Joy to the World

In this season of Advent, we celebrate the joy that is brought to the world by the coming of the Christ child. The camp sunshine Christmas party gives us a chance to share this joy with others who face the harsh realities of a sometimes hopeless world. Seeing Ben and Cam cradle that precious baby Jesus in their arms WAS Christmas for me. For you see the joy in my world this year has been diminished by my mother's hospital stay. So the question is where do you find joy in the midst of pain and suffering. The psalmist says "weeping may linger in the night, but joy comes in the morning"and as Christians we believe it also comes in the "mourning". So I challenge myself to look for the joy like I found at the camp sunshine party, or in my mother's room as Catherine hopped in bed with her and recited the 23rd psalm, and when the congregation sings Silent Night on Christmas Eve we shall rejoice in the coming of the Christ child even if the pew is empty beside me.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Service

Dear God,

I pray that gatherings like this would become a constant in our community. It is so important to come together and set aside all differences. This service is beautiful and it encourages me to see all of us gathered.

Prayers of the youth who seek to live in a world of peace.

It's not about the presents, it's about His presence.

Growing up with a father in the toy business, I was particularly midful of the "haves" and "have nots" at Christmas time. Some parents spent lavishly on their children's Christmas, while others paid $5 a week on lay-away toys, and still there were those who could not afford anything. I was keenly aware at a young age how fortunate I was, and that others didn't enjoy the same luxuries. My dad treated everyone who walked through the door with respect regardless of financial means. He would often say you can't help the family you are born into. For some it is a blessing, others not so fortunate, but children don't understand this, particularly at Christmas. Parents and children are disappointed when they can't provide or receive the presents others enjoy. If this is what Christians mean by a season of hope, why would the less fortunate, discouraged want any part of it? Well, Sally reminded us in her sermon on Sunday that the expectation and real hope is in our relationship with God, through his son Jesus Christ, not the presents under the tree. We all would do well to have less gifts, and more room in our heart for Jesus.

THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

Nostalgia is from the Greek word for homecoming. Nostalgia is good for our self- esteem because the positive memories seem to surface to the top of our brain. What I remember most about Thanksgiving is 'I like the"dark meat"'. Which in the Blanton household meant roast instead of turkey. To this day give me steak or roast any day, but never turkey.

Thanksgiving is much more than the meal. It is a homecoming for family and friends. We gather in the den to watch the Macy's parade, outside to play football, in the living room with pallets on the floor to sleep, and of course in the kitchen to prepare our "dark meat" feast!

When we engage in nostalgia we think of things that are really important to us. We play the highlight reels of our lives. We remember people, places and things that make life meaningful. As you gather this Thanksgiving remember to give thanks with a grateful heart, and to give thanks to the Lord above.

Sacred space

Prayer stations served as a sanctuary for us during this busy weekend. We were able to walk the labyrinth. The labyrinth is a means of claiming that no step is ever lost. Even our missteps God may use to direct us. There was a prayer painting station and we hung our artwork of prayer on the clothesline. The prayer wall was symbolic of the western wall in Jerusalem where people pray and place written prayers in the crack of the wall. And finally the cave was a womb-like space with a single candle representing Christ's light in a dark world. Everyone hears and receives God's word differently. No one travels the same path. Bishop Hayes reminded us that God doesn't call the equipped, but equips those who are called.

We were challenged to ask ourselves "where is a place you would like to go where no one has ever been? Paul met a lot of roadblocks to Macedonia but the holy spirit kept re-directing him. This generation will respond to a "calling" but perhaps not one call. They are willing to change directions more so than previous generations. But each time they receive a different calling it will be necessary to maintain a divine center to call the scattered self into an integrated whole.

What does it mean to be called?

The important thing is to ask the question.

No call in life is crystal clear, God usually whispers rather than shouts.

If you hesitate you're in good company. Moses and Jonah are examples of resistance, but finally said "yes". So try this for discernment:

Wake up every morning regardless what you are called to do and pray this prayer,

HERE I AM LORD, SEND ME

This was our message from evening worship last night.

