Softball Pictures ^_^

Hey guys,

Softball was pretty cool last night. Would have been cooler if the painted grapefruit would have gotten hit by JD's bat on first try. :p
I enjoyed watching the game, even though I'm not much of a sports person. I really had no idea what was going on, but it was cool. =P
Though I was wondering, why are we doing this again next week? I don't mind, but I just found it odd. Gary hasn't done any lessons (even on Sunday) since last Wednesday. Is he okay.. :o Or just taking a break?

Anyhoo... Here are the softball pictures from yesterday night! ^_^



^ That's it right there!
I got a video of when he tried to hit it (and missed), but it's mostly just them looking at it and then Gary walking up to them. Kinda boring... lol. But if you guys want it I'll upload it. ;)



(The brighter, close-up pics on the field are taken by Greg with Joe's awesomeness camera, and the cheesy sunny pictures are mine. Teehee. ^_^ )

Oh, and do you think I should bring my camera next week or are these enough? I don't want anyone to get annoyed by me always snapping pictures.. :p

Summer!!!

Well, looks I might have some free time this summer. With the one week I'll be spending at church camp in June and the two weeks I'll be spending in Brazil in July, I don't think there's much reason for me to try and get a summer job, which is fine by me. I would have taken some summer classes - try to get some stuff outta the way - but that would have interfered with church camp.

Anyway, I was thinking that those of you who will also have some free time on their hands might wanna get together for some simple day-activities. Of course, we don't know what's gonna happen with the youth director position. There's a good chance that it will be filled before long, and that person might make plans of his own. But in any case, I thought I'd throw this out there:

Be thinking of little things we can do this summer. Simple things that don't require much money or travel. I for one would like to do some swimming. I haven't done much swimming over the past couple summers - just didn't have the time. I figured this summer would be a great opportunity for that. I know that the Hope public pool isn't exactly the most desirable place in the world...or the most sanitary. But, hey, it's something. There's lots of little things we could think of if we tried - the video game idea that Greg mentioned before, movies, softball, water gun wars...I had even thought about figuring out the steepest hill we have access to and setting up a homemade slip'n'slide. We might even think about a Bible study. I remember back when Jon McClure was youth director, during the summer, we would go to his house one day a week and hang out, play video games, eat, then eventually we would have a Bible study. It was cool.

Like I said, I’m sure our new youth director will have ideas of his own (the Bible study idea would probably be better for him to carry out). But we can still look for little opportunities to hang out. Just be thinking. Let me know what you come up with and we'll see about putting them into action.

Sociology Discussion

Well, to be honest, I didn't really find this week's Sunday afternoon topic to be that interesting. But for the sake of discussing something, here's my post about it...

This has been a really interesting study for me. I don't much like the lesson plans they give me to go through with you guys, but the teacher's book is very good. It's cool how it clearly lays out a logical sequence of ideas that someone who calls themself a Christian should adhere to. Have you guys really been following it - thinking about it? Do you think about how logical these ideas are and how understanding them really makes life make more sense? Maybe you don't think about it that much, but as you get older and start to really notice the world around you, you'll start to understand how important perspective is.

What about our perspective of how we structure our society? Did anything catch your attention Sunday? Did you know that the Bible even had much to say about this? We know the Bible instructs us on how to live as individuals, but do we realize that it also has instructions for society as a whole? And if this is the case, where does that leave America? Are we following God's will as a nation?

Well, that's some of the thoughts I have. Anyone interested leave some comments.

The Search!!!!!!!!!!

Alrighty, as some of you know, I have been chosen to help interview the applicants for our esteemed job as Calvary Youth Minister. Let me first off say I am honored! I don't really know why I was chosen but thats beside the point....

Alright, I'll start off with yesterday's applicant. Brandon Medders. A great guy. Heavy southern accent XD! He was a strong Christian, you could tell just the way he acted. His smile, his way of looking to each person in the room and then way he accepted questions from each of us. He had great things to say about his plans if he were to become youth pastor here at Calvary. He was a very laid back kinda guy, he was kinda like Gary meets Opie Taylor...but a bit heavier...I can't say if he is who God is leading us to or not, only time and prayer will tell....

Today's interviewee was Aaron Craton. Personally, I dont know if I should say this, but I think they would be the way to go. Of course, it isn't up to me, but to God. He and his fiance' Joanna are alot like Gary and Javonna....^_^ ( <~~~ Melody's smily!) They are just bursting with love and you can tell that ministry is what they live for. Not only can it be implied, but it is what they will tell you! They aren't shy in telling you that God has made it clear to them that ministry is what they are on Earth for. I just don't know if I can express how much they really seemed at home here. They were comfortable with everyone in the room, they were laughing at the relaxed times, and answering seriously when needed, so we don't have a stone-face OR a wild-man... I don't know if I will have any lee-way in the final decison process, but if I do I really do think God is telling me this is the guy.

