Lakeview 2010- Day 5

Our final day in Lakeview! So sad, no matter how excited we were to get to San Francisco. I don't think there was a single one of us that really wanted to leave. VBS was wonderful, and meeting the kids parents and families at the hot dog lunch was really special. If we are blessed to go again next year, a lot of these kids will have grown so much we won't recognize them! Father, grow them like crazy and keep them close to You all the days of their lives. Our Bible Point the last day was "God's Word is for EVERYONE" and that couldn't be more true. Psalm 119:90 says "Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth You created." As we helped the children memorize that verse, I am praying that our teens hid it in their hearts as well. May their lives always reflect the faithfulness of God.

We survived! We conquered! And we were rewarded! San Francisco, here we come!

Such a beautiful drive through the Vineyards in Napa Valley. It truly was breathtaking. We were able to visit with a dear family in Christ who let all 17 of us stay at their house. We played some more mafia, laughed until our sides hurt, and got to spend a day traipsing around San Fran, eating food, seeing sites, and even took a boat ride and tour of Alcatraz. We did lose one kid, but we got her back, so it's all good! (It truly was one of the most terrifying moments of my life- long story- but God was good and protected her, and someday I will be able to forgive myself and look her mother in the eye again. Thank God it was only for a few minutes, or else I might have gone ahead of you to live with Jesus- death by panic attack!)

Never making a mistake would be so nice, but not even close to realistic. The best thing about this trip was being able to be real with one another. Nerves got frayed, frustrations flared, but not once did we forget to be gracious to one another. Not once did we take for granted the opportunity to love someone else. It was awesome. Too often I think that living like the Heroes of Faith- Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Rahab, Mary, even Paul- is totally unattainable. That somehow, they had the hookup and could do it "right" because God gave them an extra dose of "spirituality". Or maybe they just were less of a sinner than I am. But God reminded me that "special super powers" wasn't the key. We all want to come to God perfect- all fixed up and never sinning, so that He will hear and answer our prayers. But at the end of James 5 we are told to pray with passion- and BELIEF, just the way we are. To confess our junk and believe that God would do great things, and expect it because it is all for His glory. I know that with my head, but when it comes to praying that way sometimes I chicken out. If I am honest, I know I don't really think God will answer my prayers because I am too "bad".
Here is the awesome thing that James 5 told us: "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops." James 5:17-18
Read that again! Elijah, prophet of God and the BOMB DIGGITY as far as Heroes of Faith- and God calls him "a man just like us"! I so pray that gives you hope tonight! No matter what, God loves you and wants to answer your prayers! It might not look the way you expect it too, but I can guarantee you, His gifts are not ever going to be something you want to return! A long week of sleeping on a couch surrounded by teenagers, a strange small town in the middle of nowhere, Cup of Noodle lunches and sleep deprivation sounds like a bummer. But when I think of all God did in Lakeview in our hearts and through our labors- I KNOW He was answering prayers and blessing me like crazy. I so hope you let Him do that for you too. I love you. God bless you!

Lakeview 2010- Day 4

"God's Word is life-changing!" This day of VBS we have the honor of sharing the gospel. Robin taught the lesson and I was so blessed to help her. The story was of the cripple that is healed in Acts 3:1-4:12. Such a beautiful statement of every Christian- if we remember it. "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you..." That's all God asks of us. That we share our stories. We share our lives and His love with everyone around us. What a privilege.

During the lesson this day we got to have the kids take the gauze bandages we had put on them, the wounds that represent the sin, or "bad things" we had done, and place those bandages over the cross. As they took off their "sin" and laid it on the cross representing Jesus's death for us- they said the words "Jesus, change my life." Nothing magical about the words. Nothing powerful about the piece of wood we held up. But, the presence of the Holy Spirit was so there! It was wonderful to see. Sure, there were kids who were goofy, or thought the exercise was goofy. But there were also kids, and adult helpers, that meant what they said. And it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Robin did a fantastic job of guiding the lesson, and letting God do the work in our hearts.
How happy it is to be forgiven and free, yes?

This day was also one of quotes for me. Let me share two of them. One was so cool, and the other just funny. The cool one was a little girl, remember the first grader I told you about the first day who said I almost made her pee thanks to my amazing acting skills? I didn't tell you the best part! She had truly been scared Roman soldiers were coming to get us, but then by Thursday she pulled me aside and said, "You scared me so much- I almost peed my pants! BUT...(she even paused for emphasis) God's Word is comforting! Let's Go!" What a comfort He is! Not only did he answer my prayer that the little children wouldn't be permanently damaged from my lesson, but He was obviously using each day's bible point to teach these little hearts! Wow!


And the funny one came from our 6'3" high schooler who was lounging around, as usual, and put into words how we were all feeling- exhausted. Everyone wanted him to play some more Righteous Ball, and as he yawned and rolled around on someone's sleeping bag, he answered : "I'm busy getting tall." Enough said. What a week we had! By Thursday we all were more than ready for "quiet time" after lunch!

Lakeview 2010- Day 3

Bad blogger. Bad blogger. Every morning I say I will sit down and finish up the Lakeview posts, and every day something else catches my attention. So tonight- nothing will deter me! :)

This day of Lakeview was by far the most amazing, the most funny, and my most memorable. But it had nothing whatsoever to do with VBS! Is that terrible? Don't get me wrong VBS was wonderful and a great time. The kids really start getting comfortable with all the "strangers" by the middle of the week, and we have worked out most of the kinks. The theme was "God's Word is surprising" and our verse came from Psalm 119 again- "Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." Psalm 119:18 Great times watching kids panic as Drew pretended a snake was gnawing his arm off as he acted out Paul's role in Acts 28:1-10. Loved having quiet time when Emily actually FELL ASLEEP.

