Remember To Be Thankful

It's amazing to me our capacity to forget. Our brains are wired in a way that we can have information, feelings, anything simply slip away to never be seen again (but someone else will remember it for you, and remind you).

This week we will take a day to be thankful. People all across America will sit with families and share a huge meal showing their bounty and provision and we will all enjoy being what we have and be thankful for it. Only to immediately run out and buy all the stuff we don't have (and don't need) because we think it's on sale (which in reality it's not).

I recently found out that Black Friday was a produced holiday (we don't have it in Canada so I just thought it was something Americans always did, like Boxing Day). The American Association of Realtors created it, and all it's widespread panic, to convince people they did not have enough and they need more. Now. Hours after celebrating what we have. Some stores even on the same day.

It's sad that the one four-day weekend Americans are given is spent in a shopping frenzy. It's almost like we immediately forget all that we just said we were thankful for. And believe it or not, we also seem to forget that many of the prices for these stores will be back, if not stay online.

Let's not forget what we are really celebrating here. Let's just take a few days to be thankful and enjoy each others company.

With that, Lorie and I are thankful to welcome Leah Mae into the world, and thankful for all those who pray and support us!

T

Waiting

At the moment, Lorie and I may be having a baby any day. I mean any day. So we are doing the only thing we can do. Waiting.

But there are two different ways of waiting. You can sit and just hope, singing la-di-da and not do anything until the moment. Or, you can have all your bags packed, car seat installed, nursery painted, house clean for company, continue going to doctor appointments and even have family with their bags packed ready to come down at a moment's notice.

Take a stab in the dark which one we are.

If you are to wait on God, which one are you? Are you sitting there just hoping God will show up and do something, or are you waiting, preparing for the day when God shows up, learning who He is so you can recognize Him in that moment, serving so you can be ready to do what He asks, praying so you can learn to hear His voice?

As Liz has said, sometimes we confuse waiting with loitering. Or maybe, just maybe, we aren't waiting on God, God's waiting on us to be ready for when He shows up...

T

Until The End

Being in America, I bet many of my friends don't know the last person killed in World War I was a Canadian. At the end of WWI, it was decided the war would officially end at 11am on 11/11 (hence the date for Remembrance Day / Veterans Day). At that moment there would be a cease-fire and the great war would be officially over.

Unfortunately for Private George Price, it wasn't over soon enough. He was on patrol and exited a house into the street and shot by a German sniper, 90 seconds before the cease-fire. If he had stopped long enough to tie his shoe he would probably still be alive.

The sad part is, many people knew there was still enemies (of either side) in the area. He shouldn't have gone into the street (some accounts say he was warned not to). But he did. He probably felt safe, the war was over. The problem is, it really wasn't.

I wonder how many times in our lives we feel safe or that a threat is done when in reality, it's not. We say sorry after a fight and think it's done, but really there is a lot more work to be done in the relationship. Or maybe we just feel safe, I prayed a lot when things were bad, but they're better now so I can pull back and pray a little less.

To truly make it, we have to be faithful to the end. The most dangerous point in our lives spiritually (and in other areas) is not when things seem bad. No, it's when things feel good. When we feel safe. When everything is going well and we pull back on the disciplines that we know we need to be healthy.

Don't pull back. Keep running the race until it is completely done.

T

The Difference Between " I Would Like" and "I Want"

These two phrases sound the same, but they are not. Let me explain.

I would like $2,000,000 (it's twice as good as one million). Meaning, if someone were to give that to me, I'll take it. It would be nice. I would like it.

But I don't want it. I'm not willing to give up my ministry and work somewhere else to get that. I will not get another job and lose time with my family. I will not break the law to steal it. The cost of getting the prize is not worth the work to attain it.

I would like it, but I don't want it.

What things are there where you have confused these two ideas? Would you like to serve others or do you want to serve others? Would you like to be more generous or do you want to be more generous? Would you like to be closer to God, or do you want to be closer to God?

Too often we confuse wanting something with falling back onto "I'd like it if someone gave it to me". If you truly want it, do the hard work of getting it. Including a better relationship with Jesus Christ.

T

What Was Given To Judas?

Don't ask me why, but this has been in my head for the last little while. What did Jesus entrust to Judas, the guy who would betray Him?

