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In the last post Dave gave you a good overview of our Wednesday but we were all quite tired so here is a little more about what has been happening in the last couple of days!
Wednesday - Erick and Dave helped Pastor Mark up on the flat roof of the church doing some patching. Then they joined the rest of us for our second and final day of painting at Axis Church in Missoula. Painting with teenagers is pretty much the same anywhere. Get paint on the brush or roller, put most of it on the wall, and leave a souvenir handprint on your paint shirt. But this job is different because of where we are painting (see previous post). We are excited for the ministry that will be taking place in that building in less than a month and getting to be God's hands holding the paint brush in this place.
We finished up there and said our goodbyes and prayed with Pastor Bill and his mother-in-law Billie (what a servant) and headed back to the church for a little rest and prep time for our evening BBQ. ON the way we made a stop at the local dollar tree where everything is just a dollar (or less). Everyone found some teasure to buy!
During the day I made it over to Costco to buy the food for the BBQ so after a little down time for rest (which for teens means playing air hockey and foosball), we chopped lettuce, sliced tomatoes, gathered everything we needed (including the grill) and loaded them into the van for the two block trek to the school/sports field. We set up and got grilling. It was a traditional BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, chips (3 kinds), cookies, brownies, watermelon, lemonade and pop. We had a total of 50-70 people and had food for plenty more. It seemed like there were teens coming from everywhere, many we had seen before and many we had not. There were a few families from Cornerstone church in Lolo, Pastor Bill, his family, a two others from Axis made the 10 mile trek from Missoula to join us
Everywhere you looked there was plenty of activity - the playground (all ages), a huge game of football, blongo ball, basketball of sitting on the bleachers talking. About 9:00 we gathered the remaining crowd of teens (35-40) for a snack and all sat on the bleachers while Josh G, Molly and Erick shared their stories. After that many went on to play ultimate frisbee but quite a few sat around and talked.
It was a great evening of ministry and conversation. Later several of the youth shared their one on one conversations with individuals and many teens are being challenged. When we went back to the church for family time, four teens from the area came back with us until their parents came for them.
It was a loooooooooooooong day but well worth it!
Now for Thursday! The day started off on a sad note as Christina and Molly headed out to go home (previously planned). There has definitely been a void in our lives here all day without them.
We had another project planned but that fell through so we were able to go back up to Axis Church to paint some more. In the afternoon we got showers and came back to our home base for a great spaghetti dinner! The Cornerstone church has provided great dinners all week for us!
We made it back to the park at the usual time and there were few teens for most of the night. We knew of several who had told us they were leaving town on vacation for the last few days before school starts next week. Everything was fairly low key but after a bit there was a pretty good crowd again. There were great conversatons taking place in and around the games. At 10:30 there was still a good crowd with people standing around talking.
Needless to say we got back to the church late and after a good family time did eventually get to bed. The good news is we have a laid back day today (Friday). Everyone will be getting up soon and then most of us will be going to hike the M (white rocks on the hillside by the U of M). We have been told it is the thing to do and takes about 45 minutes to climb up! We have our final outreach night tonight before heading back to Spokane tomorrow.
That's what we have been doing so keep us in your prayers and we will see you all in two day!
Doug
Hey everybody!
We had an incredible day today--roof work, church painting, an amazing barbeque with great turnout (I'd approximate it at 20+ youth who showed up), good sport for the whole evening, and lots of great opportunities and growth.
With that said, there will be more (and pictures!) tomorrow morning, but for now, it's time to hit the sack :).
In Him,
The Rose Hill Pres. Team
The original plan was that we were going to be painting the outside of the church where we are staying. But on Sunday the leadership decided against having our group do it since there was too much tall ladder work. We are flexible so we went with their decision which led to us washing windows at the church yesterday and then heading to the mall to pass out flyers (an amazing experience as we talked about yesterday).
