Friday, July 26, 2013
It's The Final Countdown
That's right ladies and gentlemen. We officially have one last day of Summer Splash VBS at First Free and that day is today. Let me proudly announce we have survived a whole week on five hours sleep and running around the rest of the time.
I am personally quite proud of us. A round of applause is necessary. The ones of you in the cheap seats, clap your hands. The rest of you can rattle your jewelry. Thank you, thank you.
Anyway, to sum up yesterday quickly, we did the whole VBS thing, went to Second Free, where we shared testimonies and ate dinner, went to Coney Island, and came back.
Today, the schedule is VBS and basically Second Free all day. That's not a good thing for me, because I'm 210% unsocial, but hey... they've got food, and we don't have to run around the city.
Speaking of running around the city, we're waking up early on Saturday-- five thirty in the morning, to be exact-- to go on a last bus tour of New York. Apparently we'll be going through Central Park.
Nobody be surprised if I jump off and run to Strawberry Fields in the Dakota. That's my final dream before we get on the 27 hour train to Florida! Never thought I'd miss that humid, but sleep-filled place so much.
~Lennon
I am personally quite proud of us. A round of applause is necessary. The ones of you in the cheap seats, clap your hands. The rest of you can rattle your jewelry. Thank you, thank you.
Anyway, to sum up yesterday quickly, we did the whole VBS thing, went to Second Free, where we shared testimonies and ate dinner, went to Coney Island, and came back.
Today, the schedule is VBS and basically Second Free all day. That's not a good thing for me, because I'm 210% unsocial, but hey... they've got food, and we don't have to run around the city.
Speaking of running around the city, we're waking up early on Saturday-- five thirty in the morning, to be exact-- to go on a last bus tour of New York. Apparently we'll be going through Central Park.
Nobody be surprised if I jump off and run to Strawberry Fields in the Dakota. That's my final dream before we get on the 27 hour train to Florida! Never thought I'd miss that humid, but sleep-filled place so much.
~Lennon
Thursday, July 25, 2013
What a day
What a day, my feet still feel like they're going to explode from yesterday. But hey, exercise is a good thing right? My calves are going to be made of steel by the end of the week, along with everyone else.
On the bright side, the weather cooled down and it fell so wonderful. No sweating on the way to First Free! That in and of itself was pretty awesome. We're also pretty much into the swing of things.
Wake up, do devotions, eat as a group, walk kids to VBS, keep the lot of them in check, review lessons, and mess around and play. Those little buggers have so much energy it's exhausting watching them.
We've really enjoyed their company and we hope they enjoyed ours. It's really been a blessing to minister to them.
~Lennon
On the bright side, the weather cooled down and it fell so wonderful. No sweating on the way to First Free! That in and of itself was pretty awesome. We're also pretty much into the swing of things.
Wake up, do devotions, eat as a group, walk kids to VBS, keep the lot of them in check, review lessons, and mess around and play. Those little buggers have so much energy it's exhausting watching them.
We've really enjoyed their company and we hope they enjoyed ours. It's really been a blessing to minister to them.
~Lennon
Peace and Love, Pizza, Peace and Love
GASP! Yeah, alright then.
That's me, Lennon, all alone on one side because apparently I'm too cool for people or something.
See over there? Near the wall? That's McCartney. She never posts anything because she's too sassy.
And oh, the other one? That's Harrison. She's our brooding dork.
If you're wondering where Starr is, he's camera shy so he took the photo.
~Lennon
A Day in the City
After Summer Splash on Wednesday, our gang headed to Manhattan for the first time since getting off our train! We visited the 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, both Trinity Church and St. Paul's, the Wall Street Bull, and even took the Staten Island Ferry to pass by the Statue of Liberty.
~Harrison
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Progress from Perserverence
The second day we attended VBS to help out was great! We feel really connected with the kids and were able to keep them under control more. We had a lot of great "Yay Jesus!" moments and the kids asked a lot of good questions. It definitely seemed the day went a lot faster and more smoothly and we really felt like we started to understand everything. Then after VBS we went to Second Free and our very own Emma and Hunter shared their testimonies and we're really grateful for that. They've touched our lives by being in our Youth Group and we really appreciate them. So, today is another day of VBS, maybe we'll get it all right this time. Hopefully, others will get to share their testimony later on in the week, but all I know is... today we go site-seeing!
-McCartney
-McCartney
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Trial by Fire
Monday's over, and what a hard day's night it was! Waking up at the first light of Brooklyn sun, we promptly escorted our little VBS-goers through New York streets--safely, mind you (you can let go the breath you were holding)-- and arrived at First Free Church in record time!