John says Judas was in charge of the disciples' money, and that he regularly robbed from it for himself (John 12:6). But where did that money come from? Obviously walking around for three years with 12 disciples had a cost, eating, shelter, etc. Did people give to Jesus' ministry and Judas took from that?

Or what about this? When Jesus was young three gifts were given to Him, gold, frankincense and myrrh. Was there enough of these gifts to provide for all of Jesus' life including His ministry with the disciples? Was Judas possibly robbing Jesus of the gifts He received as a baby?

I don't know why it's been bothering me. Both seem incredibly wrong, stealing from the charity of people giving to God's work or stealing from the gifts of the wise men to 8 lb., 6 oz. baby Jesus, all wrapped up in His swaddling clothes (sorry, I saw part of Talladega Nights on TV the other day). And yet, in either case, Jesus still entrusted Judas with it. Jesus allowed Himself to be stolen from by this person for three years.

I don't know, I'm starting to think we can learn more about Jesus' character from how He treated Judas...

T

Drawn To Extremes

In television, there is a way to help ensure people keep watching.

Make the characters more extreme.

If you don't believe me, go back and watch the first season of your favorite shows and then jump immediately to the new ones. Robin Scherbatsky is angrier (especially with Patrice), Patrick Jane is cockier, Sheldon Cooper is... well... crazier (even though he's not crazy, his mom had him tested), the list goes on and on.

People are drawn to extreme characters. It's something in our nature that we want people who are 100% at whatever it is they are.

And faith is no different.

Many people like to live out their faith and use that as their way of sharing Christ. I'm all for that, but I have a question. Are you extreme enough? People aren't going to be drawn to a "slightly Christian" anymore than they like a "slightly know-it-all" Sherlock Holmes. We want someone who is all in, good or bad. Someone who is completely what they are.

When it comes to living for Christ and chasing after Him, are you extreme enough?

T

Giftings and Callings

For those that don't know, in our student ministry and our church at large we have been talking about sharing our faith, what that means, how we do it, etc. It's one of those interesting topics. Everyone thinks we should do it, but most people also think it's someone else's job.

One reason that has come up for this is how people are gifted. Some are more gifted at sharing the gospel (evangelism) while some have different gifts, like encouragement or mercy. So there are those who feel since they are not gifted at evangelism, they don't necessarily need to do it.

But there's a few problems with that. For one, most of the people I work with have not done a lot of sharing their faith. So when they take tests that ask "do you feel comfortable doing ____" or "do you like _____", sharing Jesus never comes up because, well, they've never done it. Unless you have prior experience building a house, building a house will never show up as a gift from God... until you actually try doing it.

The other is there are some things God created us specifically to do and there are other things He expects all of us to do. We are all called to serve (Galatians 5:13), we are all called to love (John 15:17), and we are all called to go and tell people about Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). You don't get to be excluded from these expectations because of your gifts, you use your gifts in different ways to live up to these expectations. We are all called to do these things.

So as you live out your life for Jesus, don't use how God wired you as an excuse to get out of doing the things we all should. Instead, use the way God wired you to uniquely live out the things Christ asks of all of us.

T

Looking & Seeing

I've noticed something over the last little while. An observance that happens from time to time and place to place. Something many of us share in common.

We don't look anymore.

I've run into people going in the out door (who then glare at me for being in their way), had to show people more than once when the instructions were right in front of them, things like that. We have come to this cultural belief that if something is really important, the presenter will grab our attention and do their best to make us listen (like the emergency procedure on an airplane). It's the communicator's job to grab our attention if they really want us to see something. Otherwise, we skim it like babble on Facebook (which we still have set for Facebook to tell us what's important and put those posts at the top). We don't look unless someone screams for us to.

But God is different. He is everywhere in plain sight. Psalm 19 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies announce what His hands have made. Day after day they tell the story; night after night they tell it again. They have no speech or words; they have no voice to be heard.
But their message goes out through all the world; their words go everywhere on earth." When it comes to finding Him, Jesus told us, "Ask, and you will be given what you ask for. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Anyone who seeks, finds. If only you will knock, the door will open."

Notice who has to take the first step. We have to look. We have to seek. We have to knock. Even though God is everywhere, we need to train ourselves to see Him.

So try it this week. Be observant. You never know just where you may see God...