So Sam, our main local contact, made some calls and connected us with friends in Missoula who are starting a brand new church downtown. The church will focus on Univeristy of Montana students and people living downtown. Two weeks ago they received the use of an old Firestone tire dealership building to use for their church and plan to open the Sunday after Labor Day. The interior of the building needs alot of work so today we primed all the walls and trim and will be painting tomorrow. Working there was a gift from God. We worked hard and were blessed by the two volunteers who helped guide us in the process. To be able to meet their need at just the right time could only have come from God.
We were thrilled to have showers again today for the first time since Saturday evening and then on to the park for the evening. Our group was tired from plenty of physical exertion and were moving a little slow at first. There were several new faces tonight and our team stepped up once again to meet them and open the door for a deeper connection. David, Josh N and Beth shared their stories tonight and did a great job. From there many side conversations were taking place about life and faith.
Tonight during our family time we prayed for individuals we had met that God laid on our hearts. I challenged our youth to ask the question of those individuals tomorrow. It is the question we all need to answer - "Have you entered into a relationship with Jesus?" "If so what does that mean in your life?"
We are praying and are grateful for all of you at home who are praying along with us. As you pray remember Ariel, Ryan, Aaron, Lantana and her two friends, Tori, Andrew, Samuel, Nate, Josiah, Nathaniel, Billie, Tom, Sam and all who will coming out for the barbecue tomorrow!
We love reading your comments and know you are with us! Praise God and pray for amazing things to happen.
Doug and the team!
Hey it’s Matt!! I’ve had an awesome week so far but what I think I enjoyed the most was last night at the field when we were playing with the frisbees and we got the light-up ones.
Erick here, What a great town! Last night we went to Lolo school and we met some local kids who were playing football. We had a great time playing two-hand-touch with them. It seems like everyone here is friendly and welcoming. See you in a week!
Hi, it's Kevin. We’ve had fun going to the Lolo school here and we played football with some guys last night that are gonna be there all week. It’s great seeing everyone work together and hand out flyers to teenagers to invite them to the field at night :D Josh G, has had an awesome time going out and giving out fliers out to people he dosen‘t know.
This is Ron----We had a wonderful day so far—We washed the church windows this morning—Off to the mall this afternoon where the youth handed out flyers inviting young people to join us this evening at the field tonight to hang out with us. Our young people have been just super—Parents you can be proud of your kids!!!
Josh N. typing, this week is going by so fast even with some small setbacks. So far I have had no problem doing what is required but I still can't manage to talk to any teenagers. It must be that I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. I did love what one teen said when Molly asked him to come to the BBQ. He asked if there was going to be beer, and after we said no he asked if he could bring his own. We told him no. I’ll keep in touch but its time for pasta!
Hello everyone! This is Elise. Well… I think that the best part of the week so far was last night at the field. There were some guys when we arrived playing football, and they invited us to play as well. It was really interesting and fun trying to learn how to play. I wasn’t good, actually I was pretty horrible, but it was a really fun time anyway. The two hardest parts so far have been sharing my story last night. I was slightly comforted that there were only four or five people there not from our group, but it was still hard as I’m so shy. The other part was trying to talk to teens in the mall today. I finally managed to talk to one girl, all on my own! But I’m really glad for every person on this team, they’re really great!
Hey hey hey! It’s Molly J Oh, what can I say? This trip has been going by so fast, I cannot believe it! So far we have talked to so many new kids this week. It is truly amazing. As you may know I love to talk and this was fun to get to know them all. I am most proud of Josh N. today. We were partners at the mall and he talked to his first person! This week is full of laughter and great memories we will remember forever. All the jokes we will have when we get back home! The whole group is growing closer together and closer to God. It is awesome to see God’s work in all of us!
Hey y’all, it’s Beth! Even though we’ve only been in Montana for two nights, it has been AMAZING so far. Today we went to the mall, and our mission was to hand out flyers advertising our evening “hang times”. The problem was that sometimes it’s hard to tell teenagers apart from everyone else, so we had to pay attention to all the individuals in the crowd. I realized that when I go to the mall (or any place where there’s a crowd), I’m so focused on my life that I don’t pay attention to everyone else’s. It was eye opening to start small talk with teens and see that God doesn’t see all those people as a mob, and that He cares about each one individually. It made me realize that God wants us to care about each other, and not get so caught up in our own lives that we don’t make the difference that we are capable of.
