We are off and running! On Sunday we were down a few, but still well represented. We tried our best to make good decisions as we worked together to rearrange the room and accomodate the new furniture (thanks Kayla & great idea to use seats from cars!). Here's what you need to know:
1. we will be working this year to paint the room
2. we still meet the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month from 12:30-2 PM on Sunday
3. we will be doing the Crop Walk together on October 17
4. we will have an overnight October 29-30 where, among other things, we will get ready for the UNICEF Halloween Carnival
5. our goal is to go on another mission trip this year related to home repair. ASP (Appalachia Service Project) has been chosen. It will require a minimum of $4,000 in fundraising. We will be holding our first fundraiser this fall (like late October). Some type of 'a-thon' is recommended based on the success of our 20 hour fast last year. Suggestions have varied from 'homeless for a night' to 'living with a disability for a day.' All were asked to search the net and give it some thought. We will try and decide as soon as possible.
That's it for now. Let the fun begin!
-Pastor Daven
Elma UMC Youth
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Revisiting
13. That is the number that this church sent. Not twelve, no that's been done. 13. It was the number that you supported through buying a cow that hung on the wall in the social hall. It was the number that you supported to fast for 20 hours to get a taste of real hunger. It was the number you supported as they organized and shared their talents. It was the number you supported by bringing your empties in and putting them in a garbage can. 13. This was the number of people sent to Massachusetts to work on Heifer International's Overlook Farm, an educational farm in Rutland, Massachusetts. And it is the tale of those 13 that I wish to share with you this day.
The pictures can do a much better job. And while they show so much, where we stayed, what we did, herding sheep and goats, our dwellings in the global village, they can't show you how this is connected to today's scripture. Because those of us that went understood that our primary responsibility to you is to proclaim the good news of this day while sharing all that was done in the name of the Lord as we were sent as missionaries by you. And I chose this particular Lord's day because of the scripture. The gospel passage was the focus of our devotions on the second night of our stay. Night one was about the body of Christ and how we need one another as we explored 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. What we explored on that night was how we were going to need each pother through our time naming one thing we thought we could do through our time together. Night two was about who our neighbor is exploring today's scripture. We asked questions like - name one instance when someone helped you today, and one when you helped someone else. Or put another way, who has been your neighbor, to whom were you a neighbor today and who are your neighbors (really these are the questions we should all ask every night if we are living out the gospel). And our final devotion was on Matthew 25:31-45 - I was hungry. We explored one thing we learned, one thing we know about poverty and hunger, and one thing we can do for someone else.
I asked all to reflect on a series of questions as we made our way back home. The first was - how were you most challenged? This is another way to ask the question of 'who is our neighbor and how is it that we love, can love them? They answered:
Alyssa - the hardest part of this experience was realizing how much some people have to survive on. I had known that many people lived in poverty, but it was difficult to learn how bad conditions are for many people.
Hannah - I guess the thing that challenged me most is what will I do going back to regular life. The kind of things I experienced and learned are ones that must be shared but I am not the best at sharing, especially when my friends that I'd like to share the most with see it as a dog eat dog world out there. How can I spread this hope for change? This is the real challenge and it's one I take home with me.
Lauren - I was most challenged a the market during the global village experience. First of all, I was the head of the household, so everyone was pressuring me not to buy the wrong stuff. Then everything that we needed was way too expensive. that got me thinking, crap, am I going to get enough food to feed everyone?
The second question is not unlike what Jesus says at the end of the parable when the lawyer chooses the one who was the true neighbor. I asked how will your life be different. Like Jesus saying to go and do likewise -
Kayla - I feel that I want to be a less consuming individual. I agree with the fact that our country is too consuming. I want to be more green. Maybe appreciate the beauty of the earth more than I do already.
Lucas - My life is different because now I'm more aware of the poverty of the world and how many people are starving. It makes me more appreciative of what I have.
Mike - After I have gone through this experience, I will never be able to do some things without second thoughts. Going to the grocery store and buying all these processed foods living like an "American". How anyone would be able to do that escapes me. I'll look at this junk and think, "what of all of this do I need?" This materialism is running our nation into the ground and taking the whole planet with it. This whole world is just too frustrating.
