A day in Worms

Yesterday Heather and I took few of our girls to Worms for the day. One of the girls is moving to CO next week and we wanted to spend a special day with her before she leaves. 

I asked them where they wanted to go and they picked Worms. They were interested in learning about Martin Luther and the Reformation. Worms is where Luther was summoned after he nailed his 95 theses on the door in Wittenburg. Rome called him to Worms to renounce his theses statements. It was in Worms that he is rumored to have said his "Here I stand I can do no other." It was really fun to walk around the city with the gals. One of the coolest parts of living in Europe is the history and it's fun to experience it with students and help them catch a bigger picture of the world. 

Outside the Dom Worms 

On the steps of the Luther Monument 

Only 2 weeks until school starts. This summer has just flown by. It's sort of a weird time - some families wait until the end of the summer to move so students have been heading out and we've said goodbye to some graduates heading off to college. On the flip side... a lot of students who've been in the states visiting family and friends all summer are starting to return to get ready for school. It's been fun seeing them again and hear about their summers. We've also had a lot of new students move in over the past 2-3 weeks and it's been fun!! New students seems to be excited about plugging in and making friends. I think we've got good momentum as we head into the new school year.

Castle Games

CASTLE GAMES!!

We had over 90 people (from 3 different youth groups) come out for castle night games this past weekend and we had a blast! One of the coolest things about living in Europe is the history... and we just happen to have a castle ruins in our town. We pulled out loads of finger darts and dodgeballs and went to town playing different siege games. We had amazing weather and no major injuries : ) So, all in all - a fabulous evening. 

We've had an influx of new students over the past 2 or 3 weeks and that's been really fun. We've got a lot of new faces in our group. It's been nice to do some fun events like castle games (and bowling and movie nights!) in order to start building relationships with students and getting to know them. I think we're in for another great school year! 

Defending their flag during Lord of the Rings (Capture the Flag)

Playing a massive game of 3-step dodgeball, in the castle's courtyard

And, we're back!

Our Hungary team! 

Our Staff

Our mission trip to Hungary was great!! Thank you so much for praying for our team. I was super proud of the way our students stepped out and served and loved well! I thought our team meshed well together. 

A brief rundown... 

We got into Mikepercs late Saturday night and woke up for church on Sunday morning. Half of our team attended the local Reformed Church and the other half attended a Calvary Chapel in the nearby, larger town of Debrecen. Afterwards, both groups met up for lunch and a meeting with those who wrote the English Camp curriculum. 

On Monday morning, camp started. There were more teenagers than expected, which was really encouraging to the local missionaries. I guess this is an age group that doesn't attend much, so to have so many come out was wonderful. After camp and lunch, we rested a short time before heading out to the sports field for afternoon camp. We played baseball, American football, soccer, ultimate frisbee and ended the week with water balloons/guns! 

A few of our students had opportunities to share their testimonies throughout the week - and they did great. Speaking through a translator and using universal words (not just American/church culture words) was challenging, but I thought they communicated their stories well. 

Twice, we split our group up. One group attended a gypsy church on Tuesday night where they led the small congregation in worship and then played with the kiddos during the sermon time. The other group helped prepare/serve a meal at a local homeless shelter, and one of our students got to preach before the meal! 

The evenings were my highlight. We read through the Gospel of John and 1 John throughout the week. Each night, we'd gather for worship, sharing/daily debrief and then a time of teaching through the reading. Students really dug deep and asked great questions as they read their Bibles. Our main "aha" moment of the teaching was understanding that Jesus was sent by the Father to represent and make God known. We too have been sent into the world to make God known. We talked a lot about being a light to those around us and making God known through our words and deeds. It was an encouraging and convicting time for all of us as we consider being an ambassador for Christ! 

Some of the teenagers in the community joined us for our evening Bible study - which was a very cool thing. Most of the teenagers aren't believers. Communism fell in Hungary in 1989. Under communism, there is no God - this belief continues today. The church is small throughout the country, but God is at work and is drawing people to himself. For the local teens to see our students in love with the Lord and serious about growing in faith, was a huge eye opener to them. The local missionaries were excited to see the spark in them and will continue to follow up with them! Praise the Lord!! 

