Yesterday was the last day before all the staff and students arrive for all Staff Training Getaway. I cant believe that the four weeks we spent so long planning are already done. For our last meeting we had kids stand up and say things that they learned. I never understood my youth pastors when they would say that hearing positive feedback is the most rewarding part of the job until now. It was truly amazing to hear what the kids had learned. I had kids coming up to me and saying thank you for being a leader. I enjoyed most when the kid I am discipling told me how much he enjoyed our time.

On Monday we have about 4oo more kids coming so please pray that the next stage of this project will be a success. Talk to you later

Winter Park and Alpine Sledding

Ministry in Action

The kid with me in both of the pictures is Mark Bentley, a student I am discipiling. He is one cool guy and a strong man of God. I have been learning as much from him as he has learned from me. We have been spending a lot of time together.

I am honored to have opportunities like this. I also lead a small group which I have gotten the opportunity to both teach and learn from. We have been talking a lot about the lies that the world tells us. Please pray for me in the weeks to come. Talk to you soon.

Human Scavenger Hunt in Ft. Collins Mall

Reenforcements Arrive - Leadership Retreat in Winter Park

The past week has been pretty cool. The college students who will be serving with us on the summer project arrived this past weekend to help us as more kids come in and the program expands -- each week our numbers grow as more CCC staff arrive with their kids. I am getting along pretty well with most of the new leaders -- some more than others but that is natural.

We as a leadership team spent last weekend in Winter Park getting to know each other and learning what it means to be a leader. The firework show for the 4th of July was pretty spectacular.

On Tuesday we went to Water World, the biggest water park in Denver. Today we had a guys/girls time where the guy leaders spoke to the girls and the girl leaders talk to the guys. It was pretty cool to answer some of the questions the girls had for us. After that we did some street evangelism where the senior high went to Boulder and the junior high went to Estes Park. It was pretty cool to see the Holy Spirit work in the hearts of some of the people we talked to. I will keep you up to date about more of the stuff that happens in the weeks to come.

Photos from Six Flags and Extreme Challenge

What A Week.....

This week has been sooo awesome but so exhausting at the same time. On Monday the Senior High students did a service project while the Middle Schoolers did "Extreme Challenge", which I would most compare to American Gladiator. I was impressed with the attitude of the Senior High students as about 95% of them showed up for the project.

Tuesday was real cool because we got to go to Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver. We were only there for a few hours but got to ride all of the major rides.

Today was so rewarding. We had a guy's only time in our morning session. We discussed relationships with father/son, brother/brother, brother/sister and best friends. It was so awesome to see at least 10 of the guys drawn to tears during the talk. I was blown away at all the Holy Spirit was doing in the room. After that the Senior High students got to do the Extreme Challenge. I had a total blast on that. I just got done with that and I could use a good nap -- but I've got to hit the gym first to maintain my figure. Talk to you soon

A Typical Week

In a typical week, mornings are spent in a large group Bible session. Afternoons are filled with small group studies. Evenings often consist of some type of activity -- pictures are of students participating in "crazy bowling". Weekends are a time to relax and enjoy the great outdoors in Colorado.

This week has been very busy. Today I went whitewater rafting again, this time with the kids, for a couple of hours in the morning. After that I had lunch with my small group which consists of a few 10th and 11th graders. Later today, my group is going to preview a movie by the makers of the movie "Fireproof" geared toward teenagers. That should be pretty cool. I have to teach the main message to all the students tomorrow. I'm nervous, but it should go well. I'm going to talk on John 13 and Jesus washing the disciples feet. Please pray for me about that.

Students Arrive - First Day of Meetings and Activities

What an awesome day. Our meetings and activities started today with nearly 70 students participating - the number of students will grow each week with the largest numbers being the last 10 days of July.

I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with the entire group. Everything went well and the students seemed to enjoy the time together. We broke into small groups in the morning so that the students could get to know each other better. We had games in the afternoon.

Thanks so much for your prayers -- God really moved.

The CSU 2009 Leadership Team

Yesterday we visited Rocky Mountain National Park. This was most likely the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life. We got up to an elevation of 12,080 ft at the highest point of the park. I was amazed at how much snow was still left up on the mountains. There were parts which had at least 4ft of snow still left. We got to see yellow bellied marmots -- which look a lot like gophers -- and a few male elk.

Today, we did whitewater rafting on the Poudre River which was amazing. The river had 13 class 3 rapids and two class 4 rapids and we hit them all. I had so much fun -- it was a real adrenaline rush.

Next week the program starts and our meetings begin. We get to see all of our prepartion and hard work pay off. I 'm really looking forward to this but I'm also nervous because I have to speak next Friday to all the kids about an aspect of God's love. Please pray for my presentation and that God would work in the lives of the teens we come in contact with.