T

It's A Matter Of Perspective

The last few days I've had some commonality in my reading. Not planned, different things I am reading are kind of working together. The biggie is it's all about perspective.

How you look at something really depends on how you feel about it. Two people can see the exact same thing but feel differently depending on their perspective. The one example I read was about a $30 bottle of wine. If you're at a restaurant and that's the most expensive bottle of wine they have, it probably tastes really good, especially if you've made your way through the $5 bottles. But if you're at a 4 star restaurant and that same $30 bottle is the cheapest wine they have, does it still taste as amazing? Even after a $400 bottle?

Too often we warp our perspective to fit our surroundings. I'm a good person compared to the druggies I hang out with. Would I still think I'm a good person if I spent a week at a monastery? I hit this when I think about being in shape. For a lot of people my age, I'm doing okay. When I play sports with 15-year-olds on Sunday nights, I don't feel the same.

To balance our perspective, we need to be measuring whatever it is we're looking at against something that will help us see things for what they really are. If you want things to get better, you need to look at the very best and have the perspective of trying to get there. If you want to feel you are the best, look for the worst and compare yourself to that. In situations in everyday life, we can look at the billionaires or we can look at the 3 billion people that live on less than $2 a day.

And to steal a quote (I've seen it accredited to more than one person, whoever said it, bravo), the sinking of the Titanic was a miracle to the lobsters in the kitchen.

T

Doing Makes You Ready

It seems like that doesn't make sense. Don't you have to be ready before you do something?

Nope.

Last week we were talking about sharing our faith with WATER (sr. high) students. Almost all of them felt like they were at this point, they were willing by they did not feel ready. And I bet I can tell you the reason most of them didn't feel ready.

They didn't do it.

It's a cycle that can only be broken by diving in. Like swimming, you can read all the books about technique and watch all the Michael Phelps video you want, you will never feel ready. The only way to get comfortable is to actually do it. Or what about driving, who remembers the first time you drove? You can take all the classes and read all the books, there is still an uneasiness when you take that 2 ton vehicle out on the road for the first time.

The only way to get over that sensation of not being ready is to actually practice doing it. This goes for anything in life, this is not evangelism specific. The only way you get more comfortable is by doing it more.

So it begs the question, what are you holding back from doing for God because you don't feel ready? Obviously sharing our faith is one thing, but what else is there? Maybe if you just start doing it you'll slowly feel more comfortable and more ready.

From the Book of Nike 2:15 - Just do it.

T

We Have To Ask

Have you ever noticed that many times before Jesus performed a miracle He asked the person what they wanted?

When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, "What do you want me to do for you?"
"Lord," they said, "we want to see!" (Matthew 20:32-33, NLT)

This is the God of the universe in human form. He knows everything. Do you really think He was asking for His benefit? Do you think He did not know the answer and needed them to tell Him what they wanted?

Of course Jesus knew what they wanted! The key here is, Jesus waits to be asked. How could God pre-emptively do things in our lives and they claim to love us enough to give us free will? Part of freedom means God is waiting on us because He loves us enough to do that.

So when it comes to what you want from God, do you ask? Do you ask specifically? "God, make my life good," doesn't cut it. Have you ever stopped and thought what you would like from God then specifically asked for that?

It makes a big difference...

T

Do You Hear His Voice?

A few weeks ago my family was in town to visit (actually, our house has been a virtual hotel this month, but I digress). For part of that visit my father and his wife came to the modern service at our church.

As the MC (for lack of a better word) of that service, I was sitting backstage while the table discussion was going on (at this service, after the pastor speaks we take time to process what was said in small groups). I'm usually back there and most weeks all I hear is a mix of crowd noise and adults from Peanuts cartoons with the odd roar of laughter.

But this week was slightly different. There was one voice I heard over everyone else's. My father's. It's not that he was loud or anything, it's just that for a good part of my life I was taught to hear my father's voice, to recognize it, to listen to it, to obey it. As a child I learned to pick out my dad's voice and now, almost twenty years after I moved out of the house, it's still there. I can still pick it out over all the other voices.

Jesus tells us to do that same with His voice. In John 10 He speaks of being a good shepherd and we as His sheep must be able to hear His voice, to pick it out over the bleating of all the other sheep and to follow it wherever He tells us to go. The only way I know to do that is the same way I learned to hear my father's voice, consciously listening for it over time.

