Last weekend was amazing. Both of our events (STORM and the Youth Rally) were well attended. They ran incredibly smoothly- there were moments were I stood back in complete amazement.


For the STORM event- the teens are asked to go out an invite their friends back for an evening of games, food and speaker. It forces them to step out of their comfort zone and take risks. Our teens were amazing! Some were reluctant and learned some powerful lessons as a result. Others were so excited! We had a total of 57 teens attend- with 29 of them being friends! The evening ran well and the gospel presentation was really clear. Our teens were really encouraged by what they saw. One boy, who was quite the heckler at the event- actually had the opportunity to win a free weekend at snow camp. The speaker was able to talk to him individually afterwards and he even returned to club this week. We are so excited about what God is going to do in him life. We are also praying for the seeds planted and that our teens will continue to have the courage to invite their friends to youth group and other events.


Sunday we hosted a youth rally- I invited 14 youth groups to attend but only heard back from 5. I was nervous about numbers- hoping that we would have a good turnout. We ended up having 117 teens/adults attend. When they started arriving, I was pleased with the number of kids I saw- then I went outside and saw a mass of 40 kids playing football- I was overwhelmed! We had a worship band from a neighboring church come and they did an amazing job. The worship time was sweet and allowed our teens to experience something outside of their comfort zone- it was also the first time drums were used in our church (sad)- but so awesome! I can not wait to do another rally. I hope next time we are able to encourage even more interaction between the youth groups. One of the best parts was seeing a young man who came this time last year and got saved- stand up and challenge the entire group to stand for Christ in their schools. The change in this boys life has been amazing!


These events took a lot of planning and so many hands. In the end, I had to relinquish my plans and let God have full rein. And- it is amazing to see what happens when you do that.



Looking forward to a day of rest~
Always
Elisabeth

This weekend will be a full one. We're considering it a Youth Emphasis weekend. Saturday, we'll be having an evangelistic event called Storm. The kids are pretty excited and we are praying for a great night. A team from WOL is coming to help us- and we are so excited! I'm praying we double our numbers for the evening. Everything is coming together- the program, music, prizes, food- I just hope the bananas ripen for banana splits!
Sunday- the day will be full with the team participating in the morning service, a special luncheon and then a youth rally in the evening. We have a band coming in to lead worship and both nights will include a speaker from WOL. I feel confident in our plans- and now just have to rest that God is going to work all things according to His plans. The results are His. We have been faithful to do what He has called us to do and I can trust that the events will run according to His desire.

There is much to do before I head to bed- be in prayer for this weekend. For growth in our kids as they step out of their comfort zones- for salvation in the hearts of the unsaved that attend and for the details to all come together. Pray I don't get so caught up in the "job" that I miss the joy- and the true reason we do what we do.

Love to you all
Elisabeth

What a great weekend! The youth leaders went up to WOL for the Annual Leadership Conference. It was an intense time of training and I know we all came home a bit overwhelmed. So much good information and now we have to sift through it all and figure out what to do when. There were a number of answers to prayer while at WOL- good bonding time, new ideas, networking, connection with our STORM ministry team, feedback from churches coming to our youth rally. I was happy to get home- but it was a good time.

Monday night was a great evening! I had the opportunity to fellowship with some local believers at a Bible study not far from my home. I didn't know any of them- and I was encouraged by their passion for Christ and their desire to reach their community for Him. Many testimonies and the message challenged me- I've been convicted lately about my use of time and especially how much time I put into actively studying the Word. It is an area of failure on my part and I know that I need to make a more concerted effort to have a vibrant time meeting with God each day. One speaker this weekend said, "You are only as close to God as you desire to be." That hit me- the depth of my spiritual walk is dependent on me- the time and priority I give it.

I went into work today ready for another day- and by the middle of first period I was not feeling very well. Nausea, brain fog etc... I had to sit down because I was afraid I would puke all over my student's desks. I gave it until the end of the period and then decided that I needed to go home. As I was heading upstairs to speak with my assistant principal, one of my students came in and told me he had just thrown up. It took everything within me to not gag. Then a lady walked by with cookies and that made me want to gag even more. After getting permission to leave and wrapping up my lesson plans- I headed home. I crawled into bed and stayed there until 1:30pm. There is still a queasiness in my stomach which I hope goes away by tomorrow- but otherwise I'm feeling better. I'm sure it is just a 24hr bug. Either way, I have to go into school tomorrow because I have 2 important meetings I have to attend. In the afternoon, I was able to do some reading and prepare for youth group tomorrow night. That was good.

So- with that said- I'm going to head to bed!
Always~
Elisabeth