I beleive there are more that will be interviewed however, but i dont know if they can beat Aaron. If you have any questions about any of them feel free to voice them.

I really hope this won't be opening up a can of worms, but, as Jason told me, the Youth have a right to know and I definatly agree......

Forgetton Discussions

So, let's say I make a post about how much I like fried chicken. It's only up an hour or so before Melody makes a post about chalkboards. Melody's post is very interesting and many people leave comments. However, nobody bothers to scroll down and read my equally important chicken post. Why? Because the most recent post is the most important, right? No! Remember, this is a team blog, meaning that there are several contributors, all of them with something to say (idealy). And it's likely we might all try to say things at once. When this happens, it's possible that some posts get overlooked. Let us make sure this isn't happening. When you get onto the blog, be sure to check out everything that is happening. I have the blog set to display seven days of posts. That means that, assuming at least one post is made a day, the last post on the page is only seven days old. A seven day old post is still a relevant post! Remember, we want to treat posts like threads in a forum rather than as journal entries as you would with Xanga or MySpace.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that our little online-version youth group is working much like our actual youth group - everyone's trying to talk at once. That's fine here, so long as we don't cancel each other out. So read old posts. Comment on them. Keep them alive for as long as they need to be. I know good and well that more of you have something to say about our canoe trip. But there's only three comments on Melody's post (and one of them is from Melody!) Why? Because after a couple long posts by me, Melody's post, though quite recent is way down there, and nobody bothers to scroll down that far. And even if you did, you'd be one of very few. So if Ben gets a chance to get on and check out what's up, maybe he'll scroll down, find her post, leave a comment. But would Ryan see it? Why should he? He's already left a comment on that post. You see? That's not a discussion, it's just leaving random comments that no one notices. You wouldn't have a verbal discussion like that, would ya? Someone starts the conversation, then everyone just throws in their two cents and walks away. The last person standing is just sorta talking to himself. Kinda the same thing here.

Well, like I said, maybe it's just me. Maybe you guys are keeping up with it all and I'm just ranting about nothing. But like I also said, that canoe trip discussion is not over yet, so why has it been forgotten?

Softball Team

If you are interested in plying Church League Softball please contact
Jd

Discussion

Well, I've been trying to continue our Sunday afternoon discussion here on the blog, but since only a handful of people showed up this Sunday, I figured there wasn't much reason to try and do that. Instead, I thought I might wait and further discuss what Gary had to say tonight. However, after hearing it, I wonder if it would be best just to leave it where it is. But maybe it would be okay to simply discuss the discussion itself, without going into details or naming names.

Gary is concerned that some people might not come back, which really bothers me because I feel part responsible. Not that certain things didn't need to be said, but it's hard when there's tension. I'm afraid that certain innocent people have gotten caught in the middle and have been hurt. I don't want anyone to leave, but I certainly don't want the innocent ones to.

Why would people be hurt by what was said? Why are people offended rather than affected? Angry instead of thoughtful? What is our responsibility? How do you say what needs to be said with the effectiveness in which it needs to be said without driving people away?

Let's discuss this. Leave comments.

Things You All Should Know

I thought I should share some stuff with you guys. I realized recently that I've never really talked with you guys about this, and since I keep encouraging you all to be honest and to share what God is doing in your lives, I figured it was something I needed to do. So, here goes...

Some of you might not fully understand where I came from and what I'm doing in our youth group. Those of you who haven't been members very long might not know much about me at all and those of you older members who remember me from my own time in the youth group still might not understand why exactly I came back.

You see, back in the day, I really loved our youth group. When I graduated in 2002, I wasn't ready to leave it, and I didn't. I didn't go to college immediately after high school because I wanted to be a filmmaker, so rather than going to an ordinary college, I decided to stay here in Hope and get a job - putting back the money I made to either go to film school or to produce my own independent film. Since I would still be around, Gary told me I still had a place in the youth group - that I could stay as long as I wanted. At the time, I didn't see any reason why I wouldn't.

But it didn't take long for things to start to change. It's just something that happens after high school. In that first year, my relationship with God grew. As it did, my interests changed and the things of my youth grew less and less interesting to me. Eventually, my interest in the youth group began to fade. Youth groups were great for youth, but I was growing up and just didn't feel like I had a place there anymore. Don't get me wrong - I felt accepted by everyone, but it just didn't feel right. I just didn't belong.

