I announce my impending departure to the congregation tomorrow. I have already informed the board and the youth and that went well. Julie and I will be be here until June 8th and then we will be moving on. I will write more of my experience, I'm sure.

Well, last night was interesting. Jerry, Amanda, Justin, Nate, and Abby came so it was a fairly small group but at least bigger than two. Nate and Abby came about 20 minutes late which was really frustrating for me. But then, I take much of the blame for not making The Rock something they make a priority in their lives. Our message was on the "rubbish in our lives" and how everything is rubbish compared to Christ. We looked at Phillipians where Paul talks about this. My lecture was quite informative but not very effective or exciting. Toward the end of the night we were going to worship in the sanctuary but some people were still in their so we went back and talked out what happened during the night. I vented my frustration that it didn't seem like they got anything out of it and they said they needed to know the "how" of it. We know Christ is the most important compared to video games, grades, sports, etc., but HOW do we show that we think that? So we talked about reading the bible and praying and how that helps to show the importance we place on things. Getting good grades IS important, but if you do 4 hours of homework a night and never read your bible in a month...the importance is screwed up. If you play video games for 3 hours a day and never read the bible...same thing. Soi it was good to help them make it practical to their lives. I think Abby is still confused, but really I think she just is overthinking it. It's not that studying and good grades are BAD, they're just LESS IMPORTANT than your relationship with Christ. She'll get it...and I noticed she took her bible home. :-) That makes me happy. I'm going to follow up on them this week and see if they're really doing it. Amanda was hilarious. "I don't think my swimming coach will let me take a 20 minute break to read the bible." "Nope, he probably won't. So read it afterwards when you're waiting for your ride or when you get home." hehe

I love these kids. It can be challenging, but they're totally worth it.

The 15th was ok if I remember right. We talked about the first part of our purpose statement (fellowship/safe and caring community) and actually...it did really go well. Only 3 kids were there but the Crowley's showed up at the end. Good to have them back.

The 22nd was ok. I really wasn't prepared that well but we talked about evangelism. Well, I talked about evangelism. There were 5 kids there, too. Next week will be better for sure.

Last night was our "Celebration Night" at The Rock. It was our first meeting on our new night (Sundays) and I thought we'd celebrate with games and food. It was a little dissapointing to only have 6 kids show up, but we still had a good time. We played "Not in my backyard" with balloons and after we were done they popped their balloon and inside was a 1 or 2. They then shared 1 or 2 unique things about themselves according to the number they got. We also played the "gum game" wherein they split into 2 teams and did a relay. The first person put on a pair of work gloves, ran to the table and opened the pack of gum, unwrapped and ate a piece, then ran back and passed the gloves to the next person in line. Then THEY had to go unwrap a piece and chew it and so on until the gum was gone. The first round was really close, but in the second round team #1 won handily. Then we played the "skittle game." Each color skittle is assigned a point value. Then the two teams alternate picking a skittle out of the cup (no looking!) and the first team to rack up 300 points wins. It was actually really close and was really fun!

After the games I shared my testimony. I think they were bored but they seemed to listen. I don't know if it affected them in any way, but I hope it did. Man, I need to pray so much more. We talked a little bit about Sept. 11th and they had some good insight. None of them really feel affected by what happened at all. We're in such a little town, the threat for us is extrememly small. So, being so far away from it and bombarded through the media...it got old real fast. They admitted they felt bad about feeling that way, but it was honestly how they felt. I encouraged them to remember the families affected directly and to pray for them. Then we prayed as a group for the families.

Overall, the night went alright but was not representative of what I WANT our group to be. Our group will be challenging and real. They'll learn to dig into the Word and wrestle in prayer. They'll ENCOURAGE each other and look to serve others before themselves. But, I suppose I need to be doing these things first...

I'm still figuring out a lot of stuff about youth ministry. It really is messy. I wish everything worked out the way I plan it to, but that is the most wishful thinking a person could have. Something that seems so simple, just...isn't. For instance, this Monday we're going to the county fair as a group to have fun and hand out invites to youth group. I'm trying to plan for rides and I'm basically at anywhere from 2-15 kids. That's frustrating. Plus, I just found out it's going to cost $7 more per kid just to get IN the fair so that'll have to come out of the already-almost-gone budget. Oh, well...I'm learning.

Our time last night was good. We talked about going back to school and how important school is. Not only math, science, etc., but how it develops us as people. Discipline, responsability, social skills, etc. Our theme verse was Colossians 3:17 challenging us to do and say WHATEVER we do and say for and in the name of the Lord. I gave them all a card with the verse on it and challenged them to memorize it for our next group time on the 8th. I hope at least a few of them do it. We played a dice game where a kid would roll the die then I would ask them the corresponding question to the number they rolled. It worked out pretty nice and I'll come up with 6 new questions for next time.

I think I'm a little too rigid at youth group. It's good to stick to our plan for the night, but it's also good to have the kids talking and feeling comfortable. I need to find a balance between the two. I need t obe able to tell when it's just idle chatter and when it can really help us bond as a group, even if it's not "spiritual talk."

I also need to continue to get organized. I have a lot of ideas that need to be fleshed out and I need to take the time to do that. I'm really attempting to get the kids directly involved by being responsible for certain parts of the night and they are excited about that. As am I. Again, it's just going to take time and effort to flesh it out and implement it.

I'm a little overwhelmed at this point. Lots going on and lots to do. I know God will help me, though, if I let Him and I get out of the way. I like that.

Youth group on Wednesday was fantastic. We had 5 kids and they were all what I would consider to be "core kids." It was awesome to have Nathan back and I think he had a really good time with us. Abby was very sweet and even Eric and Mari cooperated and were considerate. Jerry came, too, which was great. We read Luke 10:38-42 regarding Mary and Martha and talked about our priorities. The kids had some great insight and answers to my questions. We had an incredible time of prayer where they ALL prayed something meaningful and then we "prayed for a person," too! We also learned All in All. Overall, it was just such a great night and I was glad they could all be there.

Did I say "I promise"? Oops...

Last night was really hard. Well, it was good in some ways but hard in another. There were 4 kids which includes 2 visitors. The visitors were brothers and I could tell they were very close. Unfortunately one of them is 21 and goes to Gateway Tech. I had to tell him/them I was glad he came but this is a ministry for 6-12th graders. I suggested he look into Calvary as they have a young adults ministry. I think I did the right thing, it was just hard and unexpected. Abby and Eric were the other two and we actually had a pretty great (and long) discussion about God's love for us and how we respond to it. Overall, dissapointed that there were so few there and that I had to deal with the visitors like I did, but the message was good.

Summer has been difficult. Nobody wanted to go to camp. Nathan, Crowleys, and even Justin seem to not want to come anymore. Amanda and Mari very rarely are able to come. Jerry was supposed to come but hasn't been. grr. Very frustrating. I can kind of see why area churches "take the summer off" and do small groups types of things. Oh, well...I'll keep trying hard and I know God can use whatever I give Him.

I really will try to update this every week. Sorry I've lacked.