Final Club of 2011

Last night was a great finish to the term. We enjoyed the movie Elf, ate Christmas goodies, burned several marshmallows over a giant bonfire, and reflected a little on Jesus, and what Christmas is all about. I shared a children's book called, "The Spirit of Christmas". In the book the main character talks about the coming of the Spirit of Christmas. The Spirit of Christmas brings all of the common traditions, but none of it feels quite right. The character is then reminded by the Spirit of Christmas that it all began with a baby, and that Christmas without love is not Christmas at all. 

I wait in great expectation for what God has in store for 2012. Have a Jesus filled Christmas and a blessed New Year!

All City

All City Club was insane! Check out all these kids! It was incredible to see the impact Young Life is having in Salem, Keizer, Turner, Monmouth/Independence, and in the lives of teen moms. HUGE.  All these kids and more are hearing about the saving grace of Jesus Christ every single week. Praise God!

Tonight was filled with lots of AIR. We blew up 60 balloons, tied them to our ankles, and attempted to smash our neighbors balloon. One leader said, "it looked like a bunch of middle schoolers trying to dance." We killed our vocal chords by screaming 12 Days of Christmas, and finally, kids attempted to pop a latex glove by putting it on their head and blowing. They were all incredibly unsuccessful.

Tim closed out the night by sharing how God just wants us to come back to him. If we turn back, God will welcome us with open arms, and throw a party for us, just like what happens in Luke 15. The son was so broken and needed help after squandering his wealth in wild living, he went back to his father and his father was overjoyed. God is overjoyed when we turn to him.... no matter what! 

Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving!!! Young Life today was in honor of pumpkin pie, cranberries, yams, turkeys, and Jesus. I haven't heard this much laughing in a long time. It is so fun to see kids from all walks of life come together and share laughs together. Not many places in our world do we see different kinds of people spending quality time together, but in South Young Life this phenomenon happens. It is an incredible picture of Gods Kingdom. My favorite part of the night was sitting at Dairy Queen with a Senior, two Freshman, two Sophomores and a Junior from North, none of whom really knew each other, talking about life and accepting one another. It doesn't get much better than that. 

 

Tonight I shared about the wedding banquet in John 2. This is where Jesus turns water into wine. In a world that is so full of false hope and broken promises, Jesus is the one true giver, he is able to fill our cup when life runs dry. Give thanks to Jesus, for he is good!

Another GREAT Club!

Praise God that he is so faithful. We had four leaders today at Club and 60 kids....we would not be able to do it. God provides! We have a family who provides their 8 seat vehicle on Club days, we have two gals who come every week to take video, work our media, as well as clean up the Club room, we have a group of Seniors who step up and are leading most everything at Club, we had another guy come and help clean up, and we had a parent volunteer to take multiple trips to drive kids to Dairy Queen after, not to mention the delicious meal for leaders before Club made by a parent. The things that seem so little make a giant impact. Thank you! What God is doing in Young Life at South would not be possible without the work of many hands.

Club was awesome! Kids had a blast! and Jesus was proclaimed!

Halloween

Halloween Club with costumes and all! We dressed up, scared a few folks, threw pumpkins around, drank sugary drinks, ate caramel onions, and bobbed for pears in a pool of goldfish water, and did I mention there was lots of candy. We also had the opportunity to hear Kate Thurber share for the first time ever. She shared about the masks we all put on every day to try to fit in, or feel better about ourselves. She shared that eventually the masks we put on will wear us down, but God has a plan for each of us mentioned in Jeremiah 29:11; we ought to take off the masks and begin to walk as we were created...life is much better that way.

Club #2

Tonight we shot Q-Tips through straws at one another, and a few lucky contestants had the opportunity to eat frozen Mayo. YUM! Actually, one of them had Mayo, and the others had ice cream. By the looks of it, I think the ice cream eaters thought they were eating something nasty too. We danced the Macarana....of course! What is South Young Life without that?! And finally we had the opportunity to hear Marcos share his story about how Jesus has changed his life, and how Young Life helped him get there. This is one more reason all of us Young Life leaders do what we do, so that one day we can sit back and witness what God has done in a life like Marcos. Two years ago I was sitting in New York Pizza asking Marcos what he thought about Young Life and Jesus. He said I don't know? It's interesting, and I really just want to keep hearing about him, but I am not sure. Two years later Marcos has been touched by Jesus, and his life will never be the same.