I stayed for Gary. The stress was really getting to him at that time and it bothered him that a lot of people were starting to drop out. I stayed to support him, but deep down, I know it was over. After Gary resigned, I finally decided it was time to leave.

After that, I felt lost. I quit the youth group because I didn't feel like there was anything there for me, but the cruel irony of it was that there was now nowhere for me to go - nowhere for me to plug into. For almost two years, I just waited for God to reveal to me the next stage of my life. During that time I started to grow very complacent in my faith. While my relationship with God had been maturing before, now it just seemed to be on hold. There were times when I felt like I was starting to better understand God on an intellectual level, but my enthusiasim for serving Him became stale.

And for reasons I can't fully explain, I grew to resent teenagers. I guess it had something to do with how my own teenage experience had just sorta withered away. There was so much about my youth that just felt meaningless now, and I guess I saw that meaninglessness in every aspect of youth culture. But really, it was pride. I was proud to be an adult and to not be a "stupid kid" anymore. At least, I thought I was proud. Like I said, I had become complacent. Something was missing, so I'm not sure what I thought I had to be proud of.

A lot of you know about my mission trip to Brazil last summer. When I found out about this project, I immediately knew it was God's will for me to go. Specifically, I knew that God was saying, "Jason, here's the answer to your complacency." That was all I needed to know. I was so anxious for God to reveal something new to me.

Now, I had no intention of working with teenagers. There were many jobs I could choose from. One of the more popular jobs that the teenagers did was acting on the drama team. I watched the kids from Liberty-Eylau perform the drama for our church in the spring (some of you might remember that). The whole time they were performing, I was thinking, "Well, I certainly won't be doing this!" I figured I'd get involved with one of the construction teams or something. But no matter what I did, I would be considered an adult. I was adamant about that.

Things didn't work out that way, though. The drama team from Liberty-Eylau needed a guy to play the part of God. They asked me. Wanting to be seen as mature and cooperative, I agreed. But I was very disappointed about it. I prayed that the situation would change and they wouldn't need me. But God said no.

As it turned out, He had put me exactly where I needed to be. I fell in love with my team (a group of teenagers) and with the mission that we shared. My experiences in Brazil were, without question, the most amazing experiences of my life. Even now as I write about it, it nearly brings tears to my eyes. God broke my complacency alright - shattered it to pieces!

When I came home, I felt lost again. But it was different this time. This time it felt temporary, because I knew there was an answer - I needed what I had in Brazil. I needed the kinds of relationships I had developed in Brazil. I needed a ministry that I could share with people that I loved. I realized that this resentment I had felt for teenagers was actually love that had been manipulated by Satan in order to prevent me from becoming what God intended me to be. I have spent every moment of my life since getting back determined to defy those manipulations. It's been an awesome journey. But it's been hard trying to sort out all that God has been doing - understanding the relationships He'd set in motion (that's a whole other story).

In the fall, my relationship with Gary began to grow. We started meeting every Thursday to hang out and pray about things going on in our lives. I started expressing to him all that I was going through. At the same time, he'd tell me about things going on in the youth group. It bothered him that the youth group felt lost and dying - that he didn't even know who was saved and who wasn't because there was no communication - no sense of community. It bothered me too. I had visited Liberty-Eylau Baptist Church a couple times to see some of my friends from the Brazil trip. It bothered me that Calvary's youth group didn't seem to have the same kind of life that they did. I wanted to do something to help, but I didn't feel like I had a place there...or that I'd be welcome.

This went on for a couple months - me praying and thinking about where my ministry was. Then came that moment when Renee did what she did. I was there the night it happened, and I can't really recall everything that I was feeling and thinking when she quit. All I knew was that things were about to change in the youth group. No doubt. I prayed that things could change for the better, but I knew that would only happen if somebody stepped in who truly loved you guys. I knew Gary qualified, but I also knew how hard it was for him and I wanted to help.

Gary called me that Wednesday and asked me if I was ready. I said I was, and that was the first night I joined you guys. Since then, things have been really awesome. The journey that God started me on in Brazil is still going. It's been awesome getting to know you guys. I'm starting to see that what I had in Brazil can be found here too, you just have to know how to recognize it when you see it. And that's what I want to help you guys to understand.

There's so much more to tell you all. I wish I could tell you more about all that God did in Brazil, but I wouldn't know where to begin...or end. Maybe someday. But for now, I just wanted you all to know where I'm coming from and that I care about you guys - and I can say that honestly because, for the first time in my life, I truly understand what that means. I'm glad to be your friends and I hope these friendships develop even more as time goes on.