Exploration 2011

We are currently in the air on our way to St Louis, MO. Hannah is earning her flying wings sitting

in the window seat on her first time flying. Laura and Maggs are still deciding if they "enjoy" flying since this is their second time. meg Mal and Becks are the frequent flyers in the group. Already the group has met up with others attending the conference. USA Today has an article regarding the significance of 11/11/11. The number one represents a beginning, with double ones representing a doorway and triple doorways is extra powerful! As a group, we discussed the importance of attending Exploration 2011 on the same day as 11/11/11. Symbolically it represents imagining what you want and achieving it in a powerful way. And for us that power comes from the holy spirit helping us to discern our call. After sharing this story, we joined hands across the aisle and Hannah led us in prayer for our experience together.

Answering the Call

Next week I will be taking a delegation from WNCC to St. Louis, MO for Exploration 2011. A conference designed for young adults to help discern their call to ministry. In preparation for this experience, I have found it necessary to better articulate my own calling which began in high school.

I remember the tug of war inside of me. At school, my career path was not particularly popular. Counselors and teachers were disappointed I was not choosing a more academic route given my class rank, GPA and Junior Marshall status. My peers were polite, but shocked I would chose Pfeiffer College over UNC-Chapel Hill.

My family and church were the primary sources of affirmation for me. Oh how I wish the UMC would have offered Exploration 1976 so I could have gathered with others to worship, pray,dialogue and learn the unique gifts required for ministry.

I am so excited to be sharing this experience with young adults who are being called to lead, serve and love the next generation. Watch for blogs throughout our weekend together Nov.11-13.

SENIOR NIGHT

This week I attended Sr Night for Abbey at FHS volleyball and Megan at FHS football. It was much like I remember my Sr Night at SHS minus the big, bright yellow chrysanthimum corsage with a black "S" in the center bobbing up and down as we walked. It was similar to the night Charlie and I walked with Catherine onto the floor of Carmichael Auditorium for her Sr Night with UNC-Chapel Hill women's basketball.
It's a night of pride for the student's personal achievement, for parental support and for other friends who have made the journey special.
I'm glad we have held on to some traditions. While the flowers have improved considerably, the tingling feeling as the honoree's name is called has not changed one bit!
Way to go SENIORS.

SENIOR NIGHT

Speed bump

My purchase of an iPad this week is a reminder of our culture's obsession with speed. Now don't get me wrong this technology is amazing and addictive. You can navigate from place to place in no time at all.
However, I think there is an important analogy to be made to living our daily life like a wireless communication device.
When we rush through life---we fast forward through some important steps. Our desire for quick results, says everything about our need to control our own story. But scripture clearly admonishes us to wait, to be still, to slow down and to be open to god's plan.
I think about my own life and how quickly I rush and stress with my own daily agenda. I am constantly having to remind myself to stop, pray, be still, love/ serve others, listen to the voice of God's calling on my life. At youth Bible study last week, we discussed how living according to Christ's example must be second nature, not an after thought. On our fall retreats, we learned the more familiar we are with the "go to" book, the more passionate we would be about living the message.
Look at these scripture references about speeding: Lamentations 3:25- "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him"
Psalm 46:10 "be still and know that I am God", Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him"
So what part of this do we not understand? Maybe instead of speeding, we should slow down for the SPEED BUMPS!

Mid Hi Valle Crucis-Saturday night/Sunday

Sorry--this post is a week late! -Anne

Saturday night was a roller coaster of emotions. We were alternating between laughing and crying! We ran around measuring things with hot dogs. Then, Lacretia, Alexandria, Shaniqua and some other “girl” showed their talents in the Annual Miss Valle Crucis Pageant. There will be no photos attached. We watched clips from “Soul Surfer” that reminded us that we will often make difficult decisions to put God first. Jennifer Adams collected bottle caps to help us make bottle cap crosses to remind us that TODAY GOD IS FIRST. For our closing, we listened to the song, “Who Am I” and watched the “Zilch Prayer”. The Zilch Prayer is amazing. It’s a unique, peaceful way to capture the spirit of prayer. It’s always different, and always special. Eighth Grade spotlight gave each person a chance to receive positive thoughts from their friends. Most of the girls were emotional when thinking about all of the great memories with one another. Then, we passed out our ROCKING PJ pants! Sunday morning we had a wonderful worship service. We sang, played Bible Brainstorm, and took Communion. We celebrated the weekend with Anne’s wonderful slideshow. Each person received pillow cases embroidered with TGIF to remind us to put God first from the rising of the sun until the time our heads hit the pillow. Valle Crucis 2011 was a great bonding time—the best trip EVER! See ya next year!!!

