 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
Well, our adventure in Show Low has come to an end. Our group had a very eventful final afternoon and evening at AICM. We boarded the Big Blue Bus and headed to McNary. Upon arrival we picked up around 15 kids and took them to a local basketball court. The kids enjoyed hearing the story of Daniel and the Lions' Den and singing several praise songs before hanging out with our group. Fun was had by all once again.
Dinner on Thursday night consisted of pizza and a surprise 18th birthday party for senior Braden Askvig. After stalling Braden by having him clean out the bus, we all joined in singing Happy Birthday as his cake was delivered by Mrs. Komar. Fellow senior Nick Dooley added to the surprise by hitting Braden in the face with a whipped cream pie as he attempted to extinguish the 18 flaming reminders of his age. It was a great time of celebration for the entire group.
Later that evening the boys and girls discussed what they would take away from their experiences. Many said that they would remember to be more grateful for what they have after spending time in the different neighborhoods on the reservations. They also said that they would never forget the children that they met on the trip. Both the students at AICM and the kids on the Big Blue Bus definitely made an impression on all of us. Many in the group also felt a great sense of accomplishment in all of the work they were able to complete on the obstacle course. Overall, while the week was extremely busy and cold, it was an experience that we will never forget. It is our desire that you remember to keep the people running the ministry at AICM in your prayers. These people are completely committed to what they are doing through this institution. It was a privilege and an honor to serve along side of them.
Thanks to all of you who prayed for us and supported us while we were on our trip. It was a huge success, and God was clearly present and blessed all of us through the experience.
Good morning from Show Low!
The kids had another great trip on the Big Blue Bus yesterday. They travelled to the town of Corn on the Cob on an Apache reservation. While there they picked up 35 local kids to minster to and play with. Based on the pictures and videos I saw last night, it was a very successful trip.
The bus arrived back at AICM at 7:30 p.m. and it was off to dinner. We had another great meal provided by the staff and talked about the latest bus adventure.
After dinner everyone went back to their dorms for some down time.
Later in the evening the kids got into small groups and went throught the Road Mark devotional for the day. The passage of scripture that we dug into was Romans 12. The study focused on building successful teams through individuals accepting whatever roles they are given and recognizing and acknowledging that every team member has value in regards to the overall mission of the group.
Romans 12:1-2 states, "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing, and perfect will." We discussed how these two verses applied to our efforts in contributing tothe greater good and becoming a team.
We also brokedown verses 9-13 to see how we could apply them to not only what we're doing this week, but also to what we do in our everyday lives. These verses state, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
One of the things that came out of the group that I was a part of was the importance of keeping the proper perspective when living a Christian life. We talked about how sometimes in a team settting we're asked to do things that we'd rather not do. Verse 11 talks about never losing your enthusiasm or "spiritual fervor" when serving the Lord. We talked about how most of us did not really enjoy being out in the cold digging holes, moving logs, or emptying a large pit. However, when we are in those situations in life it's vital that we take a step back and regain our perspective. We cannot allow our task to take away our "zeal" or "spiritual fervor" because ultimately we are digging holes, moving logs, or emptying pits to advance God's kingdom.
Another concept discussed in my group tied into verse 13 - "Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." We talked about how "hospitality" is nothing more than a choice and that anyone can make that choice whether on a missions trip or in their everyday life. We discussed that it's easy to read God's Word and understand how He wants us to live, but it's not always that easy to live it out in the craziness of our daily schedules. It requires making the choice to daily "practice" God's ways so that they will become habits that simply occur as life happens.
What a great reminder this study was for everyone on this trip. I hope that some of it sticks and makes it back down the mountain with all of us.
I'm back to AICM for another afternoon and evening of activity. I'll try to give one more update before we leave. If I'm not able to, I will enter a final post when we get back to Phoenix. Until then...
At the time of my last post our students had boarded the Big Blue Bus and were off for an afternoon of minstering to reservation children. The Big Blue Bus is part of the ministry at AICM. The bus goes out to neighborhoods on the local indian reservations and shares God's love with the kids. The bus picks up the kids, takes them to local parks, reads them Bible stories, sings worship songs with them, and plays with them.
Yesterday our kids had the great opportunity to plan and present the Bible story and lead the worship time for kids in the town of Cibeque. Our group was split into two groups and taken to different parts of the community. After a time of sharing God's Word with the kids they got to spend some time hanging out and playing with them. There was a lot of nail painting, arts and crafts, scooters, jump rope, and tag to be seen. One of the other unique features of the Big Blue Bus is that it has a basketball hoop attached to the back of the bus. Everyone had a blast shooting hoops with their new friends.
