We started the day today with morning prayer at 6:17am. Then it was straight on to breakfast. Our workshop at 8:30 was more on how the youth could rise up in the Church and the Culture.
After our workshop Mindy's group and my group went to do the ropes and Challenge Course (zip line). Erik's group had free time. Erik's group did the ropes and Challenge Course yesterday. The ropes course was very challenging and I was able to do it with one of the guys in my group. It was a team building exercise where two people have to climb up a ladder together. The further we progressed the further apart the steps were. It was a great time!
After the challenge course we broke for lunch. Then our afternoon grace talk was on Glorification. The final step in our journey towards home.
After our grace talk all groups got together and split into two teams. Then we proceeded to have an all camp challenge game. Lot's of running, hitting people with plastic balls and foam floaty bat things. The kind you use in pools. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Even the counselors got to play along with them.
Next we had our staff meeting while the kids were given free time. The staff meetings have been a good opportunity for us to make sure we're tracking with the camp expecations for the kids. It has also allowed us to air any concerns we might have about our kids. It's been a blessing for us.
After dinner we had a time of worship and an evening seminar on our final resting place - Resurrected bodies that are glorified, ruling, and reigning here on earth with Christ. As with every evening we close the time our with prayer. We have had a couple of intense nights of prayer as the kids are really pouring their hearts out to God. It's been sweet to watch. Afterwards we had our blog time with our kids. Last night two of the boys in my group confronted me with concerns they had with their spiritual lives and ended up staying up to 1am talking about salvation. Today I am so tired that I couldn't see myself talking much to anybody. Tomorrow we finish up the week with a volley ball tournament and then a nice dinner where everybody dresses up a little bit. It should be fun. Well, I am so dog tired that I need to go to bed right now. We'll see you all soon.
Chad
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Day 6
This day was full of adventure! A majority of the kids (and some of the adults) went white water rafting. They had a blast and Leilani and Chad now have the bug to tackle some bigger rapids. Some of the kids stayed back and slept in. Not a bad choice. A small contingent decided to take a hike! Literally. Nine of the male campers wanted to take a 10 mile hike straight up to Mt. Baldy (aptly named as there very few trees that high up). When they realized that they had to have a counselor with them they asked me. Not to be outdone, I heartily agreed to be their fearless leader. As God would have it, another male leader, an adept hiker, was able to make it last minute. All I can say is, thank you Lord! The ascension was straight up. May I just mention that when you live just above sea level, ascending to 10,000 feet at the pace of 9 teenage boys is NO JOKE! Alas, at mile 3 of 5 on the way up I became aquainted with altitude sickness and decided that, in leiu of fainting and embarassing my son, I would bug out and head back down. Two of the young men, Sam and Daniel, took one for the team and walked back with me. The other leader was able to take the boys the rest of the way. I'm told that from the point I left them they had to stop avery 50ft or so to catch their breath. The last 2 miles took them 2.5 hours. They all report that the view was breathtaking!
When we all gathered back together, we met for our Grace talk. The day's topic was the first of two on Sanctification. He first defined santification as "the deliverence of justified sinners from the effects of sin, changing you more and more to the image of Christ, enabling you to do more and more good works." The specific focus for this talk was Definitive Sanctification as "the immediate break of the ruling power and love of sin in your life."
Every talk we have been to has been rich with spiritual food for the teens and leaders alike. YXL has been such a positive experience. Our kids have really stepped up and I praise God for the priviledge of being a part of their lives as they work out their sanctification.
Thanking God for his saving grace,
Mindy
When we all gathered back together, we met for our Grace talk. The day's topic was the first of two on Sanctification. He first defined santification as "the deliverence of justified sinners from the effects of sin, changing you more and more to the image of Christ, enabling you to do more and more good works." The specific focus for this talk was Definitive Sanctification as "the immediate break of the ruling power and love of sin in your life."
Every talk we have been to has been rich with spiritual food for the teens and leaders alike. YXL has been such a positive experience. Our kids have really stepped up and I praise God for the priviledge of being a part of their lives as they work out their sanctification.
Thanking God for his saving grace,
Mindy
Monday, June 23, 2008
Day 5
The day began with group prayer at 6:17am. Not exactly sure what the thinking behind the 17 after 6 is all about, but we met, read scripture, and prayed. We were pleasantly surprised by the turn out and the number of kids who actually participated in the prayers.
