We have been home for almost an entire week now. It has gone by fast and I have had the chance to talk about the trip with a lot of people in many different settings. It has been great to go over the things that happened in Montana, talk about them, share them, and hear people's reactions. Here are a few of my reflections.
Tightly Bonded Group: most of our students already had good relationships with each other. They have grown up in the church and have become good friends just through time spent together. However, while we were away some things happened that really brought them together and gave them common vision. If you haven't read McKenna's recount of Monday night you really should. It was a turning point in the trip that God used to bring our students together and show them how much He loves them.
God is in Control: I think that a lot of times we start to believe that if we only do things correctly then we will get the response we are seeking. Or we, incorrectly, believe that we know what will happen if we "do" ministry a certain way. We should always do the best we can and we should always leave the results to God. He'll do a much better job anyway. Our ministry in Roundup became something that was led by God as the week progressed and our students got to know people. Some of them went to dinner with students from the town and heard their stories. Others found ways to use their gifts to bless others without the benefit of food. I found solace in watching as our students "got it" and began listening and sharing with other students. I did my best to let God use our students and I was blessed by what I saw.
Worship does not equal singing: This is a great lesson for everyone to learn. We can worship by singing but our worship does not consist only of music (and that's good because some people aren't musical and I don't think God wants them to miss out on worship). We sang like crazy Saturday night, we sang lots on Sunday, and a little bit on Monday. After that our worship consisted of encouraging one another, praying, sharing, laughing, and allowing God to work in us through each other. We were up really late most nights and it seemed like sleep would be worshipful to me...it was.
Thankfulness: I have amazing volunteers! Mike and Lori not only helped with the students on the trip, making sure they were safe, talking to them, working with them, but they helped me a lot. I don't always see everything the way it really is and to have their eyes and experience there was a huge help to me. They were instruments that God used to make sure this was the trip it needed to be.
Bringing it HOME! Between West Glenwood and the "downtown" exit McKenna spoke up and said, "We need to pray before we get home." So I told her to start and she did. She and others in the van asked that God would help them do what they had learned in Roundup here, at home. We all realized that God will change lives if we will take the time to be used as instruments of His grace and love. We know that not everyone will respond well, but we learned to be "seed flingers" throwing God's love everywhere we go. We need to be a lot less careful about where we throw the seed.
Prayer: One night, around the table, we were talking about "going home" and I had the opportunity to share with our students my hope for them. There is a Proverb that says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." If the students who went to Montana continue to do what they learned in those 10 days here at home they will share the love of God in a powerful way. Please pray that they continue to listen to people's stories, refuse to judge before they get to know them, share their faith blatantly, and love unconditionally.
Please consider how you will do this as well. Who do you know that could use a cup of coffee and an attentive ear? Who, in your life, needs to know that Jesus loves them? How can you share with them? During our time in Montana we learned that we cannot put God in a box...how is God going to use our trip in your life?
in His grip,
Jared
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
packing up in Roundup
Friday night at the Youth Center was a ton of fun. A bunch of people are gone on vacation but we have made some great friends that our kids will remember forever. We have had a great time and learned a lot of lessons.
Thanks for praying for us and for all the encouragement you have been. I will post more pictures when we get home, right now it's time to pack stuff up...we must leave early in the morning if we're going to drop the surprise on the students.
We will call when we get close to home so you all know when to come pick up your kids. See you tomorrow (late).
in His grip - and loving it,
Jared
Thanks for praying for us and for all the encouragement you have been. I will post more pictures when we get home, right now it's time to pack stuff up...we must leave early in the morning if we're going to drop the surprise on the students.
We will call when we get close to home so you all know when to come pick up your kids. See you tomorrow (late).
in His grip - and loving it,
Jared
Thursday, July 17, 2008
right now
At this moment I am watching our students paint designs all over the youth center in Roundup. Reid, Carson, and Kevin are working on a design that tells the gospel with Heather (from Roundup). Harris is filling in a circle with Robbie (a 6 year old from here). Kellin is working on a really cool design for a circle. Mike is talking with Hannah. Amy and Ashley are working with Ethan on splatter painting a wall as a backdrop for hanging pictures. McKenna just finished sponge painting a wall. Stephanie is taking pictures. And Lori just finished having coffee one of the students parents. And I have already been to the hardware store (again) but this time with Robbie. I asked about his favorite sport...football. Favorite team? He said he has five and the first team he told me was the....Seahawks! I was so proud. He also listed the Broncos so be encouraged.
Also this morning, Carson gave a drum lesson to Briana because she mentioned that she would like to learn the drums yesterday.
I am really proud of our whole team! In this instant they are all being Jesus to someone somehow.
in His grip,
Jared
Also this morning, Carson gave a drum lesson to Briana because she mentioned that she would like to learn the drums yesterday.
I am really proud of our whole team! In this instant they are all being Jesus to someone somehow.
in His grip,
Jared
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
DMB: Recap
three letters...one word...WOW! It was an amazing day at Deadman's Basin (I learned how to really spell it from the sign that led to the park). I am proud to report that I even used sunscreen (you're welcome). We had two boats out on the water, which was awesome. Pastor John drove one of them and you could see in his face and his actions that he was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing. He encouraged the kids, let them try new things, and helped them back up time and time again without any hint of being annoyed. He was using what he loved to bless the kids of Roundup.
Kurt was also driving his boat. He found his enjoyment in watching people fly through the air. We came to say that if "Kurt wants you off the tube, you get off the tube". It doesn't matter how much you wanted to stay on there, you were getting off. The kids loved tubing out on the water with Kurt, and he made it a lot of fun too.
