July 29, 2010
Galveston Day Two
The second day on the island was filled with work. The group got really far on the house painting project. One side of yhe house was completely painted and the other two were preped and ready for paint. Needless to say we will finish early the last day. All of the students have really been working hard and I couldn’t be more proud of them.
The evenings activities were the aquarium pyrmid at Moody Gardens and attending our host churches youth group. The gardens were filled with exihbits from all over the world. Inside the group got to watch pegiuns, sharks, turtles, sting rays and all sorts of other animals from the sea. The tour ended with a stroll thru the underwater tunnel where the group could see the fish from all sides.
Later that evening the group attended youth at Moody Memorial UMC. The worship was lead by some of the college students and the message was given by their director of student ministries. Using a clips from The Blindside he spoke about how we don’t always see the world the way God sees the worold. We ended with some friendly games of dodgeball in which Sharon Bixler proceeded to target and eliminate several of our students.
Spirits are high and we’re hoping to end on a really positive note for the last day.
Eric
July 28, 2010
Galveston Day One
Day one of the mission trip went well. We had a few “bumps” along the way. As most of you know the mini buses were broken so we had to take parent’s cars and trucks down. To make matters worse I lost wallet in East Texas. Needless to say we had some ups and downs making our way to Galveston.
The first day in Galveston we started on our project: painting a house a little off of the Seawall. Other crews have come in and fixed lots of things on it. Our job is to finish up with paint. Most of the first day filled with scrapping, sanding and priming.
In the afternoon we made our way to the beach for a few hours. There was a storm out on the gulf so the surf was high which all the students really enjoyed. A group of the guys set out to dig the deepest whole they could on the beach (giving up at about 3 ft).
The day ended with pizzia, sunburns and sharrades. Despite the set back early on everyone is having a great time and doing so good work.
Eric
December 3, 2009
Updates from Elley!
Merry Christmas! I pray that you and your family are able to fully enjoy this holiday season for the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ to the world! As the Holiday quickly approaches, I pray that you can stop bask in the presence of Immanuel–God with us!
There are serveral things to update you about in this week’s blog.
Last weekend, ten youth and four adults went to Loucon for the Fall Retreat. The theme of the week was “What is Love?” We talked about the self-giving nature of God’s love, what happens when we want to do our own thing and we ignore God’s love, and how even in difficult times God is with us and is loving us. Jonathan Powers shared about his relationship with his wife, Faith, and the similiarities with his relationship with God. Will Solomon led worship for the weekend and shared about how Christ was with him and revealed his love to him through an incredibly difficult situation. We also had many opporunities to enjoy God’s marvelous creation, as we played capture the flag, climbed in a high ropes course, ziplined, and enjoyed a campfire. It was such a blessing to spend time with each other and to share in this experience with the group!
This season let’s spend some time remembering those who may not have a family with whom to celebrate Christmas. The United Methodist Children’s Home is collecting gifts to give to the residents. Youth who were present at the November 29th youth meeting took home two gift items to purchase and return to the church. Please bring those to the youth room between now and December 13. We’ll gather those up and make sure they get to the Methodist Children’s home. If we weren’t here on Sunday, please check out the home’s wish list at http://www.kyumh.com/Wishlist_Kentucky_Methodist_Childrens_Home.htm.
With Christmas coming around, there is time for celebration! On Sunday, December 13th, youth and parents are invited to join us for our annual Christmas party! We’ll be meeting in the youth wing of the church from 5-7. Youth, please bring a “white elephant” gift, which is something that you have that you don’t necessarily want and that you don’t spend money on. Examples from last year include a life-size Angelina Jolie cut-out, old toys and board games, and a Jonas Brothers box. Be creative! Wrap it up and bring it with you for our gift exchange. Also, if each youth would bring some sort of party food, drink, or dessert to share.
I have received a wonderful gift from my grandfather for my upcoming graduation in May. He and I will be traveling to the Holy Lands on January 19. I will be gone for three weeks total, and will return for church on Sunday February 7 (Super Bowl Sunday). I am so blessed to have this opportunity with my 88 year old grandfather! During this time, I also had arranged to travel to Florida to visit my parents who are living there for the winter. Obviously, being gone for three weeks may be a bit concerning, but plans are already being made so that some of our volunteers are able to step and lead youth group. There will also be opportunities for the youth to lead some service projects with they children’s ministry during this time. More info will come about all this later, I just wanted to inform you now about the excitement.
December 1, 2009
Missions Meeting
Hey Youth, Parents, and Friends of First UMC Youth Group,
I’m so encouraged by our mission meeting last night. It was amazing to hear the hearts of the youth and parents as we talked about the youth group’s commitment to serve those around us. There is great maturity and depth as we talked about our own abilities to serve others. Many of our youth recognize their own fears and inexperience, and are willing to take a big step in serving so that they can get a better understanding of what it means to serve in missions. Some youth are ready to conquer the world for Christ. It’s exciting to see where God is going to take us for the summer of 2010. The youth recognize their gifts in working with children, but are willing to take steps in faith to serve in areas they have not known before. Many youth and parents are excited about seeing the youth serve more around the church. I can think of excellent ways for the youth to serve: as greeters, as ushers, as audio-visual helpers, as liturgists, as communion servers, as nursery workers, or as children’s church helpers. Youth can begin serving outside of the worship setting by offering to babysit, gathering supplies for UM Children’s Home, helping members of the congregation with yard work or other projects, volunteering with Room in the Inn, or visiting shut-ins.
As we continue to reach out in love to those here in our church, we will continue planning for a mission for next summer. Please be in prayer as we decide when, where, and how we will be serving in mission this summer.