Tee Hee Hee

A picture is worth a thousand words:











(Oh, and original image credits goes to freefoto.com http://www.freefoto.com/preview.jsp?id=2039-05-6 http://www.freefoto.com/preview.jsp?id=21-30-32&k=American+Truck image hosting credit to http://www.imageshack.com/ )

Canoeing & Camping

Heeeey all,

Whew, I feel like a sun-burnt pumpkin after our Canoeing trip! O_O' I figured I'd get a bit of sunburn, but I really hadn't imagined I'd turn into a little red marshin! :< Wah!

The sorta-kinda downsides to our camping trip:
*When selecting a sleeping bag, try to get one that's made for your size and height. I realized that my sleeping bag was made for someone 6'4"... I'm 5'3". =P
-This is what ya need, good sleeping bags that probably won't survive many more youth trips!:


*Sunburns... Hurt...

*Oh, and another tip about sleeping bags: If the sleeping bag is covering you head-to-toe (and then some), don't stick your hands out of the zipper all night long.
It's prone to getting stepped on, that and it's lunch for what ever bugs are lurking in your tent. O_O *Gulp*

*Don't feed Ben Cheetos in a tent. He CRUNCHES on them till 1 in the morning (while people are trying to sleep..), and then leaves the soggy ones for JD to taste test in the dark.
-Don't expect them soggy chips to get cleaned up by their owner if his name is 'Ben':


*Waking up at 4 in the morning with someones foot in my face wasn't cool...

*JD Mooning us... My eyes are still rotting. >_<
-(And NO, I did NOT take a picture of THAT...!!!) But this is just as disturbing, so knock ya'self out looking at it (I know I did. j/k!) :



The not-so-bad parts:
*We weren't exactly in the wilderness... That bridge was pretty close to our camping spot and was constantly filled with traffic passing by. O_o
It's hard to feel like you're really camping when you can easily drive to the Dollar Store to buy some random goodies.
-There were some nice spots here and there though!


*My marshmellow catching on fire was kind of awesome..


Last, but certainly not least- The highlights of our trip!:
*A cook who knows what he's doing! I can't tell you how much I appreciated a meal that was easy on the stomach before my first attempt (And probably a few others first time as well) at canoeing. It's not like there were any convenient restroom stops along the way. XD
-Thanks for the meal, Ron!


*A bathroom that was not a port-a-potty.. Need I say more?

*We had some pretty good tents. They didn't blow away, fall over, look too bad or randomly catch on fire!


*No Hair Gel (Omigosh, Ryan!!), no make-up (Yeah, JD, you look so much better without the makeup!).. Just the real deal. That was pretty cool, and very "real".
Though Gary still brought his hair gel.. Cheater. He could have told me that his hair was coated with slimy goo before I tried taming down his messy hair.

*Interesting "conversations"... We had lots of those. I learned many things this week. Mainly these things:
JD is not a morning person. When someone says that they're "going to the restroom" it really means they're sneaking out for 15 minutes. Throwing rocks can be very entertaining. My shadow has a tail. Dead fish in the river is probably not a good thing. Realizing that you ran out of toilet paper is sooo not cool. Finding the spare toilet paper is so VERY cool! The tent walls do not muffle sounds, especially not if it's Gary's snoring. Bubblegum is not the latest fashion to wear *Cough* JD *Cough*. After a few hours of canoeing anything can happen, like Ben yelling at nice shiny rocks.. But that's probably nothing new.
-I can say that I know more about you guys now... More than I really wanted to know, actually. And to think I'll probably learn EVEN MORE during Summer Camp!! :p
I think I'm forgetting something... Oh yes! Pictures of us during our interesting "conversations".


*Surviving the Canoeing.. That's a plus.
-Unfortunately I didn't have a camera during the canoeing. ~_~ But it was jolly good fun! I only got two pictures of anyone in the water, so this is the closest I got (Next time I'll bring a waterproof camera for you guys if you like) :


*Amazing Youth leaders. We are really blessed to still have people like Gary around with us. He's not being paid for spending so much time with us or for the work he puts into teaching us. He's here because he cares, and I think that's truly touching. *Eyes water*
Also for Ron cooking and being around, telling me how to not drown, etc.. Javonna was wonderful company and always cheery. Joe for watching out for our well being and for just being really cool and patient. Jason, it's hard to think of you as more of a leader, you're still one of us, man! But thankies for just being totally awesome! lol
For everyone who spent their Saturday with us crazy folk. And for them folk who made it crazy, I enjoyed hanging out with you all last weekend! =D