While we were tubing we were also talking. I heard a number of students sharing their stories with each other. You could see people lounging around just talking to each other and see that they were connecting. Ashley flat out asked a few of the girls to tell her their story and in the middle of a tubing session on a boat they did. They poured it out and told her, and Reid, what their lives were like. It was great to see our students connecting and listening so intently and being great examples of Christ by caring for others.
When we got back to the youth center Amy and Ashley shared part of their stories with every one who went (about 20 of them) and told them why they feel like God should be an important part of their lives too. And because we have spent so much time working on relationships this week everyone stayed and they all listened. It was a great day.
Prayer Requests:
- Salvation: In the Bible Paul says that he prayed for all of Israel to be saved. Will you please pray that this town will realize God's grace and will be saved.
- Boldness: that we as a group would have the boldness to invite students to accept the message of Christ, follow Him with their lives, and grow in Him.
- Rest: We're tired. It's been a few really long days and we're all pretty exhausted. We need rest to finish well.
- Community: we need to continually grow together as a group and we are making huge strides but there are still challenges to overcome.
And here's some pics...
Kurt was also driving his boat. He found his enjoyment in watching people fly through the air. We came to say that if "Kurt wants you off the tube, you get off the tube". It doesn't matter how much you wanted to stay on there, you were getting off. The kids loved tubing out on the water with Kurt, and he made it a lot of fun too.
While we were tubing we were also talking. I heard a number of students sharing their stories with each other. You could see people lounging around just talking to each other and see that they were connecting. Ashley flat out asked a few of the girls to tell her their story and in the middle of a tubing session on a boat they did. They poured it out and told her, and Reid, what their lives were like. It was great to see our students connecting and listening so intently and being great examples of Christ by caring for others.
When we got back to the youth center Amy and Ashley shared part of their stories with every one who went (about 20 of them) and told them why they feel like God should be an important part of their lives too. And because we have spent so much time working on relationships this week everyone stayed and they all listened. It was a great day.
Prayer Requests:
- Salvation: In the Bible Paul says that he prayed for all of Israel to be saved. Will you please pray that this town will realize God's grace and will be saved.
- Boldness: that we as a group would have the boldness to invite students to accept the message of Christ, follow Him with their lives, and grow in Him.
- Rest: We're tired. It's been a few really long days and we're all pretty exhausted. We need rest to finish well.
- Community: we need to continually grow together as a group and we are making huge strides but there are still challenges to overcome.
And here's some pics...
DMB
For many people DMB would stand for a world famous band known for amazing acoustic guitar work and creativity...but for us, for today it stand for Dead Man's Basin. And as strange as that sounds we are really, really excited to go. DMB is closest place you can go to waterski and inner tube. We have invited any of the kids from the town that want to come and have even acquired a school bus to get them there!
We get to spend at least 10 hours with kids from Roundup in one day. We'll be playing, talking, praying, singing, and doing our best to model Jesus as we go crazy. In a normal week I will spend about 2 hours with any particular student and I try to make the most of my time, but it's still not much. In one day, our entire team will get to spend 5 times the weekly average. It's an amazing opportunity.
The gospels tells us that Jesus spent a lot of time around the disciples and that changed their lives. We are trying to care for people like Jesus does.
Prayer Requests:
- Safety: we are going on the water and will be driving for a while. Please pray that we are safe in all we do.
- Connections: this is a great opportunity to connect that we all need to take full advantage of.
- Boldness: the students in Roundup know why we're here and they know what we believe. Pray for boldness for our students to extend invitations to their friends to follow Jesus.
in His grip,
Jared
We get to spend at least 10 hours with kids from Roundup in one day. We'll be playing, talking, praying, singing, and doing our best to model Jesus as we go crazy. In a normal week I will spend about 2 hours with any particular student and I try to make the most of my time, but it's still not much. In one day, our entire team will get to spend 5 times the weekly average. It's an amazing opportunity.
The gospels tells us that Jesus spent a lot of time around the disciples and that changed their lives. We are trying to care for people like Jesus does.
Prayer Requests:
- Safety: we are going on the water and will be driving for a while. Please pray that we are safe in all we do.
- Connections: this is a great opportunity to connect that we all need to take full advantage of.
- Boldness: the students in Roundup know why we're here and they know what we believe. Pray for boldness for our students to extend invitations to their friends to follow Jesus.
in His grip,
Jared
Monday Review: God works
Something happened Monday night that I felt was important to share in the students own words. What you are about to read happened Monday night, and I wanted to make sure that they were ready to share what happened before we posted anything.
I believe that it’s important to worship in community. And something I had noticed was that we seemed to be worshiping as individuals, without concern for anyone else. So with the help of Lori and Mike I designed an experience for our teenagers to worship together. We change the atmosphere by lighting candles and turning off lights. We assigned them to a specific seating order and I instructed them not to wear blindfolds or close their eyes. Not closing eyes is really hard for me and I was stretched as I looked into their faces.
We began singing together and after a few minutes I noticed that it didn’t seem like their hearts were in it. I wasn’t interested in forcing anything upon them so I asked if they felt awkward with the instruction they had been given. I wasn’t expecting the response that I got. Some were genuinely upset, some were confused why we would structure worship so much, and others genuinely attempted to worship. After a pretty lengthy discussion and prayer I put away the guitar and told them they could go to bed. But Reid asked if they could spend time together...and I left the room.