Club is Back!!!

Tonight was our first official Club, and of course, it was so much fun! This year we have a great group of Seniors who are wanting to get more involved in planning Club, running it, and inviting their peers. These Seniors have been in it since the beginning, our first Club three years ago was 12 Freshman, they are now Seniors, and we have 50+ coming to Club. Praise God! It was incredible watching these Seniors greet kids, make them feel at home, run mixers, raffle, and announcements, as well as help with whatever we needed. We have been walking with these kids for three years, and it is a huge blessing to see their growth in so many ways. Thanks for praying for, and supporting this ministry, young lives are being transformed!

2011 Young Life Begins

We have officially begun a new club year!!!! Tonight we started off big, by playing a game of tag across town. It is the best thing ever watching 60 kids running around in the dark with glow sticks. It was so fun getting going again and seeing faces that we have not seen for awhile and seeing kids so excited about Young Life. There were so many new faces tonight, and so many Freshman coming to their first Young Life event. It was a great way to kick off the new year! Next week we are back at our club room where we will begin sharing about Jesus and his incredible love story. Shout out to Katrina Beranek for providing such an amazing meal for the leaders. Thanks Katrina! And thank you for all of you who faithfully support us in prayer, in use of vehicles, and in showing up to club to help however you can!

BIGGER or BETTER

What can you get in exchange for a pencil? At Club tonight six teams went out in the neighborhood on a mission to answer that question. The first house my group went to exchanged a key chain for the pencil, then someone gave a bottle of 5 Hour Energy for the keychain, we then received 50 cents for the 5 Hour Energy. After that it got really interesting, a nice man then gave us a giant crab net for 50 cents, then another lady gave us a whole set of golf clubs for the crab net, the next house gave us a four person patio swing and we didn't even need to give them the golf clubs. In 30 minutes we went from a pencil in hand to bringing home a set of golf clubs and a patio swing. I think we answered the question. The other items brought back were a 40 inch flat screen television, a Dell monitor, and an Ansel Adams portrait. Not bad!

To finish off the night we had the opportunity to hear from a Junior at South named Luke Brown. Luke has been a part of Young Life since he was a Freshman and has really grown in his relationship with Jesus. It has been awesome seeing Luke make a relationship with Jesus his own but also to lead others to amazing life changing love of Christ. Luke picks up several kids at 6AM to come to bible study on Thursday mornings, and loves everyone no matter who they are, or where they come from. Pray for Luke that he would trust more in God everyday and that his love for Jesus would grow bigger and better.

Answer Club

Last week we gave kids the opportunity to ask questions. If they could ask God anything, what would they ask? After last week’s club, all of us leaders got together and reviewed the questions. There were many thought-provoking questions such as: When will I shine? How come there is suffering? If God wanted us to be good, then how come He created sin? What is life about? How do you get to heaven? These are just a smattering of the questions that kids asked. There were quite a few on the central theme of free will. Why does God give us free will? How can He still love us when we sin again and again?

Tonight five leaders sat at chairs in front of the club room. Each one took a turn addressing a different aspect of free will. Kevan gave the analogy of the movie Pleasantville; if everything was perfect, then how could we ever appreciate a colorful world? How could God make us love Him? What kind of love is that? We experience hardship and color so that we can better experience and draw near to the Creator of our souls. Ingrid gave the illustration of a buffet table. What would life be like if all we had to eat was tapioca pudding? The purpose of a buffet is to have variety. Human beings are given free will to make choices. There are some choices that are healthy and still some that are not as healthy. Without variety and actually having choices, free will wouldn’t be free will. Christian shared the story of the prodigal son in a modern version that illustrated how God gives us the keys to the car: freedom. The choices that we make can lead us back home or farther away as we rely on our own decisions. Also, there are times when our decisions can affect and harm other people, such as that of a car accident or breaking into someone else’s vehicle. God loves us so much that he accepts us back again and again, and we would never know the pain of suffering from our own choices if we would have just stayed at home, chillin’ with the Father.

