posted on July 28, 2009 in Blogs, Dustyn Frankcom
Even though I am still getting used to the fact that I wake up in my bedroom at home and not a dorm room at Brock University, and am having breakfast whenever I please, I still enjoyed CY09 and look forward to CY12. I just wish it ran annually, instead of only on three year intervals and for only one week.
Although I sure am glad to be able to wake up to the sound of my cats meowing for attention and my mother just waiting for me to wake up. It is warming being home.
But I do miss everybody I met down there. I had so much fun while there. The welcoming atmosphere will not be around again for another three years. It’s like your first day at school; everybody is so welcoming, except unlike school that continues past the first day. At least I and many others keep in contact so we can update each other on the happenings around our sections of the country.
Goodbye everyone, I will always miss you guys! I will never forget any of you!
I’d like to continue to blog at CY12. So goodbye until then my friends. If you are on facebook or msn, you can add me. Dustyn Frankcom or d-frankcom_16@hotmail.com
Dustyn, out.
posted on July 27, 2009 in Alex Luyckx, Blogs
Canada Youth ended a couple days ago now, and I’m still missing it.
It was a truly awesome experience, visiting with the Lord, and with fellow Presbyterians across Canada, and the world even! New friends were made, old friends reconnected, networks and relationships formed. Everyone left the conference with something. I left equipped, but in a way I wasn’t thinking. Rather than learning how to run a Bible Study, how to bring youth to the church…I was equipped with how to pray about myself (something we often forget to do), how to take Sabbath, and how to form relationships with the youth I will be ministering to.
Because there’s no such thing as ‘youth ministry’ but rather ministry to youth, same as if you would be ministering to an older person.
I also left with 2000 photos. Most of which are edited now! You can view them here: www.flickr.com/photos/axle81401/collections/72157621857323330/.
So thank you to all of those who followed these blogs, photos, and twitter updates! And now, I’m looking forward to CY2012.
posted on July 26, 2009 in Blogs, Dustyn Frankcom
Today was a sad day, but also a happy day. Sad, because everyone had to leave their newly-found friends. Happy, because they had the chance to keep in touch with them via e-mail and/or phone and/or facebook.
posted on July 25, 2009 in Blogs, Christina Gillard
Today was a day that was bitter sweet. Excitment was mounting for a promising worship and an awesome recreational night. But as the events drew closer, so did the end. It was beautiful outside, a game of capture the flag provided plenty of opportunity to draw on non-existant energy; my team lost miserably. But it was fun. My brother has been playing his guitar all week, and it was strange to be at an activity without him strumming nearby. By now my voice has left along with my energy supply, from too much, yelling, talking, laughing, and above all else singing. The day started off slow, like everyone was trying to stretch out the last few minutes we had together. Our sequoia groups where sad to see each other leave, especially seeing as how we had just begun to open up. (My mind is all over the place right now so forgive me if this is the most unorganized entry in a blog ever read.) We stuck pieces of paper to each others’ backs and wrote what we thought of each other. Most of mine were referenceing my strong opinions and ability to speak my mind. (This blog is definitely not a great representation of the way I speak.) Tears where shed by the end and a group hug was in order. My mother (the adult advisor for Bonsai), decided to keep everything, just as an excuse to pack it away ando hide her face while she started to bawl.
Many people revisited the Spirit Grove and calmed themselves for the rough goodbyes that lay ahead. The activities where wonderful for all, and we played endless sports during dinner and onwards.
During the dance, I was in a circle with my friend from Newfoundland, with the Taiwanese guests as well, and man can they bust a move! It was a wonderful night with a ton of laughter and smiling. Oh, and worship. Until this May, I struggled deeply with my faith and was completely turned the wrong way around. After watching a DVD of a Christian concert (Toby Mac) I turned back to God. After this week, my heart was with Him every minute of worship. I felt so renewed and so grateful that I could feel His presence among us for the first time in such a long stretch of spiritual emptiness. It was so relieving to feel like I was in an embrace for hours on end. I was taken to the next level in my faith. And I owe part of that experience to the ministers who told such inspirational, and amusing sermons, and to that praise band and the videos shown. Without CY, I dont think I would have been able to step up onto the next rung on my spiritual ladder. Though my head went back to earth thinking of how much I would miss my friends and long for their presence; my heart has not yet left the clouds and will not long for Gods presence because now, He is with me always. CY had its ups, its downs, its turn-arounds, but I will not forget the lessons it has taught me. To love. And to inspire, and to grow through the roots in my Lord, and my Saviour.
