We Care Miami Valley

We’re heading out at 9am.  Please pray for opportunities we didn’t even know about…that God would lead us to the right people, and that we could serve those at John Sale Manor well.  You can see the place HERE.

Friday Night Updates

early this week God has really pushed me to become a better person. Earlier this year people would say I was a monster. i realized that I was doing all that stuff for me and not for God. One of the speakers, Mark Cahill, said can you imagine your friends going to Hell. that hit me like a ton of bricks. so one of my christian friends has recommitted his life to Christ and we started talk and it just freaked us out that our friends will be going to Hell. we agreed that we would become accountability partners. we have talked to our friends and and they wan to know the Lord. that changed our whole purspective on how much God loves and cares about us more than we could ever imagine. God has changed my life forever and i will not give up on him because he would never give up on me. God loves everyone. God bless you all!!!!!

Pam Miller

When I got up today I went through my usual routine, I showered, got dressed, and began my trek towards the Cafeteria, but this time something was different. I felt God telling me “Go and encourage someone today.” Over the past couple of days I’ve learned that if I hear God telling me something, I should go and do it. When I got to the Cafeteria and got settled in with my cereal, I looked around the room. It was early so while there wasn’t a huge amount of people there was still a good amount. I spotted four teenage guys sitting at a table, I decided to go to them. When I got there I told them my name and where I was from and asked them if there was anything they needed prayer for. When I finished with my question three of the guys looked at each other and then looked at me and one of them said that there wasn’t anything they needed prayer for, but they pointed at the fourth guy and said, he just learned his dad has cancer. In my head I was dumb struck, of all the people in the room God had sent me to the one person who probably needed it the most. A couple of years ago my dad got cancer, I knew exactly what he was going through. It was just amazing standing there being able to pray for someone going through the exact same thing I went through before.

God is good

~Andrew Jeffreys

I’ve just been shown this week how easy it is to follow Him. How evangelism isn’t a presentation its a conversation. Following him is just living our lives with a different mindset. We need to show his love wherever we go. In the end it all comes back to his love, and how we show that to the world. Our mindset needs to change if were ever going to affect this world.

_Joshua Silveus

As I come to the end of this absolutely incredible week here at momentum 2010, I think about all of the absolutely outstanding things God has put into my heart and the opportunities that I have been given. One thing that has impacted me the most, is the fact that I have never really evangelized or discipled someone, making my life virtually pointless. This has really bothered me. As soon as I realized that this truly did bother me, God started putting names in my heart. I truly believe now that i can, and will, make a difference in these peoples lives. There is one thing that I really need prayer for, I need prayer that God would keep the fire burning inside me. It is easy to feel like this because I’m at a youth conference. However, it is even easier to completely forget everything I felt when I go back home and go back to the “real world”. Last year, that is exactly what happened, however, this year I feel something different. I feel that I am ready to hear what God has to say to me and listen to what God wants me to accomplish. However, I still need prayer because this is something completely new and I am scared but I believe that God will push me through this fear. Pray that my new accountability partners and I will do the point of an accountability group by holding each other accountable for our actions. Up until now, I have been living the typical, hypocritical Christian life. But I am new, I excited, and I am prepared to be a true, Man of God.

John Swanson

Thursday Night Updates

Here it goes:

tricia rules!!

God has been doing wonders in the lives of a lot of people this week and has especially impressed something upon my heart that I feel anybody who reads this should know. Mark Cahill spoke last night as many may be aware of and a few things he said to really hit me hard and made me stay up for quite a while last night think about them. His main point was about witnessing to others no matter the time or place and  I realized that I had never done this. I had thought about doing it some but never had actually done it. As I thought about this I also realized I had never been given the tools to share the word of God with anybody else. If you look as someone like LeBron or Kobe they did not just start playing and get to the point they are now. They were given skills along with tools and the oppertunitys to improve their skills. I feel like I am that 4 year old who was given a basketball for the first time on his birthday and I was out shooting and air balling all of my shots. I feel like now I have the tools to build on that and I can learn to make shots and dribble well. When I think about what God has been doing I think alot about the oppertunities that are upcoming in my life and I am excited to share my faith with other. God has done alot and i am excited about what is to come.  Jordan Wray
this week has been incredibly AMAZING.  i have gotten closer to a lot of people that i would have never thought that i would and it is awesome.  i have really enjoyed the sessions, they have really connected with me and that is really amazing for me.  the speakers are amazing and this year i feel even more committed to Christ  which is a great feeling  i hope that it continues throughout the rest of my life.  Kahler Snow

throughout this week God has shown me allot. i was really struggling with the fact that my great uncle has lung cancer. and i know that he is a great christian man but its really hard to think of him being gone.  but God reminded me that he will always be there and he showed me through Katie Mcnulty that i will always have people on earth to e there for me. he has also put a missions trip to another country on my heart. i really think that he wants me to go to Hatti. – Cindi Trier

this week i have felt so close to God and the speakers have enccouaged me so much. i feel like this week i have really taken the things my parents have taught me and listened to what others think. by adding this to what i have discovered by studing on my own i feel like i have really taken the faith i’vegrown up knowing and made it my very own. i feel like God has shown himself to me in a new way and i’ve been so challenged to go further in seeking God and making my faith more my own-Naomi  Caron

I want to start this post by saying that Aron Keys needs to come back next year.  That being said,  I love the amount of people that have made drastic revelations about their walk with God and how open and free we are to share what he has been doing.  I truly cant imagine a greater manifestation of God’s power and love than the power of all of our voices Joining as one saying that we are lifting our souls and lives up to the Lord. There is a very impatient Park child behind me and it would be best to let him speak. -Gordon Blair