TGIF Valle Crucis Saturday

Saturday started bright and early with a yummy, full breakfast. We then gathered back together and Lisa and Bee led us in singing, "Romans, What?!" and "Sanctuary" and "Praise Ye the Lord". We played many fun games such as Broom Hockey and Blanket Race and Hot (shoe) Potato! Our devotion for the day started with discussing how we see ourselves and how God sees us. We decorated paper bags with words and pictures from magazines. On the outside, we put things that we think describe ourselves. On the inside, we put things that describe how God sees us. For most us, it is easier to put yourself down or be negative, so it was harder to do the outside. But when we think about how God sees us, we realize how priceless we are.

We then discussed how the Bible should be our "Go to Book"--the place we go to for guidance. This led us to a game of "Bible Pictionary". Our groups had to choose a silly band to help us to divide into groups. We drew pictures about Bible verses or characters.

We watched a neat video of two guys who made a one minute video summing up the Bible. Each group had to come up with a skit or rap about a story in the Bible. We had scenes from The Good Samaritan, Genesis 1, Noah's Ark, Loaves and Fishes.

In addition to knowing who God made us to be, and how he wants us to act by knowing the Bible, we must also PRAY. So, we made prayer beads. Each prayer bead included the letters TGIF to remember our weekend, but then our creativity took over! "If you don't know what you are doing, pray to the father, he loves to help"-James 1:5-8.

Following lunch we went to the Mast Stores in Valle Crucis and now we are enjoying some free time. Later, we are hiking to the waterfall. Tonight we are looking forward to 8th grade Spotlight and getting our VC pajama pants! More later....

Linnea J and Holly M

2011 MID HI RETREAT

Retreats are a special kind of tired, making memories with friends, learning about God and exploring our faith. Please pray for all the youth and counselors as FUMC journies to Valle Crucis for the 35th year. The second longest tenure on record at Valle Crucis. What a rich tradition!

TGIF Valle Crucis 2011 Friday

After driving through the rain, it stopped just in time for our arrival. When we got here, we went straight into games and devotion. We played our own version of "Minute to Win It". Our theme for this year is Today God Is First. Our youth counselors and leaders asked us to find a five dollar bill hidden in the room. This activity was related to the Bible verse Proverbs 2:4. The verse is, "If you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures-"

To think about Matthew 6:33 we were divided into groups by grades, and we discussed if we put God before everything else in our lives, then all the rest will fall into place. Later, we gathered around the bonfire and everybody took one penny. Paul Avery shared a story about how every U.S coin states "In God We Trust". This is something we can carry with us always as a reminder.

Finally, early in the evening we talked about having a good attitude in everything you do. Becky showed us a trick with the word attitude.

A-1

T-20

T-20

I-9

T-20

U-21

D-4

E-5

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5= 100%

Our goal for the week is to put 100% of a good attitude into everything we do.

Emily A and Anna-Taylor H

It Happens Every Year

The past few weeks have once again included confirmands who are excited to be in the youth program, 12th graders who can't believe their senior year is finally here and college freshmen excited about campus life. For parents, these milestones are bittersweet. While glad to see the fruits of their labor coming to fruition as their children mature, they are equally sad to let go of the infant they once held in their arms. For me, it is one of the things I like most about my area of ministry. The fact is: no year is ever alike. A new group moves in, others move up and some move on. It's as it should be. But I can't imagine youth,young adults, parents or myself going through these changes without a deep spiritual connection. I long for teenage parents to have the same excitement about growing in their faith as I saw in those 6th graders at the events of Week of Welcome. Empty nesters, the church is a great place to re-establish your purpose. Likewise, I want the Class of 2012 to make the most of their senior year at church because it will pass much too quickly, and I want our college students to remember to Live Out Loud in their new environments. Proverbs 22:6 says "start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Once again, the church will prepare the 6th graders-seniors for the path of Christain discipleship and trust as they leave for college they will not depart from it. Parents, you too should prepare your children for the path not prepare the path for your children. Effective life-giving youth ministry involves youth and adults becoming the family of God. With each person involved we will grow as a community of believers. We will depend on our faith to strengthen us for another school year.

Don't Give them any hominy

"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40)





On a recent mission trip with the youth, I shared an important lesson I learned as a teen.