Hey Family and Friends, it’s Christina. We have just wrapped up our second night here in Montana and are getting ready for Family Time (our evening group get together where we are able to debrief our day and talk about how we saw God at work) after coming home from another amazing evening at the park. Between ultimate Frisbee, soccer and an assortment of other games, Matt, Molly and Kevin were able to share their stories with the group and several new friends who had joined us for the evening. I have been beyond impressed with all the youth and their boldness in getting out and sharing their faith with others. Tomorrow we have another work project lined up and are excited to spend another evening out at the school hanging with local teens.
Ahhhhhhhh man, this has been a good day for all of us J. From David to home, I hope and pray all is well with the friends and family! It is a tremendous privelage to be here and get to watch the hand of God at work. Being the proverbial worrier, thus far I’ve been…well…surprise, worried. Lots of things, but mostly about how well things would work out here. Maybe no kids show up, maybe kids show up but don’t want to hang out, maybe even there’ll be kids who come and make fun of us. But, go figure, God delivered today J. Tons of kids from all around showed up (and lots who hadn’t even heard about it, just random folks coming to the park), and had a blast playing ultimate Frisbee, soccer, then night ultimate Frisbee. All of the new guys stuck around for the stories, and all of ours who told their stories did well. Tomorrow has lots in store, more work here at the church, and games at the park again!
I get to share one thing no one else mentioned! Today we were earing our gourmet home made pb&j and meat and cheese sandwiches when a man walked in to the church and asked "who is driving the Kirkland bus?" He had grown up in the Rose Hill area and knew everything about it. He had three kids with him who he was babysitting and so we offered them lunch and they were very grateful. It was a God connection as we shared our faith and why we were here. It was an unexpected opportunity and God led us to make the most of it. Oh and we washed a bunch of windows at the church today too! - Doug
See ya tomorrow!
What a diverse and uplifting day! After the daily morning routine of breakfast, grooming and devotions we began what was to be a day full of surprises. The church where we are staying, Cornerstone Ministries, requested our help in leading their children’s program for the morning. We based our time together on the story of Gideon, how God can use anyone who is willing to follow and how God gives us the strength to do what he wants us to do.
After a great game of Gideon says (vaguely similar to Simon) led by Erick, Josh N and Matthew, Kevin did a great job telling the story of Gideon and having the group act it out. The challenge was the range of kids from age 4 to 3rd grade. But it worked great. Elise and Molly then helped them all memorize Phillipians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Coloring and another game and it was time to go. The kids had a great time, learned a lot and loved our youth. The youth were relieved when they were done but felt used by God for their efforts.
We also met many of the youth and some adults in the church and were treated to Italian Sodas from their coffee shop.
After lunch we had thought about going to the Western Montana State Fair in Missoula (eight miles away) but because of the cool weather, threat of rain and tiredness decided to relax a bit. Several of the group decided to walk around town to seek out the local teens to talk to and invite to our evening outreach event. They had little success and as Doug was heading to Wal-Mart in Missoula to pick up some needed supplies, they all decided to go along and look for teens there. With back to school shopping in full swing, there were lots of teens there and our youth found and talked to them all (or close to all). Many contacts were made and we would have to see what would happen.
We returned to the church for some down time and preparation for the evening activities. Pastor Mark and his wife Sue with the help of others prepared a great dinner of pesto chicken and pasta with green beans and blueberries. It was incredible.
After dinner we headed to the school two blocks away ready to see who would come. When we arrived there were about six guys playing football. They were glad when we asked to play and so about 20 more joined in. During the game our group was able to tell them why we were there and that we would be back each night for the week so we may see them again. We had several youth from the church join us along with a couple of others from the area. Erick, Elise and Josh G were able to share their stories and were well received. The door has been opened and we have more opportunities again tomorrow.