So the question is, can you hear your Father's voice? And if not, how can you learn to hear it better?

T

The Real Laborer

As some of you may have noticed, today is Labor Day. At first glance it seems to be a holiday to allow those who labor to rest. That's not where it started...

According to the U.S. Department of Labor the original purpose of Labor day was to celebrate those who labor. It was meant to be "dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers." It wasn't a day of rest, it was a day of celebration. It was meant to cause us to reflect on all we have done to make things beautiful.

There is debate between who actually came up with the idea for Labor Day. One man who is commonly brought up is Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. His reason for having Labor Day was to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." My mind immediately went to Someone else who does that for us.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

So today let's celebrate the real Laborer who is taking us from our rude nature and creating us to be something full of grandeur. Happy Labor Day!

T

Producing Light

When I was a kid we sang a song in Sunday School about "this little light of mine". You held up your index finger which represented your little light. In one verse, you even cupped your other hand and put it over your finger representing how easy it is to hide your light.

The problem I realized as I got older, this song teaches me I have a little light. I'm just a tiny light in the greater scheme of things and only shine a little. After all, according to the song I can put a bowl over the light and snuff it out.

Except we're not supposed to be a little light.

"If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light." (Jesus speaking in Luke 11:36, NLT)

We're not meant to be a small light. Our whole lives are to be a floodlight. Have you ever passed a night construction crew working under those floodlights? There is so much light under them it looks like they're working in the middle of the day! That is what God intended our lives to be, not a tiny little light, but our entire lives shining with everything within us lighting the way for people to see Jesus in all that we do.

Go Shine!

T

Are You Artistic?

The real answer is "yes", everyone is artistic. We may not all paint (my best work is by numbers), but everyone has an artistic side, be it music, design, photography, writing, everyone has the ability to be artistic.

However, we see that as secondary. First is education or job or some other hobby. "When I have time I will create something." Here's the scary part. In many lives art defines success.

Robert Root-Bernstein at the Michigan State University did a study of Nobel Prize winners and members of the National Academy of Sciences and found these people all had several arts related hobbies. All. It allowed them to think differently. He even went on to say measuring someone's aptitude in arts and music is more predictive of career success, more so than grades, IQ, achievement or any other standard of measure.

Why bring that up? Two reasons. I work with students and I want them to succeed. Helping them get involved in arts may be a big part of that. The other reason, look at the history of the church. The art, the sculptures, icons, music, art has always been a huge part of faith and the church. And it seems to be diminishing. Yes, we still have music on Sundays, but how many people are singing? What about works of art? The imagery that was so prevalent hundreds of years ago?

So here's a challenge: to help find God and better ourselves, let's try doing a little more art. We may be surprised what we come up with!

T

The Wrong Focus

In my reading a lot lately, I've stumbled upon something. Have you ever noticed that a couple of times when Jesus tells the disciples He is going to die for them they begin to argue about which one of them is the greatest?

Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.”They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. (Mark 9:30-34, NLT)

For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them. (Luke 22:22-24, NLT)

That last one, that's during the Last Supper! Jesus is about to being a night of suffering and is trying to tell His friends this, and instead they're arguing about which one of them is the top dog.

Let's not serve to be the best or the most noticed or for any sort of recognition, let's serve and love Christ and others simply because that's what we should do. It should be its own reward.

T

Genovese Syndrome

Last night at Drink Deep we talked about being a magnetic ministry, helping people stick and wanting new people to be invovled. The big key to this is everyone being involved, it's not one person's job to be friendly, it's everyone's. It's not just one person's job to invite new people, it's everyone's. But the problem is when something is given to everyone to do, it doesn't generally get done. Why? Genovese Syndrome.

Here's where the term comes from. In 1964 a woman named Kitty Genovese came home one night and was attacked by a man with a knife. She screamed and yelled and the neighbors all stuck their heads out the windows and yelled and scared the guy away. At least 38 people. But no one called the police, no one helped Kitty. So she lay there, until the guy came back and attacked here again. Again she screamed, people heard, saw and made noise, and again the guy left. And again, no one did anything. When he came back the third time he killed her.