It happened early one morning at breakfast. The Civinettes were collecting Kans for Kids so I was looking through the cabinet for items to take. My dad looked my way and said "don't give them any hominy". I asked "why not? we have a lot of cans. " He replied, "exactly, if we won't eat it, what makes you think they want to?" Thirty-five years later, I still remember that lesson of giving to others the best that you have, not the leftovers.


In a recent sermon, Rev. Sally shared a wsimilar awakening at a meal for homless in her community. She went to seve expecting a soup kitchen line and was surprised by the candlelight dinner atmospehre.


The next day Sarah, one of our recent high school graduates came to me and said "I feel called to serve that kind of meal before I leave for ECU." Literally all I did was pray and make a call to As One Ministries for a time to serve a meal. Sarah had exactly ten days to pull this off. I understand her mother even said, "Sarah, are you sure you have enought time?" Say no more, Sarah answered the challenge. She called friends, congregation members, and others to garner financial and moral support.


Today, Sarah's dream came to fruition. Tables were decorated with fresh flowers and candles. The serving table was overflowing with homemade macaroni and cheese, chicken casserole, fresh tomatoes, greenbeans, corn, grilled chicken, pound cake and so much more! The youth offered generous portions to their guests. Smiles and warm greetings were exchanged. It was as if we had known each other forever.


As Sarah heads to a new community, she takes with her a servant heart shaped by her faith family.


Nothing is more central to the church's mission than transforming the lives of others by offering one's self in God's name. I would say to all those who supported Sarah in this endeavor, "thank you for helping to create the kind of world you want to see!" And by the way, there was certainly no hominy at the meal today!

Application Makes All the Difference

Now that the summer mission project is behind us it is imperative that we don't let the mission lifestyle end. What we learned from others, about ourselves, and about God must last beyond the 7 days we were gone. So what does that mean for you? For me? For our group? Primarily, we must continue to put into practice what we started in St Louis. Some of the top 10 reasons to do mission are also the top 10 reasons to belong to a youth group. The passing of the torch from graduates to seniors begins NOW. The communion that brought us to tears is the same table available in worship the first Sunday of each month. The priority to participate on the mission trip is the same discenment you will need when fall activities ramp up. The daily devotion time we experienced is a habit you must continue to encounter God each day. Application is the key to personal faith development. For example, an empty paint can doesn't paint a room, a book highlighted with information doesn't matter and being in the church building isn't being Christian. The same is true with your faith story.
Consider these questions as you begin to live your faith out loud in G-Town:

• What is your favorite bible story?


• Who is your favorite person in the bible


• How have you leaned about the Bible, God's love, faith


• Who is a person of faith you admire?


• What is one thing you know about your faith you can share with others?

There's No Place Like Home

This morning our Mission Team gathered back at our "home" church, FUMC. We filled 3 rows with our new black T's and our church family came to welcome us back and thank us for our work. What a great sight it was to see a full parking lot on a hot summer morning, by the way.

The photos we will place on the blog for our final post of the week show the "finished products" of our week of hard work. We tore out the old fixtures and completely repainted and applied new molding to the Thrift Shop, we applied primer and paint to the inside of two "play houses" and then created masterpieces that looked like homes for our new little friends to enjoy, we went out into the community to check on persons with disabilities to be sure they were okay during the extreme heat, we cleaned and sorted a storage closet that was full of treasures once we organized it and we tilled and planted annuals and perennials on the side of the building of Kingdom House. Everywhere we go, people are amazed at the amount and the quality of the work that a group from FUMC Gastonia can do. Our Youth are LIVING their faith OUT LOUD every day, but especially LOUDLY one week out of each year. We should all be proud!!!

A special thanks to Becky Greene for all of the hard work she has done on all of the many Mission Trips she has taken our youth. She never ceases to amaze us all with her organization and spiritual depth she provides. Our church is so very blessed to have such an amazing leader for our youth. And no, Becky, you can't erase this part!!!

Anne Mallonee-for Becky Greene

CAROLINA IN OUR MINDS

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina
Can't you see the sunshine
Can't you just feel the moonshine
Ain't it just like a friend of mine

Like James Taylor we have Carolina in our minds today as we head for home. We left out around 3:30 this morning. We will see everyone later this evening when we arrive back in Gastonia. Calls should be made by the group when we are about an hour away so you can be waiting with open arms to greet us.

