Plentiful

God is good.

I feel so blessed, so honored, so grateful, so privilleged to be a part of my students' lives. Last night I got to see how one simple truth could change lives. One simple truth: JESUS LOVES YOU AS YOU ARE.

Last night was not what I had expected. Not at all.
As I sit here the morning after, I am excited. I am thinking of ways to tell the story. How do I tell people about the amazing work God is doing in the Youth here in Vicenza. I love these students. (If you haven't heard me say it before, I love you friends!)

We had over 100 students and parents at Club last night. ALL of our leaders showed up that night. We turned off the lights and couldn't get them back on. They turned on and warmed up JUST as the kids were counting down with the video. As you can see in the picture above, over fifty students got up when they were faced with this decision: Do you want a relationship, a real relationship with Jesus Christ?

We prayed. And prayed. And prayed some more.

God. Is. So. Good.



Matthew 9:36-38 says, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Last night God showed us, as Club Leaders that the harvest is plentiful. Afterwards, I was talking with DJ and Laura and how much work we had before us. And DJ said, "Well I don't really have a choice." I thought he meant... he didn't have a choice to be involved because I was involved in Club, so I said, "After seeing what we did tonight..." He finished, "Exactly. After all of this--we don't have a choice." God placed each of us in that gym for a purpose and it is such a blessing to have purpose, to KNOW that this has all be appointed by God and that there is much to do ahead of us.

Thank you God for my story, my role, and my place in Your kingdom. :)

Last night was also a night where God showed me how faithful He is to keep His promises, to show me that He is so good and that He has heard my prayers. It was awesome to see DJ walk around and pray with guys. To see him get phone numbers. To watch how he cared and loved them. God is faithful.




Check out the Ministry| HYPE Assemblies



PRAYER| Colossians 1:28-29

"He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me."

Club Be-Awesome!!

Haha!! I love blog titles because I can make them as cheesy as I want and you still have to read them to get to the pictures. Haha! (PS. Do you all reamember the hamster scene in Bolt? BEYOND AWESOME!! ;) ;) Hahahahaaaaa.)

Today I had to say goodbye to my Beer Family. It wasn't as sad as I would have expected. Katie said something pretty awesome, "It doesn't feel final, so I am sure we'll see each other again." I love it. We all have a hope that we will get back together and do GREAT things for God because these friendships and these lessons-learned are not for naught. :) So see you later Beers! Have a great time in Nice, France!!

Today as I saw them leave, in my mind, I went through the catalogue of people I DO have in my life. And I really wanted to take today to share about my Dream Team this summer!! Laura is my Community Director and Jessica is our Summer Intern for Club Beyond. I have loved spending the past few months with Laura and to spend Beach Break working together with our students. They've taught me so much about servanthood and relationships.





I definitely believe in this ministry. I have no idea what to do outside of a military community. And even more than that--I am so excited to be the next generation of Christians who will rise up and take our place. And to me, youth ministry is a place where we can pray for and encourage the generation that follows us. (I guess it's the natural teacher in me.) But I love that God allows and enables us the opportunity to be a part of people's lives, especially young adults, who will be my future--the future.

I am so excited to see what God will do with all of us. How he will use each of our students. How he will continue to let us work in his fields. How he will... just be God, do his thing. :) :)




We got to decompress in Austria for a few days after 2 weeks of Beach Break. I loved being able to just sit and relax and get to know the girls more. God is so good and it is so amazing to have friends who love Jesus and when we get together, we can just be happy. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the time. And just attribute it all to God.

I am so glad that Elizabeth chose Austria as our place for rest. We got a cablecar to go up the mountain and really--all Creation totally screams how awesome God is. I feel so small in comparision. And in all my--humanity, in my failures, in my weakness, as small as I am--the truth is that God loves me so much more than all of Creation. He loves me so much more than the flowers we admire. He loves me so much more than the cows we pass by. He did it ALL FOR US.

It's absolutely amazing. Enough said.




EDIT | PRAYER REQUEST PLEASE
We are praying that God raises male leaders for our boys. We have such a hope for a thriving group of students who will really revloutionize their school this year and I know that I have looked at this summer as a traning period, a time where God is going to pour out so much into our students--to prepare them for battle--to get them ready for the next school year. And our boys are in such need of committed leaders whose hearts are to edify and encourage them. My heart breaks because DJ isn't around for THEM. Anyone!! For that matter!!

Lord. I pray for a man/men who have a loving heart that desires to raise up and train the next generation of leaders. I pray that they love students, want to teach, grow, and encouarge them. I pray that whoever it is that you send us--will love you and want to do your work. Lord give us a spiritual leader.

In your Son's name I pray. AMEN.

