Didn't we do a nice job?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
2006 Mid-High Youth Conference, Colorado Springs, CO.
January 24, 2006
It all began on a cold January morning at 6:45 am in the parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church in Las Cruces.
Six mid-highers (Sarah, Christine, Ashley, Shelby, Hunter and Andrew), five chaperones (Krissy & Andrew, Cindy Duggan, John Shonk and myself) and a scattering of parents gathered for prayer and parting hugs as we readied ourselves to start the trek to the conference in Colorado Springs. Thankfully we (John Shonk and myself) only had to drive to Albuquerque where we met up with others going to the conference. We boarded our Greyhound bus and with a great sense of relief I “left the driving to them”. Six hours, two movies, countless rest stops and snacks later we arrived in Colorado Springs. Man, that is a long way to go!
Once there we were going all the time. The planners did an excellent job of putting the “Lighten Up” conference together. They knew from experience that there has to be plenty to do to keep interest up and we did. Friday night was spent getting “the lay of the land” and attending a large group session with a great band leading us in a mix of old and new praise songs. I should mention that there were 950 people at this conference.
A family of jugglers calling themselves “The Fitz Family” really got our attention also. They were more than great, they were AWESOME. They were funny AND talented. I was like a kid again. I laughed and clapped and hooted with great enthusiasm. They entertained us and shared their story with us. You know that God has given each of us “gifts” and talents that he calls on us to share with others. Some of these “gifts” are used in the church but many aren’t. Even those “non-church” gifts are to be used by us for God’s glory. That is the message we were reminded of.
A pastor from Florida gave a great “sermon” that really set the stage for the weekend. “Why am I here?” was a question that pastor was asked by a young man in confirmation at his church. That question became our question as well. God calls on us to be in relationship with Him. That is VERY different from going through the motions of being a Christian. We are here to be with God and all God’s people. That pastor did an excellent job over the weekend of reaching us with the gospel of Jesus.
Eventually the evenings activities were over and we went to our rooms. You know I think it must have been close to a mile (at least it seemed that way) to our rooms. Once there I reminded everyone they needed to get rest since there are few things worse than being with “grumpy people”. That talk was unnecessary since I understand everyone fell right to sleep.
Saturday was full. Breakfast of fruit and pop-tarts began the day then we were off to our large group session with the band setting the stage. The jugglers returned, along with that pastor and I can’t remember who else. Small group activities followed. Our whole group went to the “Challenge Course” where we were able to try our hand at a number of activities including what I remember as Norwegian snow shoes. That’s where 5 or 6 people have to walk using the same snow shoes – I’ll show you a picture. After that some went to “The Gospel According to the Simpsons” while others of us went to watch the “Fitz Family” of jugglers and hear their story. Fitz isn’t their real name by the way. Sometime during that morning also our group made a banner to be used in worship.
After lunch most of our group went to work on a service project which took up about three hours or so. After that Laura, Brenda and Brian Conrad joined us for pizza in the hotel lobby. It was really good seeing them again. They are doing fine. Laura is excelling in school, Brian is working in an office again (after working at home for 12 years) and Brenda at this point is at home taking care of things there. All too soon it was time for them to go and the tears flowed. It is hard to say goodbye to good friends isn’t it?
My daughter Laura drove down from Denver so that I could take her out to dinner. I’m sure she came to see me too. We were with them at Christmas so it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen her. It sure was good to be with her. I told the others back at the hotel that I went out for a burrito but they didn’t buy it. Oh well.
The rest of the evening consisted of another great large group gathering and then came THE CARNIVAL. Wow! It is hard to explain really. A number of rooms in the hotel were devoted to different activites. In one room they had kids dress up in those big sumo wrestling suits and go at it. Another room had a band playing Christian music while someone passed out cotton candy and popcorn. Think sugar high! This all began at 10 pm and they were giving out sugar. Think about that. A few games were being offered – Twister, bean bag toss, etc. but didn’t have that many takers. A few of us got our faces painted. I ended up with a blue nose and a mustache. In another room crafts were offered. That was great. It was quiet and we could sit. Ahhhhh!
Finally when the ball dropped and it was midnight it was over. Should I say it? Thank heavens! It was a long and full day. We took the mile long trek to our rooms and went to bed. We had some grumpiness the next morning but just a little. All four girls started the night out in the same bed. My sources tell me that sometime during the night there was a thud heard. Sarah fell out of bed. I’m sure she will tell you the story if you ask.
Sunday began once again with juice boxes, fruit and pop-tarts. After that we went to worship. I was really proud of our kids. Each of them helped with worship. Andrew read a scripture passage, Hunter helped process our banner in, and Ashley, Shelby, Sarah, and Christine helped serve communion. It was a great worship experience.
All that remained was packing up and getting on the bus to start home. What a weekend.
I want to tell you that we have a great bunch of kids in our church. All of them were just great fun to be around. My thanks also to Cindy, John, Andrew and Krissy for being there. Their support and presence assured us of a great experience. A special thanks to Krissy for organizing our trip.
I have to say thanks to all of you who gave financial support that made this weekend possible.
It was a great weekend that more than likely we will attend again next year. I enjoyed myself but I must say IT WAS GOOD TO GET BACK HOME.
