30 Hour Famine

    I spent this last weekend with about 20 middle and high schoolers and several college-age leaders at a youth "lock-in" of sorts.  We participated in what is called the 30 Hour Famine, done by World Vision.  It's a fundraiser for starving children everywhere as well as a great awareness raiser, all specifically designed for youth.

    The way the fundraising side works is the kids go around and get sponsors, much like a jogathon; some donors might choose to give per hour the kid can go with out eating and others may choose to give a flat amount.  The idea is to get people to give about a dollar an hour, because World Vision can make about $30 stretch to feed a starving child for one month.  Hence, the 30 Hour Famine.

    The awareness part is accomplished with games that teach about a few different countries and their struggles, videos and clips of the hungry and the challenges they face.  Oh and did I mention we didn't eat for the entire time?  We all stopped eating at 12 noon on Friday and broke our fast with a meal of white rice, black beans and chicken at about 6pm on Saturday.  I hate white rice and I typically don't care for black beans, but this meal is one of the best I have ever had!

    The games all focused on teamwork and were all physically exerting in some way and they all related to different countries and their struggles.  One game involved protecting the crops (two socks filled with rice and secured to a designated person on each team with binder clips) and trying to steal other teams' crops.  Another focused on trying to get clean water from different sources and then carrying the bucket of water back and forth in a relay race.  One included popping balloons to put together a meal.  Another drew attention to the super preventable sickness of malaria, where teams had to find flashlight pieces and a mosquito net (blanket), put the flashlight together and, while wearing the blanket, shine the light on the malaria ridden mosquitoes (the team leaders) to expose them.

    All of the teams had handicaps for all of the games.  I, for example, along with another girl on my team had to wear a heavy backpack during all games to symbolize being weak from hunger.  Others had things like mute from trauma (tied a scarf around face), blind from fire (wore sunglasses with scotch tape over the lenses), one leg trapped under tree (had to tape one leg up), feverish from hunger (wore heavy coats, blankets or sleeping bags), hands burnt by acid or fire (taped sandwich bags over hands) and hearing loss from bombings (stuffed ears with cotton balls).  These handicaps and not eating definitely made the games more interesting!

    On Saturday morning, we got up and went to feed the homeless under the Center Street bridge.  Feeding the homeless while fasting was definitely a challenge!  But from not eating, to working as a team, to talking and mingling with the homeless, our kiddos did awesome!  I am so, so proud of all of them!  Yes, there were times when we got cranky and just wanted to go home and eat and sleep, but we pulled through it together and it was so cool to see the kids get perspective on the suffering going on in this world-especially at the hands of something so preventable as malaria or hunger!

    Also, it was a super cheap event to do...$100 was our budget and we spent about half of it on the one meal.  A super simple event to do!

Orientation =)

Introduction

Small Group Time!

Speaking Spanish with Miguel at the bridge

One of the games

One of the students with a taped up leg

This is an awesome game of sardines going on right here!

Gratefulness Walk

Worship and Communion before Dinner

Waiting...

Food! Finally!

Final Debrief

Exhaustion

   

Girls' Retreat

So, I, along with some other women took 12 middle and high school girls to Newport, Oregon for a girls' youth retreat two weekends ago.  The entire week before the retreat, I tried to prepare myself for what I knew would be an exhausting weekend--spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.  After all, all of my experiences with youth girls...and, well girls in general, has been DRAMA.
 
On the car ride over, I have to confess, I was glad I didn't have to ride in the big van and that I only had to ride with four other people.  Selfish?  A little, yes.  I think I had a tad bit of a bad attitude going into the weekend...I mean, I was psyched about the potential the weekend had, but trying to prepare myself for reality.  We stopped at the beach and a few of the girls got soaking wet...at the Oregon coast, in February.  They're obviously immune to hypothermia.

