is doing an awesome job on the Video Staff here at HUME/SD!

One of my old Junior High kids from my San Diego days, Tim Brown, (or "Big Tall Tim as my son Caleb calls him) is now a youth pastor, and has his group here!

Another two of my old kids, Shawna and Owen Spiva, are on the staff here this week as well...so awesome to see how God has continued to mold them into His image!

Yuch, but yay!: 5 hour Energy drinks are one of the nastiest tasting things ever! But they work amazingly well...I think we have close to 40 of them as a staff in our combined stash this week!

That's it for tonight..I'll try to have picture up tomorrow :)

2011-06-07T23:02:00.003-07:00

When I was a little boy, my Mommy (actually my step-mom, but the only woman I ever knew as "Mommy") used to make "Hot-Milk-Toast". It was one of my favorite things to eat. Basically, it's exactly what it sounds like: Heat up milk, pour it over cut up pieces of toast, and add some sugar on it, which puts a sweet taste on the soggyness of the bread instantly created. Might sound gross to some, but if you eat it quick enough it was very tasty! Obviously, let the milk cool down, and the bread get absolutely soaked to the point it falls apart, and no amount of sugar is going to save it.

Lately, I think I'm seeing too many of us Christians walk thru our lives like a bowl of Hot-Milk-Toast. We get our spiritual lives on fire (Hot-Milk), and pour it over every broken piece of our lives (Toast), and then try to add fun things to it (Sugar) to make it look, smell, and taste ok. The problem is, all too often, we get ourselves prepared correctly, and then do nothing with it...becoming soggy, luke-warm Christians, "and no amount of sugar is going to save it".

I'm sitting here thinking of so many of the young people I work with...some doing very well, some probly needing a bigger pat on the back, some needing a bit of a spiritual kick in the rear-end...and yet, I still wouldn't trade it for anything.

We are in the middle of VBS this week at Horizons, and so many of them are involved, I'm very proud of them. It's great to see and hear about their servant's hearts...

As we look forward to Summer Camp at Hume/SD I have to say I'm as excited as I've ever been about the theme, "All-In". I think, and pray, that our students will be challenged to put up or shut up, when it comes to their walk with God. Even after all these years in youth ministry, it still bums me to know that some problems and choices teens still face continue to take them down paths that God so wants to help them avoid. It's hard to watch good kids make poor decisions, and yet contstantly refreshing to watch God not give up on them.

There have been parts of the last year that have been very trying on me personally in ministry, perhaps like never before. And yet, in the last few weeks I have seen a group of young people stand up and say, "Troy, we want to make a difference, and we will not put up with spiritual soggy lukewarmness anymore!" I can't wait to invest the next year into THESE students, as well as anyone else who wants to come along for an amazing ride.

Hot-Milk-Toast can be a great treat, or a disgusting mess...kind of like our spiritual lives...just random thoughts....

2010-06-26T15:59:00.005-07:00

SOME (final?) THOUGHTS FROM HUME/SD 2010

First of all, I'll just say that I'm as excited, encouraged, and motivated to work with High School students as I've ever been! What a great finish to the week as we went down to the beach and baptized a number of students! Next to talking with and leading a person as they pray to receive Christ, there is no greater joy for me than to baptize a brother or sister in Christ :)

On an update note, the young man, that I mentioned in my previous blog, and I are communicating and there is definitely a strong movement towards the restoration of our relationship, so your prayers are being answered, praise God!

Back to the week...just some totally random thoughts as my mind wanders and thinks of different things from the week...

Our group meetings of about 30 guys at night in the dorms were some of my favorite times of the week. Just seems like these guys truly became a band of brothers in Christ. Didn't have the "freshman are newbies, and as upperclassmen we can treat them poorly" feel to it at all.

Corporate worship, whether with a group of my peers, or a group of teenagers has always been and will always be one of my favorite parts of being a Christian. What a blessing we will have in Heaven to sing with the saints in the Bible as well as the Angels and our friends!

Our volunteer staff this week was incredible. They gave everything they had for the whole week. They were the true youth pastors this week and were there for every moment for the kids they were linked with. I love pouring into our staff, and empowering, encouraging, and enabling them to do Christ's work as He leads them!

Roberto's Mexican food in San Diego at midnight is still one of the best meals on the planet! We had an order of over $240 for all the kids, and it was amazing.

I'm so proud of how our guys showed respect for each other all week. And the way they interacted and cleaned up the dorms so quickly. They totally captured the theme of Excuse Mwa this week, and did not live for themselves, but put other guys first. If our teens can capture this nature, and be an example to all of us men, our church, and The Church, would be forever different and more like what I believe Christ intended it to be.

This was one of, if not the best, themes and implementations of the theme, in the history of my time associated with Hume Lake Ministries. That's over 25 years speaking...

In spite of the fact we only get to spend a few precious days together every year, Cliff Carey and Jay Johnson are truly two of the best friends I have. I love and respect them so very much, and I'm blessed to be a part of teen ministry with them.

About an hour and a half outside of home, I predicted a 6:40 arrival time...the front wheels of the bus crossed the driveway of the church at exactly 6:40 pm...just sayin...

Jared has inspired me to finally begin P90x...hopefully starting Monday!

Aubrey (the main office administrator at the Hume/SD) is truly a blessing. She always takes care of us here at Horizons. And anyone who can put up with my hi-maintenance self should be appreciated!

Somehow I need to have my wife at these things. It's so hard to have these truly neat and deep spiritual times of my life without having her, my partner, experience them with me.

I'm so glad I get to do what I do for a living. I pray I'll always be involved with youth ministry in some capacity. Whether speaking from time to time, or just having a small group of guys...simply a joy of my life.

Paper-Plate awards are cool!

I was so bummed that a couple of our kids didn't get to experience camp as planned. Jesse had got sick two days before camp, but J-Dub got to go in his place, and God totally worked in his life! Kyle was sick after the bus ride over to the other church that we traveled with and wasn't able to go, and Alyssa had to go home at the end of the first day because she also became sick. It was good to see her at the baptisms though! :) We missed you guys!

McDonald's BBQ packs shouldn't cost .11! Especially when you bring a group of 55 people and their money into your restaurant!

and finally...

I guess to sum it all up I can just say how proud I am of these students. With the size of our group being about 25 more than any group I've ever led to camp, it was harder than ever to get quality time with individual students (which again emphasizes the importance of our volunteer staff!) and I truly miss that part of having a smaller group. At the same time, the fact that our students heard so loudly and responded so faithfully to what He is challenging them is the way it's supposed to be! Can't wait to see the next year of our High School ministry as the friendships grow, the commitments made are lived up to, and God continues to do His work in His Ministry!

GOD RULZ!

TN

2010-06-25T01:53:00.002-07:00

Satan is defeated, but he is no idiot...

We had a great close to camp. Worship that I "tweeted" about was filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit...the message from Brad Bell was simple and to the point...our old life is still at home, waiting for us, and those same old habbits will be pursuing us...we have to be ready...With new lives in Christ we haven't arrived at the end of our journey, it's only just beginning...we are to FOLLOW CHRIST...time to turn away from many things...

From there it was off to Victory Circle...an outdoor amphitheatre known as "The Greek" cuz it kind of looks like something well, Greek. We had some more acoustic worship and then students asked to share, in 3 words, what God had done in their lives. What had he shown them? The responses were genuine, and felt. If you've ever thought you couldn't talk to your friends about Jesus, how about narrowing it down to 3 words and starting from there. I've just seen it from teens, you can do it...

After they dismissed the ladies, Brad came one more time to challenge the guys to three things based on "weak-sauce sissy Adam" in the Garden: 1) Reject Passivity 2) Accept Responsibility 3) Lead courageously ...

Finally it was back to the dorms...where we started packing and then met one more time as a group of guys from Horizons (one of my favorite things about what we've done this year)...

I challenged each of the guys to write down one specific action they would take before church on Sunday as a result of this week...responses simply gave me goosebumps..can't wait to hear about it on Sunday!

and then, on a personal note...the rug was pulled from under me...one of my former kids, a 23 year old young man I love and have knows since he was 7 or 8, absolutely tore into me for all the ways I've failed him and his family. He posted it all over my facebook, which I deleted, but they'd been up for an hour or so...decided it was probably best to block everyone from posting at this point, I don't want to block him as a friend, as I still care for him and want the chance to respond. Tried to deal with it for a while, knowing that it was absolutely Satan's timing to attack me, but still needed to talk w/ Liz. So with lots of tears, I called her at 1:30am or so. Instant cheer up as Caleb actually answered the phone! And Liz was the support I knew she'd be.

I'm so far from a perfect man, but I love these kids dearly. Whether it was this week, or this young man from many years ago. It hurts to know that maybe I could/should have done more to stay in touch when he was graduated and then moved away. I'm not a good "follow-up" person, as many of you know. I'm a fairly good "responder", to a crisis, a need, a text, an email, you get the idea. But if I don't respond right away, I often/usually forget to follow-up. And that's a big part of what this fiasco is about. Pray for my young friend, and that hopefully he and I can have a Matthew 18 moment as I go to him in love, but so far he isn't really responding to me.