Tonight during our family time we read all of the comments that have been made on the blog site and the team loved hearing all you had to say. They were encouraged and reminded of the love you all send.
Tomorrow is another full day so I’m going to bed! See you back here tomorrow!
Doug and the team
Today is our first full day of the trip. It was a day of learning, challenge, travel and beautiful country. We had a wonderful learning experience where some of the group of about 50 youth were not allowed to use their hands, some were not allowed to talk, some were blindfolded and some were free to use all their abilities. Together the group had 20 minutes to make lunches for everyone – each with their limitations. The scene and chaos turned from humorous to amazing as they worked together to accomplish the task. This was a lesson about the body of Christ working together using what God has given us to do what He calls us to do. With this in mind we left Spokane for Lolo with vision and desire to become servants for God.
Here are brief comments from our team:
Eric was amazed at the variety of cities we saw on the road and how the people in all places need God.
Beth and Molly were glad they could help Elise make and deliver sandwiches to three homeless people they saw in Spokane.
Ron was proud to see our group clean up messes left by other people without being asked to do so.
Josh N enjoyed the prayer walk with his prayer group as they went to Starbucks.
Kevin loved being blindfolded and trying to make a sandwich and being helped by others.
Matt enjoyed the interaction with the youth from all of the other churches and praying with other youth.
Josh G enjoyed meeting people from other churches and serving as the welcoming team when they arrived last night.
David thought the quiet time devotion was an amazing challenge to reflect on God at work.
Elise was thrilled to meet many new people who were encouraging as we are now in the EOZ (encouragement only zone).
Christina enjoyed the group lunch making activity and seeing the youth work together.
I (Doug) am proud of our group for the excitement they have about the week ahead and their enthusiasm for what God is going to do.
Watch this space for more comments from each of our team members as we get deep into what God has prepared for us.
Out of here for the evenin',
In Him,
Doug and the crew
...three to go!
We're in Spokane, our "hub" as Youthmark calls it. Two other church groups are here with us, gettin' ready to ship off to different towns in Montana for the week. We've been having really amazing worship, courtesy Kurt (the fellow who's running the hub), and some good quiet time with God this morning for all.
Last night, Kurt talked to us about living every day serving God--each day is a gift, and there are no promises about tomorrow; it is truly so important to seek out, and do, what God has laid out for us each and every day.
This morning, we did a great game. The whole group (all three church groups, aprox. 50 kids) was split into four sections--the labor lovers, the speakers, the quiet ones, and the organizers, respective to the gifts that the kids think they do/don't have. Then, all the kids had to work together to pack sack lunches...interesting to watch, to say the least. A good learning experience for all :).
Last night, all the youth leaders met up and discussed our hopes for this week, as well as personal hurdles that we thought we each might face. All together, we all hope to see God stretch the kids, speak to them, and give them opportunities to really step out of their comfort zone. It's through that that God does amazing things, when we step into God's turf, when all we can do is trust Him. On the flipside, it can be difficult as leaders to have faith that God *will* do His thing, and that we don't need to jump in and answer all the questions, taking things into our own hands. In the end we know He will, but sometimes we can be nearsighted :). Last but not least, *even* leaders have comfort zones (pretty small ones sometimes), and no matter who ya are, it's always difficult to step out of those. We really hope that God gives us those opportunities this week as well, in whatever form them may come.
Thank you so much for your prayers, and please continue to pray for safe travels, the hopes and hurdles, and for a good time :).
Have a good saturday you all!
In Him,
David, for the Rose Hill Pres. group.
Tomorrow is the big day and our whole group is extremely excited to get on the road. We have been planning, meeting, praying and raising money for many months now and tomorrow we get to go!
Watch this space for daily updates (as internet connections allow). Keep praying and see what God is going to do!
Elise, Erick, Christina, Josh N, Molly, Josh G, Beth, Matt, Kevin, Ron, David and Doug