Mission Accomplished

Last Wednesday, we had big fun and games. That was cool. However, I really want more than that right now. Doing things like that let me be with everyone but it doesn't give me a chance to get to know everyone. My objective for tonight (Wednesday, August 26, 2009) was to be able to interact with the students who came so I can start texting, sending letters and having lunch and not feel like we are all complete strangers.

Mission accomplished!

What did we learn today? We learned that we can sing Doxology very unenthusiastically, I taught them a praise chant I learned in Uganda (make sure you guys remember that, I'll make you do it again). We learned about Samuel: what book of the bible his story is in and how he was given a position of honor because he honored God. That God honors people for honoring him, not because of who they are or who their family is. That allowing great sin to happen is just as wicked as committing the sin.

Updates for those who weren't here:

1. I am having lunch at Avon High School on Tuesday, September 1 and will continue to have lunch there every other week. I am working on getting into other schools as well.
2. Sunday, August 30th is Hang Time. I am looking into mini-golf, bowling, and skating.
3. The three Sundays after that (September 6, 13, and 20) I am going to pray over your schools. I will be at the church at 6:30 and leave at 6:45 if you want to join me. I want you to join me. Hint, hint. I REALLY WANT YOU TO JOIN ME (just in case you didn't catch the hint)
4. Fundraisers: I am looking for ideas for us to raise funds for ski trips, atf, ichthus and other things I want to do with you guys. I will get started on getting hats to sell before Faith in Action day.
5. COME SIT WITH ME ON SUNDAYS. I don't have any friends yet, so come sit with me. I was conned into agreeing to wear a dress if we get 45 students up there with us.
6. NEXT WEEK: We will remodel the Youth Room. Get some ideas of things to hang, places to put furniture, etc. I will look into the best deals on pizza.
7. I want to come to your games, shows, performances and anything else you do. I don't care if you want me to come or not. I want to pray for you, whether you like it or not. Let me know how I can pray for you.
   

I am excited about this year. I am excited that I got to interact with you guys tonight and I am excited about being with you for the rest of this year and beyond!

Dress for the Mess

...Has anyone seen my sandals?

Dress for the Mess has happened. A lot of good things happened: We've all been able to connect with each other a little bit more. Being new, I really feel like the outsider when I am with the students. The most important thing to me is finally having information cards for people. With your names, I can look up everyone on Facebook and with phone and cell phone number, I can start trying to talk to everyone throughout the week so that I don't just see you two days a week!

Seriously, I can't find my sandals anywhere.

We had a night full of scalding Mashed Potatoes, dish soap, watermelons, ketchup, mustard and other condiments firing from squirt guns, and a tasty dish of...something...I know it had rice, beans, split pea soup and some grapefruit juice just to add some moisture. Oh, and lets not forget how beautiful Jordan and Austin looked! There were some really awful smells from all that mixing together, but it's not everyday that "we" can get that dirty (I am not really included in that since I didn't actually get dirty...next time)

I feel like I've looked everywhere, too.

Some lessons I learned:
Trust in God, he really does look out for those he loves and he really cares about even the little day-to-day things that affect us, including the weather.
People, parents especially, want to help. I need to make sure I have a specified plan for what they can do and not try to do everything myself.
Wear shoes, so I don't lose them from taking them off all the time.

Oh well, it was time to get new sandals anyway.

Pictures will be coming soon to a facebook page near you.