Crossroads Church

Wrapping It Up

It's hard to believe that this trip is winding down. In some ways it seems like we have been here forever, and in other ways it seems like it was just yesterday that we arrived. We are all missing our loved ones back home, but the new friends we have made here are incredible. We will have to take a head count in the morning to make sure that we have all of our kids -- some are threatening to stay behind. While it will be hard to leave our new friends and the beautiful mountain ranges, we all know that God has much for us to do back home.

As I write this blog, our worship team is gearing up for our final worship service. They have led us so wonderfully each and every night. The worship has been a real highlight of each night.

We have watched God take three youth groups (Vinton, Seattle, and Ronan) and make ONE group. It is so cool to watch God work. This week was not exactly what we had expected. We thought we would focus on tons of OUTreach, but when we arrived it very quickly became evident that what was needed was INreach. The Ronan youth group just needed us to help them catch a vision for what their group could do when they worked together. They have embraced that vision completely and are reaching out to their friends like never before. They are also begging for opportunities to share their "stories" with their friends and their community. It is so amazing to see the transformation that has taken place in their group.

We have not reached hundreds of kids like we had hoped to, but we have done exactly what God sent us here to do -- strengthen HIS body -- so they can do what He has for them to do. In that regard, our mission was more like Jesus' ministry than like the early church. Jesus focused on building a few strong believers who would carry on his work when he was gone instead of reaching the masses. In that sense, He laid the foundation that the Apostles later built upon. We helped lay a solid foundation that the Ronan youth group will build upon for years to come. It was not what we expected, but it was what God intended. Our kids adapted so well to the challenges of the week.

One more thing our kids did that I was so proud of was that they reached out to the former pastor's son, Isaac. Today was Isaac's last day in Ronan. Just about an hour ago they pulled out of this town and headed to Wyoming where they will settle down in a new town and minister there. Isaac was an eighth grade student who has moved about six times in his brief life. He was nervous about the challenges of making new friends in the new town. Our kids encouraged him and promised to stay in touch to see how he is doing. Then, they took it one step farther. They loaded up the van and headed to his home this morning to help him load the moving van. He was so glad to see them all show up. We took him out for pizza and celebrated his 14th birthday which will be on Monday. It was the perfect day for Isaac. He was so much more at peace because of the encouragement that was offered to him. I am so proud of our students!

 We will load up early in the morning and head back to Seattle (a 10-12 hour drive). Please pray for us as we traverse through the mountains back to Seattle. We will surely see some tears as we say goodbye, but we hope to one day partner with this church again on some other mission field.

Thank you for all of your prayers. God has worked in amazing ways all week long. Your prayers have born much fruit for the Kingdom of God. May He get all of the glory.

Parents, be ready to hear some amazing stories of Mountains, snakes, bats, bears, waterfalls, and cold, cold dips in the water. But more than that, you will hear about the people of Montana who have blessed us more than we could have ever imagined. We will never forget them!

See you all soon - Watch out Janet... I'm going to tackle you in the airport!

Rob