There is no scripture parallel for favorite part, but a good one to hear:
Jake - My favorite part of Heifer was the chores and service projects. I enjoy working and seeing a physical reaction to helping out. I actually sweated when I was carrying and staking hay. It was good experience for me and the group.
Alyssa - My favorite part of this trip was the night in the global village. I thought this was an amazing experience because it's probably the closest we can get to seeing how many people live. It also made me appreciate everything that I have even more.
Hannah - I think the best part was all going through this together because I've always felt that we have a group that has the ability to do a lot and that we feel a similar push by the spirit to make a difference in the world. And this has given us some of the seeds to start new work.
As the lawyer learned from the parable, I asked what they learned from this experience. They said:
Spencer - Pigs can have many piglets and I did not know other people had it so bad and yet they are happy.
Lauren - I learned that we all should be thankful for what we have because someone else in this world doesn't have the luxuries we do.
Kayla - That some US kids don't seem to work as hard as they can and should. And that's sad, we have no idea what other kids are forced to do everyday just to survive. I also learned things like how to milk a goat, how to make cheese, that our common house pets are eaten for meals in other countries and how people live in the Tibetan plateau area of China.
Jesus' reason of using this parable was to connect it to faith - loving God comes first which can only elicit a response of loving neighbor. The final question I asked was how what we learned was connected to our faith:
Matt - Our faith talks about always acting like good neighbors and how the Lord says that you fed me when I was hungry and all of those elements play into what's happening in the world. Good neighbors take care of people in need and if you feed them you are also feeding the Lord.
Scott - We learned that if we helped someone and they in turn help someone else it starts a chain reaction that is what our faith is based on.
Teacher, what must we do to inherit eternal life? You shall love the Lord your God... Go and do likewise. Not easy. Not Easy. But Divine.
The pictures can do a much better job. And while they show so much, where we stayed, what we did, herding sheep and goats, our dwellings in the global village, they can't show you how this is connected to today's scripture. Because those of us that went understood that our primary responsibility to you is to proclaim the good news of this day while sharing all that was done in the name of the Lord as we were sent as missionaries by you. And I chose this particular Lord's day because of the scripture. The gospel passage was the focus of our devotions on the second night of our stay. Night one was about the body of Christ and how we need one another as we explored 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. What we explored on that night was how we were going to need each pother through our time naming one thing we thought we could do through our time together. Night two was about who our neighbor is exploring today's scripture. We asked questions like - name one instance when someone helped you today, and one when you helped someone else. Or put another way, who has been your neighbor, to whom were you a neighbor today and who are your neighbors (really these are the questions we should all ask every night if we are living out the gospel). And our final devotion was on Matthew 25:31-45 - I was hungry. We explored one thing we learned, one thing we know about poverty and hunger, and one thing we can do for someone else.
I asked all to reflect on a series of questions as we made our way back home. The first was - how were you most challenged? This is another way to ask the question of 'who is our neighbor and how is it that we love, can love them? They answered:
Alyssa - the hardest part of this experience was realizing how much some people have to survive on. I had known that many people lived in poverty, but it was difficult to learn how bad conditions are for many people.
Hannah - I guess the thing that challenged me most is what will I do going back to regular life. The kind of things I experienced and learned are ones that must be shared but I am not the best at sharing, especially when my friends that I'd like to share the most with see it as a dog eat dog world out there. How can I spread this hope for change? This is the real challenge and it's one I take home with me.
Lauren - I was most challenged a the market during the global village experience. First of all, I was the head of the household, so everyone was pressuring me not to buy the wrong stuff. Then everything that we needed was way too expensive. that got me thinking, crap, am I going to get enough food to feed everyone?
The second question is not unlike what Jesus says at the end of the parable when the lawyer chooses the one who was the true neighbor. I asked how will your life be different. Like Jesus saying to go and do likewise -
Kayla - I feel that I want to be a less consuming individual. I agree with the fact that our country is too consuming. I want to be more green. Maybe appreciate the beauty of the earth more than I do already.
Lucas - My life is different because now I'm more aware of the poverty of the world and how many people are starving. It makes me more appreciative of what I have.
Mike - After I have gone through this experience, I will never be able to do some things without second thoughts. Going to the grocery store and buying all these processed foods living like an "American". How anyone would be able to do that escapes me. I'll look at this junk and think, "what of all of this do I need?" This materialism is running our nation into the ground and taking the whole planet with it. This whole world is just too frustrating.