Why did no one do anything? Because they all thought someone else would do it. The great Chicago fire, people watched for 15 minutes before someone asked, "Has anyone called the fire department?" Everyone thought someone else would do it. When it comes to being welcoming and friendly at church (or wherever you're involved), everyone has a responsibility to do it.

There's two ways to look at something that is everyone's job. Since everyone is doing it, someone will cover it, or, this is my job that everyone needs to be doing. Which one do you go for?

BTW, I see this a lot with evangelism. Jesus asked all Christians to go out and share the gospel, and since there's so many Christians, someone will do it. Or is it my job that everyone else should be doing too? Something to think about.

T

Discovering vs. Deciding

Sunday Pastor Kevin quoted something I've thought about for a while (yay). It's the idea that for many people, we decide what we want God to be like instead of discovering who God is.

And I know that sounds offensive at first, no one wants to think their view of God is false or that God is nothing more than an imaginary friend to them. But really stop and think about it for a minute. Is what I believe about God based in something I've learned or was there something I just really wanted God to be, so I decided He should be like that?

When I was in school I had two mini epiphanies. One was from a professor, that we can never know everything there is to know about God. After all, if that were possible, that means God is no greater than what I think, meaning He would be no greater than me. And trust me, God's bigger than me. The other was if someone is real, than my opinion does absolutely nothing to change them. I can think you are an angry person, but that doesn't somehow make you an angry person. It just makes me wrong (hopefully). My belief of you does not decide who you are. Likewise, what I believe about God changes Him in no way. So the better answer is for me to do all I can to discover who God is so my beliefs are true.

The other day I read this quote by Ravi Zacharias. "Intent is prior to content. If you are not looking for truth, any answer can be interpreted as reasonable." It's true, if you're just looking for any answer and not testing it to make sure it is true, a lot of different answers will suddenly be okay to answer your question. If, however, your intent is to find the truth, you will work harder to find the right answer. When discovering who God is, we need to have the intent on learning who God really is, not just looking for the answer we like the best and makes us feel the most comfortable.

Otherwise, what will we have?

T

Newport - Christian Mud Wrestling

No, we did not go to a Christian mud wrestling event on the mission trip. Let's just get that out of the way now...

What happened was a long conversation with Leland, our site director. He is going through something that I wish more Christians would go through. He's wrestling with his faith and how to live it out.

Please understand, this is not about what he believes. It has to do with how that translates into life. For the past few years he has been attending a Christian school studying to enter the ministry. He is surrounded by fellow believers who hold Christ as high he does in their lives. He even went on a mission trip himself last year with some people who had such high standards on their faith they only listened to Christian music.

And then he joined Youthworks. He's now on week seven of being in the actual mud of ministry. The kids at kids club don't behave, they act like the broken homes they come from. Other churches in town aren't as co-operative as he hoped. Not everyone wants Christ's love. Ministry sites can be hard to work with. Churches are coming on mission trips with students who don't behave, leaders who don't support or follow the rules and the biggest struggle, all these people believe different things and act in ways that vastly differ. He's in the mud.

I think many followers of Christ have this problem. They live in a world that is custom designed to make them feel safe. They go to a church they like, that preaches what they believe, they only attend the Bible Studies they want, only serve if and when they feel like it and Jesus is a nice guy who's there to listen when they want Him to. If their faith was a house, it would be neat and clean and orderly, just the way they like it. But what happens if someone enters this house who is messy and doesn't know the rules? What if someone enters their life and muddies it up a little? There's two options: You can put up with the mess, get to know the person, love them despite it, try to live with them and their mess, maybe even try to help them be cleaner. A lot of work and a lot of time.

Of you can kick them out.

That seems harsh, but really, which is easier? Which one is do we disciples of Christ do every single day? The advantage (as I see it) that Leland has, he can't leave. He has to finish the job he started and it is helping him wrestle and grow stronger every day. The question is, when someone enters your house of faith and starts messing it up, are you willing to wrestle in the mud and get a little dirty with them?

T

Newport Day 5

My apologies that the stories from students were not up last night. Unfortunately, we were just way too late in getting to bed (it was the prayer night/footwashing ceremony, I didn't see my bed until after 1). But, we have some stories about Thursday, here they are.