I feel like crap & God is still good

Middle School week is now over. Man. God is good. He is faithful. He is the best planner, author, coordinator ever!! I feel, again, like I have such a privilege and an honor to be a part of this ministry.

Middle School is my 'room for improvement' age group because it is harder for me to relate. It is interesting to see the shift in society from where I was and what was acceptable then, to where students are now. It's a little scary.

Here are some pictures of our Girl's Small Group. :)



It was so amazing to get to know the Head Leaders some more and really have that sense of community with each other the second week. We were back for round two together, we were tired, we were getting sick. It was so cool to see how it was GOD empowering us to do it all and nothing of our own strength.

Below are pictures of: Corn and his wife Joanna, Kristy, a head leader, and Ryan, camp musician. And shots from our last day at the beach, right before the plague of the mosquitos. It was so cool. For 15 minutes, middle schoolers sat still and wrote letters to God.


(A side note, I also got to use a 17-35/2.8 for these shots. I was pretty excited!! Thanks to Robert for letting me use it!! Seriously, photographers are the coolest people, we just share. It's an amazing community, where I feel comfortable giving up my 5DMKII for a day, and he let's me take his 17-35 for a day...and a half. Haha.)


And here are some shots from Cinque Terre! The first one is of City 2, Manarola, and the second shot is from City 4, Vernazza. Where I also picked up some artwork for the house, which is pretty awesome--and where there is the BEST pizza I've had in Italy, or the world, thus far. I love it. Amazing crispy center, and fluffy crust. Delicious.

The Privilege

So. I've been gone for a week!! Where, you ask!? Camp Darby, down south with Club Beyond! It was so amazing to be a part of God's purpose. A few months ago, I was listening as someone told me this truth: GOD DOESN'T HAVE TO USE US. He can do things all on His own. But he allows us the privilege and the honor to work for Him and to serve Him. I am so grateful for that small role in the big scheme of things.



There is so much to talk about and gush over, but I just want to take the time to thank each and every one of the students who went to Beach Break this week: Maya Swinehart, Katie McKeever, Maya Zaborek, Raven and Megan Espinoza, Brenda Sanchez, Asya Miller, Oliana Reyter, Anna Meyers, Tori Werner, Sierra George, Arden and Tyler Holderby, Saige and Shane Martinez, Jarra and Nathan Woods, Brian Johnston, Earl Denmon, Jose Echieveria, Eddie Ramos, Ramsey Marsee, and Nick Angyal.

I have never had a Youth Group experience because I was saved as a senior in high school and that was pretty much it. Haha. I didn't have the opportunity to hear the Gospel the way that these kids got to. I got to open up and make myself vulnerable to reveal what God has done in my life, my failures, my fears, and my faults all laid out in front of a few students. It was so weird because sometimes I have to play teacher with them. So breaking down my walls and barriers was so important to me.

I've never sang so much in my life. Haha.

God--I am so glad to have been invited to the party. I am so glad I get to call Jesus, my Lord. I got to see Him work and the way He softens hearts. '



I will leave it at that for tonight. We are going back on Monday to do it all over again with our Middle Schoolers--till then, please pray for the Young Life Work Crew, for the High Schoolers who just got back home, that they find encouragement in the overflowing love Jesus has for them, that they know that they are a new creation, with a new purpose. Pray for the Middle Schoolers, that their hearts are prepared for what God can, and will do next week. Pray for the leaders, who are driving up to places like Germany tonight to pick up kids and hop right back on the bus and come back with a new batch of kids.

And pray for the soldiers deployed to war. Their families are here at home while they fight a war. I ask for a specific pray for the soldiers of the 173rd ABCT. I really, really, just want to ask that they are really good at what they do, and that God's watching over them all. I pray that His glory is shown when Christians can be a light in such a dark place.

:) That's it. I think. More later, I promise.

Special thanks to:
Military Communities Youth Ministries & Club Beyond- the reason I got to go
Young Life- the program team and work crew
Cornelius Williams- the camp speaker
Ryan Horne- the worship leader

We had a County Fair and the students got to pie us in the face if they got enough tickets. I got pied TWICE. Haha. "Just means they love you," Laura says. Haha!



I also learned a NEW worship song this week! I love it!! I love that God has the time to listen to me. :)
God bless you guys!! I am praying for a revival for the Vicenza Community and for the entire Church--I feel it. I feel something big coming. God is soooooo good at writing stories!!!

THE RACE!!!

I cannot wait for this event!!! Come by students!! We are going to have LOTS of fun!! Watch the video here. Two teams. Five weeks of physical competition. We get points based on the games and team spirit.

AH! I am so excited!!! Can't wait! We kick off Wednesday, June 28!! Pick up Registration packets at the Luau Wednesday after school!

&& One of my overused quotes, haha!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2, NIV)