But now I just can't sleep. I haven't packed yet, we've got so much to do to be out of here in 5 hours...packing and leaving dorm before breakast at 8:00am. We've got our Tradition of the last day (can't say because it's a secret from the first timers)..then it's off to the beach where we'll be having a number of baptisms! Hopefully heading home by 11:00am or so. I'll write one more hopefully by Saturday afternoon.

I will still say...awesome week!!

GOD RULZ!

TN

2010-06-22T22:24:00.002-07:00

So much to say, and I don't know where to start...

I was gonna talk about all the "awesome" rec we had today, including a bunch of our kids in the great Kajabi-Can-Can

I was gonna talk about the "amazing" time at the beach and riding waves

I was gonna post pictures of the whole day...

I was gonna talk about how much I was anticipating what the Lord would do tonight at the evening chapel...Tuesday night's meeting...typically known as "Decision Night"

But as I sit here in absolute awe of God, with tears streaming down my face, I am humbled and blessed to say that none of what I planned to talk about compares to the love and mercy of God through his Son, and my Savior Jesus Christ!

"Awesome" is getting to pray with a young man whose one of the first ones to get out of his chair and go sit on the steps of the stage by himself as he's balling and weeping with the understanding of how much God loves him.

"Amazing" is seeing a young lady that I've prayed for well over 1,000 times (not an exaggeration) in the 6 years I've known her be completely broken for the first time in a long time, and maybe ever...

The best picture I can give you is whatever vision God puts in your head right now, as you read this, as you imagine what it must have looked like to see dozens, hundreds, of young people sitting on the floor in front of and all around the stage; some laughing with a joy of Christ that they can't explain, some weeping with a sense of purpose, forgiveness, brokenness, healing, and love from a DADDY (Abba Father) for the very first time, or maybe the deepest they've ever felt it....

The anticipation that I was so excited about all day, while I believe was a genuine sense of God giving my heart a sneak preview, was so far short of what HE did tonight. At the end of our speaker's (Brad Bell, thank you for praying for him!) message, he gave students an opportunity to stand up, and come forward for those that wanted to place their faith and trust in Christ for the very first time. Not an easy thing for teens to do, but they came. Including at least 3 of our own students! As counselors we'd been asked to come up on the stage and sit with our kids that were making those decisions...and as I did, I lowered my head and began to pray for the two guys I was sitting with, with my arms around them. After a bit, the speaker started talking to Christians, those that were like the seeds in the parable of the sower, the ones that had committed their lives to Christ, but were getting choked out by weeds, bearing no fruit. And so I began to pray for our students, which made up the majority of the 60 that came with us. And I could never have anticipated what my eyes saw when I opened them. Our church has been taking up the first 6 rows or so of one of the 4 sections in the chapel for each meeting. When I looked up at the section, "anticipating" a few empty seats, what I saw was a bunch of EMPTY SEATS! Most of our students were sitting on the floor in front of the stage! Parents, your prayers for your kids are being heard, and answered by our Daddy! I encourage each of you to listen to your students as they talk about what God is doing in their lives.

Go to sleep tonight with the knowledge that God is working, there is a HUGE party in Heaven tonight, and we still have 3 more days of camp for God to stay at it!!

Good night...no....GREAT NIGHT!

I can't believe what I get to do for a living...

God Rulz!

2010-06-21T22:44:00.011-07:00

Day One (Monday):

Got up at about 6:30..got cleaned up and headed for "Dawn Patrol", an optional worship time with the band "unplugged" before breakfast. After some eggs, a banana, and plenty of juice, we were off to the morning meeting. First time we got to worship with 330Plan where we really experienced the power and presence of God through their leading and the morning message...After that we had Recreation out on the track...pure craziness and fun competitions...one batch of our kids is in 2nd place after day one...but it's after Thursday that counts! Free time was a bit of a challenge, didn't go to the beach as planned. Not nearly enough shuttle buses running to the beach. There was a transportation goof up on the part of the college (not Hume's fault) and we've been assured the problem will be fixed tomorrow. But as I twittered earlier, still had a blast right here on campus. The evening meeting was simply one of the best I've ever been to as a Youth Pastor. The worship was awesome, the message was clear, and then more worship. At the end of that, they had us break into church groups for about 20 minutes. And here's what made it great...I asked the kids to use just a couple words or sentences to share one piece they got out of the evening meeting, and let me just say...THEY ARE TOTALLY UNDERSTANDING THE THEME AND POINT OF THIS YEAR'S CAMP! Praise GOD! It's all about getting the look OFF of ourselves, and directing our energy and everything we're doing towards GOD...that HE ALONE should be the reason we exist, and want to exist. After that we had some free time before calling it a night, and I had an awesome discussion with 3 of our girls about some of those deep life questions: How old will we be in Heaven? Will we recognize each other? Where will it be? Will we get bored? And many, many more. The conversation was over an hour and a total blessing because young people are wanting to know more about their God! Alright...that's the quick summary today...I'll try to post a video of some sort before dinner tomorrow night. Please be praying for tomorrow night's meeting, lifting up our speaker, BRAD BELL, as he prepares to give the Gospel. Pray that God would use him to lead many young people into an eternal relationship with Christ! I'm confidant and humbled to say that this time tomorrow, eternity will be different because we will have new brothers and sisters in Christ! AMEN!

God Rulz!

2010-06-21T00:38:00.002-07:00

Well, here we go again! Another week in beautiful San Diego, Ca. It's my blessing to be able to have the largest group of high school students going to summer camp that I've ever had in my 25 years of working with students. We have 60 kids and 10 staff people here to love on kids with the love of Jesus this week.

I'm so excited to see what God is going to do this week!

Just some random thoughts...

Greatful to share the experience with our friends from The Church At Arrowhead. Curt has a great group of kids and staff. Got to meet his wife Heidi for the first time finally after knowing him for nearly 5 years.

The ocean breeze is awesome! I made sure to set all of our staff with rooms facing the ocean, and about the students...

The opener was absolutely awesome! Hume has taken their game up yet another notch.

The theme this year is Excusez Mua...and will deal with getting ourselves out of the way.

Be praying for Brad Bell, this weeks main speaker, that God would use him in a mighty way

Missed my son a lot today, being father's day and all...at least I got to hug him before I left early this morning...and yes, definitely missing my wife, partner, and best friend of over 20 years too

Had a "guys only" meeting tonight before going off to lights out...challenged them in all phases of this week to represent Christ, even those guys that aren't Christians (yet!)

Prayers for Kyle who stayed home sick this morning would be appreciated. We're hoping he can make it by Tuesday...he was actually on the bus and had to get picked up by his family...bummer...

I'm being kept awake by a group of guys in the lower building, about 50 yards away...wish the Lead Counselors here would keep them quiet...lights out was hour and a half ago...

well...first full day of camp tomorrow...can't wait!

feel free to leave a comment, always nice to know if anyone is reading :)

TN

2009-07-08T07:00:00.002-07:00

Well, this is it from Jamaica...

One last blog before leaving for the airport...and I don't have much time

The long trip on Monday went very well. No motion sickness at all, nobody got grumpy, there were at least 200 children, many gave their lives to Christ, the show was awesome...a very nice last day. Our morning VBS was canceled which was probably a good thing because of the long trip, and God knew what he was doing :)

Yesterday was simply one of my best days ever, like, ever! It started as a trip to Dunn's River Falls, and became so much more. Four of our girls were baptized in the Ocean here! Kalena, Alyssa, Tracey, and Jenn....what a joy to hear each of them answer the question, "Why here, why now?"...I love these kids with all of my heart...

The falls were a blast, and I've got banged up shins to prove it. Cari Day and I dropped a challenge on each other and we found the most difficult way up possible...that was cool!

The end of the day though, God gave us a special once in a lifetime experience...

Cari and Renee were taking a late (like 9:30pm) walk on the shore when Cari noticed something moving...it was a giant sea turtle who was coming up to lay her eggs...making a very long and awesome story way too short, she came and got me on the "down low" and Cari, Renee, Dennis and I watched God's handiwork as she dug a hole, laid about 80-100 eggs, buried them, and moved back into the ocean! Who sees that!?!?!?! Dennis got a lot of pictures, simply a blessing from God...I felt so bad that Liz couldn't be there as she loves turtles so much. When I said something to that effect, Cari then realized another of God's blessings..."...and what did we bring down to give to the children at VBS?! Turtles!!!" I knew that God was telling each of us at that moment in history that "He Cares!", like what was written on the turtles we gave out...

We are heading to the airport now...and it's going to be a long day, please pray for continued patience with each other, and please pray for me and my health...I've been on day-quill and emergen-C packs for about 3 days now...sleep has been rough, but God is good!

We can't wait to see you..

in HIS GRIP

Troy

2009-07-05T20:31:00.002-07:00

You all need to know that your kids are tired and very happy! We are being used in great ways by the Lord.