It all began on a cold January morning at 6:45 am in the parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church in Las Cruces.
Six mid-highers (Sarah, Christine, Ashley, Shelby, Hunter and Andrew), five chaperones (Krissy & Andrew, Cindy Duggan, John Shonk and myself) and a scattering of parents gathered for prayer and parting hugs as we readied ourselves to start the trek to the conference in Colorado Springs. Thankfully we (John Shonk and myself) only had to drive to Albuquerque where we met up with others going to the conference. We boarded our Greyhound bus and with a great sense of relief I “left the driving to them”. Six hours, two movies, countless rest stops and snacks later we arrived in Colorado Springs. Man, that is a long way to go!
Once there we were going all the time. The planners did an excellent job of putting the “Lighten Up” conference together. They knew from experience that there has to be plenty to do to keep interest up and we did. Friday night was spent getting “the lay of the land” and attending a large group session with a great band leading us in a mix of old and new praise songs. I should mention that there were 950 people at this conference.
A family of jugglers calling themselves “The Fitz Family” really got our attention also. They were more than great, they were AWESOME. They were funny AND talented. I was like a kid again. I laughed and clapped and hooted with great enthusiasm. They entertained us and shared their story with us. You know that God has given each of us “gifts” and talents that he calls on us to share with others. Some of these “gifts” are used in the church but many aren’t. Even those “non-church” gifts are to be used by us for God’s glory. That is the message we were reminded of.
A pastor from Florida gave a great “sermon” that really set the stage for the weekend. “Why am I here?” was a question that pastor was asked by a young man in confirmation at his church. That question became our question as well. God calls on us to be in relationship with Him. That is VERY different from going through the motions of being a Christian. We are here to be with God and all God’s people. That pastor did an excellent job over the weekend of reaching us with the gospel of Jesus.
Eventually the evenings activities were over and we went to our rooms. You know I think it must have been close to a mile (at least it seemed that way) to our rooms. Once there I reminded everyone they needed to get rest since there are few things worse than being with “grumpy people”. That talk was unnecessary since I understand everyone fell right to sleep.
Saturday was full. Breakfast of fruit and pop-tarts began the day then we were off to our large group session with the band setting the stage. The jugglers returned, along with that pastor and I can’t remember who else. Small group activities followed. Our whole group went to the “Challenge Course” where we were able to try our hand at a number of activities including what I remember as Norwegian snow shoes. That’s where 5 or 6 people have to walk using the same snow shoes – I’ll show you a picture. After that some went to “The Gospel According to the Simpsons” while others of us went to watch the “Fitz Family” of jugglers and hear their story. Fitz isn’t their real name by the way. Sometime during that morning also our group made a banner to be used in worship.
After lunch most of our group went to work on a service project which took up about three hours or so. After that Laura, Brenda and Brian Conrad joined us for pizza in the hotel lobby. It was really good seeing them again. They are doing fine. Laura is excelling in school, Brian is working in an office again (after working at home for 12 years) and Brenda at this point is at home taking care of things there. All too soon it was time for them to go and the tears flowed. It is hard to say goodbye to good friends isn’t it?
My daughter Laura drove down from Denver so that I could take her out to dinner. I’m sure she came to see me too. We were with them at Christmas so it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen her. It sure was good to be with her. I told the others back at the hotel that I went out for a burrito but they didn’t buy it. Oh well.
The rest of the evening consisted of another great large group gathering and then came THE CARNIVAL. Wow! It is hard to explain really. A number of rooms in the hotel were devoted to different activites. In one room they had kids dress up in those big sumo wrestling suits and go at it. Another room had a band playing Christian music while someone passed out cotton candy and popcorn. Think sugar high! This all began at 10 pm and they were giving out sugar. Think about that. A few games were being offered – Twister, bean bag toss, etc. but didn’t have that many takers. A few of us got our faces painted. I ended up with a blue nose and a mustache. In another room crafts were offered. That was great. It was quiet and we could sit. Ahhhhh!
Finally when the ball dropped and it was midnight it was over. Should I say it? Thank heavens! It was a long and full day. We took the mile long trek to our rooms and went to bed. We had some grumpiness the next morning but just a little. All four girls started the night out in the same bed. My sources tell me that sometime during the night there was a thud heard. Sarah fell out of bed. I’m sure she will tell you the story if you ask.
Sunday began once again with juice boxes, fruit and pop-tarts. After that we went to worship. I was really proud of our kids. Each of them helped with worship. Andrew read a scripture passage, Hunter helped process our banner in, and Ashley, Shelby, Sarah, and Christine helped serve communion. It was a great worship experience.
All that remained was packing up and getting on the bus to start home. What a weekend.
I want to tell you that we have a great bunch of kids in our church. All of them were just great fun to be around. My thanks also to Cindy, John, Andrew and Krissy for being there. Their support and presence assured us of a great experience. A special thanks to Krissy for organizing our trip.
I have to say thanks to all of you who gave financial support that made this weekend possible.
It was a great weekend that more than likely we will attend again next year. I enjoyed myself but I must say IT WAS GOOD TO GET BACK HOME.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
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