It has been over a week since we got back and I just wanted to write to update everyone on the end of the trip. We left the ASP center for an adventure in the wild outdoors at ACE Adventure. We had a blast playing on the inflatables in the lake, racing through the mud obstacle course and camping in some very nice tents. As we sat around the fire singing praises to our King and felt the exhaustion of our bodies, I couldn't help but reflect on how God had worked in the hearts of our teens and leaders on the trip.
Although there were no sermons delivered, no small group times with well planned out questions or mandatory quiet times in His word, God was still moving. He revealed himself in individual conversations, in moments of worship, in the strength of a rock, in the beauty of nature and the hearts of some of our families. I am reminded as a pastor that our God is in control of this ship we call Lifepointe IGNITED and He will find a way to move even when it would seem the opportunity is not there. Our God is a jealous God who seeks after our hearts removing all other obstacles from His path. I am so blessed to be a part of watching this happen. Praise to you God!
Get your passports ready for next year: MT10
-Todd
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
MT09 - Thursday - Day 5
"Teen Talk" Thursday started off great,
beginning with the delicious pancakes we ate.
Off to the work sites not to be late,
team orange used Taco Bell as motivational bait.
The Orange crew sweated as the dirt flew,
Yellow played in the mud too.
Purple dug holes like they always do,
but after all, they are the best crew.
Orange said "Don't taze me bro."
Team Yellow rode 4 wheelers yo,
Purple saw spiders and said whoa
Santa arrived and said Ho, Ho, Ho!
Our mission trip team has a horrible stank,
and the 12 passenger vans are growing quite rank.
Tonight is our picnic by the river bank.
I hope we get to let the music crank.
The teens lead the charge to finish the week strong.
Monday through Wednesday felt terribly long.
This morning we woke up with a very loud song.
Even still, I can't believe the week's almost gone.
Thanks for your comments and all your prayer,
Its good to know that you all care!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
MT09 - Wet Wednesday
Just for fun we took a silly, I haven't woke up yet, this is my bed head, photo.
Orange Team: Got dirty in the mud, smashed 725 cans, found a chicken coop, and a pot of nasty beans.
Purple Team: Began framing for skirting under the mobile home, Jennifer cut a lot more rebar, and Dan got chased out from under the house by a huge spider (vowing never to return again).
Yellow Team: Had a break through moment when the ditches were connected, had ballin' hamburgers, and Caroline was attacked by a giant worm.
Todd's note: Tonight is culture night so we are in for bluegrass music and some more good eats. Spending time with other groups here just affirms what a special thing we have here at Lifepointe. I am so proud of these students and leaders, their efforts, their attitudes and their conduct. I am glad that this is not just an event free of bad things but rather an trip filled with positive things. On an unrelated note, who knew Tanner could play patty cake so well?
Orange Team: Got dirty in the mud, smashed 725 cans, found a chicken coop, and a pot of nasty beans.
Purple Team: Began framing for skirting under the mobile home, Jennifer cut a lot more rebar, and Dan got chased out from under the house by a huge spider (vowing never to return again).
Yellow Team: Had a break through moment when the ditches were connected, had ballin' hamburgers, and Caroline was attacked by a giant worm.
Todd's note: Tonight is culture night so we are in for bluegrass music and some more good eats. Spending time with other groups here just affirms what a special thing we have here at Lifepointe. I am so proud of these students and leaders, their efforts, their attitudes and their conduct. I am glad that this is not just an event free of bad things but rather an trip filled with positive things. On an unrelated note, who knew Tanner could play patty cake so well?
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
MT09 - Tuesday - Day 3
This update is brought to you by Hallie, Dean, and Dan the man with a plan who came here in a van from Japan ;](later replaced by Maureen and joined by Sam) As we embarked on the third day of our sick-nasty conquest we encountered several tremendously gargantuan boulders, putrid smelly septic tanks, and mountain-made hot-dogs.
Team Orange, building a retaining wall, experienced lots of rocks and dump truck loads of dirt. The man whose retaining wall we are building, told us more about himself and how life is in the Appalachian Mountains. Tanner finally conquered his arch nemesis boulder and we found the worlds most remote taco bell :).
Team Purple is working under a trailer putting in footers and foundation. It poured on our tiny heads and Jennifer did her rain dance to Brittany Spears. :/ Unloading cinder blocks and 80-pound cement bags were labor intensive. Jennifer also cut rebar with a skill-saw, screaming the whole way! Our trailer owner came and spoke with us while we worked.
Team Yellow, more digging! Lots of rocks, lots of dirt, lots of fun. They got to talk to their family a lot more. The father came out of his shell and gave them lessons on how to dig West Virginia style. Massive productivity improvements followed. Sam and Eddie showed their lack of teeter totter skills, kittens attacked the crew, and they scarfed down some mountain chili dogs.