McKenna (writing for all the students)
So as you have read Jared’s plan left all of the kids rather frustrated and none of us wanted to go to bed. So as Jared, Lori, and Mike all left the room Reid asked if the kids could stay for a while. As soon as the adults left Reid suggested that rather than waiting our turn to pray we should all just pray at once, so when Reid never stopped praying I (McKenna) started praying with him for my own problems and concerns. Then another person joined in and eventually everyone was praying for their own needs and it was the coolest sound to hear everyone lifting up their needs. I decided to go around the room praying for everyone and by the time I got to the end, Steph and Reid started praying for my physical healing. Very quickly everyone was surrounding me begging the Lord for my healing. At this point everybody was screaming, crying and yelling to God. Reid and Harris began to plead God to take away their gifts in order for me to be pain free. This really touched my heart because although I have had other people tell me that they would take away the pain for me I have never had 14 and 17 year olds pleading God to take away what God has given them in order for me to be pain free. I don’t know whether the story I just told or this happened first but both are very important parts. I began to have horrible pains in my back. I haven’t had pain that severe since my disco-gram (the disco-gram was my worst procedure that was both a horrible procedure and also recovery). There is no better way to describe the way the pain came and went other than contractions. I was screaming, crying and begging God to take the pain away, eventually the pain would reside and I would get a couple of pain free moments. After a couple of contractions I began to get the pattern and expect the pain. I don’t really know why I experienced the pain last night but I know it was part of God’s greater plan for the night. At one point I had to lay down because the pain was to great to bear sitting up. So while I was laying there I literally felt God’s power run through my body. I know that I am purely telling my story but for most of the night the kids were serving me by lifting my petitions up to Christ. I am happy, no overjoyed, to tell you that many miracles happened that night. My soul and my mind were healed, however it is not time for me to be physically healed. God clearly told me that I still need to be at Steadman Hawkins and that there is a friend who needs my support. We all ended the night by singing, it was completely accapella and we didn’t know all of the words so we were just jumping from song to song and chourses that didn’t match with the verses. Then we all sat down and started talking about what God had shown them personally. The neatest thing about the night was that even though everyone was basically focusing on me, God showed each individual person something extremely personal, but thats their story to tell. As I was crawling into bed I looked for some verses in Job and they applied so well to the night. The verses are John 14:12-17, Job 8:21, 9:10, 16:5. This night was amazing and i strongly urge you to contact me over the phone when I get back from the mission.
Back to Jared
As you can tell God is really doing something in our students lives as they engage Him. Please pray fervently for them as they wrestle with things and take steps in their walk with Jesus. I will communicate any comments you leave to them this evening.
in His grip,
Jared
I believe that it’s important to worship in community. And something I had noticed was that we seemed to be worshiping as individuals, without concern for anyone else. So with the help of Lori and Mike I designed an experience for our teenagers to worship together. We change the atmosphere by lighting candles and turning off lights. We assigned them to a specific seating order and I instructed them not to wear blindfolds or close their eyes. Not closing eyes is really hard for me and I was stretched as I looked into their faces.
We began singing together and after a few minutes I noticed that it didn’t seem like their hearts were in it. I wasn’t interested in forcing anything upon them so I asked if they felt awkward with the instruction they had been given. I wasn’t expecting the response that I got. Some were genuinely upset, some were confused why we would structure worship so much, and others genuinely attempted to worship. After a pretty lengthy discussion and prayer I put away the guitar and told them they could go to bed. But Reid asked if they could spend time together...and I left the room.
McKenna (writing for all the students)
So as you have read Jared’s plan left all of the kids rather frustrated and none of us wanted to go to bed. So as Jared, Lori, and Mike all left the room Reid asked if the kids could stay for a while. As soon as the adults left Reid suggested that rather than waiting our turn to pray we should all just pray at once, so when Reid never stopped praying I (McKenna) started praying with him for my own problems and concerns. Then another person joined in and eventually everyone was praying for their own needs and it was the coolest sound to hear everyone lifting up their needs. I decided to go around the room praying for everyone and by the time I got to the end, Steph and Reid started praying for my physical healing. Very quickly everyone was surrounding me begging the Lord for my healing. At this point everybody was screaming, crying and yelling to God. Reid and Harris began to plead God to take away their gifts in order for me to be pain free. This really touched my heart because although I have had other people tell me that they would take away the pain for me I have never had 14 and 17 year olds pleading God to take away what God has given them in order for me to be pain free. I don’t know whether the story I just told or this happened first but both are very important parts. I began to have horrible pains in my back. I haven’t had pain that severe since my disco-gram (the disco-gram was my worst procedure that was both a horrible procedure and also recovery). There is no better way to describe the way the pain came and went other than contractions. I was screaming, crying and begging God to take the pain away, eventually the pain would reside and I would get a couple of pain free moments. After a couple of contractions I began to get the pattern and expect the pain. I don’t really know why I experienced the pain last night but I know it was part of God’s greater plan for the night. At one point I had to lay down because the pain was to great to bear sitting up. So while I was laying there I literally felt God’s power run through my body. I know that I am purely telling my story but for most of the night the kids were serving me by lifting my petitions up to Christ. I am happy, no overjoyed, to tell you that many miracles happened that night. My soul and my mind were healed, however it is not time for me to be physically healed. God clearly told me that I still need to be at Steadman Hawkins and that there is a friend who needs my support. We all ended the night by singing, it was completely accapella and we didn’t know all of the words so we were just jumping from song to song and chourses that didn’t match with the verses. Then we all sat down and started talking about what God had shown them personally. The neatest thing about the night was that even though everyone was basically focusing on me, God showed each individual person something extremely personal, but thats their story to tell. As I was crawling into bed I looked for some verses in Job and they applied so well to the night. The verses are John 14:12-17, Job 8:21, 9:10, 16:5. This night was amazing and i strongly urge you to contact me over the phone when I get back from the mission.
