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Finally made it home. Grand canyon was sick! We had a great road trip. Great night crashing at my Aunts house in Buckeye, Arizona. Delicious food, rest, and relaxation.
Everyone is home and posting on Facebook. I will try to get those paragraphs from these kids as soon as they get a little rest.
All I can say is thank God for Youtube and Rhapsody on the ride home. I've never laughed so much in my life.
I'm off to bed. My bed. Not kitchen chairs. :)
Like a fine steak dinner, you savor that last bite, allowing every drop of flavor to swirl through your mouth, and satisfy every taste bud. That is exactly how today was for the kids from New Hope, as we savored our last day in Pine.
Pastor John had ZERO work projects for us today, so we had the first half of the day off. The kids were exhausted from all the clean up and sports outreach and so many other things, that I allowed them to sleep in today. I didn't think they would sleep till almost noon! Teenagers! Who knew?
Once they were up, we took a short ride into town and enjoyed a meal at the Nifty 50 Diner. I think Guy Fierri might like that place. Their biscuits and gravy were bananas! And bananas is good. Great time to spend as a team, just relaxing. We even brought one of the local kids, Anna, with us.
After lunch we all hopped in the cars, along with Anna and Skylar (locals) to head down to the local 'swimming hole'. Ok first off, I've never been to a 'swimming hole'. I've heard of swimming holes, but never seen one. Let me tell ya, you need to go to a swimming hole. It was stinking awesome. Here is a picture. (not mine, but still, pretty awesome)
Ok, we didn't make it all the way back to the falls, but we found some smaller ones, and a pretty gnarly rope swing that dropped into the river. But the best part was the ride there. We actually drove past a place that was called 'Dead Man's Curve'. I looked for Jan and Dean, but couldn't find them. I've never really been to a Dead man's curve, but after today, I can see why they call it that! I've never had such an exhilirating 'Come to Jesus Moment' as I did the entire 11 miles down the mountain. It was pretty tight, but we were fine. (it was a great time to make sure that all those kids in the car with me were saved) Just kidding, but we had a blast.
We made it back to church about 5:15, and not more than 5 or 10 minutes after us, the kids from the 'hood rolled in. Wait! What?? They were at the church? And an hour early? That's awesome! Way awesome. We served them up all kinds of food and snacks, and just had a great time. I even had a Twinkie eating contest with Cody. I lost, 4 1/2 twinkies to 1. But the best part of losing was watching Cody eject the Twinkies into the trash can. Priceless.
After dinner, we rustled up the crew to the youth room, where I proceeded to share the gospel with the whole group, and explain why we were in Pine this whole week. That even though we were leaving, God was here for them. That the gift of His son was theres for the taking. I shared my testimony with the whole group, and then challenged my kids to 'pull in the net' with a little one on one time.
My kids, your kids, our kids were incredible. They really went after the deeper connection and some serious heart issues and deep rooted struggles with them. It was awesome. One of the young girls, Skylar, opened up to me so much, that as I began to minister to her she just started to cry. My heart broke for her, as I recognized her pain as one that I dealt with for years. After a few moments she kind of ran away. One of our girls, Kaite, was right there to pick up the opportunity to minister. All of our kids stepped up to the challenge tonight and it was amazing.
One last thing and then I'm done. This whole concept of 'Family Time', where we spend a good hour or so as a team just sharing and praying and stuff is awesome. We have grown so much as a team that I can hardly believe it. It is probably the highlight of my day, and I look forward to it alot. Our kids do as well.
Tomorrow, just like that last bite of steak, is the end of our time here. We've said our good byes to the kids, just need to close out with Pastor John and his wife Simone in the morning. Share some stories and hit the road.
We will be driving up to the Grand Canyon to see the beauty of Gods creation, and reflect a little on our time together. Kind of debrief (thanks for the visual I have of that now Brian Aaby) a little. Then it's on to the thriving metropolis of Buckeye, Arizona, for a good nights sleep at my Aunts house. After much rest and chocolate chip cookies, we will head home Sunday morning to San Diego, and our true mission. Mission51.
I know I promised stories from the kids, and they are coming. Just as soon as I can get them to stop reaching out to kids and sit down with a pen and paper. :)
It's 11:40 and I'm beat. Just want to say this really quick. I had a chance tonight to share my testimony and the gospel with Justin, a young man who has been hanging out with us since Sunday. No decision for Christ yet, but things are going good.
Friday I will post some words from our kids. They are having a great time, and I am so proud of each of them as they are stepping outside of themselves into something bigger than anything they have ever been a part of.