[Todd is taking over the blog now] We finished the night off with an amazing worship lead by our teens for the entire group (80 people), ice cream, and good fun. Tomorrow a few of our students are going to lead a devotion for the group (LB1, LB2, HK, SK & TW). I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They are doing more than just rebelling. They are living the life they were meant to live. I can't wait to see what happens as the week moves on. Thank you to all those who supported us and made this possible.
Team Orange, building a retaining wall, experienced lots of rocks and dump truck loads of dirt. The man whose retaining wall we are building, told us more about himself and how life is in the Appalachian Mountains. Tanner finally conquered his arch nemesis boulder and we found the worlds most remote taco bell :).
Team Purple is working under a trailer putting in footers and foundation. It poured on our tiny heads and Jennifer did her rain dance to Brittany Spears. :/ Unloading cinder blocks and 80-pound cement bags were labor intensive. Jennifer also cut rebar with a skill-saw, screaming the whole way! Our trailer owner came and spoke with us while we worked.
Team Yellow, more digging! Lots of rocks, lots of dirt, lots of fun. They got to talk to their family a lot more. The father came out of his shell and gave them lessons on how to dig West Virginia style. Massive productivity improvements followed. Sam and Eddie showed their lack of teeter totter skills, kittens attacked the crew, and they scarfed down some mountain chili dogs.
[Todd is taking over the blog now] We finished the night off with an amazing worship lead by our teens for the entire group (80 people), ice cream, and good fun. Tomorrow a few of our students are going to lead a devotion for the group (LB1, LB2, HK, SK & TW). I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They are doing more than just rebelling. They are living the life they were meant to live. I can't wait to see what happens as the week moves on. Thank you to all those who supported us and made this possible.
Monday, June 15, 2009
MT09 - Monday - Day 2 Intro to the sites
By now you are all wondering what we are doing up here in the mountains. We have no cell reception and no way to contact you (except amazingly we have wifi!). Right now, I am sitting between two really cool people. Sam is so clean. Lauren E smells real bad. We have had a long day of work at three different sites and we are all waiting our turns to get to the showers. Here is a breakdown of our teams:
1. The orange team was digging out a mountain to install a railroad retaining wall. It is an overwhelming task but there were too many smiles and laughs to count. We spontaneously broke into song, hi-ho, hi-ho its off to work we go and then named ourselves each after our favorite dwarf. (Orange Team: Dan R, Hallie, Jemma, Lauren A, Lauren E, Tanner, Todd)
2. The yellow team was digging a very long ditch to make a french drain. There were tons of rocks so it felt like a chain gang out there. Shady in the morning but hot in the afternoon. The owner of the house blared bluegrass all day to complete the Appalachian experience. To quote Sam, "Digging is not really fun, but at the end of the day, it feels good to help people." (Yellow Team: Caroline, Dean, Deanna, Eddie, Kevin, Sam, Tina)
3. The purple team had the most technical job. Crawling into a 3' tall crawl space under a mobile home digging foundation holes was a bit dirty to say the least. Due to a broken saw, they cut rebar by hand with a hack saw. What fun! This is one group of tough cookies. (Purple team: Brandon, Dan C, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Maureen, Paul)
1. The orange team was digging out a mountain to install a railroad retaining wall. It is an overwhelming task but there were too many smiles and laughs to count. We spontaneously broke into song, hi-ho, hi-ho its off to work we go and then named ourselves each after our favorite dwarf. (Orange Team: Dan R, Hallie, Jemma, Lauren A, Lauren E, Tanner, Todd)
2. The yellow team was digging a very long ditch to make a french drain. There were tons of rocks so it felt like a chain gang out there. Shady in the morning but hot in the afternoon. The owner of the house blared bluegrass all day to complete the Appalachian experience. To quote Sam, "Digging is not really fun, but at the end of the day, it feels good to help people." (Yellow Team: Caroline, Dean, Deanna, Eddie, Kevin, Sam, Tina)
3. The purple team had the most technical job. Crawling into a 3' tall crawl space under a mobile home digging foundation holes was a bit dirty to say the least. Due to a broken saw, they cut rebar by hand with a hack saw. What fun! This is one group of tough cookies. (Purple team: Brandon, Dan C, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Maureen, Paul)
MT09 - Sunday Day 1 - The trip to nowhere
We set off from the theaters to travel to Wyoming County WV to a little town of Brenton. The trip was full of fun: We almost ran over a small flock of geese, we sang a song about bananas, we held our breath through a bunch of tunnels, passed some gas (or at placed blame), we missed a few turns, we traveled down some crazy roads but we arrived safely about 6:15pm. They saved us some dinner, we grabbed our bunks, had a intro meeting, they took the leaders to their houses and then sent us off to bed. These are big rooms with lots of people in them. (I was so glad that in my room of about 25 guys no one snored!). More tomorrow night!
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