We did have a 3 hour church service today, so I guess no more jokes to Pastor Jeff about the length of his sermons! We go like 1 hour and 15 minutes and it seems like people are thinking about being late in the line for lunch at their favorite restaurant...here today, we "ended" the service at least 3 times and then went on for another 20 or 30 minutes...the folks here are very friendly and they love to worship...

Our show tonight was a lot of fun, and it was capped off by R.T.I. (Rusty The Intern) giving the Gospel. I gave him about a 3 hour notice, and he was a bit nervous, but I was very proud of him, and a number of young people and I believe a couple of adults came to Christ, praise God! We gave out many bibles, and the Lord added to his Kingdom today!

One disappointing thing is that our VBS got canceled tomorrow morning, but the bright side is that we get to sleep in...of course, I've still got 2 roosters right outside my room that fight every morning to see which one is gonna roll out of bed first, and their competition started at about 4:30am this morning.

We will have time off tomorrow until lunch, and then at least a 3 hour busride, that I mentioned earlier, and it won't be easy. Please pray for no motion sickness, and great spirits, patience, and attitudes for the entire trip. Although it's our last show, apparently it's going to be our largest because we've been told to expect anywhere from 200-400 people...praise God...not sure who's giving the Gospel, but please pray for the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work.

Oh...almost forgot...last night's show was the first ever "service" of a church plant in the neighborhood we went to...so exciting! Kris Hanson is amazing as an emcee...he ran the whole show, and I'm planning to ask him to do it tomorrow as well.

Everyone except Renee has given a testimony (including Dennis, who went tonight!), and she will give hers tomorrow...she told me today that it will be the very first time she's ever given her testimony! Praise God! Please lift her up as well...

One last thought...this morning, in the church service, I had to grab the bass and improvise with Dietrich and Chris Chapman as the women song leaders led off the service with about 5 songs I've never heard before...I had a cool piece of equipment in front of me though that gave me the notes the guitar was playing, so I was able to pull it off, completely and ONLY by the Grace of God! What a blast...

I talked to Liz and Caleb today, I simply can't wait to spend some time with my family. It's been a long 3+ weeks (including the two summer camps), but I praise God that He has totally blessed me with these students...I wished her a happy birthday, and Caleb did a great job of not only keeping the secret birthday presents we hid together a secret, but of not forgetting to give them to her first thing this morning! That's my boy :)

It's very likely I will not write tomorrow, as the day will be long, and it will be very late when we get back, and then Tuesday we will be at Dunn's River Falls all day...so the next time might just be a phone call from Memphis from your students...

Every one of them is missing you all very much, and can't wait to see you...please pray for a great end to the trip that God has blessed us with so much this far...

May His Grace and Peace guide you and comfort you...as He has us while down here serving Him...

Troy

2009-07-05T16:08:00.002-07:00

I snuck in again! This will be really short...

Please pray for a VERY long and difficult trip that awaits us tomorrow...about 3 hours thru very tiny, windy, narrow roads uphill and then back for a show tomorrow night to a remote place...pray for safety, and no motion sickness...it's gonna be a tough drive, and it will be our last show...

We have one more VBS tomorrow morning, go Cari! Lauren, I want you to know what a blessing Cari has been here, like we talked about...God has used her to save many souls...YOU ARE A HUGE REASON FOR THAT! Praise God!

We are off right now for a show, and I've asked Rusty to be ready to share the Gospel. He's a bit nervous, and it may be tonight or tomorrow...please pray for him to be used...

I'm getting yelled at to get off the phone by a very pushy intern of Pastor Dietrich! She's nice :)

I'll try one more time tomorrow...

TN

2009-07-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick update...we are leaving for the local open market in about 3 minutes, but I was able to beg the computer for just a couple of minutes...

Carie Day has led an entire 2 days of VBS! Amazing to think that 24 hours before we leave, she's not even on the trip, but God has used her in mighty ways! Children have come to know Christ because she is here! We gave out the turtles to them today, so those of you who helped make them, know that they were very blessed to get the God Cares Turtles from our VBS!

The VBS that we've done for two days is actually the very first two meetings of a church plant! We are going back tonight for an evening church service where Pastor Lister will get to tell the local neighborhood families (of the children that were at VBS) about the new Church God has led him to start.

Last night we did a show and I was asked to do the Gospel...what a blessing as the Lord used the entire team to soften and prepare hearts to be open to Christ.

By now, just about everyone has given their testimony, with just a couple more students to go...

As far as health and bugs, there are no major concerns, praise God. There is a tiny bit of home sickness, but that's maybe what I'm most excited about. Part of my prayers for our team is that for many/most of them, this will be the first time in their young lives that they will have to truly rely on the Holy Spirit for strength, energy, endurance, patience, self-control and more. Please continue to pray for good attitudes and a willingness to get out of the box, and patience with and for each other.

God is working, it is awesome. People are giving their lives to Christ at EVERY show, and with EVERY opportunity, praise God, PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!

We won't be going back to our other hotel, so again, the updates will be sporadic, I'll try once a day, but no promises :)

In HIS service,

Troy

2009-07-03T06:11:00.002-07:00

Here is a brief update, I'm sorry to say that we have VERY limited access to internet in "Ochie", so I will not be able to post much from here, if at all for the rest of the week. I believe we'll be back in Montego Bay on Tuesday Night, so it may be until then before you hear from me...I will try to get into this office once or twice, but unfortunately, I can't guarantee anything, and uploading any pics from here is really out of the question as I'm not on my laptop...I'm very sorry :(

We are doing great though, and God is working. We've done a couple of evening street shows, including last night where we partnered with a local church. Basically think old time "Tent Revival Meeting" without the tent! They had some singers, and some testimonies, and then a pastor that brought Hellfire and Brimstone, and the Gospel was shared. We intermixed our programs and the response to the dramas we did was amazing. Their pastor intermixed the truth from the dramas, and there were at least 20 people who gave their lives to Christ! So far, Kara, Kris, Kiegan, Rusty, Jenn and Haley have shared their testimonies, and all are doing great.

We visited an infirmary yesterday, and met with many men who were blinded, crippled, or worse. We had the chance to pray with and for a lot of them.

For some of the team here in Ochie, we are blessed to have the opportunity to sleep in small villas that have no Air Conditioning, and a rooster that begins his (and our) day at 5:00am! YAY!! (sarcasm implied!)

The food has been exceptional, and no one is going hungry! Mostly american type of foods, no goat yet! :)

We are off now to do a VBS type of program, which means extra puppet songs...

I have to go...I will try to get back on, but no promises until Tuesday...keep praying for health, good attitudes, and patience with each other! As their leader, I covet those specific prayers in abundance!

I'm getting yelled at to get on the bus...

doing HIS Work,

Troy

2009-07-01T19:20:00.002-07:00

No pics tonight...we took some but I don't have them uploaded yet...I'll try to get some from Dennis when/if we have some downtime tomorrow afternoon....

Tonight was fun...we drove about 15 minutes to a site that was literally in front of a little hole in the wall convenience store and post office, facing a busy street...we literally backed the the equipment van right up the driveway and set up on the sidewalk. There was some expected confusion as most of the team really didn't know what to fully expect.

On the way to the show, we made known to the guys which girl they were each "responsible" for, basically to be able to know where they were at all times, for the duration of the trip. Safety in numbers. We also assigned everyone a number to "count off" once we are on the bus so that we know where everyone is.

The show started with two local songs ("my my my" and "fire fire")...very simple chords and I got to play the bass for both of them! And I don't think I missed a note! I gave Kris Hanson the harder 2nd set, lol...and he did great...

We performed a puppet song, and the Rusty gave a testimony. Dick's band then played a couple more local songs and then another puppet song, which the kids really liked.

Jenn gave her testimony, she did a great job! After that we did the "Champion" skit, in which Marquis played the role of the victorious Jesus over Satan in a "battle of the ages". That was followed by Dick giving the Gospel. The crowd was actually pretty small, like maybe 20 people that were actually close enough to see their faces. There were probably another 30 or 40 within seeable hearing distance. Although the offer was given, we don't know of anyone who committed their life to Christ tonight, but the Word was preached.

There was one young girl that Kalena and Charlotte were able to talk to who said she had accepted Christ, but that she didn't think she was going to heaven yet, because she hadn't been baptized yet...they shared the story about the criminal on the cross, who Jesus promised would be with Him that day in paradise, and he was never baptized...

We're back at the hotel now, kids have free time for about another 25 minutes, then I'm asking them to be in bed by 10:00, cuz we're seriously thrashed, and we've got an early breakfast in the morning (7:30am) before heading out to an infirmary and children's home.

Speaking of food...our dinner tonight was already about 3 times better than anything I ate the entire trip two years ago! Spaghetti, some type of chicken in sauce, and awesome mashed potatoes...drinking tons of water, glad I bought that Camelback, what a great invention...

Great first night, tomorrow will be busy with two shows, changing hotels, and a two plus hour drive to what will be our home for the next 5 days, in "Ochie"...