There is no scripture parallel for favorite part, but a good one to hear:
Jake - My favorite part of Heifer was the chores and service projects. I enjoy working and seeing a physical reaction to helping out. I actually sweated when I was carrying and staking hay. It was good experience for me and the group.
Alyssa - My favorite part of this trip was the night in the global village. I thought this was an amazing experience because it's probably the closest we can get to seeing how many people live. It also made me appreciate everything that I have even more.
Hannah - I think the best part was all going through this together because I've always felt that we have a group that has the ability to do a lot and that we feel a similar push by the spirit to make a difference in the world. And this has given us some of the seeds to start new work.
As the lawyer learned from the parable, I asked what they learned from this experience. They said:
Spencer - Pigs can have many piglets and I did not know other people had it so bad and yet they are happy.
Lauren - I learned that we all should be thankful for what we have because someone else in this world doesn't have the luxuries we do.
Kayla - That some US kids don't seem to work as hard as they can and should. And that's sad, we have no idea what other kids are forced to do everyday just to survive. I also learned things like how to milk a goat, how to make cheese, that our common house pets are eaten for meals in other countries and how people live in the Tibetan plateau area of China.
Jesus' reason of using this parable was to connect it to faith - loving God comes first which can only elicit a response of loving neighbor. The final question I asked was how what we learned was connected to our faith:
Matt - Our faith talks about always acting like good neighbors and how the Lord says that you fed me when I was hungry and all of those elements play into what's happening in the world. Good neighbors take care of people in need and if you feed them you are also feeding the Lord.
Scott - We learned that if we helped someone and they in turn help someone else it starts a chain reaction that is what our faith is based on.
Teacher, what must we do to inherit eternal life? You shall love the Lord your God... Go and do likewise. Not easy. Not Easy. But Divine.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
We're Back
I have been asked to keep this blog live for a while so that we can continue to add pictures and stories from our time away. So check back often!
I have missed running the sheep and goats recounting to anyone who will listen some of our adventures. It was a fantastic time. This Sunday I will highlight our experience for the reflection/sermon so the congregation can get more of an idea of what we did. If you can be there, please come and be a part of it.
As I have said to Keith, I miss you all. Guess I got used to spending the day with you. I could never express the pride I feel for the way you rose of every challenge. You embraced this opportunity and were model ambassdors of this church and community.
I can't wait to make new memories in other mission opportunities.
In God's Service,
Pastor Daven
I have missed running the sheep and goats recounting to anyone who will listen some of our adventures. It was a fantastic time. This Sunday I will highlight our experience for the reflection/sermon so the congregation can get more of an idea of what we did. If you can be there, please come and be a part of it.
As I have said to Keith, I miss you all. Guess I got used to spending the day with you. I could never express the pride I feel for the way you rose of every challenge. You embraced this opportunity and were model ambassdors of this church and community.
I can't wait to make new memories in other mission opportunities.
In God's Service,
Pastor Daven
Monday, July 5, 2010
THANK YOU
This is a personal thank you to the church congregation and all those who supported us through the whole experience of fundraising and then actually going to Outlook Farm :)
-Kayla
-Kayla
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Final Morning
I already tried typing once and it disappeared. Chores are soon so I don't have much time to write. It's another beautiful morning and we are all anxious to get home to you. We will be leaving soon after chores hoping to sit down together for some pizza before our tour of Secret Cavern. Much love and blessing to you all. You should be very proud of these youth!
We will be keeping the blog active for as there has been a request to add with pictures and more explanations once we have returned to home. So be sure to check back.
See you soon,
Pastor Daven
We will be keeping the blog active for as there has been a request to add with pictures and more explanations once we have returned to home. So be sure to check back.
See you soon,
Pastor Daven
Friday, July 2, 2010
Global Village: Guatamala
This is our whole group getting ready to start our global village day. We were spilt into two groups before dinner and the night, but had lunch in Ghana.
This is the Garcia family: Grandpa Daven, Papa Mike, Jacob (the proud mother of a bouning baby ballon) Cripple Alyssa (don't freak out parents it was just simulated injury) and Hannah who's not in the picture.
Buying our dinner at the market (Bean and tortillas)
Alyssa is with our alarm clocks, the screaming nubian goats. They're really friendly! And most of us milked them at one time or another.
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