Today God really showed me that I need to get way out of my comfort zone. I have, over the years, found my identity wrapped up in how people look at me and how I appear. Because of this, my entire life I feel like I’ve almost followed Jesus, but whenever He led me to do anything that might put me in a situation where I may have to go in front of people and do anything that might make me appear too different or weird or even too passionate for God, I would immediately turn around and run in the opposite direction, so that I would maintain my “cool,” normal, disengaged, useless lifestyle and appearance. But tonight at the session I felt God really push me to break through the fear and doubt in myself and surrender my life to him, without any conditions, and follow Him without inhibition.- Neil Park

Picture Update

Just a quick note until tonight.  We just heard Greg Speck speak this morning.   About 20 of us are heading out to Xenia this afternoon to help get some of Saturday’s projects ready.

Student Updates (Wednesday Night)

So far this week has just been amazing. This is the third time I’ve been to Momentum and never before have I felt so convicted. Tonight Mark Cahill spoke about sharing our faith, while I cant go into the nitty gritty details of his sermon, I can say this, I need to be so much bolder in the way I proclaim my faith, I need to do hard things (which was the subject of yesterday’s morning session) if I want to make an impact. Never before have I wanted to really do the hard things to share my faith, but now that’s all I want to do! I cant wait to return home to practice what I’ve learned here.

~Andrew Jeffreys

So far my first Momentum has been an amazing, I have learned and realized so much that I never have. It was truly amazing tonight when Mark  Cahill came and spoke tonight. Some of the things he said I had heard before when I read his book. But it was when I went up to him after the session that impacted me. He talked to me and told me my name meant salvation and to work and save as many as I could. When I came back to Nick I was crying tears of joy for what Mark had told me. Now all I want to do is to go and save people with a fearless faith.

-Joshua Cardin

Hey Mom and Dad!  I miss you a lot.  But  on the bright, I’m having tons of fun.  I have learned so much more about God.  I’ve learned that you can rededicate yourself to God over and over again and if you mean it and live like it the last time, you will still go to heaven.  That’s probably the most important thing I’ve learned here.  I’ve been convinced so much that I feel like sharing Christ with other people, even if they’re just random people.  I also want to rededicate my life to God and let Him take control of me.  I might have a few questions for you when I get home.  See you later!

-Jason

Hey guys! Kyrsta Jeffreys here. This is my last year as a student at Momentum, so I’ve been viewing this week with different eyes, so to speak, knowing that I’m off to college in the fall and I’m entering a new stage of my life. I’m not even sure where to begin with what I have been learning. So I’ll just jump right in! Different points from the sessions have been tying together in different ways for me. First of all, each individual Christian has the responsibility to become cleansed by God in order to be used by Him. Our parents can’t make us do it, our pastors can’t. We need to CHOOSE to follow God and be used by Him in the way that He desires. Secondly, if we are going to choose to follow Him, we also are going to have to choose to DO HARD THINGS. We have to push ourselves in order to grow in Him, we can’t allow our faith to become dead and useless. God has given each of us the potential to be greatly used, but it’s going to be stretching at times! Jesus tells us this. The walk of a Christ follower is hard and tiring. But Jesus has overcome the world and in the end there will be much rejoicing as our burdens and our pain is washed away in the blood of the Lamb as we gather around for the great Wedding Feast. Well, I would like to add more, but frankly I just don’t have time! And I don’t want to be too jumpy in the topics I wish to share. I love you all! Continue to pray for us, that we would be aware of the Holy Spirit and that God’s love will work through us.

In Christ,

Kyrsta

A few more pics from Tent City

I forgot the soggy pics.  Enjoy…

Tired and Soggy (Tent City!)

Ok, so it’s Wednesday morning now and we just spent the night at Tent City.  What IS/WAS Tent City?

It had been raining all afternoon and we had to meet out at the tents at 4:30.
At 5pm they explained to our group that there had been a disaster and our group had been displaced to this Tent City.  From 5-6pm our group had the opportunity to develop community guidelines and cook our own supper (remember, it was raining…and it didn’t stop until about 6).

From 6-7:30pm our group did some team-building activities…and it was great!  David Vermilye led our group in some great activities that allowed our group to succeed, fail, and grow together as a group.

After a break for the evening session, and a change of dry clothes, we were back out to the tents for debriefing, youth group time, and some smores.  I’m not sure anyone slept very much (good thing we have our afternoon free)…but we’re hoping it was a great night for our students to work together and gain a compassion for those who are displaced due to disasters.

Check out some pictures below!  We’ll update more about the sessions later today (don’t worry…we haven’t forgotten the sessions).

Heading out to Tent City (Momentum Day 2)

Parents,
Quick update, pictures tomorrow morning.
1)Yes, we arrived safely.
2)Yes, the speakers have been great.
3)Yes, we are, indeed, heading out to Tent City tonight…even thought it’s been sprinkling all day.

Please pray for our group’s attitudes!   Pray that we would be sympathetic to others and look out for those around us.

Summer Calendars are Out

Summer 2010 calendars are out.  You can download a copy by clicking on the calendar at the left.

Changes we know of already:
The guys/girls weekend scheduled for August 6-7 may change to July 30-31.

RightHere Deadlines

The first deadlines for RightHere are past, but we are still hoping to fill out the team that will be serving in our own community this summer.  If you are still interested, would you please contact Tim Wright (email link below right) as soon as possible to let him know?  Forms for this week are available in the forms box on the right side of this blog.