The slogan or theme of the conference is "Rise Up", referring to how the resurrection should impact our lives as Christians and the Church as a whole. So at 9:15am the workshops began. The first workshop was regarding how we should Rise Up in the Church. That is how we should recognize the true biblical identity of the Church and embrace that. The speaker had us look at the different ways in which the Scriptures describe the Church as the people of God, the Bride of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
The second workshop was regarding how we should Rise Up in the culture. The speaker went on to point out several ways that Christians deal with the culture. First is the retreat mindset where we outright reject everything that does not have specifically Christian content. Secondly was the infusion model where by we take secular things and pump in Christian content so that we can participate in it. Thirdly is the response of consumption and how this looks is that under the guise of trying to connect and relate with unbelievers to win them to Christ we embrace uncritically all that the world has to offer. Fourthly was the idea of being in the world but not of it and he will be speaking more on this fourth way in the upcoming workshops.
After lunch we met for the second of our daily "Grace Talks". Today's topic was Justification. We talked about double imputation and how God imputes to us Christ's righteousness and conversely how God imputes to Christ our sinfulness.
At 2:30pm we met for our team building exercises, we were blessed to have cloud cover almost the entire time which was nice since we were out in the open for over two hours. We broke up into our teams and had to go through six problem solving challenges. The challenges were just that, challenging, fun, and very exhausting; for me at least. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.
Finally after some free time and dinner we moved on to our nightly worship time. We sang some worship songs and listen to a message about how the early church witnessed. Our speaker pointed out how the gospel message proclaimed by the early church was that Jesus was raised from the dead. He asked us to think about how that might affect how we witness.
Lastly we had a blessed time in our evening prayer meeting which is how we will be closing out every night while we are here. This again was a very fruitful time with a lot of participation on the part of the youth.
Erik
The slogan or theme of the conference is "Rise Up", referring to how the resurrection should impact our lives as Christians and the Church as a whole. So at 9:15am the workshops began. The first workshop was regarding how we should Rise Up in the Church. That is how we should recognize the true biblical identity of the Church and embrace that. The speaker had us look at the different ways in which the Scriptures describe the Church as the people of God, the Bride of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
The second workshop was regarding how we should Rise Up in the culture. The speaker went on to point out several ways that Christians deal with the culture. First is the retreat mindset where we outright reject everything that does not have specifically Christian content. Secondly was the infusion model where by we take secular things and pump in Christian content so that we can participate in it. Thirdly is the response of consumption and how this looks is that under the guise of trying to connect and relate with unbelievers to win them to Christ we embrace uncritically all that the world has to offer. Fourthly was the idea of being in the world but not of it and he will be speaking more on this fourth way in the upcoming workshops.
After lunch we met for the second of our daily "Grace Talks". Today's topic was Justification. We talked about double imputation and how God imputes to us Christ's righteousness and conversely how God imputes to Christ our sinfulness.
At 2:30pm we met for our team building exercises, we were blessed to have cloud cover almost the entire time which was nice since we were out in the open for over two hours. We broke up into our teams and had to go through six problem solving challenges. The challenges were just that, challenging, fun, and very exhausting; for me at least. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow.
Finally after some free time and dinner we moved on to our nightly worship time. We sang some worship songs and listen to a message about how the early church witnessed. Our speaker pointed out how the gospel message proclaimed by the early church was that Jesus was raised from the dead. He asked us to think about how that might affect how we witness.
Lastly we had a blessed time in our evening prayer meeting which is how we will be closing out every night while we are here. This again was a very fruitful time with a lot of participation on the part of the youth.
Erik
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Day 4
Today was a busy day and we were all still very tired from our long van ride here. We had morning worship at 9am which was on the topic of the resurrection of Christ. This will be the general theme of the conference all week. We will be looking at how the resurrection of Christ changes everything about our lives. From how we think to how we work to how we pick a spouse...everything. I'm glad that they are challenging our kids to really think through some of the major themes of the bible and how those themes directly affect how they live.