I made gift bags for each girl (filled with stuff like: sleep masks, nail polish, candy hearts, compact mirrors with the words "Worthy of Love" written on the inside, tissues, etc.) and took them, along with some decorations to the house while the students and the rest of the leaders did a dorky photo scavenger hunt.  We had fun decorating the house (which was huge--5 bed, 3 bath, family room, dining room/living room and a second HUGE living room) and getting dinner started.

When the girls got to the house and got settled in, I expected to hear people squabbling over beds and such, but except for the minor competitive race for space that was bound to happen, there wasn't any drama over where to sleep.  We had our second session after dinner (we had our first before we left Salem) and it was great!  The whole day had been about self image.

The schedule called for us to be in bed, lights out by midnight...which I thought would be close to impossible, but the girls proved me wrong again and pretty much went to bed right on time!  The next morning, we got up, ate breakfast (pancakes and sausage made by the lovely Netti Miller-one of my sisters), and had another session.  This one was intense.  The leaders shared their testimonies in regards to purity and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Of course, weeping at the drop of a hat like I do, I cried...a lot.  After we shared, we spread out and let the girls come to us to talk and pray.  It was awesome.  The girls had to pick the leader they felt they could most relate with and physically walked over to them...in front of everyone else.  That takes courage.  The girls of our youth group are lionhearted.

After much crying, talking, crying, praying, crying and more crying, we ate lunch together and then the girls and most of the leaders headed for the beach.  My sisters and I (one came to cook, one is a youth student and the other is a youth leader with a kindred spirit) went grocery shopping because those girls ate allll the food.

We reconvened, had dinner and had our second session on purity.  When we split up for smallgroups, the one I was helping to lead dealt with some really, really hard issues.  However, one of the other leaders in the group pulled that girl aside and spoke love and affirmation and truth into and over her in a way I can only ever imagine being able to do.  A courageous act of love.

The girls made it to bed on time-ish again...and the other leader I was rooming with--that kindred spirit I was writing about--and I stayed up until 3am talking!  It was a late night/early morning but it was so worth it.  We had our morning session on relationships and then we packed up and headed out.  I rode with my sisters and one other student and while the other girls went on about finishing up the retreat, we headed to Portland.  At PDX, we met up with one of the students moms and left our extra passenger with her.  We headed back to Salem, making a pit stop in Canby for some Burgerville deliciousness.

By the time we got home, I was so ready to crash, even though I slept for part of the way in the car.  I realized that I was only physically drained, but that my emotional and mental capacities were a little tired, but nothing to complain about and I was spiritually overflowing!  These girls had little to know drama despite the late nights, crying, and some heavy things they're dealing with and I am so impressed with them!

I hope that we continue as we enter back into the "real world."

Rewards

    So I was reading my Bible on Friday and God spoke to me (as He usually does) and I kind of got a mini revelation and thought, "Oh, that was cool."  But then today at church, my pastor said some of the same stuff, so I thought I'd share.

    God frequently speaks to me; whether through reading my Bible, conversations I have with people, or just in a quiet moment, His words typically surround me...when I'm "in tune" with Him at least.  But I was reading Genesis 15 and Luke 6 and I realized that I am one of those people that Jesus talks about in Luke 6:46-47.  It goes like this: " 'Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?  I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.' " 


    God speaks to me all the time and I brush it off and then ask for more!  I think it's usually because I don't like or I'm not comfortable with what He has to say or it's just hard for me to believe.  In Genesis 15, God promises Abram that he will have a son....at his old age?  Who'da thunk?!  But in verse 6, it says: "Abram believed the Lord and He credited it to him as righteousness."

    So....it's an act of righteousness to believe what God says to me? Huh...I never thought of it like that.  Genesis 15:1 is my favorite though.  It says, "...'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.' "

    Could it be possible that God, not the promise, is the reward?  When a promise doesn't come to pass right away, I get upset, even though He didn't have to offer me anything in the first place.  When He asks me to give something up so He might bless me with something better, I hang onto it tighter than Golum and the one ring; unwilling to make any small sacrifice for the greater gift He has for me.

