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!