My group was the rabbit group. Upon arrival, we waited outside and played around with the kids before everything officially started.
Gathering everyone in the sanctuary, our band successfully lead them in worship, completely musically coordinated in everyway, clearly speaking to everyone and helping them enjoy worship. God's glory surely shone through the lot of them.
Hunter, God bless him, rabbit-voiced his way through one song, engaging the kids and making them laugh. Talk about leaving his dignity at the door for the sake of Christ. That voice pretty much made my day, but then I got a peach later, so that was good too.
Then Cam taught everyone the lesson of how Moses, only with God's help, led the Israelites through the dessert, away from Egypt and across the Red Sea. He explained the miracles of God and his total awesomeness. Like, really, quail, being lead by a cloud, manna from Heaven, and water from a huge rock.
If you don't think that's awesome then I don't know what to tell you.
So then we all split into our respective groups-- my group's the purple group-- and reviewed the lesson, learned the Bible verse, then snack time. My favorite time of the day.
After snack time was random activities time, then we started English class! Spelling words and writing definitions, definitely better than Maths, which comes later. After English was lunch aka OUR BREAK TIME.
We gathered, ravenously ate to keep up our energy and discussed the problem children in our groups and how good or crazy the lot of those kids were. Best twenty minutes of the day were when we got to relax.
Then woe is me, Maths was the next task on our list of things to do. I didn't even have to do it, but I felt the pain of numbers on a spiritual level.
Arts and crafts happened for everyone, but apparently our group didn't get the memo, so we made balloon animals and stuff for pretty much the rest of the day.
They were dismissed and we walked our group back to Dorcas. Lots of fun there. Well, it's lights out time here, so either Harrison or McCartney will tell you about our time at second free. But from here on in till morning, I'll be out cold. But lemme tell ya one thing, after this week, I'll have toned legs of steel.
~Lennon
My group was the rabbit group. Upon arrival, we waited outside and played around with the kids before everything officially started.
Gathering everyone in the sanctuary, our band successfully lead them in worship, completely musically coordinated in everyway, clearly speaking to everyone and helping them enjoy worship. God's glory surely shone through the lot of them.
Hunter, God bless him, rabbit-voiced his way through one song, engaging the kids and making them laugh. Talk about leaving his dignity at the door for the sake of Christ. That voice pretty much made my day, but then I got a peach later, so that was good too.
Then Cam taught everyone the lesson of how Moses, only with God's help, led the Israelites through the dessert, away from Egypt and across the Red Sea. He explained the miracles of God and his total awesomeness. Like, really, quail, being lead by a cloud, manna from Heaven, and water from a huge rock.
If you don't think that's awesome then I don't know what to tell you.
So then we all split into our respective groups-- my group's the purple group-- and reviewed the lesson, learned the Bible verse, then snack time. My favorite time of the day.
After snack time was random activities time, then we started English class! Spelling words and writing definitions, definitely better than Maths, which comes later. After English was lunch aka OUR BREAK TIME.
We gathered, ravenously ate to keep up our energy and discussed the problem children in our groups and how good or crazy the lot of those kids were. Best twenty minutes of the day were when we got to relax.
Then woe is me, Maths was the next task on our list of things to do. I didn't even have to do it, but I felt the pain of numbers on a spiritual level.
Arts and crafts happened for everyone, but apparently our group didn't get the memo, so we made balloon animals and stuff for pretty much the rest of the day.
They were dismissed and we walked our group back to Dorcas. Lots of fun there. Well, it's lights out time here, so either Harrison or McCartney will tell you about our time at second free. But from here on in till morning, I'll be out cold. But lemme tell ya one thing, after this week, I'll have toned legs of steel.
~Lennon
Learning the Ropes
Alright then, everyone, it's Monday. Time for a laugh a line with Lennon. Also, time for the first official day of Summer Splash at First Free Church. We got an idea of the lay out of the place on Sunday.
Keyword: idea. The church is practically a labyrinth. But after a day of running around, helping out, and getting actually know the little chaps and the scenery, "I have a feeling things are only gonna get better from here on out."
That was yet another Bilbo Baggins quote, for those of you who didn't know. Man, I need to find more people to quote besides that cutie patootie of a hobbit.
Anyway, we also got debriefed on everything that's going on. You know, the rules, what games to play with the kids, memory verse-learning techniques, disciplinary tactics. There is a peace chair for children who misbehave.
The over all schedule for us non-native Tampa humans is VBS 9am-3pm, training at dinner at Second Free Church, and then back to the Dorcas Center where we'll be out cold until the morning. I suppose kids rather take a lot out of you then, don't they?