Love in Christ
Elley
October 27, 2009
The wide open internet
Here is a good review from wired.com about letting your children sign up for email accounts (and other social media sites). If you’ve been wondering about this and are a little in the dark about the whole internet phenomena then this is a great place to start understanding how the next generation communicates.
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/10/the-first-email-address-raising-an-internet-savvy-child/
Eric
October 26, 2009
Faith Weaver Friends!
Who knew that working together with the children’s ministry could be so fun! In the past, youth have helped with VBS and other children’s activities happening around the church. Last week, we partnered with the Wednesday night program to build a house of prayer in the children’s wing. The youth lead three groups of children in building bricks (actually paper bags and scrap paper), and then stacked the bricks together to build the house of prayer. After the bricks were stacked, the youth led discussion with the children about what it meant for us to work together. It was a blast! We finished the night with prayer and a photo!
It’s so great to be able to serve others in our church, but its time to start planning for our summer mission opportunity. I’ve heard youth mention interest in serving in St. Louis, Mexico, Estonia and lots of other places…all great and worthy mission opportunities. Let’s be praying about where God is calling us to serve. On Sunday, November 8 at 3:30, meet in the senior high room and we’ll talk about where we will serve. This will be the beginning of the mission for the youth. I hope to discuss dates and location for the trip, as well as discover the level of interest of both youth and parents. Please be praying as a family about how we can serve others and take the message of Christ to others next summer! If you have any questions, please talk to me. Also, if you are unable to make it, but would like to share your thoughts, please drop me an email or give me a call!
Love in Christ
Elley
October 20, 2009
Natural Bridge
Sunday was a wonderful day to venture outside to Natural Bridge with the youth and their families! The weather was absolutely gorgeous for the hike! Some hiked a short trail, while others went for a longer loop. Everyone seemed to have a blast. Having so many families present made this day so special. It’s such a blessing to have parents investing in their youth and the youth ministry. I feel as thout First Church is unique in that families are so involved in the lives of the teens. I’ve talked to many in youth ministry who do not know the parents of the teens with whom they are working. Youth ministry isn’t a job for the youth pastor, its a task of the whole family and church. I encourage families (if you aren’t already doing so) to pray together, read through Scripture and talk about it, and have open discussions about matters of faith. Several youth have some serious questions about God, faith, and what it means to be a Christian. Parents, don’t worry about being an expert….just listen to your teen’s questions and seek out the answers together. I’m confident that God will use your teenagers in mighty ways in the lives of your families, in your schools, in the church, and in the community!
October 9, 2009
Fall reflections
Thank you all so much for the baby shower last Sunday evening! Brittney and I really enjoyed the time and all the fun we had, not to mention the gifts. Sadly, the baby has more clothes than I do now. As the delivery date is drawing closer the realization that our family is about to change is becoming a rather giant reality now. Thank you for being part of that reality in such a big way.
Also, (I’ll admit I haven’t updated in a good while) we had a great Fall retreat a couple weeks ago. we had a little under 20 middle school students who traveled with us to Aldersgate Camp for the week where we talked about how God’s grace works in our own stories. We also had a great time crawling in caves, playing in creeks and running through the feilds at night playing capture the flag and other various games. It was great that everyone had the chance to come out for the weekend and get to know their peers in the youth group. I hope that we can continue the great response we’ve been having so far this school year and have just as good of a time this weekend at Natural Bridge.
Eric
October 1, 2009
Bonfire and other updates!
We’ve had a great week so far and its only Thursday! I hope it only gets better! On Sunday, several youth, both jr. high and sr. high, went to Melinda Trump’s house in Wilmore for a bonfire. After hard rains all weekend, the skies opened up and we were able to enjoy the change of scenery. Sometimes fresh air and being able to just run around and jump on haystacks is so refreshing!
We played ultimate frisbee, volleyball, made s’mores, and had a time of praise and worship. With the campfire in front of us and the sunset that only the Almighty Lord could create, we talked about light and darkness. We are to shine the light of Jesus in the dark world!
On Monday, many of our youth celebrated the teacher in-service day by having lunch at Chick-Fil-A. We just ate, chit-chatted, and hung out for about an hour. The weather was so nice that we were able to sit outside! Getting together outside of youth group is such a blessing!
I pray that you are blessed this week. I will be traveling out of town for a wedding, so I’ve left Paul in charge of youth group on Sunday! Don’t let him do anything to crazy! Next week, October 11, we’ll head to Natural Bridge for a day of enjoying God’s creation! I hope your whole family will attend! More info will be coming in an email to you this week. Please respond to Jim with the number in your family who will be coming!
Love in Christ
Elley
September 19, 2009
When Jesus washed his disciples feet, He was showing us what it means to be a servant and a leader. Here, the God of the universe humbled himself to the lowest position, and served the disciples in love. We can serve the ones we love, like our families and friends, but it’s also good to reach out to the strangers and to serve them in love, following after Christ’s example.
This past Sunday we were blessed to have a speaker come and talk about the ministry at LaRoca UMC. We’ve partnered with LaRoca in many ways, including the garden at Andover and the Back to School Bash. We have another opportunity coming up that I’m excited to share about. This Monday, September 21, we’re heading to LaRoca to partner with a communitry outreach program they’ve just begun. Each Monday, several families gather at LaRoca for to receive clothes, food baskets, and a meal. During this time, there is also a Bible study and a worship service and communion. Our part in the will include helping to cook, serve, and clean up dinner as long and distribute food baskets.
We’ll meet at church and leave at 5, and be back at church around 7:30. There is only need for 5 or 6 volunteers, so please let me know if you have plans on attending.