Back to Jared
As you can tell God is really doing something in our students lives as they engage Him. Please pray fervently for them as they wrestle with things and take steps in their walk with Jesus. I will communicate any comments you leave to them this evening.
in His grip,
Jared
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
painting, painting, and a little more painting
We came here ready and equipped to paint. We just finished our own youth room so when they asked if we were willing to paint the youth center we of course said we were pros. After being placed in a building for many hours filled with paint fumes and tired teens things start to happen. There is a video on a previous post but here are some great still shots.
update: pictures
I have heard your requests...so here are some pictures from yesterday
Reid teaches how to play the bass
Harris gets all wrapped up
Kenney at the park
Who's really playing the djembe?
Reid teaches how to play the bass
Harris gets all wrapped up
Kenney at the park
Who's really playing the djembe?
From Mike
Monday in Roundup...God is ________________. How many adjectives / words / phrases can you find to fill in the blank? Let’s start with “God is good!” I wish that we could have an “angel reporter” to fly around with each one of us during our day and record all of the ways that God manifested Himself to us over the course of the day. I would love to have a detailed written report at the end of each day so that I could “post” it on a wall (maybe even a blog!) to remind me of who God is and what He does. But, God doesn’t work that way. Instead I (we) must rely on our feeble human minds to remember these “God moments.” So, we catch the ones we can (and there have been so many) and rejoice in those, while the stark reality is that every moment of every day is a “God moment”...
“Flinging seeds with reckless abandon”...we are learning to be “seed flingers.” Today was spent moving furniture in the youth center in preparation for the “big paint”; replacing a battery in our Suburban; helping to serve 35 children lunch (for many, this would be the only meal they got today); connecting with those children and listening to their stories; wandering around town in the afternoon and seeking to connect to and listen to those who we meet; sharing a pack of Starbursts, a root beer float, a plate of fries and ourselves; meeting with a caring core of adults from Roundup; more games in the park; another night of sharing music and God at the youth center; more laughter, smiles and card tricks; and another late night being with God. Can you say “sleep deprived?” LOL
Pray that we would all learn, as the Psalmist says to “Be still and know that I AM GOD!”
Love, Prayers, and Blessings from Roundup! Mike
“Flinging seeds with reckless abandon”...we are learning to be “seed flingers.” Today was spent moving furniture in the youth center in preparation for the “big paint”; replacing a battery in our Suburban; helping to serve 35 children lunch (for many, this would be the only meal they got today); connecting with those children and listening to their stories; wandering around town in the afternoon and seeking to connect to and listen to those who we meet; sharing a pack of Starbursts, a root beer float, a plate of fries and ourselves; meeting with a caring core of adults from Roundup; more games in the park; another night of sharing music and God at the youth center; more laughter, smiles and card tricks; and another late night being with God. Can you say “sleep deprived?” LOL
Pray that we would all learn, as the Psalmist says to “Be still and know that I AM GOD!”
Love, Prayers, and Blessings from Roundup! Mike
Monday, July 14, 2008
Day 1: church among other things
We went to church at Emmanuel Baptist and our students had a great time. Harris and McKenna had the opportunity to share their testimonies and people responded pretty well. Harris talked abut his music and how that has shaped his life. Then we got to play “Come thou Fount” for everyone...it was a hit. After John’s sermon (great sermon btw) McKenna shared has she has wrestled with God through her pain. It was clearly hard for her to do, and she did a great job! People approached her afterward and shared their pain with her and encouraged her to keep trusting God.
After church we went to “Graze and Gab” where we ate food and talked to people from the church. We made a connection with Sam and Marsha who were the only teenagers that we saw in church. We had a great lunch at the Busy Bee (awesome burgers) then broke and got ready for the first night at the park. We rearranged the youth center, set up our sound stuff, got ready for games, and picked out colors for the youth center. It was a busy afternoon.
We only had a few students from town come to the park. But for those that came we had a great time playing ultimate frisbee and busing out the parachute. It was good to see all the smiling faces and joy that came from having a good time together. After playing I introduced our group to everyone who was there and asked a couple of questions to start the discussion. Then Stephanie shared her story and was very real and honest. I am really proud of her. After she shared we went back to the youth center and spent some time in worship. A few more kids dropped by and afterward we had some great chances to talk to them.
One of most encouraging things we saw last night was Raven, Rachelle, and Misty coming back with us to the Youth Center. Reid invited them to come back to the youth center and hear us play music...and they did! Misty especially seemed receptive and the other two were respectful and cool to talk to.