See you tomorrow!
That whole praying thing? Well you can stop. We've decided to pack up and head home early.....NOT! We are having a great time of ministry here in Pine. It looks totally different than what I had anticipated and prepared for in my little plan. Leave it to God to mess up our plans. He's good at that!
Wednesday saw us with even more service projects and much relational ministry to the elderly that we were working for. The team I was leading (Matt, Branden, Ethan, Chrissy, and Lanaia) got to work for a super sweet old lady named Bernice. She reminded me of my grandmother so much it was scary. She gave us all cold 7-up and offered us almonds and chips. It was so much fun. Lanaia got to spend a good chunk of our time just ministering to Bernice. When we were all done she wanted to hug and kiss us all! Very cool.
Our other team went to the local library to work at a childrens reading program and do some crafts with a bunch of kids from the Pine area. They had a blast with these little ones, some of whom Lanaia had worked with the day before at womens bible study.
After lunch we had one more set of service projects, and they were doozies! Waist high weeds at one house, and a garbage pile at the other. The weed house was handled by all the girls and took them quite a while due to the monsoon that blew through town. That rain storm also hit us guys, who were trying to unload a 4 horse trailer full of garbage at the dumb. About six inches of landfill mud-goo greeted us as we unloaded. Fun stuff, let me tell you. Oh, and I can't forget the HUGE pile of manure inside the trailer as well. Did you know that you can skip a road apple over water, just like a rock? I didn't know that, and still don't, but if you know, I think you need to wash your hands!
Our ministry time last night was an epic water balloon fight. We spent well over an hour filling up these little plum sized balloons, and then we headed over to the school. The kids were there when we got there (awesome) and were ready to stand around and look cool, rather than participate. But our kids had different plans. Can we say "AMBUSH!" All of our kids went with the idea of taking the water balloon war to them, and with great results. Despite the initial reaction of a profanity directed at someones mother, the locals joined in, and we had a blast.
So unfair was the fact that an hours worth of filling only took 5 minutes to undo. But when we were done, our kids sat with those neighborhood kids for close to an hour, just relating to them. Walls and facades are starting to come down.
Pray for us today as our time here is slowly winding down. Our biggest regret as a team is that we are here for such a short time. We all wish we could stay longer, as we are really just starting to connect. But that is the nature of short term missions.
See you later with some stories from the kids.
What do yard work, Johnson & Johnson's Baby Shampoo, and nylon tarps have in common? They are the three things that defined our day in Pine.
First off, we had our first full day of Service projects in the community. We split our group into three teams and went out to three different residences to weed, rake and clean their yards. Now these weren't just any houses. These homes belong to elderly ladies living alone in a small mountain town. Not only did we have the opportunity to work for them, we also had the opportunity to share the love of Christ with them. Can I say it was fun? I think I just did. I don't usually equate yardwork with fun, but this was different. It wasn't about the raking and such, it was about the chance to reflect the love of Christ to someone who needed it.
After the service projects, we enjoyed a delicious lunch of spaghetti and garlic bread, followed by a little bit of free time. Pastor John recommended we take a little bit of time today to visit the Tonto Natural Bridge. Never seen it? Look it up. It was amazing. The way God creates things, the detail and beauty, never cease to amaze me. I would show you pictures, but again, they are on my camera, and that will have to wait til I return home.
Dinner tonight was provided by Eric, one of the Elders here at CORP. Burgers, tater salad, beans and red velvet cake. It was just what the Dr. ordered. Which doctor? Dr. Pepper of course.
After dinner we had our first big youth outreach and had 8 or 9 kids, plus Anna and Justin join us. We played soapy tarp football (thats the tarp and Johnsons mixed with water). That was fun to watch. Most of the kids from the neighborhood just wanted to watch. That was ok, because it gave the rest of our kids the chance to hang out with and talk to the watchers.
Got a chance to meet a young lady named Erin and her mom, from the neighboring town of Strawberry. She is an amazing young woman of God who is ministering to other teens on her own. Spent some time encouraging her and her mom that she is doing an amazing work, that a lot of people wont do: Messy ministry.
After our time in the field, we came back to our dorm, and had a little time to rest and hang out with Stephen, another boy that played with us at the park. Me and Ethan even had the chance to drive him home, to the far side of town.
Then it was family time for our little team. Let me tell you, that was the highlight of my day. Our time tonight was probably the pivotal moment of our trip so far. We had a great time of prayer for the kids here in Pine. Much brokeness and compassion came out of that time. We even took the time to do some listening prayer for the kids here in Pine. After a good hour and a half, our family time of prayer, testimony, and encouragement came to an end.