     It seems like I'm always pursuing God so that He'll give me something (some might call this a transactional relationship), when I should be pursuing relationship with Him simply because He's the creator of the universe who allows me to even seek Him.  Why is it that I feel spending time with Him is so tedious when I should be thanking Him for the chance to do so?  My God and having a relationship with Him is the prize.

    Compared to walking with Jesus, everything else is poo.

Latest Craftiness

    So, I know it's been a bit...blame it on the craziness of Christmas.

    Mom, Natasha and I have been crafting these past few days!  My latest trial has been tile decopauge coasters, which have worked out very well so far.  They're very easy and inexpensive to make too!  I'm not sure if there's a market for them though...we'll see.  Man I need an etsy account!  Mom and Tash have been overloading me with craft ideas--good and bad, I guess.
    Back to work on Wednesday =/  I've really enjoyed this five-day weekend!  I'm not going to school this term; I need a bit of a break after something like seven consecutive terms!  So, hopefully, I'll be able to do more crafting and blogging in the next few months.
    Oh, also, I went pinterest crazy today...never happened before, but it was exhilarating!!!

Update

So, updates....
The prayer retreat was super refreshing...what came out of it is...well, more prayer.  Se la vi!  I understand the good intentions behind the prayer group that's coming out of this...but really? Do we need to set aside more time to pray for ourselves?  Be held accountable to following our dreams? I respect and understand the need for movement, and it's awesome that at least something is happening...but why so slowly?

Anyway...fast forward to this past Sunday, it was the first Sunday of the month and we had an evening service at church...first night.

We had worship (I got pulled into doing the media) and half way through, the media just totally breaks down.  So, I'm kinda bummed that I couldn't help the worship team out and get the words on screen...but we keep worshiping.  Then Bruce (the pastor) comes up and asks anyone who's in a place of waiting to come forward to get prayed for...I see one young woman that I absolutely love go up there and know she's the one God would have me pray for...this is for her:

The Waiting, The Suffering

You cry for your sister
You cry for your brother
You wait, you suffer

You cry for your father
You cry for your mother
You wait, you suffer

You cry out, you cry out
Who do you run to?
Who do you run to?

You cry for the injustice
You cry for the weakness
You wait, you suffer

You cry for the hunger
You cry for the need
You wait, you suffer

You cry out, you cry out
Who do you run to?
Who do you run to?

Who will be your rescue
from the waiting?
Who will come and save you
from the suffering?

He has already suffered
He has already endured
He has already loved you
He has already cured

He's there in the waiting
He's there in the pain
He's there in the suffering
And He's there in the shame

So throw off your burdens
His yoke is so light
The weight of your sorrow
is no longer your plight

He gives you grace for the waiting
And even joy in the pain
He won't leave you alone in suffering
And of you, He remains unashamed.

Sing praise my soul, sing praise.


So, after I prayed with her, Bruce called up the young men in the room...and the girls got to pray for them!  (almost never happens) It was AWESOME!  IT was so cool to see the young women come around these young men and support and encourage them!

Anyway...that's the update. =)

History Maker...What Have We Become?

    The past few weeks, something's been eating at me, nagging at the back of my mind.  About three weeks ago, a guy at church stood up and made an announcement about a prayer retreat that two 20 somethings I know are heading up:

Who we are: A group of twenty-somethings tired of living for ourselves.

 Fed up with complacency, restless, and ready to do more. 

We are dreamers. We are gifted. We have seen Gods faithfulness through those whove gone before us. 

We grew up with tales of Bible smuggling and the miraculous. Weve seen it firsthand. Weve done DTSs.

 Weve gone to Bible College. Weve grown up in church. Weve seen things go wonderfully right and terribly wrong.

 We believe in a God who uses not only our passion but also are intellect and creativity. 

We want fresh vision. We see the world changing around us. 

We want to pair our educations and crafts with the radical kinds of lives our patents led.