We had a number of “God Moments” as they were referred to as well. I’ll let our students tell you all about those in their own words:
“God Moment #1” - Amy, McKenna, Stephanie, Ashley
So we (the four girls) were walking to the store to buy lollipops for our devotions (another story) and we passed a smiley old man who said hi to us. We were all planning on doing our devotions at the A&W but McKenna, who joined us later, had forgotten her devotional book. Because of this we decided to walk back to the church to get it. We decided to do devos on the church’s amazing lawn instead of walking back to the A&W. In the middle of devos we agreed that our hearts were not in the right place nor were our attitudes in check. Therefore we decided to pray aloud for encouragement, peace, love, and to be respectful. We were having an amazing prayer session when we heard this question, “Are you girls Christians?” We looked up, startled, to see the same man who we had passed on our way to the store. We answered uncertainly, expecting questions but the man said, “Stay the course. When I passed you girls earlier, I knew that you were Christians.” He then shared a verse, John 9:25, “Whether he is a sinner I know not, but I do know that I once was blind but now I see.” He proceeded to tell us about some guys he worked with who didn’t believe in God. He told us, “God bless,” and left. We started laughing because we were so amazed. Amy was literally shaking and Stephanie was crying. It was such an amazing answer to our prayers. We don’t know his name our who he is, but we do know that he was either an angel or if God just placed it on his heart to go and talk to us right at that specific moment. We serve and awesome God!
“God Moment #2” Harris Jackson
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, we were in the basement of the church waiting for dinner and just hanging out and I found a book called “Be Thou My Vision”. It was a devotional that was based off of hymns. I found one from Come Thou Fount called “Tune Up”. It was about how we are all out of tune praise givers, but it doesn’t matter because God tunes us all up to suit Him so we do not have to worry about how we sound.
Later that night, we sat down in a small room in the bottom of the Catholic church and talked for a bit, and then started to worship. We ended up singing (probably terribly) for about 3 hours singing every song we knew with sincere praise.
So far this week, the worship has been amazing. Everyone is sincere in their hearts and are giving everything to God. We pray and ask you to pray for our worship this week, that we might praise God and call out to Him with great sincerity and love.
Prayer Requests:
Continued searching after God
Roundup connections. Our students will be out on the town today seeking out teenagers and conversations.
Ministry. More students to show up at the park, play games, and hear the gospel.
Thanks again for your prayers.
in His grip,
Jared
After church we went to “Graze and Gab” where we ate food and talked to people from the church. We made a connection with Sam and Marsha who were the only teenagers that we saw in church. We had a great lunch at the Busy Bee (awesome burgers) then broke and got ready for the first night at the park. We rearranged the youth center, set up our sound stuff, got ready for games, and picked out colors for the youth center. It was a busy afternoon.
We only had a few students from town come to the park. But for those that came we had a great time playing ultimate frisbee and busing out the parachute. It was good to see all the smiling faces and joy that came from having a good time together. After playing I introduced our group to everyone who was there and asked a couple of questions to start the discussion. Then Stephanie shared her story and was very real and honest. I am really proud of her. After she shared we went back to the youth center and spent some time in worship. A few more kids dropped by and afterward we had some great chances to talk to them.
One of most encouraging things we saw last night was Raven, Rachelle, and Misty coming back with us to the Youth Center. Reid invited them to come back to the youth center and hear us play music...and they did! Misty especially seemed receptive and the other two were respectful and cool to talk to.
We had a number of “God Moments” as they were referred to as well. I’ll let our students tell you all about those in their own words:
“God Moment #1” - Amy, McKenna, Stephanie, Ashley
So we (the four girls) were walking to the store to buy lollipops for our devotions (another story) and we passed a smiley old man who said hi to us. We were all planning on doing our devotions at the A&W but McKenna, who joined us later, had forgotten her devotional book. Because of this we decided to walk back to the church to get it. We decided to do devos on the church’s amazing lawn instead of walking back to the A&W. In the middle of devos we agreed that our hearts were not in the right place nor were our attitudes in check. Therefore we decided to pray aloud for encouragement, peace, love, and to be respectful. We were having an amazing prayer session when we heard this question, “Are you girls Christians?” We looked up, startled, to see the same man who we had passed on our way to the store. We answered uncertainly, expecting questions but the man said, “Stay the course. When I passed you girls earlier, I knew that you were Christians.” He then shared a verse, John 9:25, “Whether he is a sinner I know not, but I do know that I once was blind but now I see.” He proceeded to tell us about some guys he worked with who didn’t believe in God. He told us, “God bless,” and left. We started laughing because we were so amazed. Amy was literally shaking and Stephanie was crying. It was such an amazing answer to our prayers. We don’t know his name our who he is, but we do know that he was either an angel or if God just placed it on his heart to go and talk to us right at that specific moment. We serve and awesome God!
“God Moment #2” Harris Jackson
Earlier on Saturday afternoon, we were in the basement of the church waiting for dinner and just hanging out and I found a book called “Be Thou My Vision”. It was a devotional that was based off of hymns. I found one from Come Thou Fount called “Tune Up”. It was about how we are all out of tune praise givers, but it doesn’t matter because God tunes us all up to suit Him so we do not have to worry about how we sound.
Later that night, we sat down in a small room in the bottom of the Catholic church and talked for a bit, and then started to worship. We ended up singing (probably terribly) for about 3 hours singing every song we knew with sincere praise.
So far this week, the worship has been amazing. Everyone is sincere in their hearts and are giving everything to God. We pray and ask you to pray for our worship this week, that we might praise God and call out to Him with great sincerity and love.
Prayer Requests:
Continued searching after God
Roundup connections. Our students will be out on the town today seeking out teenagers and conversations.
Ministry. More students to show up at the park, play games, and hear the gospel.