Lastly, we had some ice cream to celebrate the birthday of one of our own: Chrissy Manley. And we prayed for her, and thanked God for ice cream.
Tomorrow we have more service projects on tap, as well as a chance for some of our girls to minister to some children at the library for a summer kids program. Wednesday night will find us having a youth service here at the church. Teaching on Jesus and how much he loves us. Pray for that. Oh and if you need something else to do, then please pray for us. And when you are done with that, you can pray some more!
See you Wednesday!
Today we took it to the streets. Literally. We started off our morning with a prayer walk through some of the residental areas of Pine. Our group split up into three smaller groups as we set out to saturate this town with prayer.
A few of us had opportunity to meet some folks during the prayer walk, and even had a chance to pray with them. All in all, it was a pretty productive time.
After lunch, we hit the road again for a more casual yet intentional approach to reaching out to Pine. We wanted to frequent every possible establishment in town that we could. From antique stores to real estate offices, we hit them all. And then it was time for a break! Ponderossa Market was the place for ice cream and cold drinks.
Monday evening saw us treated to a feast fit for Easter, with ham and potatoes, home made rolls and green beans, not to mention the butter cream frosted cake. Oh yeah, sugar fits for days.
We have the priveledge of working with a couple of young bible college interns who are also servine at the church this week, and our kids are bonding quite nicely. As I type, they are playing various board games with the interns and some of the youth of Pine.
Oh and I almost forgot! We were blessed with a HUGE thunderstorm that sounded more like canon blasts and lightning that was very cool. A lot of pictures were taken by the kids of that coolness. I'll see if I can get their pictures.
But for now, enjoy the few pictures that I was smart enough to take with my phone, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow!
Tuesday will be some service projects around the community, and our first planned youth outreach at the local elementary school.
So here we are in the cool town of Pine and we are enjoying the afternoon with a little bit of downtime. After yesterdays hours of road time, everyone needs a few minutes to just relax.
We had the priveledge of worshipping with The Church on Randall Place, and even joining their worship team. Ayla, Kaite, Adriene, and Ethan had the chance to join with a bluegrass style pair of guitars for worship.
After church we were blessed with an invitation to join CORP for their monthly potluck lunch. We had a great time and got to enjoy some great food, and meet some really nice people too.
After lunch, we've spent the last few hours hanging out with Anna and Justin, two of the youth here at CORP. It looks like our plans are going to work here after all! Look out youth of Pine, AZ, here comes soapy tarp football!
Our day starts tomorrow at 8 am. Pray for us!
'Twas the night before Pine and all through the house, not a student was stirring, or chasing a mouse,
Oh, how I wish that were true!
This has been a crazy day. VBS all week, then mission trip check in tonight. And the rental car conundrum! The cars we were supposed to get, were broke, so they upgraded us, but with about 1/2 the luggage capacity. Not to worry! That 'Youth pastor gifting' of being able to pack what can't possibly fit, into an area that can't possibly fit it, came through. (He says with only a humble amount of pride!)
God is good. This is actually happening! We leave in about 6 hours. I should probably try to sleep a little.
Talk to you from Pine!
Last night at the end of our youth service, our Associate Pastor, Ken Gowen, along with one of our church Elders, Tom Goosman prayed over our team.
So glad we were able to have that done. For most of our kids this is a brand new adventure. In a way, for me it is too. But I know God will be faithful to meet us in Pine, AZ.
Last minute prayer request. Both of us leaders are sick. I hate that. But I'm pressing in anyway! Keep praying for health.
Jeff.
On the day of our final Mission training, I'm reminded of a moment in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, where Samwise Gamgee says to Frodo, "I wonder, what sort of tale we've fallen into?" To which Frodo responds, "I wonder."
I've done missions before, and I have been around missions for the better part of my life. I believe that missions is the heartbeat of God. I believe each and every one of us is called to this thing called missions.
And yet, I wonder, what sort of tale we've fallen into. We leave for Pine, Arizona next Saturday morning. And it is going to be an amazing time. How do I know this? Because of the simply fact that what the enemy opposes, he opposes because he hates it. And if he hates it, it must be because it brings life, and freedom, and people closer to God.
Once more, I ask you to pray, pray and pray for New Hope, and Mission51: Arizona. Pray for Pastor John and the Church on Randall Place.
Oh and, just to let you all know, on our way back home, we are taking a half way point break at my Aunt Fay's house. Worlds best Chocolate Chip Cookies. You know you're jealous now!