Halleluah. Praise my God because I know that now, through Him I can be the change I wish to see in the world. And through His love, we are all able.
So I say farewell to CY.
In hopes that I can reach the next rung,
and grow a new branch.
At CY12.
posted on July 25, 2009 in Alex Luyckx, Blogs
Friday, CY can’t be over, not yet!
It may be over, but I feel ready, equipped, knowing that I have the support of all the people in the Youth Ministry branch.
At least it ended with a bang! Massive high energy worship service, with presentations from all our international partners set the mood for the night. The commissioning of all of us as we left (well to be honest myself and a friend skipped out early, to line up photographs of the group walking back from the gym.) The evening ended off with a massive dance party, wandering around feeling the beat and moving with friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. Grandmothers keeping up with the teenagers and getting right into the mood.
I got to thinking, the last time I was at CY, was in 2003, six years ago. Six years ago I was shooting with film and went through three rolls of 24 exposures (72 photos), laptops weren’t very prevalent (I didn’t have one), blogs weren’t used that much, twitter, facebook, and Internet on your cellphone were still in R&D. And today, you, our faithful readers, can follow us every step of the way, see photos from the day’s activities.
It was good, it was fun…I will be back at CY2012. (oh yeah, the power just went out in the Cafe…)
A powerful sermon tells a story of new life out of death.
posted on July 24, 2009 in Blogs, Leila Paugh
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap the harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9.
Wednesday night, we met as synod groups. I attended Southwestern Ontario and was delighted to be able to hear Mark Yaconelli speak to our group. His message was simple: be kind, be honest, take time. His honesty while he spoke made him very translatable to everyone in the room, encouraging us to take time with people, friends or strangers because the little impact we have on them could make or break their day. His honest apprehensions at waiting for something to happen, to join his son’s “Slow Club,” or the worry and anxiety about a “surprise wedding” were just as entertaining as they were thought provoking. Take a step back from the hustle bustle of life, and just enjoy living.
“Through him, you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, so your faith and hope are in God.” 1 Peter 1:21
“I have seen the risen Lord.” A powerful statement from Sarah Travis, as she boldly stood at the front of Worship and told us her heartbreaking story. Her son Sam died on his third birthday after three liver transplants–and when she questioned God heading home after Sam’s death, God told her, “I too have lost a son.” Her story then turned empowering. Sarah’s other son Ben (now 7) informed Sarah that Sam was lucky; he got an early start on eternal life. How prophetic.
Sarah then focused on what to do next. The family decided to donate to a hospital in Jobat, India, where the need is great. Pneumonia vests were made, gifts were taken, and Sarah brought them to Jobat. She turned tragedy into beauty. I have seen the risen Lord. I see his work through Sarah.
“Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.” Proverbs 20:22
A good day despite a missed breakfast.
posted on July 24, 2009 in Blogs, Holly McKenzie-Sutter
The fourth day of CY began with Sabbath until 10:30. Basically, the morning was free of scheduled activities for everyone. This meant that one didn’t have to get up early to go to breakfast because there would be breakfast in one’s residence building. However, if one went out to have such a breakfast any time after about 8:30, there was none left. This left a lot of hungry youths rather unhappy. Luckily the Tim Horton’s on campus saved the day for me, even if it meant I had to skip the Stump. It was a sacrifice, but I did have a very good muffin.
After that delicious baked good I visited the Brock campus store with some buddies. There were good deals to be had at that place, even though my cashier had a few troubles with reading “25% off” stickers, refunding, and knowing where bags are. Still, I eventually had my purchases and went up to lunch. Sorry for the minimal information but I totally forget what lunch was.
After the memorable lunch was the second activity of the week, which for me was pottery. The rain forced the activity inside but I still found it relaxing and fun. Sequoia groups met again after the activity. We played interesting games and did other exciting things.