Thanks again for your prayers.
in His grip,
Jared
Sunday, July 13, 2008
comments
I have heard that comments have been hard for people to leave. I've changed the settings to allow anyone to post a comment, even anonymously. So if you have wanted to leave a comment, do so now, and drop your name so we know who's talkin'.
it was amazingly rediculously awesome
Yesterday we did some really cool stuff together as a team to get ready for this week. We started with a "Disabled Breakfast". I used something I learned from Brian last year on our trip to California to bring the team together. All of our students (except Amy) were given disabilities and instructed to complete their objective...breakfast. It was a learning experience that stretched all of them. They are really starting to come together as more of a team.
Then we rock climbed. Oh, how we climbed. Carson set up a sweet, safe route and everyone had a chance to try. Even those who were scared of heights did really well. As we hung out and encouraged one another we had a couple of the local teenagers with us, Ethan and Jake. They showed us the rock and even got to climb with us. They were the only ones who climbed blindfolded and both completed it. They seemed to have a great time and our kids had a huge opportunity to talk to them.
After dinner and a prayer walk we had the most amazing time together. The church where we are staying has a ton of rooms so I selected one that would work for "family time". This is a time to talk, pray, and worship together. We had a long conversation about our REAL objective here in the town and how it is impossible if we depend on ourselves. We came to the, right, conclusion that the only way we can see real change in people is if God does it. So we prayed for them...all the students we have met in Roundup to this point. We prayed for each other and our activities. Then we worshipped. I planned for a few songs but as we began it was obvious to everyone that we were not going to be done any time soon. The presence of God was tangible. You could feel our Creator all around as we sang, prayed, and shared. We began the four songs at about 9:00 and by the time we broke to go to sleep it was after 11:00. It was an incredible night that each of us needed. God met us.
I offered the lappy to the students this morning to leave messages on the blog...here is what they said.
Reid: We appreciate all of your prayers and support so much. God has already blessed us and given us courage and that has a lot to do with all your prayer on our behalf. Thank you so much. Godbless
Amy: Hey everyone! Well, Roundup is a pretty neat place. It is a lot different from what all of us expected. We got to hang out with some kids on Friday and began to build relationships. Hopefully these kids will show up at the park this week so we can continue to minister to them. I also have to say, our worship session in the basement last night was AMAZING! Thanks for your prayers!
Ashley: Hello! We are having sooo much fun already! and the kids here are crazy cool. God is already working his ways, while we drink gallons of A&W Root Beer! Mmmmm! The hardest question that we have heard over and over is: Why would you come here? We have played games, rock climed, and smelt trees! Thank you for all your prayers and support! We love you all! P.S Beef Jerky!!!
Steph: Hey hey hey! we are having such a great time here together. The people here are so much fun and awesome. Last night we had the greatest worship session ever! hope everyone reading this is having a great time too. Keep praying for us, you guys are great! I Love you all.
Kevin: Hey guys! i hope all is well with you. Everything is great here, we are learning so much, making connections, and having fun. We all want to thank you for your prayers and support, and we pray that will continue. Last night we were up till after midnight praising and worshiping the Lord.
Mike: What an amazing, refreshing and uplifting experience to worship with this great bunch of kids!
Please pray for the students of Roundup and for our activities as they begin tonight. Thanks for your consistent prayers and petitions...God is moving and we're on board.
in His grip,
Jared
Then we rock climbed. Oh, how we climbed. Carson set up a sweet, safe route and everyone had a chance to try. Even those who were scared of heights did really well. As we hung out and encouraged one another we had a couple of the local teenagers with us, Ethan and Jake. They showed us the rock and even got to climb with us. They were the only ones who climbed blindfolded and both completed it. They seemed to have a great time and our kids had a huge opportunity to talk to them.
After dinner and a prayer walk we had the most amazing time together. The church where we are staying has a ton of rooms so I selected one that would work for "family time". This is a time to talk, pray, and worship together. We had a long conversation about our REAL objective here in the town and how it is impossible if we depend on ourselves. We came to the, right, conclusion that the only way we can see real change in people is if God does it. So we prayed for them...all the students we have met in Roundup to this point. We prayed for each other and our activities. Then we worshipped. I planned for a few songs but as we began it was obvious to everyone that we were not going to be done any time soon. The presence of God was tangible. You could feel our Creator all around as we sang, prayed, and shared. We began the four songs at about 9:00 and by the time we broke to go to sleep it was after 11:00. It was an incredible night that each of us needed. God met us.
I offered the lappy to the students this morning to leave messages on the blog...here is what they said.
Reid: We appreciate all of your prayers and support so much. God has already blessed us and given us courage and that has a lot to do with all your prayer on our behalf. Thank you so much. Godbless
Amy: Hey everyone! Well, Roundup is a pretty neat place. It is a lot different from what all of us expected. We got to hang out with some kids on Friday and began to build relationships. Hopefully these kids will show up at the park this week so we can continue to minister to them. I also have to say, our worship session in the basement last night was AMAZING! Thanks for your prayers!
Ashley: Hello! We are having sooo much fun already! and the kids here are crazy cool. God is already working his ways, while we drink gallons of A&W Root Beer! Mmmmm! The hardest question that we have heard over and over is: Why would you come here? We have played games, rock climed, and smelt trees! Thank you for all your prayers and support! We love you all! P.S Beef Jerky!!!
Steph: Hey hey hey! we are having such a great time here together. The people here are so much fun and awesome. Last night we had the greatest worship session ever! hope everyone reading this is having a great time too. Keep praying for us, you guys are great! I Love you all.
Kevin: Hey guys! i hope all is well with you. Everything is great here, we are learning so much, making connections, and having fun. We all want to thank you for your prayers and support, and we pray that will continue. Last night we were up till after midnight praising and worshiping the Lord.
