Friday, June 27, 2008

First Week

This is it...I just got home after possible one of the LONGEST weeks of my life. Our first day we checked the trip odometer and it read 108 miles traveled. We went from Lake Wylie to Rock Hill to Chester in one day....for those not around here, that's a good bit of traveling. We started every morning at 9 o'clock and I got home every night around 8:30 or 9, after driving all over Northern SC it seems like and hanging with around 200 kids everyday.

I wouldn't change it for the world.

This was quite possibly also one of the greatest weeks of my life. We ran the whole spectrum, starting off in the morning with 3-5 year olds, going to two YMCA camps in Rock Hill for 5-7 and 9-10 year olds, then finishing our night with a VBS in Chester with all ages. Suffice it to say, we had to adapt the material we got very quickly, because preschoolers and 5th graders have veeery different tastes. Luckily, the songs we had are good for everyone (even some adults got into them) and most of our memory verse stuff we were able to keep intact, and I was even dubbed "Bubba" at the VBS for the week, which is a persona I'll probably keep for the rest of the summer (for some reason I make a dang good ole' Bubba). But it seems like we had to make drastic changes to the way we told our Bible story and the words we used.

However, one thing we didn't change was the gospel message. I was very proud of my team, who are both a bit younger than I am and neither of them have had much practice with this, but they shared Jesus Christ with these kids, sometimes using simpler words, but never watering down the message. We had at least 13 decisions just this week...and this is only the beginning. I'm getting really excited to see how God is moving in this ministry. I can't wait to see how it starts expanding and gaining more notice in our community.

Please keep us in your prayers though. We had a fantastic week, but we are exhausted. There are only three of us in the team, sometimes with an adult, sometimes by ourselves, standing in front of 50 kids trying to keep them attentive and entertained, while trying to share the love of Jesus. It's a daunting task, so please pray for us that we'll have the strength and wisdom to deal with any problems, and that we can be worthy vessels for the Holy Spirit to move through these kids in our community. Next week, while I'm off, I plan on diving back into the Word and reflecting back on some of the things I've learned these past couple of weeks, so I should be updating pretty soon. I love you all! God Bless!

Matthew

Saturday, June 21, 2008

PUMPED

There really isn't anything like a week at camp to get you pumped up. For serious. I had an awesome week...a long week, but a good one. I got to meet a lot of youth from all over South Carolina that were there for the same thing I was, and for the most part, waaay more excited about it. It kinda put me to shame.

All week long I was reminded of Revelation 2, when the church at Ephesus receives their letter:

I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you have found them to be liars. You also possess endurance and have tolerated many things because of My name, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5 (emphasis added)

I really have been struggling for a long time, trying to regain my first love for Christ...and I've failed miserably. I didn't know how. But our chapel speaker this week (Matthew Elrod, check him out, he's awesome: www.matthewelrod.com/blog) challenged us to look at God from a different perspective, looking at God's magnificence, and really took us down a few notches. I'm regaining a zeal to study God's Word more, and I'm really excited about this summer now. In the midst of updating you on how our clubs are going, I wanna reflect on some of the things I've been challenged with this week, so look for that in the future.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

So it starts

Well, in around an hour and 40 minutes, we will be leaving to start our week of training camp. I passed my salvation presentation with flying colors (yaaay) and have everything done that I needed. I'm actually starting to feel a little giddy :D

But anyway, training is a week long, and I won't be back until next Saturday, so I probably won't be posting anything til next week. After we get back, Monday starts our official job, and we have a busy week ahead of us: 3 bible clubs from 9 to 3, then a VBS that night at 6:30, Monday through Friday. I'll be keeping you updated every couple of days, and everytime something happens that I get excited about. So anyways, please keep me in your prayers this week as I go through training, and I'll let you know how everything went in a week!