Dinner and worship were next on the agenda. Communion was a part of Thursday’s worship and ’twas very well done. We were led out of worship into the cafeteria by a guy carrying a blow-up duck. It was a more Christmas-y cafeteria than usual and I made a pretty great card if I do say so myself. After half an hour in Christmas land the man and his duck led the way to a classroom where Easter was the new theme.
In the Easter room we had to build a contraption that would protect an egg from breaking when dropped. My group’s egg survived, obviously. The Easter excitement had to come to a close, however, and we all returned to our rooms. Well, not everyone. A couple people decided to dance in the rain for a while first. Now there’s a good day.
posted on July 23, 2009 in Alex Luyckx, Blogs
Thursday morning was our day of rest, a chance to sleep in, relax, reflect and recharge for the rest of CY. I took advantage of that to be able to sleep in and visit Spirit Grove. The trick to finding Spirit Grove is to not look too hard for it. It’s tucked away in an isolated section of the campus. A quiet space to reflect, meditate, and listen to God’s voice.
The rain didn’t dampen our spirits, just changed the schedule, and some locations.
There are two places at CY that are loud; just loud in general. The first is the cafeteria, at meals, just a happy roar of all different conversations going on at the same time, friends laughing, talking. Of course this is mostly at lunch and dinner. People haven’t quiet woken up yet (or had their morning coffee(s)) at breakfast time. The second is worship. During the sharing of the peace of Christ, there’s nothing like hugging random strangers or friends as you move around the entire gym it seems. Just joy all around.
It seems like the week has gone by so fast. Tomorrow will be the last day. But enough of that, still one full day left to celebrate!
posted on July 23, 2009 in Blogs, Connie Purvis
Thursday morning dawned dreary and rain-swept and quiet. For participants, this was a day of rest–a mid-week Sabbath. A continental breakfast was served in residence, allowing sleep-deprived youth an extra hour or two of rest. Spiritual resources were included in each welcome package, giving them a place to begin if they wished to spend the morning in personal prayer or contemplation. And the Spirit Grove, a spirituality centre, was at their disposal.
The centre occupies a glass-walled room looking out on a waterfall cascading into a lily-filled pond. Bread bakes, filling the room with its scent. Watercolour paints, molding clay, pencils and pens allow you to explore thoughts, reflections, or prayers artistically. A box of sand permits a more unique and tangible–if impermanent–worship experience. Baskets of books offer a place to study. Prayers written on cards and tied with ribbon can be added to a “prayer tree.” Bibles encourage reflection on scripture. And headphones encourage an experience of God through music.
At its centre, a large labyrinth dominates the space. Once a symbol of pilgrimage, the labyrinth has been resurrected in recent years as a tool for prayer and spiritual contemplation. Although it resembles a maze, it is actually formed by a single path which loops back on itself, leading inevitably toward its centre. Walkers are encouraged to reflect and pray as they walk the path and to stop for a time when they reach the middle.
Spirit Grove runs throughout the week.
posted on July 23, 2009 in Blogs, Holly McKenzie-Sutter
Wednesday began with an exciting breakfast. The apples were once again some of the best I’ve ever had, and that’s a big deal. I take my apples very seriously.
The Stump involved the usual action-y songs about dinosaurs walking up the stairs and other things that I don’t really think our age group should be doing.
At our sequoia groups after the Stump we enjoyed friendly conversation, discussed issues and glued slate onto a piece of wood for reasons later to be revealed.
Following sequoia groups was lunch, which for the first time had chicken burgers. There was a bit of an incident with me being unable to open a door going outside, but hey, how can the day go by without some public embarrassment, as I always say? After lunch was our first activities of the week, which for me was baseball. ‘Twas very fun, even if a few participants seemed to be channeling a competitive side of the Lord. Overall a grand ol’ time.
We then returned to our sequoia groups for the usual shenanigans.
Dinner that night was actually the best ever: good ham and po-ta-toes. After dinner was a longish meeting with our synods, or people in our general area of residence. The ice cream party after the Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda synod’s presentation was definitely one of the highlights.
Then we all headed down for worship, which tonight took on a more serious tone, but I thought it was the most interesting thus far. We saw our slate mosaics from that morning put up in the form of a cross–one from every sequoia group–which was cool to see. Overall, Wednesday was a swell day, and marked the midpoint of the week-long CY experience.