On the final Saturday morning, we drove to a nearby orphanage and played some games with the children. I spoke with the house nanny for a short time and it was interesting to hear her story. Hungary is a strict socialist government today. The people are taxed 49%!? Families get money from the government for every child they have... so poorer families will sometimes have more children so they can earn more money. Even sadder is that babies with disabilities earn them more money, so some moms will drink/smoke/do drugs during pregnancy, in hopes of having a child with a disability so they can collect more money. As a result, many families aren't able to support and care for some many kids - so they take one or a few to a state-run orphanage. Parents can still maintain custody of their child, even if they take them to an orphanage, so long as they call once a month and check in. This means, they can continue to collect their monthly government child payment. Pretty tragic, huh? One boy from an orphanage a few hours away was able to join with our team for the first half of the week. He was in this situation - his parents simply had too many kids to care for, so they dropped him off at an orphanage. He is a new believer in the Lord and one of the local missionaries in his town has taken him under his wing and invests in him. Pray that this student will continue to embrace the Lord and understand his sonship place as an adopted son of our Heavenly Father!! 

And now, for the BEST highlight of the week... 

One of our students signed up for the trip because he was interested in serving. He professed to be an atheist and came to youth group to learn about religion. He's an avid reader. Throughout the week, as he read his Bible, he'd come up to one of the staff and ask questions. Questions ranged from what does this word mean, to why did that happen and what's the reasoning for this or that. He was really open and honest with his thoughts and processing. On our final night in Hungary, as we left a restaurant in Budapest, he asked me if he could ask me a question. He began to tell me a little about his journey in understanding religion... his interest in Buddhism because of its service emphasis... and just not being sure and not wanting to rush into something. Things began clicking for him during the week. He said he realized that Christians are supposed to serve and help other people too! During dinner he stepped outside for a minute and spent time praying. Afterwards he told me that he felt God speaking to him and that he finally got "it." Praise the Lord for drawing this student to Himself in His timing. We've been praying for this student for the past 5 or 6 months since he began coming to group. This Sunday he's going to share his testimony in chapel! He volunteered to and I'm super proud of him and excited to see him growing. He's already asking me what he should begin reading!! Praise God!!

And a few pictures - 

^The final day of English camp ... Russ (in the front) is the GoodSports International Director, and our host - he's great!! 

^Our students were divided into teams (younger and older kids) and did break out sessions of English. A lot of the students have learned English in school, but have very few opportunities to practice. We focused a lot on conversational English - body parts, colors, animals, weather, household items, etc.

^Some of our students are into step dance and taught the kiddos at the camp different dances so they could learn a little about American culture.

^Night time capture the flag... with 100+ glow sticks! (This was such a big hit, we ended up doing it 2 nights!)

^The gypsy church.

On the way home, we stopped in Budapest for an afternoon/evening of downtime and sight seeing. It was fun! We spent time at a really cool castle.

 ^Our Team ... we got photo bombed! (who is that older guy in the back row?)

 ^My girls (they rock!!)

^Our tough boys

AJ's Farewell

It's that time of the year in the military community ... moving season. We've been saying goodbye to lots of students who are either moving to a new base or heading off to college. It's my least favorite part of military life.  

This summer my co-workers, AJ and Anna, are moving back to the states. AJ is going to Multnomah Biblical Seminary to finish his Master of Divinity and Doctorate of Ministry, with the eventual goal of becoming a Bible and youth ministry professor in the college level.  Anna and the girls flew to Portland a few weeks ago in time to unload their container and begin setting up house. AJ will join them a few days after we return from Hungary. 

This past Tuesday night was AJ's final youth group at Ramstein. In between our middle and high school youth groups, we did a dinner and farewell time for AJ. 

^ Teaching on Numbers 13-14... we've been discussing the grumbling Israelites and trusting in God's plans for us and walking in obedience.

^ Most of the students who were able to join us at the farewell! (A lot of people travel in the summer, so unfortunately not everyone could be there.)

^ Praying for AJ, Anna and their girls as they transition

It's been a real joy to work with AJ and Anna in Germany and live life with them. They are going to really be missed, not only by me, but by a lot of families in the community! Praise the Lord for their faithful service with Cadence! 

Hungary 2012... Back for Seconds

Our summer mission trip is coming up quickly! For the second second summer in a row, we are partnering with Good Sports International, and we are really looking forward to returning. We’ll be traveling to the town of Mikepercs, Hungary (about 3 hours east of Budapest). 