Questions Anyone?

Questions. Tonight Young Life club was closed with the idea of questions. We all have questions we would like to ask God: Why is there suffering in the world? Why are we tempted? If God knew that there would be sin, then why did he create us with the ability and the desire to choose it? Kids were given the opportunity to ask any questions that they wish to ask by writing them on small pieces of paper, and they then placed the little papers in a box.

Next club, Young Life leaders will share these questions and some answers, and open up the evening for some conversation and dialogue. “God has set eternity in the heart of man.” –Ecclesiastics 3:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. –Jeremiah 29:11-13

Cinco De Mayo Celebration

Ay! Yiy! Yiy! Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Tonight we brought in some Mexican traditions, spurred on by an Ecuadorian/Mexican surfer named Martin. Martin led a double jalapeño pepper popping eating contest; three contestants each had to eat two large jalapeno peppers. The first to finish earned a $50 scholarship off of camp as well as a bag of hot Cheetos with lime. The contest was off with a bang when one girl ate the entire pepper in one bite. However, she was the last one to finish her first pepper by the time the other two contestants finished their second. Her throat was so on fire that it was deemed impossible to swallow her humongous bite. Burn, baby, burn! The night included a relay of throwing on and off some Mexican ensembles: a sombrero, a shirt, and a bandana. What is Cinco de Mayo without a piñata?! Rickey, whose birthday was today, smashed the sombrero piñata and rained a shower of root beer barrels, bubble gum, and lollypops down on the crowd.

Drew shared the testimony of Luis Fortin, a World War II bomber pilot. He underwent 47 days lost at sea, winters caged on Japanese soil, alcoholism, and a disastrous marriage. Though he had grown up in a Christian home and was familiar with all of the traditional Christian holidays, he really met Christ at a Billy Graham crusade. A tranquil calm rushed through his spirit as he gave his life to Christ. Drew went on to share about various Biblical characters: Saul, the Samaritan woman, and the friends on the road out of Jerusalem. Jesus will meet you where you stand, but you must choose to meet him there.

All City Club

This week we did an All City Club. Clubs from South, Sprague, North, West, Mcnary, Central (Independance), Cascade, and Vida Joven (Latino) all attended. This was the most kids we have seen at an all city for as long as I can remember. It was a great sign of the health of Young Life across Salem. It is exciting to see kids from so many different schools interact, sing, and laugh with one another.

Easter Club

The evening began with an outdoor egg-hunting contest. Those who encountered the golden eggs participated in a Peep marshmallow-eating contest. It was a close call between Thomas and Ashley. It was Ashley’s very first time at club and a great way to break her in to how things are done. I asked her three times if she wanted to eat the Peeps and she gave a hearty, Yes! Yes! Yes!

We later spent some time talking about family Easter traditions; some hunt eggs while others boil eggs in onionskins to dye the them brown, and still others fill eggs with confetti to later crack them on a loved one’s head. Olay! It was certainly grand to hear a variety of cultural traditions that we might not otherwise been aware of!

Tim led a hilarious Easter bunny carrot eating game. Carrots were tied to strings that were held by partners. The Easter bunnies had to eat the carrots, and the first bunny to down the carrot was the one and only, true Easter bunny.

The song Amazing Grace led beautifully into the talk tonight, which was about the resurrection of Jesus, and how God desires to turn our grief into joy. He revealed this to us through Jesus’ interaction with Mary Magdalene at the tomb, the tomb where that very day he had laid dead and crucified. Jesus met Mary at her deepest point of grief and called her name, immediately her grief turned into joy. Jesus is returning to the Father and preparing a place for those who believe. Although we still live in a world full of grief, pain, death, and sorrow, we can, live a life filled with joy, for our hope is in the Lord.

JESUS!!!

Pardoned

Kids met Jesus tonight.