This was followed by a bunch of outdoor team building exercises at 10:30am. These included running blind folded towards a stone wall and trusting that your team-mates would stop you before you hit the wall. Other activities that I couldn't quite describe online but the jist of all of them was trying to build a trust in your team-mates.
After lunch we had our first Grace Talk which was on the topic of Regeneration. It was a great lesson on our need to be regenerated by Christ before we can even begin to understand the gospel or exercise faith in Christ. The room was a little stuffy and the kids and I were a little sleepy and our bellies were still digesting a heavy lunch of tri tip, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, so we had to fight sleep. We did manage to get through it alright though.
After the talk on regeneration we did a personality profile. Each kid got to see what kind of personality he/she fits into. Whether they are left side or right side of the brain thinkers. The kids all seemed to enjoy it though, as many of you know, I'm not a big fan of those kind of tests. But...I digress.
From 3:30 to 6 the kids had free time. Don't ask me what they did because they all scattered to the four winds. They are all starting to interact with other kids from other groups and seem to be really getting along with different people. I'm glad to see that they are adapting so well. We really do have a great bunch of kids. During this time Mindy and I and I believe Erik also took a nap. It felt great to be able to catch up on some rest.
After dinner we met again for worship and an evening seminar. The topic again was on the resurrection. This time we looked at Luke's passage in chapter 24 of Christ talking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. How the disciples were expecting Christ to redeem Israel from their Roman oppresors right there and then and how they really didn't grasp the real reason for his coming - to save his people from their sins.
After this talk we split up into our groups and discussed the days lessons. I am really enjoying the kids I have in my group. I have kids from New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, California (Leilani), and Nebraska. Nice variety.
Tomorrow we have another packed day starting with prayer at 6:17am. Boy that's early! Erik will get the blog tomorrow. Thank you all again for praying for us. Please pray specifically that our SOPC kids will be able to open up in their groups and be real with others and from that they would seek to have a closer walk with Christ, one that is marked by a genuineness and openness to Christ and to others.
God bless,
Chad
This was followed by a bunch of outdoor team building exercises at 10:30am. These included running blind folded towards a stone wall and trusting that your team-mates would stop you before you hit the wall. Other activities that I couldn't quite describe online but the jist of all of them was trying to build a trust in your team-mates.
After lunch we had our first Grace Talk which was on the topic of Regeneration. It was a great lesson on our need to be regenerated by Christ before we can even begin to understand the gospel or exercise faith in Christ. The room was a little stuffy and the kids and I were a little sleepy and our bellies were still digesting a heavy lunch of tri tip, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, so we had to fight sleep. We did manage to get through it alright though.
After the talk on regeneration we did a personality profile. Each kid got to see what kind of personality he/she fits into. Whether they are left side or right side of the brain thinkers. The kids all seemed to enjoy it though, as many of you know, I'm not a big fan of those kind of tests. But...I digress.
From 3:30 to 6 the kids had free time. Don't ask me what they did because they all scattered to the four winds. They are all starting to interact with other kids from other groups and seem to be really getting along with different people. I'm glad to see that they are adapting so well. We really do have a great bunch of kids. During this time Mindy and I and I believe Erik also took a nap. It felt great to be able to catch up on some rest.
After dinner we met again for worship and an evening seminar. The topic again was on the resurrection. This time we looked at Luke's passage in chapter 24 of Christ talking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. How the disciples were expecting Christ to redeem Israel from their Roman oppresors right there and then and how they really didn't grasp the real reason for his coming - to save his people from their sins.
After this talk we split up into our groups and discussed the days lessons. I am really enjoying the kids I have in my group. I have kids from New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, California (Leilani), and Nebraska. Nice variety.
Tomorrow we have another packed day starting with prayer at 6:17am. Boy that's early! Erik will get the blog tomorrow. Thank you all again for praying for us. Please pray specifically that our SOPC kids will be able to open up in their groups and be real with others and from that they would seek to have a closer walk with Christ, one that is marked by a genuineness and openness to Christ and to others.
God bless,
Chad
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Day 3
Today was the final leg of our trek to Glorieta, New Mexico. We set out from Flagstaff this morning at 9am and arrived in Glorieta just after 5PM Mountain time. We had forgotten to account for the time change and were a little late for our leaders meeting (so very California of us).