 We want a challenge. But heres the thing. We are waiting.

 We are well-educated, under-employed, talented, God-fearing men and women. And we are waiting. 

We are waiting for that awesome job opportunity or internship. 

We are waiting to be discovered. We are waiting for relationships.

 We are waiting for God to bring opportunities into our lives that give us that deep sense of purpose.

 We are praying for whats next. We arent sure where to go. Or what to do.

 We are waiting for a move of God. But are we listening...

What we are going to do about it: Live more intentionally. Pray instead of complain. 

Seek instead of wait. Encourage instead of judge. Network. Essentially, this is going to be like a prayer retreat. 

A time to get away and seek the Lord in an purposed manner. In a proactive way. 

We are adults. Gone are the days of church camps. Lets be the ones to initiate something.

 Lets stop waiting for a structure or a pastor to tell us what God wants us to do and ask Him ourselves.

 Lets dream together. Lets challenge each other. Lets encourage one another. Lets pray together.

    This sounded super cheesy to me at first, but it's been bothering me these past few weeks.

    At youth group tonight, we were singing Hosanna by Hillsong United.  It goes like this:

I see the King of glory

Coming on the clouds with fire

The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy

Washing over all our sin

The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation

Rising up to take their place

With selfless faith, with selfless faith

I see a near revival

Stirring as we pray and seek

We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show me how to love like You have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks Yours

Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause

As I walk from earth into eternity

    So we're singing this song, and the part that's highlighted reminds me of another song.  It's called History Maker, by Delirious.

Is it true today that when people pray

Cloudless skies will break

Kings and queens will shake

Yes it's true and I believe it

I'm living for you

Is it true today that when people pray

We'll see dead men rise

And the blind set free

Yes it's true and I believe it

I'm living for you

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land

I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind

I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run

Into your arms, into your arms again

Into your arms, into your arms again 

Well it's true today that when people stand

With the fire of God, and the truth in hand

We'll see miracles, we'll see angels sing

We'll see broken hearts making history

Yes it's true and I believe it

We're living for you

    I remember singing this in middle and high school and thinking, "Yeah!  I'm gonna be a history maker!  All of us are!"  But the truth is: all of "us" (meaning the people in youth group when I was a student) haven't turned out that way.  Some of them are off doing drugs, some have gotten pregnant, married and divorced, some of them don't have a clue about what they're called to do with their lives.  And have I really turned out to be a history maker myself?  Are we a generation who has risen up to take their place?  I can't honestly answer, "Yes" to either of those questions.  What happened?  Where did the passion go?  How did we get lost?  How did we get so caught up in other things that we have to call a retreat just to get back to what God wanted us to be doing in the first place?  Will this retreat even help to fix that and what is going to keep us from going back after it's all over?

    

SYATP-WSHS

    So my sister and I got up at the lovely hour of 6:30 A.M. and headed to West Salem High School for See You at the Pole.  I had forgotten how awkward it is.  I forgot how insecure we all were.  Standing around that flagpole, in awkward silence with the cold morning wind blowing straight through my lumberjack flannel and jeans, I couldn't help but look around at the faces in the circle.  It was surprisingly easy to read the thoughts on the kids' faces; one boy clearly thinking, "I hope she didn't think that prayer was dumb," as he smiles across the circle at her.  She smiling back thinking, "I hope my hair looks okay."  Another kid consumed with thoughts of the test they have next period, another with how cold they are in the short shorts and tank top they chose to wear; another student looking at every passerby who decides not to join the group and thinking about how they'll be treated later for taking a stand and still another checking their cell phone for the time thinking, "Surely the bell's gonna ring soon."

    PEOPLE!!!!

    We are so consumed with ourselves, our own insecurities, that we can't even pray in public!  Are we as parents, pastors, youth workers and mentors really doing that poor of a job in teaching our kids to pray?  I hope not, but in a world where Santa Clause reigns, how can we expect our kids to ask an omniscient being for anything more than what they want?