It was an action-packed night, full of energy, excitement and anticipation. As one girl stated, “I just feel different inside” as she accepted Christ into her life for the very first time. The work of the Spirit is absolutely amazing. He alone transforms this old creation to something new and beautiful. Washed by the blood of the Lamb. He was transforming kids’ hearts tonight through the washing of the Word of God.

After weeks of talks on Jesus, His character, who He was, and who He is in our lives, followed by two weeks of talks on sin and our need for a way out, paved into Christian’s talk tonight. Jesus. He came, suffered, and died to take the place of us, the guilty ones. Freedom. For the first time ever in their lives, some of these kids will truly know the Jesus that rose from the dead over two-thousand Easters ago. Hosanna in the highest; He comes!

Who loves the 80's!!!

Can I see that moonwalk again? Tonight was a night of living in the past: leggings, side ponytails, muscle shirts, and plastic glasses. Living it up like it was 1985 was how we spent the evening. Kids and leaders alike came to club dressed up in their 80’s best, and the winner won a scholarship of fifty bucks off of summer camp. It was a close call at the end, but the cheers ruled in Sol, a yellow tight-wearing sophomore. Camp trainers, Manuel and Labor, joined the group in leading kids through camp preparation, manual labor, and training activities: a bubble wrap sumo wresting competition as well as an outwit and outsmart psychological riddle. There was a muddle of uproarious laughter and eardrum thumping, bubble wrap popping, pandemonium.

Corey closed out the night sharing about sin and that we daily have the choice as to whether or not we want to choose God. Daily we each hear the voice of the serpent and it is up to us to choose God or to choose that which leads to death. When Adam and Eve were turned out of the Garden of Eden, we were too, but God has a Plan to bring restoration. We have hope!

James Bond 007 Club

What do you get when you cross two 007 James Bond Secret Agents with a room full of high school kids? …a very silly James Bond showdown, complete with a dress shoe turned cellular phone device. Many laughs were had by all while watching the two Secret Agents compete for their place as the one and only 007. To see who was the best, they decided to host a water gun & ping-pong showdown that involved the stacking of many apples. Apple stacking is harder than you may think, and only the best Secret Agents can complete that task.

After singing Amazing Grace, Kevan shared about his own experience of walking in darkness, an illustration of sin. Jesus who is Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot and will not overcome that light. He shared the story of the blind man who was healed. Jesus brought life and shed light in the once dark life of a blind man. Jesus, shine your light in the darkness. Thank you that the darkness will never extinguish the Light.

St. Patty's Day

Young Life Club was so fun! A real life Leprechaun joined us in honor of St. Patty's Day. He was looking for his stolen Lucky Charms. A couple of kids were chosen to pick the marshmallows out of the bowl of cereal to help him get his Lucky Charms back. Things got a little too intimate for a few kids when they had to pass mints down the line using toothpicks in their mouths. A few times it looked more like a make out session. We had the best music all year; kids were actually singing!

Ingrid brought the house down with the reading of a children's book called, "Never Satisfied". It reminded me of elementary school when I had to sit on the ground on the rug and listen to a picture book. Ingrid shared that nothing in this world can satisfy, not Disneyland, and not even her husband (needless to say that brought a few laughs). We turn to all kinds of things to make us feel better, we turn to all kinds of things to fill the empty place in our heart. We can never fill it, no matter what we try, because it is meant for only Jesus to fill.

Wipe Out Club

Another great Young Life Club in the books! Kevin led music wonderfully, Kate sang beautifully, Jerrelland Tim had no problem acting a fool in front of everyone, Drew spoke eloquently, Ingrid and Christian were able to connect deeply with kids, and I was able to facilitate if needed. It was fantastic.

We started the night with a mixer called, Body Parts. Kids paired up and had to walk in a circle, two body parts would be called out and the partners had to find one another and touch these parts, for example, foot to head. It was quite fun! We watched a few videos, sang a few amazing songs, and were privileged to have a few Young Life Camp trainers join us (Jerrell and Tim). They came to prepare us for all of the crazy things we will face at camp, like spinning uncontrollably, pushing potatoes with our heads, and racing around a circle on a desk chair. I feel we are all prepared for camp now.