Chad, Erik and I were introduced to our "new" group of kids that we will be assessing this week. Each of us has at least one of our own in our groups. The kids were slightly apprehensive to be parceled off to a set of all new people but by nights end were really enjoy their new friends.
This week is absolutely PACKED! We will be going non-stop until we depart on Saturday the 28th. From ropes courses and white water rafting, paint ball and hiking to extensive group leadership activities and seminars our kids will be stretching and growing as they learn more about who they are in Christ.
Oh, and they serve STARBUCKS here in their Holy Grounds Cafe! Thank you Lord!
Thanks for praying for us. Keep checking back for new pictures and updates.
In Christ,
Mindy
Chad, Erik and I were introduced to our "new" group of kids that we will be assessing this week. Each of us has at least one of our own in our groups. The kids were slightly apprehensive to be parceled off to a set of all new people but by nights end were really enjoy their new friends.
This week is absolutely PACKED! We will be going non-stop until we depart on Saturday the 28th. From ropes courses and white water rafting, paint ball and hiking to extensive group leadership activities and seminars our kids will be stretching and growing as they learn more about who they are in Christ.
Oh, and they serve STARBUCKS here in their Holy Grounds Cafe! Thank you Lord!
Thanks for praying for us. Keep checking back for new pictures and updates.
In Christ,
Mindy
Friday, June 20, 2008
Day 2: The Grand Canyon
We woke up this morning and had some bagels for breakfast and hung out a little bit with the McKeowns. Jeff went to work then we all headed to the Grand Canyon around 11:30am with Dannie, Nick, and Liam McKeown in tow. We had planned to stop and make sandwiches for lunch but it was way too hot to eat in the van so we went to taco bell instead. After chow we hit the road and made our way to the Grand Canyon. Due to our late start and a few prolonged stops we arrived a little later than expected. It was fine however as there was still plenty of day light left and boy was it beating down. The temperature was much cooler than Phoenix but the direct sunlight was definitely intense. Some of us more melanin challenged folks had to break out the sun screen.
The Grand Canyon is definitely an awesome display of God's amazing creative power. It gives perspective as to the vastness of God's creation in a very unique way. You look out and see the evidence of such a force working in the creation and realize that it is as Job writes, "these are but the outskirts of his ways" Job 26:14. That for all the wonder and vastness of the universe it is just a tiny fraction of the incomparable power of God.
We're now in Flagstaff which is where we will stay the night. Tomorrow we plan to hit the road by about 8:30am. We need to be in Glorieta by 3 or 4pm. Check back soon for updates.
Erik
The Grand Canyon is definitely an awesome display of God's amazing creative power. It gives perspective as to the vastness of God's creation in a very unique way. You look out and see the evidence of such a force working in the creation and realize that it is as Job writes, "these are but the outskirts of his ways" Job 26:14. That for all the wonder and vastness of the universe it is just a tiny fraction of the incomparable power of God.
We're now in Flagstaff which is where we will stay the night. Tomorrow we plan to hit the road by about 8:30am. We need to be in Glorieta by 3 or 4pm. Check back soon for updates.
Erik
Day 1
Well, we spent 14 hours driving. Actually, I spent 14 hours driving, the yutes spent 14 hours riding and be-bopping in the back of the van. No fights occurred which was a blessing considering the cramped quarters. Once we stopped in Indio for In N Out Burger it felt like we were in an oven. It was 115 and we felt every bit of it.
We pulled into the McKeown's at around 10pm. All kids got ready and went to bed around midnight.
We're up now on Friday and getting ready to go to the Grand Canyon. Mindy and Dannie went to get their nails done. It's Mindy's thank you gift to Dannie for hosting us. Here I am blogging when I probably should be showering and packing. Oh well.
Not much more to report on than this. Life's about to get pretty interesting and we'll have much more to report on.
Chad
We pulled into the McKeown's at around 10pm. All kids got ready and went to bed around midnight.
We're up now on Friday and getting ready to go to the Grand Canyon. Mindy and Dannie went to get their nails done. It's Mindy's thank you gift to Dannie for hosting us. Here I am blogging when I probably should be showering and packing. Oh well.
Not much more to report on than this. Life's about to get pretty interesting and we'll have much more to report on.
Chad
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