RIVER OF LIFE

Some of you may be interested to know where we will be serving this week.  Just google River Of Life Bible Camp for details on the camp. 

River Of Life - Summer of Service

Our Summer Service project starts in less than a week, here is a check list you should go through to prepare:

Before we leave ask yourself:
Did I fill out the camp application?
Have I turned in the camp application to Charlie?

What to Pack:
Sleeping bag
Pillow
Clean clothes (enough for 5 days)
Towel
Bathing suit (Keep it modest)
Sneakers or other good footwear (ie not just flip flops)
Bible
Notebook
Personal hygiene items (deodorant, shampoo, toothbrush etc)
Medications (to be turned into the camp nurse)

If you are in the skits:
Pack your script
Your costume
Any props you promised to bring

If you are helping with music:
Bring your CD with the songs

Be at the church by 3:00 on Sunday afternoon.
We will be back by 8:00 on Friday night.

Start praying for the kids we will be working with!

SKATING CANCELED - COOK OUT INSTEAD

Due to so many of our teens being away this week we have decided to cancel the roller skating that was scheduled for tomorrow night. 

Instead we will be going to the Flander's (Jenny & Ashley's) for a cook out and volleyball. Meet at the church at 5:30, Come hungry, we will be back by 9:00.  Call or Text 949-0665 with questions.

Wild Acadia

Pictures from the Ropes Course at Wild Acadia

Safety is important, so here we are practicing before climbing up. 

 Look Ma, no hands!

(check out the guy on the tires!)

No pressure, it's not like anyone is watching and taking pictures.

 The encouragement of friends was definitely needed on this obstacle.

 If you think it looks like one big spider web on stilts, you'd be about right, but that didn't stop these intrepid adventurers.

 Even the strongest among us found the course challenging.

 My favorite picture from the trip and a great mother daughter moment!

I thought it would be hard to find chaperons to volunteer for this gig, but I was wrong! 

Thanks ladies.

 After all that hard work you are rewarded with a trip on the zip line!

About a 100 foot trip 3 stories in the air over the park.

Just watch out for the tree!

We had a great discussion about TRUST in the van on the way back home.

One of the teens made an interesting observation.  She said her arms were tired, because, even though she knew she was harnessed up and couldn't fall, she still felt like she had to hold on for dear life.  Trusting God can be like that too.  We know He will never leave us or forsake us, but we still try to do things in our own strength.

Others told me that they just couldn't let go of their fear of heights so they quit early.  This happens in spiritual life too.  Trust is hard, and often we fall short when we let our fears get the best of us. (thankfully at Wild Acadia we had go-karts and mini-golf as a back up plan)

Another of the teens commented that he often forgot he was harnessed up because he couldn't feel the harness supporting Him.  Sometimes we may not feel God is there, but the truth is, we can always depend on Him.

One teen even pointed out that he had a really hard time trusting the harness, so he just let himself fall back, proving to himself that the harness could actually support him, after that, his fear disappeared and he had a blast!  According to Proverbs 3:5&6 That's what trust really is all about, letting go of our own experiences and what makes sense to us and simply relying on God.  

Gulf Hagas

Here are some pictures from this summer's hike

 Here we are before our epic* adventure, all ready to go! 

(they aren't tennis racquet's, they are bug zappers)

 A few from Screw Auger Falls.  Just about the coldes water you'll ever dive into!

Screw Auger Falls

Fording the Pleasant River required teamwork!

It rained just before we got to Buttermilk Falls, but just as we arrived the sun came out and it was BEAUTIFUL!  Since we were all soaked already everyone swam. 

By the end of the hike, we took any opportunity to rest.

Lessons from the hike: 

1. Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it. (thank you Rachel for the thunder storm)

2. God's timing is perfect.  Watching the storm roll out as we reached Buttermilk Falls was awesome.

3. You may learn some very strange things from Tony while playing would you rather.

4. You can do more than you thought you could, and doing it together made it worth while.

* I have been informed that it is no longer cool to use the word epic...

July Updates

Greetings all, just wanted to give you a few quick updates.

1: Please bring your camp application for the summer service project with you Saturday or Sunday, so that we can turn them in.

2: Ropes course this Saturday, Skating on Tuesday

3: August 11th's trip to the Cross's camp has been rescheduled to Tuesday the 21st.

4: The Rafting Trip is canceled, because 147.00 per person was just too much.  We will start planning for next year now.

Don't forget to check out the "Surrender Session 1" post and to do the Suggested Bible Studies this week.  It will do you good to be in the Word.

See you on Saturday.

Surrender Session 1 ~

Here are the personal Bible Study questions and scriptures from this week.  Remember the topic is "surrender" the big idea is being content with what we have in Christ.

Read one of the assignments, then answer the questions.  Repeat.

Assignment A: Matthew Chapter 6 verses 19-21 and verses 24-34
Assignment B: 1 Timothy Chapter 6 verses 6-10 and verses 17-19
Assignment C: Proverbs 30:7-9, Hebrews 13:5, and Phillippians 4:12-13

1: Sum up the main message of the verses you've read in a sentence of exactly 10 words.

2: How would you describe teh attitude toward possessions that's reflected in these verses? (Good, bad, frivolous, dangerous, irrelevant, powerful, necessary, etc?)

3: What do you think is the most challenging statement in those verses?

4: How would your life be different if you took this challenge? (Get specific and imaginative here.  What would this mean for your relationships, your schooling, your future plans, your spare time, your bank account, your driving habbits etc.?)

5: How do you think the original hearers/readers of this message felt about it?

Ropes course details

When/where:  Meet at 10 at the church.

Cost:  8th grade and under $18.00 ~ 9th grade and over $24.00 (if you need financial assistance contact Charlie personally by Friday)

Bring a bag lunch or $ for the snack bar.

Youth group will pay for mini golf. 

Have a parent or guardian drop you off to sign permission slip. No permission slip, no rope course.

We will be back by 4 pm.

Please note this is a correction from the Summer Schedule post.

Update

Hoping to get some pictures of our Gulf Hagas hike up soon.

Play practice is rolling along nicely.

New Believer's Bible Study is currently in Chapter 7 of John, though we are pausing to review by playing a kind of Jeopardy.

This Saturday we are hoping to do the ropes course in Trenton.  Cost is $25.00

Tuesday the 24th we are going roller skating 4-6 pm - Meet at great skates.

Call me with questions 207-949-0665

Correction.

Hike departure is at 11 not 9... I updated on page but not the other.  Sorry for the confusion.