My understanding is that they have internet there, so Lord willing, I'll be posting again sometime tomorrow afternoon, with at least 3 or 4 pics...

Troy

ps...one of my joys tonight was going around to many of the students, putting my arm around them at various points in the show and saying, "Can you believe we're in Jamaica! Sharing God's Word and love for these people!" It was, and is, pretty cool!

Yay God!!

2009-07-01T13:21:00.002-07:00

We are in Jamaica! We have arrived at the hotel...that we are staying in only for tonight...it is called the Hotel Gloriana in Montego Bay tonight. We will eat dinner at 5:00pm and then head out to our first show already! As will typical, we have no idea where we are going, but Dick Dietrich told us to be ready to go. It's 3:30 our time, about 2 hours ahead of AZ time (we are in Central Time Zone)...

Our first flight was uneventful, and we landed just fine in Detroit at about 1:30am. After about 90 minutes we were on the plane for leg #2 but had to sit on the tarmac for about 20 minutes while the ground crew double-checked what the pilot described as a "strange noise that the wing walker didn't like in the landing gear"...awesome! But we were on our way without much further delay and a few of us were able to see a cool lightening storm out of one side of the plane. It's honestly one of my very favorite things to experience, watching a lightning storm from above the clouds. I don't know how anyone ever watching that could say there is no God...simply breathtaking

After landing in Memphis for and hanging out for about 90 minutes, we were loaded onto plane #3 and were again delayed for about 15 minutes because a groundcrew person discovered "a scratch on a maintenence door"...seriously...oh well...a few more bumpy-bumps than the first two trips but we were also pretty tired...I was able to get about 45 minutes of sleep somehow...

After landing in Jamaica, we had to go through customs, our official in line was a pretty uptite fellow and was a litte perturbed about something...this was no time for joking around and we were able to get through it with lots of smiles, though he never seemed to warm up to us...

At stage two, we had to have all of those school supply boxes (that we were asked to bring down at the last minute) opened up and inspected...I felt myself getting a little annoyed, because it wasn't part of our plan, and had to already ask for an extra dose of patience and grace...it took about an extra 40 minutes or so, but we made it through...our transportation was pretty much there to meet us, and we made it to the hotel...

We will get up tomorrow and head to our main ministry point Ocho Rios and we'll be staying at the Sunflower Villas, where I hear the rooms are a little bit of a downgrade, but apparently the food is the best that any of the teams will get, so we're looking forward to that...

I've seen some old faces from when I was here two years ago, so that's refreshing.

I'm just ready to be used however God would use me, and at the same time I'm still in ultra "dad mode"...things are VERY laid back here, from the culture to the group of people we've partnered with. While I really enjoy that (or I wouldn't have come back after being here two summers ago with the same group), it will probably take me a day or two to relax and trust the situation...It's not in my nature to NOT be in charge of every detail, so it's a good growth experience for me :)

Kids' attitudes seem great, some are in the pool as we await dinner...I'll try to write once more after our show in the next few hours, before a much needed trip to Sjleepville, Jamaica

Thanks for your continued prayers! Let's go GOD!!!!

TN

2009-06-29T14:12:00.002-07:00

As my mind slowly turns it's primary focus from camps to Jamaica, my heart is heavy as we've lost Lauren from the trip due to illness. Please pray for her immediate health situation, as she's going to be seeing a specialist and hopefully get the situation diagnosed in the next 24 hours. She's in a fair amount of pain and she's obviously very disappointed that she won't be going on the trip. Please pray for her comfort and peace to know that we serve a sovereign God, and for whatever reason, His plans do not include her on this trip...it's a tough pill to swallow for all of us.

We might possibly be trying to fill her spot at the last minute, but it's quite possibly too late for that...but the bigger concern remains for Lauren...

2009-06-25T23:26:00.003-07:00

Well....

It has been another amazing week...it seems so cliche to say it...and at the same time I just don't know what else to say...

We have had an incredible week of commitments, brokenness, and a new sense of knowing what it takes to follow Christ...

I was going to put up a bunch of pictures, and make another video, but I just can't...right now, this is so about Christ, and what he's doing in your students, I don't want to trivialize that in any way....

This morning at our Church Time Devo, God put some words on my heart that became the theme of the message I shared...basically, "What's it gonna cost you to follow Christ?"...we all (adults included!) tend to get into that comfort zone of Christianity, where we're really not putting anything on the line, until a crisis or need becomes overwhelming...One of things I have actually liked this week, is that there hasn't been that huge sense of the "camp high" experience, and I'm so thankful for that, because it's allowed students to at least recognize the cost of completely submitting themselves to Christ...

Students this morning talked about following Christ costing them things they really loved, and some things they really struggled with...

some of the things that different students shared included: submitting to parents-no matter what, giving up a best-friend, breaking up with a girlfriend, giving up an activity at school that held a lot of prestige, giving up a team, and on and on...

Time will certainly tell, but I'm so excited to see how students will be living out their commitments based on decision, and not feelings, in the upcoming months...

Our plan is to leave for the beach about 8:30am where one or two students might be getting baptized, and then head for home...

please pray for safety and timely travel...

I'll try to post one more blog with pics and/or a video over the weekend...

I have one other prayer request...

I miss my family, a lot, and I'm leaving them one more time on Tuesday, and I'll be gone again for another 8 days in Jamaica...my specific prayer request is that over the next couple of days of being home that there wouldn't be any of those "youth emergencies" that can take me away from them...last week I had two serious crisis situations and only got to spend about 3 hours of quality time with Liz and Caleb...I'm more than willing to be there, and don't get me wrong, I don't have any bitterness AT ALL, but I'm just praying that I'll get some serious quality time with my family :)

I hope you've enjoyed these ramblings, I know I've enjoyed your comments...it's nice to know someone's reading them :)

be blessed...

God RULZ!!

2009-06-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Thought you might like this rec video from the first couple days of camp!!!

2009-06-23T13:38:00.009-07:00

The week is going great...please pray for Kristina Strava though...she's not feeling too good, although she's bounced back a bit...I've been to the store once to pick up a prescription and then again this morning to get her some dayquil, and she seems to be bouncing back a bit so that's good...

Okay...onto the rest...

Surfing was yesterday afternoon...lots of fun...here's a sweet picture of Mitch Vogel getting up on one of his first couple of chances...he's a natural water rat...

There was a fun moment when Robert couldnt' get his rashguard off...he was gettin laughed at pretty hard by a couple of locals...

After dinner we had our evening meeting, and the worship was awesome...to see our students worhiping God togther, full out, with no reservations is simply one of the biggest blessing I get to have...I believe it's a small piece of what Heaven will be like, when we get to worship God without a time limit...This is a picture from this morning...

One of the biggest things I personally was blessed with was a "lightbulb" moment from James 2:10...which talks about breaking just one small part of the law making us guilty of breaking all of it (talking about the need to be perfect in God's eyes, which we can't, which is why we need Christ, HE makes us perfect!) It's a story I'll definitely be sharing on August 15th as the youth take over the main services on that morning :) SO BE THERE!

We had a brief time as a church to meet together after chapel, then more free time...

This morning it was "Dawn Patrol" at 7:00am...an optional worship time...then breakfast, counselor meeting and the morning chapel...

From there it was off to Rec, Day 2..."FOUR WAY GAMES, PART I"...and here's some fun pics from that...

We just finished lunch and now it's off to the beach for some body surfing...I love it...

Gonna "Euro-Bungie" tonight...from the looks of this thing it's like pretending to be a "super ball"...remember those little balls you get for a quarter? mad hops yo!

I'll try to post again tonight..maybe even with a rec vid or two...but it'll probably be late...midnightish

peace!

2009-06-21T23:39:00.004-07:00

Well...as my twitter update said...we arrived safe...God answers prayer :)

I can't hide it, I was a little nervous when I saw the bus pull up this morning, as it was the same exact bus that we took last year, and it broke down like 3 times last year...looooooong trip....but we made it with no problems, the ac worked great, and the driver (same guy also) seems to enjoy us...although he seemed to enjoy his cigarette every stop we took--yuck--but he's a nice enough guy...his name is Jeff so maybe you can pray a blessing for him this week too...and at least our bus was on time, after waiting for over 3 hours last week with the Jr Highers!

After we arrived, I was able to get everyone checked in okay (thanks to our staff for having the 8.74 million forms we had to have in alphabetical order!) except for one...Mr Marquis Bentley...who was flying in from Oakland after attending a family member's wedding yesterday. (more in a minute)

Fortunately, I had an extra vehicle with us. After having Dennis here with his car last week, I got the brain storm on Friday to call a couple of friends I have here to see if I could borrow a car...without much trouble I was able to get a loaner..you should see this thing! It's a top of the line mercury sable...from 1987...and it has only 49,000 miles on it! Pretty funny...not a car I would ever choose...I'll take a couple of pics tomorrow and post it...

Back to Marquis...

I had to head to the airport to pick him up (yay me, I still know my way around SD!) and I was able to find him without much trouble...there was just one problem...no luggage!