Mike: What an amazing, refreshing and uplifting experience to worship with this great bunch of kids!
Please pray for the students of Roundup and for our activities as they begin tonight. Thanks for your consistent prayers and petitions...God is moving and we're on board.
in His grip,
Jared
Saturday, July 12, 2008
arrival
On our way here today we stopped at the 45th parallel (halfway between the equator and North Pole) then again at Custer’s last stand. It was cool to see a part of our history like that where the event really took place. It was a short stop and completely worth it.
Let me back up for a second. Last night was one of the craziest nights I have ever experienced. None of us got much sleep because the Wyoming wind decided to have a heyday at about 2:00 am. It brought with it some things that a few of us are allergic to as well. So the tents went flapping. The noses started running. And we were all fairly miserable. Mike counted and figured that I said, “This is ridiculous” about ten times. It was a tough night.
We went through a couple of team builders before we left and I have saved a couple for later that I think will be very interesting to watch. We finally arrived in Roundup at about 3:30 and got the vans unpacked at the Catholic church across the street from Emmanuel where we are helping for the week. We gave the students a tour and had some down time. Our kids are in “mission mode”! While Mike and I slept most of our students went outside and played frisbee. While they did they watched and tried to engage a few people in conversation. They were sorely disappointed because the people they tried to engage had no desire to talk with them. It’s a hard thing to be turned down, but they learned from it and handled it well.
After dinner we went over to the youth center and had a great time. Our trip has officially started but it has started very differently from anything I have done before. Roundup has something in place that allowed us to engaged a huge number of the students in the town. They were there playing basketball, skating, playing video games, pool, ping pong, using the computers, eating, or just hanging out. I spent much of my time playing basketball (no sprained ankle yet, praise God!) and talking to as many kids as I could.
When we returned to the Catholic church we sat down and wrote out all the names we could think of. Most of our students have between 10 and 20 names that they wrote down that they are going to start praying for right now. They began building friendships with others tonight and we have a whole week to listen, share, and serve these students.
Prayer Requests
-Attitude: sometimes it’s easy to be jaded or have an attitude that comes naturally. We all need supernatural attitudes to share the love of Jesus with teenagers who don’t yet see a need for God.
-Boldness: from the conversations that have already started we all need boldness to ask questions and say what needs to be said.
-Leader Training: I watched carefully tonight and am more convinced than ever that our leader training on Monday night needs to e well attended (I’m going to buy them dinner...nothing like bribery) and well presented. The adults in Roundup need to take on a “Missional” mindset when it comes to their teens. Please pray that I am effective in my final preparations and that they hear the heart of God.
-Rest: many of our students didn’t want to have to be ready by 8:00 this morning. Pray that we get good rest when we can so that we can be ready in the morning at a reasonable time.
Thanks for your love and support.
- Jared
Let me back up for a second. Last night was one of the craziest nights I have ever experienced. None of us got much sleep because the Wyoming wind decided to have a heyday at about 2:00 am. It brought with it some things that a few of us are allergic to as well. So the tents went flapping. The noses started running. And we were all fairly miserable. Mike counted and figured that I said, “This is ridiculous” about ten times. It was a tough night.
We went through a couple of team builders before we left and I have saved a couple for later that I think will be very interesting to watch. We finally arrived in Roundup at about 3:30 and got the vans unpacked at the Catholic church across the street from Emmanuel where we are helping for the week. We gave the students a tour and had some down time. Our kids are in “mission mode”! While Mike and I slept most of our students went outside and played frisbee. While they did they watched and tried to engage a few people in conversation. They were sorely disappointed because the people they tried to engage had no desire to talk with them. It’s a hard thing to be turned down, but they learned from it and handled it well.
After dinner we went over to the youth center and had a great time. Our trip has officially started but it has started very differently from anything I have done before. Roundup has something in place that allowed us to engaged a huge number of the students in the town. They were there playing basketball, skating, playing video games, pool, ping pong, using the computers, eating, or just hanging out. I spent much of my time playing basketball (no sprained ankle yet, praise God!) and talking to as many kids as I could.
When we returned to the Catholic church we sat down and wrote out all the names we could think of. Most of our students have between 10 and 20 names that they wrote down that they are going to start praying for right now. They began building friendships with others tonight and we have a whole week to listen, share, and serve these students.
Prayer Requests
-Attitude: sometimes it’s easy to be jaded or have an attitude that comes naturally. We all need supernatural attitudes to share the love of Jesus with teenagers who don’t yet see a need for God.
-Boldness: from the conversations that have already started we all need boldness to ask questions and say what needs to be said.
-Leader Training: I watched carefully tonight and am more convinced than ever that our leader training on Monday night needs to e well attended (I’m going to buy them dinner...nothing like bribery) and well presented. The adults in Roundup need to take on a “Missional” mindset when it comes to their teens. Please pray that I am effective in my final preparations and that they hear the heart of God.
-Rest: many of our students didn’t want to have to be ready by 8:00 this morning. Pray that we get good rest when we can so that we can be ready in the morning at a reasonable time.
Thanks for your love and support.
- Jared
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Safe Travels
We left this morning at 7:11 (not bad for wanting to pull out at 7:00). In this line of work if you get out within an hour of your target you're happy. So far we have had a good drive and not any mechanical issues at all, even though the van says to "service engine soon".
Our students have been amazing and have responded to things well. We saw one of the funniest signs ever in the northern part of Wyoming.
