It's been a while...

Yes, it has been a few days, weeks, but not quite months since I last posted. Here are some photos of our Mid High Farm Night from last night. It got a little crazy, messy, gross, disgusting, but overall under control and quite fun. The pig slop game has now become a yearly tradition and our creativity/"how-can-we-top-this?" department is already hard at work coming up with ideas for next year's pig slop game.

A new year!

As we begin a new year in the Cause this next week I wanted to make sure that there were some key dates you were all aware of:

Sunday September 7th - Move-up Sunday

Tuesday September 9th - Sprague Breakfast Club begins at the Mitchell's - 6:20 AM (check the church website for directions)

Wednesday September 10th - High School Cause REUNION at the church - 7:00-8:30

Wednesday September 17th - High School Home Groups begin (check the church website for locations)

Same night - Mid High midweek Cause begins at the church - 7:00-8:30

Thursday September 18th - Steak Time (a Bible study for 11th and 12th grade guys) Meets in Dan's office at the church - 3:00-4:30 

Friday September 19th - South Salem Breakfast Club begins at the Holt's - 6:20 AM (Check the church website for directions)

Sunday September 28th - Mid High Silver Creek Falls Hike after church (more info to come)

Friday October 3rd - Senior All Night Extravaganza

Wednesday November 5th - High School Barn Bash

Cause travel tip for the day...

Your bags go on the conveyer belt...you go on the plane!

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage shoot after she placed herself instead of her luggage on the belt, media reported Wednesday. The 78-year-old woman, who was not named, was preparing to fly from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Germany on Tuesday when she lay down on an unmanned baggage belt in the belief she was following check-in instructions, the Upsala Nya Tidning local daily reported on its website. She was quickly swept off to the baggage handling centre, where staff members helped get her back on her feet. The woman suffered no serious injury and caught her flight as planned.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/swedenairportoffbeat;_ylt=AmFtNge7ZUN2fUNJsexVisbtiBIF

Monday Thoughts: Life transformation and bathroom remodeling

So I've been thinking quite a bit about this whole growth thing in light of studying for yesterday's message and there is one more thought that I had to add to what was already shared. Obviously growth is important for any believer but Scripture also talks about transformation. Romans 12:2 says that we are to not "be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The marks of maturity in our lives (i.e. discernment, boldness, diligence, faithfulness, etc.) are the ways in which growth is demonstrated in our lives. But the process of growth is called transformation. The way Paul writes that phrase "be transformed" is in such a way that something else is doing the transforming to the individual. The hardest part to come to grips with is that I can't transform my own life. It is when I submit my life to the Word of God and the Spirit of God that the process of transformation takes place and the marks of growth can then be seen in how my life is lived. I don't change myself...He changes me. It's kind of like my bathroom (as I have mentioned recently). As you can see in the pictures below there is a vast difference between what it looked like before and what it looks like after. The thing I want you to key in on is the fact that the bathroom couldn't remodel itself. Someone else (me) had to do the work. It just sat there and let me pound away, scrape, cut, and shape it until it was finished. In the same way God has to be the One to transform and "remodel" our lives. Philippians 1:6 says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Our entire saved life is one long remodel job. Are you letting Him transform you?

Before:

After:

Beach Olympics 2007

As many have requested, here is the Beach Olympics video from last summer. I am currently in the process of putting the video together from this summer's B.O. event. Enjoy! Oh, and yes, that is me running after the giant ball...

Beach Olympics 2008

What a difference from last year! A day at the beach just isn't the same without rain, is it? Below are some pictures from the second annual Cause Beach Olympics. The team that took home the gold medal was the Moses Mafia Militia. There have been many requests to post the video from last year's B.O. so I will do so when I finish this year's video and post them together.

Arizona Mission Trip 2008

Well, after a long and grueling, yet wonderful 11 days we limped back into the church late on Sunday night. Van troubles, a well-timed flat tire at midnight in Bakersfield, and some small bladders all contributed to a longer than expected trip home. But the Lord is faithful and kept us safe and the unity intact. There are many, many stories to tell from this trip, time does not permit me to recount them all at this time. I do have some pictures and a few videos that I will post to give some idea as to what took place in Kaibito and on the White Mesa. There will be a mission trip update during July's Lord's Supper service. So, make sure that you are available to attend and can hear some personal testimonies from our trip. If you know any student or adult that had the chance to go with us please ask them to tell you about what they experienced. I'm sure they will have much to say about what the Lord did on the Rez.

Video clips:

I love this video clip of John Kim. He was one of the students from the Corvallis Korean Church that went with us. His love for the kids was clearly demonstrated through his patience and gentleness with the kids as seen here.

One of the unique experiences of doing a VBS on the reservation is piling kids in the van from the community and bringing them to the VBS. This clip shows Russ bringing a van load of 23 kids back to the church. We thought that was a lot until a few days later when he was able to squeeze upwards of 36 kids into the van.

The church that we stay at isn't very big, but that doesn't stop all the kids from having fun as they learn about Christ. Here is a glimpse at what the group does to begin and end the VBS. We teach them simple songs that contain Biblical Truth and motions to go along with the words.

Photos:

This is what happens around the 9th hour of being in the van...

This is George Mann. He is one of the Bible teachers at Kaibito Baptist. He led a Sunday School class for the adults on Sunday morning while Bryan Bernard led a youth service for the students.

This is Benny. He is also one of the teachers at the church. He played the roll of MC for the church service.

Some ladies in the church sang a few songs for us in Navajo. Tim Saffeels did a great job of playing some impromptu piano to accompany them.

We were then asked to lead in a few songs. Jacob Domeyer led us in a few hymns while Tim accompanied on the piano.

Testimonies are a big part of the Navajo services. Caley Williams, Zac Bell (not shown), Jane Kim, and Daniel Ha all gave their testimonies.

On Sunday afternoon we spread out to go door-to-door inviting all the kids in Kaibito to the VBS that week.

This is the sign on the church.

Sunday evening was filled with lots of prep for the VBS.

More VBS prep.

You guessed it...more VBS prep.

This, too, was after some VBS prep. These guys broke concrete blocks and made room inside of a hogan on the mesa for the VBS at George Mann's place.

This, too, was funny. You'll have to ask Matt or Tim about their blue shirts that they wore EVERY DAY!

As the kids arrived each day we would play with them outside before the VBS.

Snack station during the VBS.

Jacob Ross helps a little dude with the game.

Josh Hudson led the Bible lesson each day.

Here we see what the VBS is all about. Even during the snack time our students take advantage of the opportunity to share Christ with these kids. Each of the snacks, crafts, and games was tied into the Bible lesson for the day.

On our last night in Kaibito the people in the church made us Navajo Tacos. Here we see Jacob, Shelby, and Ari learning how to make fry bread.

Last, but not least, we have Chef Dorri. We ate so well on this trip people will want to come back just for the food!