But by far, the highlight of my week came after dark. Felida's No Talent Talent Show. Oh, have I ever laughed so hard? I can't even begin to tell you the fun we had. The theme is...well, what can we plan in 2 hours that will be hilarious and show absolutely no talent? Such fun! The girls ended up doing a skit of "Top 10 Reasons Mustaches are NOT COOL." and a dance to Men In Black. Hilarious. The boys outdid themselves with several numbers. They opened the show with a jazz band, where Drew rocked a 10 minute drum solo that the other musicians had no idea was coming. It was gut busting! Then Taylor Swift came alive for us, in Ryan's body of course, as they did the number "Love Song". I can't even explain it- just watch it below. (Don't forget to pause the music on the right!)



So good! As you can see, we have it made when it comes to boys that like to wear dresses! Bahahaha! But there is MORE! We were treated to 2 more amazing songs- Double Rainbow AND Bedroom Intruder. Look them up on Youtube, and then picture my son and his buddies singing them a capella or with a lone guitar. NICE.

And then, the grand finale. Ryan said it best when he got on stage and said, "We've got the skills to pay the bills." Before watching this video, please have all small children leave the room. I would hate for them to think this is NORMAL behavior. But man! I love our youth group! :) In their defense, the girls did put them up to doing a Beyonce song. Although we never thought they would enjoy it quite so much!



Thank you, Lord! For laughter and fun and friends. What a great day!

Lakeview 2010- Day 2

So behind in my blogging, and so very sorry. Summer is calling me...and with so few days left of it, I must answer. The computer just can't hold my attention during this time of year. :)


Yet another day of fun and adventure for Lakeview OR! Any town that would let us visit is fearless.

Started out the day with another fantastic VBS program, with our slogan being "God's Word is comforting!" The bible story was from Acts 27- check it out and picture our crazy antics as we tried to explain it. :) This day was truly a sweet one, filled with kids who were nervous the first day now running to say hello!
(Ryan played the part of "Extreme Steve" in Human Clue terrifyingly well!)
My favorite part of the day was the Middle School Youth Event that evening though. Our teens organized a game of Human Clue- sooooo hilarious! And two of our Juniors shared their testimonies. What I loved was that both of the kids didn't have these horrible, tragical stories to tell. They are Christian kids, raised in Christian homes, loving Jesus. And their testimonies are just as powerful.

(Caitlyn made a fantastic "Kung Fu Karl".)
Our male student brought me to tears as I watched him share his story. I've know this little guy, who happens to stand 6'3" now, since he was 5, and to see the confidence and grace God has given him was such a blessing. It was awesome to see how God knew exactly which persons needed to speak, to relate to a room full of churched, "good" kids. Our guy showed them so clearly that God is just as real, relevant and ACTIVE in his life today as He was in the heroes of the Bible thousands of years ago. Very cool!
(This was Jordan as "Rockin' Ralph" during Clue!)
We finished the night off with some fun in the MAD house, and my favorite quote of the day was "PINCH IT OFF, JORDAN!!!" Needless to say, the girls didn't want anyone stinking up the bathroom and were not afraid to harass any potential perpetrators.

God blessed us during this trip with opportunity after opportunity to grow closer together, and hear Him more clearly. The verse we taught the VBS kids was another to put in your memory cards-
"Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles." Psalm 119:50 Oh, thank you for that Lord. Our promise that YOU have a good, and perfect plan for our eternity.

Monday- Day 1 of Crocodile Dock- Lakeview Style!!

Again, blown away over how my reality can come crashing down on my theology. In my mind, I couldn't wait to come home to my perfect marriage, perfect life- and instead was reminded very quickly that...life isn't perfect. HAHAHAHA.

So, I am choosing to focus on the fantastic, and trying to remember all the ways God shocked me into awe this last week. Last Monday at this time, I was being completely absorbed by our fantastic Youth Group. We were eating dinner, laughing and debriefing over a fantastic first day of VBS.

The first Bible point is "God is with us" for this year's curriculum, and I think every Felida staff would shout a "Fear Not" to that. From the first night, we were blown away by how God provided so wonderfully for us. The church was quaint and beautiful. It was clean, with so much character and obvious love from the members, we took picture after picture.

He also provided the girls with a super fun "MAD" house to stay in (Making A Difference). We couldn't get over the neat ceiling tiles kids had decorated, the comfy couches, and of course the sweet pool table and fuseball!


I got to spend some time right off the bat getting to know Rachel, a graduating senior I have never spent much time with. God was good and opened up conversation for us over pool table tips. She is such a neat person with so many talents. It was such a blessing to get to know her over the week and learn how I can pray for her this year while she starts college, and love her as my sister in Christ.

I think for day 1, this would have been my motto:
"I shall run the way of your commandments, for you will ENLARGE my heart." Psalm 119:32
I started out feeling a little indifferent to all the boys and some of the girls, thinking God was putting me on this trip to get to know my TAG girls better and be sure no one died (being a nurse, that is kind of in the job description). But God so totally "enlarged my heart" for our youth, I literally want to cry every time I think about it. Jo had a friend over yesterday, and as he was leaving I wanted to just grab him and squeeze him...of course I DIDN'T. Tad inappropriate and creepy, but I wanted to! Just because I love this kids so much, and can't wait to see what God will do in them and through them in the years to come. They lead games, songs, taught lessons- it was amazing how much they know about God and how capable they are...when they put some effort into it. :)


It couldn't have been a better start to what would be a fantastic trip- so hopefully it won't be too hard for you to have to wait anxiously for tomorrow's installment of VBS- Lakeview style!