We’ve had some great times here...yesterday afternoon we went to the Veteran’s Restoration Quarters in Asheville. This transitional housing service provides three components to address the needs of our veterans from a holistic point of view. We utilize a wellness model that includes: financial wellness, housing wellness, medical wellness, mental health wellness, self-determination wellness, spiritual wellness, and substance abuse wellness.” (www.abccm.org) I’ve attached a couple of photos... and there are more on facebook for those of you who are there. Aimee, the director of the Asheville Youth Mission, said ours was the hardest working group she’s ever seen! They did great work for a great place, and we talked last night about putting into action the things we’re learning here, using our gifts to make a difference (however small) in the life of someone else—and that small difference gets multiplied and we can change the world.
Right now we are in keynote, and the speaker is saying that we have to be fired up by the love of God to go out and set the world on fire with that love, fired up to minister like Jesus ministered. It’s been a good day so far, and there are still more than 12 more hours to go! The interesting thing about places like this is how we hear things that we’ve heard a hundred times before, but we hear them with new ears in a new context, so we notice the words finally! The other day, I said something like “I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but one more time: love is not just a feeling, love is an action.” Our whole group looked at me and said “I’ve never heard you say that before.” uh-oh! I need to enunciate more clearly, I think! Or else the context here finally made us all able to hear that together in a new way for the first time....yeah. That’s it! ;-)
Tonight is the “Montreat’s Got Talent” Variety Show. Our youth are doing the “what the choir is thinking while they’re singing” skit. It’s becoming something of a tradition, after all—it’s like a rite of passage...when you get into the high school group and go on a trip, you get to be in the choir skit. The rehearsal last night in our living room was so hilarious that the kids asked if the leaders had been drinking, we were laughing so hard. We haven’t (covenant! Plus, whoa bad idea!)--our youth are just THAT FUNNY. :-)
A quick update on small groups: last email I reported that there was a youth from Lithuania in one group. It turned out that was a prank, actually—this girl had been practicing accents, and she went to four different small groups using different names, different accents, and different life stories. It was pretty funny....but she is NOT from Lithuania. :-)
Well, it’s time to go to small group now, so I’ll stop. More photos coming tonight or tomorrow!
Peace
Teri
****************************************
Hi friends,
Sorry for the delay in sending updates and photos—they really keep us busy
here!!
Sunday was a good day, filled with hiking, pizza and ice cream, playing in
the creek, and excellent opening energizers...and now we’re off and running
on the regular conference schedule, which is crazy busy!
Here’s a basic rundown of our daily schedule:
8am: breakfast in our very own dining room, prepared by our very own
leaders! We’ve had cereal/yogurt/toast day, we’ve had mexican
eggs/toast/breakfast burrito day, and we’ve had pancake day so far! 9am: Energizers! Music! Keynote speaker Scott talks to us about different
things...so far we’ve heard about the burning bush and learning to recognize
burning bushes in our own lives and about the life of discipleship.
10.30am: Small group meetings. Our small groups have between 23-30 people
in each group, and meet all over the conference center and college
campus—some people have a bit of a walk to get to theirs! In small groups
we play games, get to know people from around the country (and around the
world: one of our youth announced to me at lunch time that there is a
Lithuanian (I think?) in their group). We also explore the theme of the day
(Monday’s theme was “Fire Alarm”--things are happening, so wake up and pay
attention! And today’s theme is “Refiner’s Fire”--God’s love and God’s
calling transform us so we can transform the world.) We use Bible Study,
games, drama, music, art, journaling, and prayer to get into the theme and
try to explore who God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do
This transitional housing service provides three components to address the needs of our veterans from a holistic point of view. We utilize a wellness model that includes: financial wellness, housing wellness, medical wellness, mental health wellness, self-determination wellness, spiritual wellness, and substance abuse wellness.” (www.abccm.org) I’ve attached a couple of photos... and there are more on facebook for those of you who are there. Aimee, the director of the Asheville Youth Mission, said ours was the hardest working group she’s ever seen! They did great work for a great place, and we talked last night about putting into action the things we’re learning here, using our gifts to make a difference (however small) in the life of someone else—and that small difference gets multiplied and we can change the world.
Right now we are in keynote, and the speaker is saying that we have to be fired up by the love of God to go out and set the world on fire with that love, fired up to minister like Jesus ministered. It’s been a good day so far, and there are still more than 12 more hours to go! The interesting thing about places like this is how we hear things that we’ve heard a hundred times before, but we hear them with new ears in a new context, so we notice the words finally! The other day, I said something like “I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but one more time: love is not just a feeling, love is an action.” Our whole group looked at me and said “I’ve never heard you say that before.” uh-oh! I need to enunciate more clearly, I think! Or else the context here finally made us all able to hear that together in a new way for the first time....yeah. That’s it! ;-)
Tonight is the “Montreat’s Got Talent” Variety Show. Our youth are doing the “what the choir is thinking while they’re singing” skit. It’s becoming something of a tradition, after all—it’s like a rite of passage...when you get into the high school group and go on a trip, you get to be in the choir skit. The rehearsal last night in our living room was so hilarious that the kids asked if the leaders had been drinking, we were laughing so hard. We haven’t (covenant! Plus, whoa bad idea!)--our youth are just THAT FUNNY. :-)
Hi friends,
Sorry for the delay in sending updates and photos—they really keep us busy
here!!
Sunday was a good day, filled with hiking, pizza and ice cream, playing in
the creek, and excellent opening energizers...and now we’re off and running
on the regular conference schedule, which is crazy busy!
Here’s a basic rundown of our daily schedule:
8am: breakfast in our very own dining room, prepared by our very own
leaders! We’ve had cereal/yogurt/toast day, we’ve had mexican
eggs/toast/breakfast burrito day, and we’ve had pancake day so far! 9am: Energizers! Music! Keynote speaker Scott talks to us about different
things...so far we’ve heard about the burning bush and learning to recognize
burning bushes in our own lives and about the life of discipleship.
10.30am: Small group meetings. Our small groups have between 23-30 people
in each group, and meet all over the conference center and college
campus—some people have a bit of a walk to get to theirs! In small groups
we play games, get to know people from around the country (and around the
world: one of our youth announced to me at lunch time that there is a
Lithuanian (I think?) in their group). We also explore the theme of the day
(Monday’s theme was “Fire Alarm”--things are happening, so wake up and pay
attention! And today’s theme is “Refiner’s Fire”--God’s love and God’s
calling transform us so we can transform the world.) We use Bible Study,
games, drama, music, art, journaling, and prayer to get into the theme and
try to explore who God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do