(question) "Marquis, where's your luggage?!" (answer) "Yeah, about that...."

I had already talked to him once on the phone and he said it might be on the next plane...it wasn't...and I couldn't really figure out how he and his luggage had become separated in the first place...so I had to dig a little...

After some genius investigative talents on my part, I finally got to the bottom of the story...seems my young friend simply "forgot" his luggage at his house! Just walked out the door without it! (Joe Datria anyone???)

So now it's being fed-exed to another parent who lives here in San Diego, and should arrive Tuesday...we'll keep him in clean clothes until then...

A lot of the group doing surfing tomorrow...I'll definitely try to post a pic or two...

It'll probably be after evening chapel..about this same time tomorrow

2009-06-20T21:58:00.003-07:00

As I look back on an incredible week, it is truly humbling to think about the fact that God allows me to be involved with the work HE is doing in building His Kingdom.

It never ceases to amaze me how God seems to always use the ministry of Hume Lake to impact students in a way that few others do...

The camp speaker (PJ) brought God's truths in a very simple, and yet real and deeply impactful way. Students remember his messages, and I find myself quoting the scripture passages he used, and the thoughts he shared.

Topping off the trip by baptizing 4 students who wanted to publicy make their faith known by being batized in the ocean is something that truly leaves me at a loss for words...

Even as I anticipate heading out in just a few hours to do it all over again with our High School students, I just sit here and wonder...why me? How do I get to be the one in this particular part of God's great plan? What a great thing to be a part of! When a student "gets it" and truly gives their life over to God, fully commits, with no regrets, and no turning back...I know the joy I feel in my heart, and I can only imaging the party in Heaven!

If there's a hard part, it's definitely being away from Liz and Caleb for such an extended period this summer. My wife is amazing to support me so much. Even know she's finishing up the washing and re-packing for the 2nd of 3 trips in a row...At least we got to hang out as a family for a few hours today...running some errands, getting some food, and even watching our beloved Padres lose yet another game (easily on their way to 100 losses..but we love them!)

Please keep Liz and Caleb in your prayers :)

and I'd love to hear how your students have been impacted, and if these blogs were a blessing :)

I love my family
I love my job
I love my life

I Love God :)

2009-06-18T17:40:00.008-07:00

This morning after breakfast and then worship, we got to meet as a church in one of our favorite lawn areas...I usually like to use that time to have the students share a little bit about what God's doing in their heart week, some challenges they'll face, and even just some of the fun, goofy stuff that's gone on...it's easily one of my favorite parts of the week as it's a totally volunteer time, nobody is forced to share, yet most do...

A little side-note...during the chapel I had Rusty go up on the stage as the "Youth Pastor Representative" of the church, so he could get cheered for...we don't have the largest group here, but you'd have never known it by the way they went nuts for Rusty The Intern (aka..."RTI")...I'm really proud of that young man, God's using him in big ways in our youth ministry and the kids love him...If I could suggest that you let RTI know how much you appreciate him, I think that would be a great thing!

After the lawn area time, it was back to the dorms to change for rec...and rec today was just simply over the top...

Today was The AMAZING GREAT RACE which covered the whole campus of the college...imagine if you will, about 400 people, split into 8 teams. Each team is linked like a snake by holding hands and having to go back and forth to different stations and complete the assigned tasks given to them...click the video below to find out what Mr. Woolery's task was...

After Rec, it was another great lunch and then down to the beach...today was a little different as we checked the kids out past the assigned "final" lifeguard tower and did some shopping and general "san diego touristy type stuff"...one cool think the Allens are on vacation down here and we were able to meet up with them for the 2nd time this week and Lauren went with us!

Then it was back to dinner, a BBQ out on the lawn...and then we actually had some free time before dinner...but I cheated, Dennis and I stopped at a local taco shop (authentic SD Mexican food, it's sad how much better it tastes than anything in the AZ)

Dennis had a carne asada burrito and some rolled tacos...I went with the old standby that never fails me...the "TN Special"...(a carne asada burrito, and a quesadilla with Guac...try it sometime and text me when you do...right now that club is 4 strong and growing)

Tonight could be a bit squirley, always seems to get that way on the last night of camp...but there should also be a pretty sweet time in the chapel and then "Victory Circle", an all camp share time about what God has done this week...pretty awesome thing, Victory Circle...last year seems there were bugs, or birds or something pretty distracting, hoping that doesn't happen tonight!

Our plan is to get most things packed tonight, load before breakfast and then spend one last time as a church taking a great pic and then spending some time with our "Paper Plate Awards"...ask your student about it...they're kind of special to me, and lots of fun...

From there we'll load up and head down to the beach for at least 2 baptisms in the ocean! What a perfect way to end the week! There may be a couple more the students are still going through the evaluation process...pray that God would answer any questions and calm any fears about being baptized :)

This might be the last blog from camp, I'll try to do one more before crashing in my bed when I get home tomorrow :) Then I'll rest Saturday and do it all over again with high schoolers starting Sunday! (btw, after coming home nextfriday from SH Camp, we leave the next Tuesday for 9 days in Jamaica on a mission trip...

I hope you've enjoyed the updates, it's been fun to do them! :)

2009-06-17T07:19:00.006-07:00

So here we're halfway thru camp already...hard to believe...it's going so fast...

Last night was decision night and I know I asked you all to pray...God WORKED! more on that in a bit...as I want it to be the hi-light of what happened yesterday :

Here's the Andrew update...(bloody nose during rec)...he's totally fine...no swelling, not even a black eye...after he put on the ice pack he was pretty hungry so we skipped the camp picture (first one I've ever not been in-Andrew gave me a new memory!) and I got us into lunch early...he pounded a couple of quesadillas and some pizza...so my early fears of having to rush him to Urgent Care were quickly subsided...the nurse said it was one of the best bloody noses she's ever seen! Atta boy!

The kids are having an absolute blast throughout the day...from the morning chapel to rec, from free time to evening chapel...the days are full and complete, and God is working!

The worship was excellent last night and PJ brought the Gospel in a fresh way...

Here's the sweetest part of the day...

Six students made a decision to completely follow Christ! PJ talked about the difference between there is between "believing stuff about Jesus" and "believing IN Jesus"...great stuff, and I've already asked his permission to plagiarize it!

When I stop to think about the fact that Heaven is a different place today, because these 6 (and many others!) made a decision to follow Christ last night, it's overwhelming. I've got goose bumps sitting here thinking that "forever" has been altered, the future has literally changed course because there will be more people in heaven now then at this time yesterday...

I think we use the word AWESOME way too much: "That movie was awesome! That dinner was awesome! That trip was awesome!"

You know what's awesome? God is AWESOME!

Be blessed today! I know I will be!

2009-06-16T13:00:00.002-07:00

just a quick note...on my way back to the beach...

Going into today's rec all of our kids were in one of the top 3 teams...so competition is good!

Had a bloody nose happen with Andrew Etris...but some guaze, some ice, and a big lunch, and he's off to kayaking...no worries...(yes I talked to his mom, everyone's doing great!)

Off to the beach...more later...

be praying for "decision night" tonight...the Gospel will be presented...

TN

2009-06-15T17:29:00.009-07:00

A typical first night of camp...picture "Night at the Museum" (1 or 2) when the animals all come to life after dark...what a mad house that is Junior High Camp...I love it... I finally fell asleep sometime after midnight...I had set my alarm for about 6:45am which proved completely unnecessary because the ememrgency exit fire alarm door was activated by a camper at about 6:00am...and stayed on for a good 20 minutes...As I tried to comprehend how a counselor could be so careless as to let one of his boys go through that door, and at the same time trying to plan how I would show God's love and grace to both that counselor and that boy...I got up and our day was officially under way. Off to breakfast and a morning counselor meeting and then the first morning chapel of the week. The band (330 Plan, same as last year) is awesome, and we worshiped together for about 20 minutes. One little God blessing was the last song, Everlasting God, was a song that most of our students had just learned hand-motions to at VBS last week...(Lory, do you have goose-bumps yet!?)...We had been right up in the front of the stage and by the time the song was over, about 80% of the camp was doing our hand-motions and we were all worshiping together! Pretty cool stuff! After the message (basically explaining our theme of "HEY RUBE"...ask your kid about it) it was time for a quick devo and then recreation! Horizons is represented on three different teams (8 teams total) and it was simply a blast...I'll try to include a couple pics... Following rec was a filling lunch (I had a salad! along with tuna and sugar free lemonade and water...yum!)...it was down to the beach at South Mission... Some kids took surfing lessons, others played in the water...I brought my fins so I was able to go deep and grabbed a couple of six-foot drops while body-surfing...nice to know I can still do it... Now we're back and it's off to dinner, evening chapel, free time and sleep...! I'll try to post once more tonight, but most likely it will be tomorrow afternoon... Troy ps...a finish to the fire alarm story...about mid-way through the day, it was brought to my attention that the boy who set off the alarm was from our church! I don't want to name any names...**cough, Datria, cough cough**...but suffice it to say, it was yet another great "Camp Memory"

2009-06-14T23:36:00.004-07:00

Well, the day started off, or more accurately didn't start off, on an interesting note...