Forgot to mention, we were also hospitably treated last night after our walk to Second Free. We experienced a nice dinner, fellowship, and some of them opted for Bubble Tea. I didn't though. Stuff seemed suspicious enough...
I'm also fairly certain some of us stopped for ice cream on the way back. What can I say? We're growing teenagers. We got big ice cream. For big kids.
Within minutes, we will be taking small little children all the way from the Dorcas Center to First Free. BUMP-it would appear- has officially begun.
~Lennon
Keyword: idea. The church is practically a labyrinth. But after a day of running around, helping out, and getting actually know the little chaps and the scenery, "I have a feeling things are only gonna get better from here on out."
That was yet another Bilbo Baggins quote, for those of you who didn't know. Man, I need to find more people to quote besides that cutie patootie of a hobbit.
Anyway, we also got debriefed on everything that's going on. You know, the rules, what games to play with the kids, memory verse-learning techniques, disciplinary tactics. There is a peace chair for children who misbehave.
The over all schedule for us non-native Tampa humans is VBS 9am-3pm, training at dinner at Second Free Church, and then back to the Dorcas Center where we'll be out cold until the morning. I suppose kids rather take a lot out of you then, don't they?
Forgot to mention, we were also hospitably treated last night after our walk to Second Free. We experienced a nice dinner, fellowship, and some of them opted for Bubble Tea. I didn't though. Stuff seemed suspicious enough...
I'm also fairly certain some of us stopped for ice cream on the way back. What can I say? We're growing teenagers. We got big ice cream. For big kids.
Within minutes, we will be taking small little children all the way from the Dorcas Center to First Free. BUMP-it would appear- has officially begun.
~Lennon
Sunday, July 21, 2013
BUMP Team Arrives at New York
The BUMP team members of Oakwood Community church youth group started their journey at the Ybor train station in downtown Tampa, Florida. When we all got on the train, everyone was very excited for the long journey ahead. However, no one knew really how long the journey would seem. After the excitement had died down, everyone went to doing their own thing. Some slept, some watched movies, some read books, some listened to music, others conversed with each other and some even filmed videos together. Friday night we got to eat delicious food in the very lovely food cart. After a night of excitement and filled stomachs, everyone was about ready for bed. Some people got to sleep very fast but most people changed sleeping positions every 30 minutes to try and find a comfortable sleeping position. By the time everyone woke up the following morning, our train was zooming though the Carolinas. We spent Saturday very similar to had we had spent the first part of our trip; everyone doing something different and every so often gathering in the food cart to bond together. After what seemed like forever, we finally arrived in the Big Apple. We hopped off our train just to grab another moving vehicle but underground. Finally we were able to walk in the fresh air of New York. We walked to our temporary home and are now safe and sound, no one lost or left behind. The journey was long but it was fun while it lasted and now we have another journey and mission ahead of us.
-McCartney
-McCartney
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Post-Final Meeting at Oakwood.
After church, as well as a hearty meal of subs or Mexican food, our team went over the basic logistics and final information today in preparation for our trip to NYC this friday! Our tight-knit team of 18 adults and students will all meet at promptly four o'clock (and not a minute later) this Friday afternoon in order to board our nearly 27 hour train ride. Although there is a mixture of both joyful anticipation and complete dread, we're all still really looking forward to getting to ride a train, most of us having never even been on one. We can't wait to get to New York and start sharing the good news of the Lord with the children we meet and minister to!
-Harrison
-Harrison
Last BUMP Meeting at Oakwood!
Ello, lads and lasses=
As you lot already know, no trip just happens without a good deal of planning. Excessive planning. Not to mention making sure all the parents of Oakwood Youth Group Attendees are quite well informed.
This Sunday-- yes, this one-- a meeting will be held for parents of BUMP-goers after church, explaining as much as we can about the upcoming adventure while we are otherwise occupied.
Needless to say, we Power House humans are quite excited. Our trip has been paid for by our hard work and we are anxious to share the Gospel!
As Bilbo Baggins would say, "We're going on an adventure!"
~ Lennon
Friday, July 12, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Trinity Church Gearing up for VBS in NYC
I wish I had started taking pictures of our team meetings from the beginning, but here's a couple of our team getting things ready for VBS! We are so excited. Our final meeting will take place on Monday, and we will be heading out early Friday morning of next week.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Oakwood Lesson Review Videos Completed
Hello everyone. Oakwood youth have finished the daily review videos for BUMP New York. Here is a sample. 19 days until we serve. http://youtu.be/LeI0WFXLExY
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