The campsite we are staying at is only 1/2 mile off the freeway and is a perfect spot to stop for the night. Soon after we pulled in we went through a couple of team building activities. The first one was a simple game of "Ha" where the students put their heads on each others stomachs and had to say "ha" without laughing. They did great the first time through then one the second time through they had a harder time not laughing. It provided some great discussion. Then we had them connect with each other without using words or gestures. This was more difficult for them to take seriously but also provided some great discussion.We have had a great time so far...except for one little game. It's a time game called "oosa" that I have never played before. So I decided to join in one game and was quickly ganged up on. Before I knew it I had lost 5 times and they had a dare waiting for me. I can't remember the last time I didn't have any facial hair but I took it all off because I lost. That might be the last time I play...enjoy it while it's clean shaven.
We ended the night with some worship and a great discussion. I feel like they are becoming more and more ready as we get close. And I'm really excited to see what happens in the next couple of days.
Prayer Requests
- More good discussion from team builders. We have a lot more planned than we did tonight and some of it will stretch them in their relationships and communication. Pray that they will speak clearly and listen well as they learn to work together even more.
- Safe Travel: we finish our driving tomorrow afternoon.
- Friday Night at the Youth Center: we are going to hang out with the teens in the town. Pray that our teens will connect well with the teenagers from Roundup and lay foundations for telling them about Christ.
in His Grip,
Jared
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
and here...we, go
Recently I saw a preview for the new Batman movie, the Dark Knight where the Joker says, "And here...we, go". That is exactly what I feel like tonight. I feel like we are about to embark on something explosive, exciting, and altogether thrilling.
Tonight we packed the cars and had a short time of prayer with parents and a few other adults who graced us with their presence. They were all a huge blessing as we prepare to leave bright and early tomorrow. We began by praying for a few things specifically. I will list them here for you so that you can pray for them as well.
- Travels: we're driving a long way on backroads (or small highways) tomorrow.
- Teenagers in Roundup: we long for God to soften their hearts
- Our teenagers: that they will share, and listen, well. That relationships will develop quickly and our students will have genuine opportunities to share from their heart.
- Adults in Roundup: we are going to be providing a short training for them. We want it to be impacting and fruitful. We want to see relationships built up between them and the students!
- Leadership: a trip like this takes a lot of decisions. We want to be wise with every choice we have to make.
Thanks for praying for us. We'll check in regularly from here on out.
in His grip,
Jared
Tonight we packed the cars and had a short time of prayer with parents and a few other adults who graced us with their presence. They were all a huge blessing as we prepare to leave bright and early tomorrow. We began by praying for a few things specifically. I will list them here for you so that you can pray for them as well.
- Travels: we're driving a long way on backroads (or small highways) tomorrow.
- Teenagers in Roundup: we long for God to soften their hearts
- Our teenagers: that they will share, and listen, well. That relationships will develop quickly and our students will have genuine opportunities to share from their heart.
- Adults in Roundup: we are going to be providing a short training for them. We want it to be impacting and fruitful. We want to see relationships built up between them and the students!
- Leadership: a trip like this takes a lot of decisions. We want to be wise with every choice we have to make.
Thanks for praying for us. We'll check in regularly from here on out.
in His grip,
Jared
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Pre-Boarding Update
Thanks to those of you who have come by to check this site out and find out what is going on before we leave for our trip. And thanks to those of you who prayed and supported the recent Idaho trip who have agreed to support us in prayer. If you didn't know about the Idaho trip you can read their blog here and see what happened while they were in two small towns in Idaho. We will be updating this more frequently from now on.
We leave on Thursday! Today we have a meeting after church with all the students and parents to go over everything and answer any questions. I am looking forward to the excitement that comes from getting everyone together.
We will do our final purchasing and packing this week. On Wednesday we are going to meet at the church to pray and pack before leaving Thursday morning at 7:00.
Prayers
- Sickness: many of our teens (and myself) have just spent a week at camp and are not feeling their best. I thought I had allergies but now it feels more like a sinus infection. Please pray that we will be able to maintain our health and stay focused on what is important.
- Readiness: We have spent time preparing and now it's time to put it into action. Pray that what we have done to prepare will be used by God in situations that arise.
- Travel: we're driving through Wyoming on Thursday and you just never know what might happen on the road.
- Excitement: this is my first trip (of many) with our students. I am really excited about what we will experience and want our students to be just as excited as I am. There are a ton of reasons to be excited, as well as slightly scared (our students haven't done a trip like this). The fear of the unknown must be outweighed by the thrill of something new.
We leave on Thursday! Today we have a meeting after church with all the students and parents to go over everything and answer any questions. I am looking forward to the excitement that comes from getting everyone together.
We will do our final purchasing and packing this week. On Wednesday we are going to meet at the church to pray and pack before leaving Thursday morning at 7:00.
Prayers
- Sickness: many of our teens (and myself) have just spent a week at camp and are not feeling their best. I thought I had allergies but now it feels more like a sinus infection. Please pray that we will be able to maintain our health and stay focused on what is important.
- Readiness: We have spent time preparing and now it's time to put it into action. Pray that what we have done to prepare will be used by God in situations that arise.
- Travel: we're driving through Wyoming on Thursday and you just never know what might happen on the road.
- Excitement: this is my first trip (of many) with our students. I am really excited about what we will experience and want our students to be just as excited as I am. There are a ton of reasons to be excited, as well as slightly scared (our students haven't done a trip like this). The fear of the unknown must be outweighed by the thrill of something new.
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