Most of the students were there within a few minutes of the requested meeting time of 6:30am. By 7:25am we had everyone there, all forms checked, health screenings completed, and were ready to board our transportation...just one problem...

I had been saving the fact that for the first time, our Junior Highers were taking a bus to Summer Camp, as opposed to cramming into 15 passenger vans, (not the most comfortable ride)...

At 7:15, it was time to make call to our bus contractor to see if he could let me in on why our bus hadn't arrived at the contracted time of 6:30am...first number, no answer, left a message...2nd number, a groggy "he...helllooo?" answered the ring...

"Hi Dane, it's Troy at Horizons, just hoping you can tell me my bus is on the way"...he wasn't groggy anymore...He told me he'd look into it and get back to me asap...

Well...long story short...seems they forgot to move us from the "tentative" file to the "confirmed" one...our bus arrived at 9:30am and we were on our way at last...after explaining to a number of folks who were wondering why 20-something teens were hanging out in the front of the church with luggage and sleeping bags when church was starting! (at 9:00am)

The upside is that our bus was SWEET...as you can see in the pics, and we made good time, stopping just once in Yuma for lunch...

After checking in and getting all the luggage to the room, we had the typical AMAZING CAMP FOOD (no sarcasm, this food is awesome!) and then our first evening meeting...complete with the Sunday Night "Opener" that Hume is famous for...

Clowns and Mimes everywhere...and quite a spectacle...

And it turns out, one of the Mimes is one of my old students from my days as a Youth Pastor right here in San Diego...she's now a student at my College Alma Mater...talk about feeling old!

PJ (the speaker) gave us a litte taste of where God is leading him this week as he talked about unconditional love...that God has for us, and that we should have for others...

A little free time and a good devotional with the boys about PJ's talk and it's been a great first day...

Please keep us in your prayers, that God would work in each students' heart this week!

2009-06-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

On the precipice of an epic journey...

Starting tomorrow morning, I will be out of town for 21 of the next 25 days...back to back summer camps (Junior High, then Senior High) in San Diego...then a 9 day mission trip to Jamaica...I will be attempting to post on here as often as possible for parents and others who would like to "stay in the loop"...

Please pray for Liz and Caleb a lot! I'm going to miss them so much...it'll be a hard journey, but one that I know God is going to use in major ways in the lives of our young people!

TN

2008-06-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

As I contemplate what the last two weeks have been like, I can only sum it up with one sentence...."I am living my dream"

I've been so blessed to be able to do what I do. In spite of all of my shortomings and failings, God still sees enough in me to allow me to be used by Him to do amazing things in the lives of some of the most amazing young people I've ever known.

As I told the High Schoolers shortly before getting off the freeway yesterday...if I could have planned out what I would be doing if God were to grant all of my biggest wishes in youth ministry, to fullfill my dreams, it would be exactly what I'm doing right here, right now, in this place, with these students, with these people, at this church....

I AM LIVING MY DREAM! And it's only going to get better! I so love God, and am so thankful that He is so evident in the lives of these young people.

Praise the Lord...

"Check your K.E.W.L."! (ask a student what it means!)

GOD RULZ!

TN

2008-06-27T00:03:00.001-07:00

what a week...

I'm sorry that I don't have any more pics or vids to show...there's just too much stuff to download/process/edit/upload...

I will say that we'll be doing a summer re-cap service on August 31st, and we'd love to have you join us! We'll show vids from all of our summer activities, as well as hear testimonies from students whose lives have been changed...

First off, Kris is okay...he has a Corneal Abbrasion...he's got some drops and meds and he's going to be fine...thank you for praying...

Also, the girl that we were praying for has given her life to Christ! Praise God...She will be getting baptized tomorrow! It looks like there will be at least 4 people going through baptism...I'm sorry for not sharing names, but I want students to have a chance to talk to their parents first...

Tonight was the pinnacle...our worship time was in a word...unbelievable...I was so blessed to be standing amongst not just 750 high school students, but also our 40 kids who absolutely found a new level of worship to our Daddy...a very cool thing at the end happened...Jesus got an encore! The band was done, unplugged, but the students kept yelling, "ONE MORE SONG, ONE MORE SONG!!!" and they did one more, and it was the loudest song of the week...I'm getting chills just typing it...

After worship, the speaker (PJ) really hit a home run with a talk that challenged us about how the Christian life is not, and should not be, based on experience...because then our faith fades as the memory of the experience does...but instead should be based on the Word of God...he used a great example from Luke 24 about how Christ appeared and convinced a couple of followers about the fact that he was the Messiah by using Scripture (while he hid his identity). Had he simply revealed himself, it would have been more of an experience for them, but he convinced them by using scripture...GREAT LESSON...I would really suggest you read Luke 24...

Then it was a great time at "Victory Circle" where students stood and shared what they learned about God this week, as we sang a few more worhsip songs...

Our group has really bonded, seriously, like more than I ever imagined...I'm not saying everything is 100% wonderful, but what an amazing work God has done to build friendships and love in the group...

I am so blessed to be used by God here, I love these kids as if they were mine...thank you for entrusting them to me and the ministry of Horizons...

I pray you've been blessed by reading these little insights into our week...

GOD RULZ!!

TN

2008-06-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

okay...last full day of camp, and it's not over, but it's had it's adventures...I'm on my way to dinner, but here's a quick re-cap...

got up at 7:00am for Dawn Patrol...pre-breakfast worship time (optional)...very nice to start the day off with the Lord...

After yet another awesome worship time at the morning chapel, we met as a church for about 40 minutes talking about what God has done this week, always one of my favorite times at camp...we for sure have one girl getting baptized tomorrow, and perhaps two or three more, but even if it's just one, it'll be a party!!!

Rec was, how should I put it, interesting...it was the day of the great race...one of our teams finished 2nd, and my team, which has been an adventure because of some guys from another church (more on that in a minute) finished last, I mean, DEAD LAST...like every other team was wondering where they were...a good 7-10 minutes behind the 19th place team...oh well, they came in chanting..."The Last shall be first" and it made everyone clap for them...

There are some guys on our team (from another church) that have been a challenge, and today it cost a little bit...

Some of them had water balloons, and were throwing them at other teams...led by their youth pastor...frustrating example...

One of the balloons struck Kris Hansen in the eye, and we didn't think too much of it at the time...

Immediately after Rec, about half of us went to the Padre game at Petco park, including Kris...well, not too long after we got there, his eye was really swelling up and running a bit...we got him to first aid, and the nurse there said we had to get him to urgent care, as she feared he may have a retinal contusion (he may have scratched his eye)...so I sent him and Rusty (yes, his mom knows) in a taxi to the urgent care, who wouldn't take his insurance. But praise God, his aunt works just minutes away from the Urgent care, so she picked him and Rusty up and took them to the Naval Hospital (Balboa) where they are now...sounds like things are going well, they are going to give him some washing, some anti-bacterial stuff, and some meds, and we're hoping he'll return to camp soon...please pray for Kris that his eye will be fine, which we anticipate. I am SO thankful to have someone like Rusty that I can trust to be my right-hand man for this kind of situation. He's really being a servant and being there for Kris while I keep the rest of things going...

I'll update later tonight, after the end of camp...which usually ends with dinner, the final chapel, and "victory circle" at the Greek Amphitheatre...

until then...pray for Kris, Rusty, and one girl who is really close to accepting Christ, she just can't quite pull the trigger. She has a lot of questions, but she's truly searching...I'm hoping she'll be getting baptized tomorrow as well, but it's the Lord's timing, not mine :)

Be Blessed!!!

God Rulz!

TN

2008-06-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

Alas, the end of Day 4...

Rec was great...Super Duper Spirit Day...kids dressing all kinds of crazy...

then it was off to lunch and multiple free time options...

some of the boys placed 3rd in a Basketball Tourney...

about 6 people went to do some Sea Kayaking...

many more went to the beach, which was my choice...I was able to show that the old man has still got it when it comes to body surfing, getting a couple of super long rides...

I then was able to go out to dinner with about 18 other youth pastors at a restaurant called Pizza Nova...we were treated by the Hume staff...it was quite delicious, ha ha!

then back to the camp in time for evening chapel...which was again simply amazing. I can't describe in words the amazing worship that is going on with not only our kids but the entire camp as a whole. It is an extra special blessing though to see our students literally on their knees, in some cases on their faces before our God. It's just as awesome to see our group as a whole raising their hands as high as they possibly can, almost trying to touch Heaven itself...I love worshiping with these students, my little brothers and sisters in Christ, it truly is the highlight of everyday for me...

we had a couple of girls stay behind with questions tonight, but as of this post, I haven't been able to touch base with them or their counselors about what, if any, possible decisions they may have made, so I will keep them anonymous for now :) sorry....