Each morning our team will help lead and assist an English camp for elementary aged kids. They will teach classes, perform skits and sing songs with the children. After a lunch break, we will transition to helping out with a sports camp. Each day kids in the community will learn basic skills for different sports like baseball, soccer, frisbee, and kick ball. One evening we’ll pull out a hundred glow sticks and do a capture the flag night game - that was a huge hit last year! We’ll also have an opportunity to visit a gypsy ministry the local church facilitates one evening. After dinner each night, we’ll gather as a team, and spend time in worship and study. We are going to be reading and teaching through the Gospel of John. 

In addition to helping with the camps and church ministries, we've been collecting donations for several months for orphanages and refugee camps in the area. Our Good Sports contact is an amazing networker in the region. He helps resource the orphanages and refugee camps with needed supplies. This year they've asked for winter clothing for the orphans and refugees, and we've been able to collect a ton of coats and warm clothes. Good Sports has also asked for sports donations and we've received lots of bats, balls, cleats and athletic clothing. We're excited to deliver these goods!! 

We’ve got 21 people on our team, 16 students and 5 staff. We leave on Saturday, July 14th and will return the following Sunday, July 22nd.

We covet your prayers for the week! 

Specifically, would you pray for ...

• Safety as we make the 12+ hour drive to and from Hungary, and for good health and endurance as our team serves throughout the week. 
• Team unity as our students work together to lead and help out with an English camp each morning and a sports camp every afternoon. Pray the Lord would help them to be other’s focused and patient with one another. 
• Spiritual growth as we spend time individually and together in worship and studying God’s Word throughout the week. We’ll be reading John’s Gospel and spending time each evening discussing our reading and teaching through the book.
• Guidance and wisdom for staff as we lean into students and encourage them and help them process through what they are experiencing. 

Welcome to Summer!

Schools out! To kick off the summer, we took high schoolers to Darmstadt yesterday... we went to a great Asian buffet for lunch, walked around the city and saw a cool Russian church (the last Russian Czar married a girl from Darmstadt, so there's some cool buildings for her), then we played a great game of finger darts at the Frankenstein Castle (it was awesome!) and then we went indoor go-karting at a place with a track covering two levels. We ended the day/night with an overnighter at the youth building... more finger darts and a few great rounds of cut throat mafia. Hello, summer vacation! 

^ In front of the Russian church ... looking serious ... from my favorite movie, Miracle, "They're Russians, they get shot if they smile."

June, summer's here!

It's been a whirlwind the past few weeks... graduation was last weekend and today was the last day of school for students. Here's a quick update of what's been going on. 

Seniors! Last weekend was the baccalaureate service for graduating seniors. Students from our youth group planned and led the service, it was fun to see them in action, using their gifts. 2 of our students read Scripture, 1 gave the student message, our group praise team lead worship, and AJ gave the main message. He taught from Proverbs and encouraged students to make wise, Christ centered decisions as they set out into the world. 

^Our CP (career practicum) students! We made it through the year together. These are the 4 students that came during their school day to help us in the office and learn what it means to do ministry. We did a lot of discipleship with them and read and discussed a number of books. This fall, 2 of them are heading to Wheaton College near Chicago for Army ROTC, 1 is going to Concordia, Nebraska on a track scholarship and 1 is going to the Cadence Discipleship Training School in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a semester before heading off the Bible college next year. I'm super proud of each of them and can't wait to see how God will continue to grow them for His glory! 

^ Michelle turned 16 a few weeks ago and had a big party. She asked AJ and I to come and share a few things about her and the beautiful woman she's developing into. It was a huge privilege to be asked and it was fun to get to speak words of life to her. Michelle is a great musician and helps lead worship for both the middle and high school youth groups. She's also a great friend to many and consistently strives to be a Light to those around her. I give her a ride home from girls Bible study each week and it's always fun to hear what God is teaching her. 

My middle school girls! 

^ For end of the school year fun day, Suzan and I invited our middle school girls to a really cool park about an hour away. We enjoyed a picnic lunch, took a boat ride (and saw lots of huge carp fish and ducks) and then walked through a butterfly garden, an aquarium area, and we saw some monkeys and a lot of cool birds (like flamingos and penguins). 

 ^Suzan and I had a lot of fun with our middle school girls small group this year. We had four girls who consistently stuck it out with us ... we had about six other girls who joined us throughout the year too, but they were involved in a few other things and had to miss now and then. We recently completed going through the book of Colossians and discussing the supremacy of Christ.