The night finished off with a little worship, we sang "Holy is the Lord", and Drew shared about Jesus, how he had mercy on the guilty prostitute. He shared how Jesus stepped in the path of the stones that were meant to be thrown at the women, and instead questioned those around him. "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone". We all fall short. Jesus desires to bless the brokenhearted, needy, poor, blind, lame, and the list goes on. He steps in front of our deserved penalty, no matter what we have done, that by grace we may walk away changed.

Very Merry Unbirthday Club

Happy Unbirthday to EVERYONE! It was the Very Merry Unbirthday celebration. We started the night with a giant game of human knot. Everyone got in a giant circle and had to grab hands with someone on the other side of the group, this forms a human knot. The object of the game is to untangle the knot without letting go of each other. We sang a few horribly unsuccessful songs, but that's what made it funny I suppose. We held a live baking show, where the fellas had to make a cake, well actually, the blindfolded dudes in the back made the cake, while those in front had to communicate to the guys behind them to get the ingredients in the bowl (Lets just say it was as messy as expected!).

Kevin gave a great talk about how Jesus was not just the dude who walked around healing people, but that he was an average joe like all of us. He shared how Jesus was a master technician and worked on peoples homes. As Jesus would spend days working on one home, he would build unbelievable relationships with those who lived their. They would come to love him, as he first loved them. The same is true for us, Jesus wants our relationship.

To finish off the night, in honor of everyones birthday, we had a surprise visit from our good friend Jaycee. Jaycee showed us an old tradition called, "the ice cream gutter". Two teams made sundaes in gutters and raced to see who could finish first. You can't have a very merry unbirthday without some kinda nonsense right?!

Valentine's Day Club

Is there any better way to spend Valentine's than at Young Life Club? I can't think of any.

At dinner, prior to Club, a leader prayed for God to allow us to "CELEBRATE" kids. That really resonated with me; we have a great opportunity to celebrate kids, and celebrate God's love for them. We did just that tonight.

We started off the evening with a crazy game of clear the yard. Kids were split up into two teams and had to get all the junk onto the other side of the net. Balls were flying, and pompoms were smashing me in the face, it was a great time of unorganized chaos. Later kids spit candy hearts out of their mouths to see who could stick the most on their partners shaving creme face. In honor of Valentine's, we spoofed an MTV dating show called NEXT, and brought the characters to Young Life. A few lucky girls got to ask the guys questions in hopes of winning a big prize. The girls had some great guys to pick from, a gangster who likes to get ladies numbers, a creepy magician/ventriloquist, a Russian dude who wrestles bears, and a guy who hates life because he is still in love with his ex. It was hilarious!

Jerrell gave his first ever Young Life talk. He shared about the unfailing, never ending love of Jesus. He showed that no matter what we do, God's love remains. He talked about how Jesus dearly loved Judas, even though he knew Judas would someday betray him. It was an awesome display of the love of Jesus, and that it is never too late to respond to that love.

First Club of 2011!

One! Two! Three! Go Saxons! was the cheer of the night. Complete with a massive amount of dudes, a furry hamster, a crazy-leopard-legged skit character, a few new songs, and lots of excited kids.

The theme of tonight’s Young Life Club was Super Bowl Monday. We started the night off with a hilarious Super bowl commercial, and we continued the hype with a SUPER annoying sports fan skit, the crowd went into an uproar of gut-wrenching laughter. Later on, there was a timed eating contest: Cheetos, chips, pretzels, and the last thing…a hamster! Contestants were blindfolded. Thankfully, no live hamsters were injured in this experiment. A new leader introduced a few new songs; the last of which was Amazing Love, which then led into the talk. The focus of the talk tonight was on perceptions of Jesus. We all have a different idea of what Jesus is like, but the coolest part is that Jesus knows us! He knows our thoughts, our flops, and our failures, and he still likes us! I talked about Zacchaeus and that God liked him even in the middle of his mess-ups. THAT is the Jesus we know.