Rusty is out cold (it's 11:15pm) and has been for almost an hour...the poor guy is exhausted :) But he has continued to be an amazing asset to the youth at Horizons, always willing to do stuff just a little extra crazy to make the camp as meaningful as possible...

I'm sorry that I don't have any new pics tonight...the girls all forgot to bring me their cards for download...and boys are just dumb and don't bring cameras, or at least don't use them as much...I am downloading some video, but it won't be done for quite some time, and I'm tired too, so I think I'm going to bed too...maybe tomorrow I'll be able to do some quick edits and just put up at least a couple minutes of stuff...

We are planning on about 30 of us going to Petco Park to see the Padres' game...that could be fun!!!

We also have our Church time tomorrow morning, where I'll offer students who have not yet done so, the opportunity to be baptized on Friday morning before we leave...please pray that students would be able to take the bold step if their hearts sense God's leading...

well, before I go to bed, I'm gonna have a piece of pizza that just got here from Dominoes...some of our dorm-mates ordered out and included us...how cool is that!

One more full day of camp! Hopefully the best day yet!

Blessings!

TN

2008-06-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

just a quick note as we're getting ready for SUPER DUPER SPIRIT DAY! It's gonna be crazy out there.... Went to "Dawn Patrol" this morning at 7:00am with about half of our group, which made up about half of the people that made it...dawn patrol is held in a the Greek Ampitheatre...I'll try to take a couple of pics tomorrow morning...just a great way to start the day singing with the band and a few sleepy heads that want to praise God first thing in the morning...the band plays acoustically, and it's a very sweet time :) for the Chapel today, worship was amazing...it's mid-week and the students are really starting to embrace the Lord and let go of the "stuff" that may be holding them back from experiencing the closeness that can come with corporate worship. Our kids are usually up towards the front, and lifting their hands and voices to the sky as one...it's simply humbling to serve a God who allows me to be a part of young people gaining a new understanding of what it means to absolutely be in love with Christ and to praise Him without regard to their surroundings... after worship, today was Seminar day, where they had about 10 choices of topics to choose from...this simple video is a bunch of them on their way to the "What is Love" seminar... I'll post more later tonight, hopefully with a ton more pictures...but it won't be until about 11:00pm or so... God RULZ!!! TN

http://www.horizonsyouth.com/media/VIDEO0008.wmv

2008-06-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Alas...the end of Day 3...half way done with camp...a very fun day, packed with lots of different things...with the best ending for some of our students!

Morning chapel was a Mission's focus, hearing from a couple of men who are doing amazing ministries around the world...a great small group time followed with our guys and girls (in different groups) really opening up...

Rec was crazy, as we started the two days of the "BIG 5" rec games...my team, the only green one remember, went from 20 (dead last) all the way up to 7th...we're still considerably behind the leaders, but it was fun to make a jump in the standings...

After rec, and lunch...most of the group headed for the beach. Well actually, shopping...hung out in the stores for a couple of hours...

then dinner and then chapel...tuesday night is typically "decision" night (for non-Christians) and tonight was great...the band was spirit filled as usual and we had an excellent time of praise and worship...then PJ (the speaker) came and gave the message..main point talked about taking up our cross, losing our life to Christ so that we can find it...

We had 3 girls re-dedicate their walks to Christ...Britnii Spino, Kaylie Pitzer, and Alex Lam...and one surrender her life completely to Christ for the very first time...Kourtanie Anderson! WOO HOO!!!!!!!! Heaven is different tonight! Eternity has changed! There is a new soul in Eternity with Christ! YES! This is why we do this...the Angels are having a party!!!

Once we were done celebrating (and how can you ever REALLY be done with that?!)...we had about an hour of free time...being that I am the Egyptian Rat Slap Champion of Horizons, I was challenged to yet another game, which I of course.....DOMINATED!

It is a week going very well...many different combinations of students going to different places and just hanging out, God is truly moving the group to a huge spirit of unity...you're prayers that it would continue would be awesome...

as for me, on a personal note, I'm feeling the weight of back-to-back weeks as I'm writing this blog. I'm tired, I'm sore, and I miss my family. But I don't regret any of it...it is when I am at my weakest, that Jesus can be made strong! You're prayers for continued energy and health are appreciated and coveted...

Rusty is doing well, though feeling the effects as well. Please pray for my young red-headed friend and intern :) He's doing amazing, and has made the transition from JH to SH week very well...I'm proud of him :)

Well, some of my guys are waiting for me so they can recite their memory verses (they get spirit points) to me...talk to you tomorrow! TN

2008-06-24T13:58:00.001-07:00

No time to write about day 3 right now...but here's a simple video of about 100 pics of our first couple of days...

off to the beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TN

http://www.horizonsyouth.com/media/SH%20HumeSDday1and2.wmv

2008-06-24T00:35:00.000-07:00

Fun day...spent some time playing Egyptian Rat Slap...a card game that is all the rage in the land of HCC Youth Ministries...and while doing so had an interesting moment from a lady cleaning the table next to us in the dining hall...she had her back to us, let out a seriously loud burp, like 8th grade guy good, and then without ever turning around or looking at us, said outloud to no one in particular..."Well, Excuse me"...we were absolutely dying...you ever laugh so hard in perfect silence because you don't want whoever to know that your laughing at them? Well, that was us...all 5 of us...Jen and Haley were in tears, Justin was just shocked, Alina didn't know what to do, and I just loved every second of it... rec results came in...me and my studly boys are in dead-last place..yep, 20th out of 20 teams...oh well...one of the girls teams is in 2nd place, so that's cool Evening chapel was great, we seem to have settled into a "spot"...the far side of the chapel ('stage left' for the performing readers)...worship was towards a more mellow level, but it got deep and impactful... PJ (our speaker) did a great job again explaing that we're all sinners, and that it can lead us around like a fish that's swallowed a hook...we are slaves to it, as teh Word says... great cabin discussion times as well... I've got about 100 pics uploaded, just have to figure out a way for you to have easy access...hopefully in my next blog after lunch tomorrow... thanks for praying... TN

http://www.horizonsyouth.com/media/SH%20HumeSDday1and2.wmv

2008-06-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

this morning's worship was great (with the band 330-Plan). Students just "letting go and letting God"

then off to Day 1 of Rec "Relay Day"

Our entire group in on the Pink team (the 'Bots) except for me and my small group of 4 guys...we are on the Green team, (the Robo's)...so needless to say, either way, there's bound to be some talk at the end of the week...

Our subteam is called RoboSchool and the rest of the group is on various teams like MonkeyBots, FancyBots and other Bot names which I don't care to remember, lol

A major portion of the group is going surfing today, so hopefully we'll have some pics of that later tonight...

off to free time now...then dinner and evening chapel...

TN

ps...I'm so proud of our "newbie" counselors, they're really stepping right into the middle of things, getting to know the girls and hanging with them...please pray for them, and each of us, that our time with students would be life-impacting...like "I remember in 2008, my counselor was ____________ and she really made a difference in my life that week and helped get me to the place I am today with the Lord"....

2008-06-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well...we got here :) Praise the Lord!

It was a bit of adventure. Day started out well, with a departure of about 8:20, when in my mind (and no one else's!) I was hoping for 8:30 at the latest, so that was a good start...

We got to Gila bend, stopped for the novelty that is Love's gas station for a short break and we were back on our way to SD...in the process discovered that one of the 3 TV monitors was recently broken...boo :)

Stopped in Yuma for lunch...45 mins turned into an hour...but oh well...no biggy, IT'S CAMP!!!!

Then it got fun...

we had to pull off a number of times (4 or 5 in all) for approximately 10-15 mins each time) to allow the bus engine to cool down...which meant that we were sitting in a greenhouse...I tried to keep things lively...I gave them a 4 second chance to yell and complain as loud as they wanted, and then that would be that...it was great...I also "Crowd Surfed" from the front of the bus to the back...interesting experience, lol...we have a couple of new sayings now....whenever Rusty or I see a train, we yell "Train!!!" and they all respond, "CHOO CHOO!!!"

once we got though the mountains, we had a number of people needing to go potty, but I asked them to hold it, as the later we showed up, the longer registration would be, because more churches would be showing up...they held it :)

We arrived, got unloaded okay. The girls got the top dorm rooms, (i.e. "Closest and easiest walk!) and the guys did as well, YAY! We unloaded the guys first, since all of thier gear was on one side of the bus, and it would have been about 3 times the driving to do it the other way, due to one-way traffic around the campus...

Dinner was from 5:30-6:30 and the kids were able to get their rooms, and get to food by about 6:15, so that was good...

The evening chapel, which included "The Opener",(the opening program of any Hume Lake camp is legend in itself) was very good. Got to meet the speaker, learn about him and he gave a great message. Main point was a challenge of three basic beliefs of our faith...God Loves us, God Knows what's best, and God has ALL Power to do what He sees fit...Do we really believe that? And if so, do we live like we believe it?! Great stuff

A very short amount of free time followed, and then off to the dorms...breakfast will come early...it's been a long day...