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As this week has gone on, I’ve realized how truly blessed I am to have the people in my life that I do. Today was not only my favorite day, but a very moving day for me. My crew this week has been absolutely amazing and I’ve enjoyed being with them every day through whatever we did. At Hal’s farm today we worked on collecting a ginormous pile of sticks and logs. It was very dirty work, but getting to do this task with Dustin and Brad definitely made it so much easier for me. Another thing that made me so happy to go to Hal’s each day, was seeing how much of a great man Hal is. He devotes his life to getting those who have made mistakes back on their feet. It touches me to know that he helps them know the love of God and lets Him direct them back on the right path. He is such a caring man with such wisdom that I loved listening to. It was such a great work day, but what really made my day was the club activity tonight. At the end of every YouthWorks week, we do a feet washing just like Jesus did with the disciples. It’s such a moving experience because you genuinely feel that God is present and that he is watching and knows how much it impacts you. You feel the love of God and it is honestly such an amazing point in the week. It brings me to tears because I am so overwhelmed with joy and I can honestly feel how much I am loved and how much I am needed. As the feet washing is happening, Troy and Mrs.Witzig prayed over me and I could not have felt more special at that moment. Everyone in the room was crying and it really gave me a chance to open up to others in the youth group and realize how much they are there for me and how much they love and care for me. It is so reassuring to know that I have a safe place to go to where I can tell anyone anything. I could not have asked for a better week and I can’t believe its coming to an end so fast. I made so many great relationships with those from the other church and I strengthened those within my own church. God has blessed me with the opportunity to have this experience and I know that he has changed me this week. –Lauren Detrich

Hey Everybody, tonight marks the end of what I can truthfully call the most exciting and unpredictable mission trip of my life. This evening was particularly interesting in two ways. Anyone familiar with a YouthWorks Mission trip knows that Thursday night is foot washing night. This ceremony reenacts the actions of Jesus on the night preceding his betrayal. Usually this is a cryfest with ever girl… and Stebbe bawling their eyes out because they are attached to the moment. This year, there was no less attachment, just very few tears. Everyone seemed more interested in talking than crying (I consider this an improvement) for me, the entire process was light hearted because the music in the background was a blaring jazz number that had nothing to do with the situation at hand. My Dad also provided comic relief by tickling my feet when he washed them. (total goober) after everything the boys returned to our sleeping room (a tabernacle) for bedtime story and a giant pool noodle war. Our bed time story activity was to serenade the girls in their sleeping room by singing the iconic Disney anthem “A Whole New World” after the singing had finished the boys returned to our sleeping area. Earlier in the day several boys had stopped at a Sonic before showering, next to this Sonic was a family dollar. We bought pool noodles, and foam dart guns, and rubbery dodge balls. When we returned to the sleeping room after our serenade, we took up these weapons and had a twenty minute long teenage boy pillow fight. Matt, Jeff, and Tim all took part. Troy was involved as well (It was awesome). In the end I can solidly say that Team Indiana beat out our Michigander competitors. -Dustin Meeks 

This week in Newport has been one of the most life changing mission trips I have been on. The start of the week was definitely a struggle but as the week progressed I gradually realized how privileged of a life I have and how much I take that for granted. When I went to the kids club this week I met a boy named Storm. He was one of the most athletically inclined kids I have ever seen. He would play the games with the other kids and completely blow everyone away with his raw talent. It was sad to soon realize that Storm may never be able to do anything special with his ability and will be stuck in the black hole of Newport. Now on to the subject of the feet washing last night. Every year I go on a mission trip I have a huge god moment where I see all of the sins I have made and how bad it makes me feel to sit and sulk about the small things that happen in my life. This also leads to crying every year. This year was different to say the least, I began the night sitting in silence thinking to myself about all of the things I have done wrong and just reflecting on the past year. That moment right there was the beginning of the waterworks. Soon after I calmed down it was my turn to have my feet washed and for Troy and Mrs. Witzig to pray with me. That started it again. As the night progressed I had many emotional conversations with a few of the incoming freshmen. We talked about everything from god to their upcoming high school experience. It was so great to be able to help them through what they think is going to be the hardest time of their lives. This group of individuals I call my youthgroup has changed my life in so many ways and in the process has given me a place to have someone to talk to about everything. They are most definitely a dear part of my heart that I never want to lose. I love these people so much like a second family. – Makinna Laymon