THURSDAY, BACK TO WORK

Sorry to be coming to you a little late about our day yesterday. We are keeping a tight schedule. We began our day a little sluggish but our morning glow team challenged us to "keep our heads". We listened to Andy Grammer's song " keep your head up" and prepared ourselves physically and spiritually to greet the workday.

We continued to work on the thrift store, dollhouses, landscaping and daycamp. Two new projects, organizing the eqipment room and cleaning all the daycare toys for an EHS inspection were added. After a long, hot, tiring day of work, the showers were wonderful! We cooked our evening meal of tacos and ice cream sundaes, and it was enjoyed by all and a much needed night in.

After some downtime, we enjoyed a very meaningful and significant devotion session. We began the evening as we began our morning, playing "Keep Your Head Up" to help us center and focus. One line in the song states, "after rainbows must come rain and know the sun will shine again". So in our daily work teams we discussed our rain (messes) and then our rainbows of the day and where we saw our SON shining. After we celebrated our rainbows we began our personal journaling session.

We listened to the song "Angel by Your Side" and were reminded that each day we walk with angels by our side (God and the people on this trip), as well as other angels who are already in heaven, who continue to guide and inspire us. After journaling about those angels that keep our cups overflowing and reciting the 23rd Psalm, we affirmed our graduated seniors with blessings and communion from Jim and Becky. Then, as a way to symbolically pass the torch to the rising seniors, the graduates served our 12th graders with communion. The expanded leadership team served the rest of the group and then we discussed what an amazing experience it was to serve and be served. We closed with the UMYF Benediction.

Lions, and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

Sorry we didn't post the blog yesterday, but we were too busy having FUN! We went to the "World Famous" St. Louis Zoo! Many of the animals were seeking any relief from the heat they could find, but we still had an amazing time. After the zoo, we headed to the mall to get some lunch and relief from the heat. Then, we went downtown to the ARCH! Many of us had to conquer our fears of height and claustrophobia in order to squeeze into the egg-shaped cars that would transport us 650 feet into the air above St. Louis. We managed to fit all 42 of us into the 8 cars at the same time so that we be at the top together. The view was beautiful and will be a life-long memory. After we got back down to Earth, we created a special message using our bodies on the ground. Thankfully, our cell phones allowed us to receive direction from above-with Rawlings telling everyone which way to turn so our letters would be straight. Our photo message will be a forever reminder that we should always Live Out Loud! We ate some delicious pizza at Imo's Pizza and came back to the church for devotions. More later about our third work day at Kingdom House...

Top 10 Reasons to go on the Mission Trip

Today we continued our work at Kingdom House. Once again, at the end of the day, as we reflected we realized that we are making a significant difference in the lives of those we meet, building significant relationships with each other in our own group and strengthening the significant relationship we each have with God. There are many ways we could recap this day but we decided the best way to show you first hand how meaningful these trips are to us are to share with you one of our exercises from devotions tonight.

We now present to you each groups Top 10 Reasons to go on a Mission Trip:

Group 1:

10. Luxurious transportation and accommodations

9. Morning Glow/Devotions

8. Bill's Ghost Stories

7. Watching Becky play just dance

6. Life-long friendships

5. Life-long memories

4. The feeling you get from helping others

3. Being Significant to others

2. Growing in our faith

1. Spreading the word of God

Group 2:

10.Trying new things

9. Backrubs

8. Being fed

7. Traveling

6. African Tribal Dancing from the Daycare

5. Leaving Problems at Home

4. Barnacle

3. Becoming closer

2. Becky!/Counselors

1. Growing with God

Group 3:

10. To get dirty

9. Unique shower situations

8. To get away

7. See new places

6. Meeting people from different backgrounds

5. Bond with friends

4. Find out about yourself

3. Be significant

2. Do God's work

1. Spread the love of God

0. JULIE!

Group 4:

10. Barnacle/FMWI

9. Wednesday

8. Unlimited amount of fast/junk food

7. Getting' out of G-town

6. Bus Rides

5. Unforgettable memories and experiences

4. Live Out Loud

3. Finding significance in being significant

2. Relationships with God, each other, people in community and ourselves

1. Make a difference in the lives of others.

Group 5:

10. Because you will never be lonely in the shower

9. To master the game Just Dance 2

8. To run head first into a wall

7. To sleep on an inflated air mattress and wake up on the ground

6. To make friends you'll have for life

5. A front seat to the FMWI

4. To learn to be flexible

3. To be with Julie for a week

2. To make a significant difference

1. GODISNOWHERE

We have had another successful and significant day. We are a "special kind of tired" but it has all been well worth it. We look forward to a day of rest and relaxation tomorrow as we explore the city of St. Louis and continue building friendships with one another. We want to thank you for your continued prayers and support--with your help we have been able to show our faith to others here in the "Show Me State" of Missouri.