I will say, I am SO proud of our kids...not once did they complain about the delays, or whine about the heat, they were awesome! Parents, that really says a lot about you! Be proud of them!!

Our volunteer ladies are in one simple word, AMAZING! They made my job so much easier by double checking forms, doing all of the paperwork stuff that needed to still be taken care of, they were just awesome. (Rusty has been that way for a long time now, and he's gotten enough attention, so I'm leaving him out of this one! :P )

Largest Hume/SD camp to date, 738 people! Cram packed and happy to be here! It is very warm here, expecting high 80's and 90's all week, with humidity...it's a little mucky, but that's what the beach is for!

It will be an amazing week, I have no doubt...Please pray for unity in the students, and safety for all...I'll try to post once a day at least, and maybe twice as time allows...

God Bless...thanks for your prayers! Feel free to leave a comment, it helps to know someone is reading...

Troy

ps...I heard about the unfortunate bus accident that happened with another church youth group, and my heart aches for the students who experienced it, and for the staff and parents who now must pick up the pieces...

2008-06-20T00:05:00.001-07:00

what a great week...the students really learned about God, Worship, expressing it, having a reason for their actions, a purpose for living, and so much more. They really bonded well as a group, which Lord willing will sustain us into the next year as we continue to get the Good News out to their not-yet-saved friends...

Another great day at the beach, an outside bbq chicken dinner, incredible time of worship (I truly wish you each could have seen them as an entire youth group along with 400+ other students absolutely going NUTS for Christ!), a "Victory Circle" sharing time and then one final cabin time in small groups...

God is so good! Thank you all for your prayers, and please continue to pray that we are blessed with travel mercies on the way home, and that our time of loading and pulling out will go smoothly...

We'll be back by 7:00pm hopefully, which puts me home by 8:00-8:30pm...I'll say hi to Liz and Caleb on Saturday, while making all the final preps to do this all over again on Sunday with 39 Senior High Students, and 6 staff leaders! I can't wait!

TN

2008-06-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

We had an great chapel this morning, with our kids once again doing all of the motions to HCC's VBS of last week's song "Never Let Go"...awesome!

Then we met for a church time where students were able to share how they've grown this week, with the overwhelming theme coming from them seeming to be how many new friends they'd made in the group...this pack of 18 crazy JH'ers is really bonding together! Praise God!

Then, for the last day of REC, it was....THE GREAT RACE

here's the first half of the coverage...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyIXuJa5jrs

Strategy, intensity, a little luck, and a lot of cheez whiz helped bring home FIRST PLACE (out of 16 teams!) for the Monkey Bots...a team that included Dennis and 5 of the HCC boys...should be fun to see if they can finish in the top 4 overall for the week...

here's the 2nd half...

http://www.horizonsyouth.com/Junior%20High/media/great%20race%20part%202.wmv

From there it was off to Luigi's Pizza...a special place that I got permission to take our kids to instead of the normal lunch...huge pieces of pizza right at Mission Beach...

for the rest of the day it's off to the beach for some, catching up on naps for others, and one last night of chapel followed by a "victory circle" time in the Greek Outdoor Amphitheatre tonight...

Tomorrow morning it will be packing, eating breakfast, a special time that I do something cool for the kids, and then down to the beach where we may or may not have a student or two getting baptized in the ocean...be praying for that :)

Be blessed!

TN

2008-06-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

another long, but great day at camp..."Super Duper Spirit Day" for rec, kids went all out...Kerrie Churchill took 2nd place in Kajabi-Can-Can, and Tanner Thiele was the Champion of "Knock Out My Robot"...great stuff during rec...

oh...almost forgot a favorite quote from the other night..."Hey, YAY, we're COW BUDDIES!"...had to be there, but totally hillarious! Ask Katie Elmer and Kerrie Churchill about it...

The afternoon free time saw a few of our kids go sea kayaking, where apparently they were playing some kind of tag game during a break in the kayaking while on shore, and some lady yelled at them for having too much fun! She called the police! No worries, nobody got into any trouble, but just kind of interesting that boys can have too much fun running and playing...wouldn't it be a better world if they all did that?!

The rest of the group went to the stores by the world famous Belmont Park Roller Coaster and did some shopping...and a number of them, (including the Associate Pastor's daughter!) got temporary tatoos! They were mainly of butterflies or bible verses, and they all had parent permission...so don't judge! :)

Tonight's chapel was great, with amazing worship. There is just a special blessing to watch JH students, most of whom have been raised in Christian homes, have a fresh, new spirit about worship. To see them raising their hands and just being still before the Lord, what a blessing, I love what I get to do for a living!

Another hi-lite was watching our four VBS Student Leaders teach our whole group and a number of other campers the motions to "Never Let Go", a song they did on stage for VBS just last week...they just started doing the motions, and it quickly caught on...simply awesome!

One more full day of camp...we have "All Church" time tomorrow morning after worship, and I'm looking forward to hearing the kids tell each other what God is doing in their lives :)

Tomorrow for rec is the "Great Race", where each team will have many challenges to do across the entire campus...it'll be cool!

Keep praying for us...God is good!

TN

2008-06-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Went to the beach today...took a nap! Forgot what one of those was like...but it was a nice hour of doing nothing! Most of the students went in and got all wet...Kerrie got to experience the "Washing Machine"...she got knocked over and tumbled a bit by a decent wave :)

A bunch of kids went (tried) to surf, and had a blast in the process...

Have I mentioned how good the food is?! Holy smokes...not gonna go hungry, that's for sure...but I have actually not had one sip of soda since getting here...lots of water and sugar free citrus juice...

Tomorrow is 'Super Spirit Day' with the theme being "Crazy Clunker Cardboard" something or other...

make sure to check out my first half of day 3 blog...uploaded a vid of Cole winning a...make that, THE rec game today...

2008-06-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

I got to go on stage as part of an object lesson, and Kerrie Churchill was one of about 10 students that got to lift me up in the air while I was sitting on a stool...great lesson about working together to make a difference for Christ by using the "talents" he's given each of us...

then off to recreation...lots of great stuff...with Cole Holland winning the most famouse Hume Lake rec game...Kajabi-Can-Can...pretty much a brute strength effort...last of 16 guys standing...mobbed by his friends like they won the world series...great stuff...hopefully partial vid of it before I go to bed later tonight...

Off to the beach...Dennis will be going with those that signed up for Surfing, I'll be taking the rest to the beach at South Mission...

Thanks for your prayers!

TN

2008-06-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Day 2 (of 6)

What a day..we got our team assignments today and our church is on four different sub-teams, and two main teams. Think MLB teams and AL and NL, but it's all Robotic theme...

Got some good shots of kids falling, laughing, and just being goofy...hoping to post some pics before I go to sleep, but I'm pretty dang tired...

After rec we had lunch and then a bunch of kids went to the beach while I went with 6 guys and Dennis to Wakeboard...and yes, I got up on the first try...not bad for an old fat guy with bad knees...I learned how to wakeboard last summer, and was able to remember the basics pretty quick!

Dennis on the other hand didn't fare so well. 0-5. He gave it the old college try, but just couldn't pull it together...being that he was a college athlete, I can't lie, it felt pretty good to pop up on my first try...sorry D

The kids are getting along amazing and making new friends within the group, as well as a few new friends outside of the group. I'm sure the boys will get on each others nerves at some point, or maybe twice, but hopefully they're doing enough "bonding" to get through it...

Also today we've be introduced (actually they were here last year, but only a couple of kids were here at JH with us last year) to the worship band... "330 plan" ...they are excellent and our JHers are experiencing worship! They've taken a lot of pride at showing up early and being the first ones to nab front row seats for each meeting...kind of cool...

Another cool thing that's been happening (so far) is that our guys are really stepping up and serving. They've been taking a lot of the girls trays at meal times and getting them to the dishwashing station...I know you moms out there are saying..."WHY CAN'T HE DO THAT AT MY HOUSE!?!"...what can I say, the Lord moves in strange ways at Summer Camp!

2008-06-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

END of Day 1 at JH HUME/SD

We had a very smooth trip! We were the first church to check in which was a huge bonus. They were limiting kids to only sign up for two extracurriclar (sp?) activities until all the churches arrived, but can you believe it, because I was so organized (yeah, me!) they let all of our kids sign up for everything...pretty sweet...

tonight is the "Opener", an amazing production that really sets the tone for the whole evening. We are really excited about what God's going to do here this week! I'll write at least once a day, maybe twice...feel free to pass this onto other parents or those that sponsored our students and I'll try to give a brief re-cap of the days activities :)"OPENER" ==== AMAZING!!!

our kids did awesome at being the very first ones in line for the show (like 45 mins early) and we had the front two rows...so awesome!

free euro bungie and mechanical bull on first night...great stuff...

Speaker is great...breakfast in the morning, first day of rec (relay races) and then off to wakeboarding! Yep...this old guy is gonna give it a go!

As I sit in my dorm room, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I am so excited about what's going to happen in the next few days here on the campus of Pt. Loma University.

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Be blessed!