Upon arriving back to AICM at 7:30 last night everyone headed down to the cafeteria for a delicious dinner of cheese ravioli, garlic bread, salad, and cherry pie. After that it was back to the cabins for some much needed down time.
Later in the evening both groups had time to breakdown how their days went. Overall, the consensus was that it was a very cold, busy, but positive day.
This morning we awoke and went to the cafeteria for breakfast. After eating it was back to work. One group of SCA students led the P.E. class for the students at AICM. The gym was filled with basketballs, soccer balls, frisbees, and the energy of the kids. Another group returned to the chapel to complete a painting project they began yesterday. Everyone else reported to the obstacle course where the real fun began. The kids were broken up into several groups to perform various tasks for the eventual completion of the course. One group dug up logs from one area, moved them to another, and dug new holes for them there. A second group assembled and attached a mesh net over a huge mud pit. Participants in the course will someday experience the joy of crawling under the net through the mud to the other side. A third group got to forify a wall made out of pipes by transporting a large pile of dirt from another area of the field to the wall. Participants of this part of the course will get to scale the wall, go over the wall, and fall into more mud. A fourth group was given the task of building markers for the course made out of logs. They had to construct these markers at specified angles, heights, and widths. One member of this group asked why they couldn't make the markers out of posts and caution tape. Another one asked if they could just burn the logs and be finished with the job. A fifth group was asked to enter an enormous pit and remove a bunch of random articles from the bottom of it. There was a time when we wondered if this group would ever reemerge from the pit. Happily, everyone did resurface and lived to tell the tale. All of this work took place between breakfast and lunch. Due to the snow from last night, the low temeratures, and the morning wind many fingers and toes went numb, many noses ran, and many snowballs were thrown. All in all it was a very eventful morning.
It was now back to the cafeteria for lunch. The workers provided us with a fiesta that included chicken tacos, nachos, vegetables, salad bar, and an apple. It was muy bueno!
After lunch everyone went back to their cabins for some much appreciated free time (aka. nap time for the boys' cabin).
At the time of this post the kids are back on the Big Blue Bus and off to minister to more kids on the reservation. My next post will be earlier tomorrow as I will be joining the kids on the bus in the afternoon. Until then...
Hello from Show Low!
We have had an eventful day and a half. We began our trip yesterday with a windy but smooth trip up the mountains to the American Indian Christian Mission (AICM) School. Along the way we enjoyed hamburers fit for royalty and chicken that was imported from Kentucky. Everyone was well fed and ready to begin our adventure.
Upon arrival at AICM, we were greeted by the staff and given an orientation as to what we would be doing during the week. Various campus projects were explained to us and groups were formed to perform the tasks. One of the main projects we will be working on is the construction of an outdoor obstacle course. This course will be used for team building exercises for various groups. We will be digging, hauling, trimming, and building as much of the course as we can during the week.
After our orientation we had our first session of "Family Time". During this time our group got to know each other a little better. We played several games that let us all get a better idea as to who we will be working side by side with during the week. It was a great time, and some very interesting facts were leared about everyone in the group. After "Family Time", everyone settled in for the night and got some much needed rest for our busy Tuesday.
As we awoke early this moring, our group was greeted with a very windy snow storm. The storm had left 4 - 6 inches of snow on the ground overnight. So needless to say, today got off to a very chilly start. We all met in the cafeteria for breakfast followed by p.e. with the students at AICM. An extremely competitive game of kickball ensued with everyone enjoying themselves. Because of the weather classes began an hour later than normal thus providing more time for our kids to hang out with the students.
After classes began for the day at AICM, our initial plans were altered because of the snow. New groups of highly flexible SCA students were formed to work in the art room, paint a stage and construct projection screens for the chapel, and one extremely tough group even ventured out into the elements and began working on the obstacle course. Some students also helped serve breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria as well.
After lunch everyone met to rehearse worship songs and Bible stories for the Blue Bus ministry in the afternoon. At the time of this writing the students are on the Blue Bus minstering to and playing with kids on the local reservations. All in all, it's been a very good first day and a half. We appreciate your continued prayers for safety and the ability to be used by Christ every chance we have while we're here.
Check for an update around this time tomorrow.