"Will you be my friend?"

Today was our first day on our site, Kingdom House. Kingdom House provides many services for the community, including a day care, summer camp, food pantry, thrift store and services for the elderly. As is typical for our first day on site, things started out a little slow as we had to go on a tour and learn about Kingdom House. Then, we divided into our work groups. We did landscaping, worked in the summer camp assisting with the children, completely demolished the thrift store (in preparation for our remodeling!), and began a basketball camp. We figured out through our mathematical skills that the number of hours that we will be putting in at Kingdom House over the four days would take one person 24 weeks to accomplish!!! That is what we call being SIGNIFICANT! We look forward to seeing all of the changes that we will create this week!

After our work day, we showered in a very nice YMCA--Yay! We were stinky! Then, we found a Five Guys Burgers & Fries and a Steak 'n Shake for dinner. For dessert, we had St. Louis custard-a new treat for most of us. Clay actually turned down extra fries AND the custard due to all of the food he has been consuming. So don't worry about us not getting enough to eat!

Our devotion for tonight centered around a Shania Twain song, "Today is Your Day". The song reminds us that "nothing can stand in our way". Our Bible verse was 2 Corinthians 13:11-"Finally, brothers, goodbye. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." This related well to our Morning Glow topic about perception. Read the following... "GODISNOWHERE". What did you read?

God is nowhere? Or God is now here? It all depends on how you look at it. We are learning to adjust our perceptions to be more optimistic and positive.

Expecting the Unexpected-Ten-foot men, Midgets, Barnacles and Prince

When we woke up this morning to get ready to attend the church service at Kirkwood UMC, we realized that the church members who were coming to Sunday School did NOT get the memo that their Sunday School rooms were going to be filled with air mattresses and sleeping girls. In typical FUMC form, we went into flexibility mode and "It's not about me" mode and helped them get over their initial shock.
At the church service, to our surprise, we found out that Patrick has a twin who had the lead role in the Children's play, "Overboard". After the service, Patrick was actually congratulated for a job well done. In the play, Jonah said, "Cast your presence over me. Hold me in your arms, Dear Lord and listen to my prayer." This is very similar to the prayer we asked you to pray for us this week.
We went to fast food restaurants such as Taco Hut, Pizza Bell, SubDonald's, and McWay.
After lunch, we quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed out to an awesome water park. The Lazy River and the pool were a big hit, but we weren't a big hit with the lifeguards and other pool-goers. We cheered, chanted and screamed for everyone going off the diving boards-even the people who were not a part of our group. We got our first shower, and for many of us it was our first experience with an automatic, motion-sensored shower. They seemed to have a mind of their own and shut off, while we were covered in soap or shampoo.
We came back to the church and had our Annual Pizza Party--thank you, Mrs. McKenzie! Then, we moved to the gym to play "THE FUNNEST GAME EVER!-Barnacle. We played some more team-building games, including skits for imaginary projects such as "remodeling a kitchen for a 10-foot man", "organizing a closet for a midget", and "painting a house for a person who loves the color purple-even more than Prince".

Our devotions for the evening were based on the scripture Joshua 1:9. Like Jonah and Joshua, we are promised that we should not be afraid, for the Lord will be with us no matter where we go and we must listen to his call. We were given a "time capsule" to keep all of our Mission Trip memories. It included a journal and pen for our personal journal time. Thanks, Julie Heath, for all of the time that you spent hand-engraving the glass jars with Mission Trip 2011 with the cross and flame! As we journaled we listened to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. During this song, we thought about how God would always be our friend, and the things that we want to be our "keepers" from the trip--just like Andy wanted to keep Woody. Our second song was titled, "This is the stuff". Our key verse was "In the middle of my little mess, I forget how big I’m blessed." In other words, the little things aren't worth worrying about and God has a plan for us and sometimes uses things to teach us.

Overall, today was a great day. We really started bonding! We are looking forward to our first day at Kingdom House where we will begin to share the love of Christ with others whose "little mess" is much bigger than ours. We love you and thank you for supporting us!