Mission Trip

This past week I was given the privileged to take HS youth from my church and 2 from Idaho on a mission trip. It was the kind of trip that was life changing. The more people ask me about it the more I find I am at a loss of words to describe the trip. We to Heart Butte, MT which is on the Blackfeet reservation. YouthWorks put the week together which is nice for me because then I just have to worry about getting there and back and spending time with my youth. It takes some of the guess work out of it for me. But only some because in youth ministry you never know what to expect. I have been on two YouthWorks mission trips before but this was the best one yet. The staff was the best that I have been around, the other groups were better than ever, I connected with other leaders better than before and it was just all around pleasant. Part of what made this such a good trip for me was the connections that I made with my youth. Both on the surface I want to have fun level and the really deep spiritual level. I came away from the trip with many inside jokes like "I have to pee so bad I am going to wet my face", "Where's Jon?", and "What made you get up this morning and take these boys to breakfast?". And yet I also came away with youth that dedicated their lives to Christ. I mean how can you top that? It is what I always want for my youth to know God's love and his grace and mercy he can give us. Really who doesn't want someone in our lives that will forgive us for all of our sins and love us unconditionally. I know that is something I always want in my life.

So excited to go....

It is 10:15 pm the night before I leave on the HS mission trip. Man there has been more to plan than I ever thought possible. Well OK there might not have been as much to do as I did but that is a personality quirk of me. I want to be prepared for anything. My binders is full of tabs and papers and money. The van is equipped with saltines and sprite for car sickness, trash sacks for well trash or if someone is going to throw up, and the top carrier is already to go. I guess there is nothing more to do but get some sleep.

Well the excitement is over I think.....

So in my last blog I mentioned that I had no church to stay at. I am happy to say that I found a place to stay. The good Lord came through for me again. Hopefully the major excitement is over. Do you hear that Devil?? Go away! And God please bless this group with easy travels and no more major excitements other than just being happy to be on the trip eating fry bread please! Amen

one week to go and yet....

In one week exactly I will be heading out to Montana with youth from my church on a mission trip. I am uber excited and have been working hard to prepare for to go to the Blackfeet Reservation. I have paid Youthworks, found a van to drive, planned my travel route, worked out cost of food etc. I thought I was doing well. And then this week came. On Monday I was told my male chaperone was sick with something the doctors did not know what it was and I had to find a new chaperone. I was leaving in a week and a half and I had to find a new chaperone??? Holy Moley that was going to be a task. But by the grace of God I found one that day. Phew crisis diverted. Onto the next thing. And then yesterday hit. Earlier I had worked out that I would be staying at a church in Washington along our way. I was told that the youth leader would be gone during that time but she would find someone to let us in. Great! Since I had not heard who was going to let me in I called the church and left her a voicemail. Hearing nothing I called again and got a receptionist who said she is gone on a pilgrimage and they knew nothing of me coming. Eeek! The nice person on the phone said that she would try her cell but could not promise me anything. Oh deer goodness now I might a new place to stay???? Not sure why I am being testes so but aparently God thinks I can handle a lot and the Devil thinks he can break me. Well I am glad God thinks so highly of me and the Devil is sorely wrong. now onto finding a place to stay....

Bullwinkles

Yesterday I took a few of my youth to Bullwinkles (a family fun center that has lazer tag, go karts, etc.). The boys that went had a great time. We rode the go karts, got wet on the bumper boats, and played some lazer tag. Boy did we ever play some lazer tag. I have never played so many rounds of lazer tag in my life. I finally took a round off because of wanting a change of pace. So in my waiting and I thought I would text my friend and whine a little about all of the rounds of lazer tag. To which she promptly replied "Stop whining, kick some ass, and show them what you are made of." Sometimes I think we need friends like that. Friends that will put it into perspective. As a youth leader you do not always get to do what you want but it does not mean that you can not have a little fun along the way and kick some ass : )

Nerf Guns, Nerf Guns, and More Nerf Guns

Who would have thought when I started my youth ministry career how important nerf guns would become to me. Every youth leader should have some. So far in this past year I have used them to defuse awkward situations, get people to stop doing what they should not be doing, help settle down the room, and well just plain ol' have fun. Even the other night the youth entertained themselves for about an hour playing in one hallway simply with the nerf guns. I think it is official. Nerf guns you should never attempt youth ministry without it.

Old photo's and trips down memory lane

The church that I work at has always been my home church. I have many fond memories of being a youth here. Now that I am the youth leader I hope to be able to give other youth many fond memories of being here too. Today I sat peeling old photo's off an old home made poster giving me a chance to reflect on my career with youth ministry at this church. From being a youth, to a youth volunteer, to being their leader. So many good memories along the way like the youth leader who would even unscrew the emergency lights to make things even darker as we ran around the church. That was the same leader that thought he would see how quickly he could go from downtown to our church. The passenger next to me almost peed in the seat. I would not have been thrilled with that. To the leader that played a lot of pull-a-part. Why any leader thought that having all the boys/girls sit on the floor, link up and then have the opposite gender pull them apart was a good thing is beyond me but I played that a lot as a youth. Then there was the time we had pew races in the church and youth group in the columbarium (a place where peoples ashes are put into the wall with a plaque). From wrapping people in plastic wrap to shooting nerf guns I have been a part of a lot here.

One of the things that I started thinking about was my missed opportunities. The last two times a youth leader left neither one seemed to have the faith that I could be the leader. They wanted my help but did not really look at what I could do. They let my easy going, willing to be the gopher side of me be all they saw. The first time I allowed it. I let the opportunity to be the leader pass me by. The second time I decided I was not going to let it pass me by. Whether or not the youth leader at the time believed I could do it I was not going to miss my chance. I am so happy that I went for it. While it has been one of the hardest years I have had at the same time it has been one of the most rewarding. Thank you to all of my friends and family that have been supporting me and are continuing to support me.