Explorations lead to the unexpected.
posted on July 23, 2009 in Alex Luyckx, Blogs
The morning started off with a thick fog covering the campus. It was fun to wander around that morning before everyone else was up, the campus silent and muffled, with only myself and my friend James walking around taking photos.
At the youth ministry branch we got to listen to Andy Root again. He is an amazing speaker, knows what he’s talking about and just makes sense! If you ever have a chance to hear him speak do it. It’s well worth it.
But the thing yesterday that stuck out for me was during the afternoon session with Mark Yaconelli. He lead us as a group in an interesting form of prayer where we allowed our minds to reach back and think about a time where we experienced a sacred moment, then prayed into that moment. Almost as if we were re-living that moment, allowing God to speak to us anew from that point in time.
The space in which my small group meets is the library at the Concordia Lutheran Seminary, which is attached to Brock University and are graciously allowing us to use that space during Canada Youth. As a room, it’s nothing very interesting overall. However, it’s the contents of the library that draws me in (and the wonderful musty smell of old books). I was able to wander the stacks today, and my attention was drawn to several locked glass cabinets. These were old books, lots of volumes. Then I looked at the label on the doors … these were some of the writings of Martin Luther (not the original writ of Luther, but others who copied his work). The earliest date was 1729.
I never realized how many people at CY are from my own synod until we gathered in the evening to talk amongst ourselves. I got to thinking about the numbers in the room we were all gathered in, and realized that only a small amount of those actually attend Presbyterian Young People’s Society events. Hopefully after CY this will change. (Remember: PYPS Fall Convention: Electric Jesus, Oct 16-18, 2009!)!
It’s fun to sing, dance, and clap loudly to “Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer.”
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Connie Purvis
It was strangely hushed in the sanctuary. Five hundred voices whispered to silence as Sarah Travis took to the pulpit. Last night’s service had been a solemn one, full of reflections about when evil and pain plague good people. Tonight the stage had shifted. A tree which yesterday stood barren at centre stage was beginning to bud. But a cross dominated.
“I want to tell you my story,” Travis said. “I want to tell you where I have witnessed the risen Lord.
“I too have woken up the morning after death, and like Mary, have stood weeping. Like Mary, I have sen the risen Lord, surprising me out of my sorrow and turning my mourning into a quiet joy.
“In October 2004, I gave birth to a perfect baby boy named Sam. A year and a half later, he got very sick very suddenly and for months we all fought for his life.
On his third birthday, after three liver transplants, Sam died.
“One day in prayer I remember crying to God, ‘What can you possibly do to help me?’
In my heart God said, ‘I lost a son too.’
I answered, ‘Yeah, but yours rose from the dead.’
God said, ‘So has yours.’
“What I didn’t know when Sam died was that the story was just beginning. And the risen Lord began to make appearances in all the dark corners of our lives.
“When Sam was baptized, my church wanted to celebrate, so we asked them to make donations to a mission hospital in central India, built by the Presbyterian Church in Canada over 100 years ago. This hospital had no emergency equipment for babies, so our church bought some.
“The prayers of that community acros the world accompanied us all through Sam’s illness. They lost children all the time, yet they prayed for a little white boy who had everything.
“On the night Sam died, as I drove home–the longest drive of my life–I thought of those people in the far-off village of Jobat. And I had an idea: let’s build a children’s hospital for them so that those parents might have some hope for their children.
“So it happened. And I was lucky enough last year to twice visit the Samuel Travis Miller Pediatric Ward at Jobat Mission Hospital.
“I have seen the risen Lord.
“I have seen babies that were hours old wrapped in pneumonia vests knitted by women in the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
“I saw a children’s dormitory that was crumbling, rat-infested, where children slept on the floor and ate porridge and had nothing to wear but a school uniform.
“And then the Women’s Missionary Society decided to build them a new place. A safe and healthy place to live. And soon that new building will rise from the dust.
“I have seen the risen Lord.
“I spent the last week with four young adults from India who are here with us this week and even though we had few words in common, they felt like family.
“On the day I left Jobat, I gave a baby blanket to the obstetrician and asked her to give it to the next baby born in the hospital. Well, the next baby was a set of twins. And I saw pictures of those twins. They were wearing tiny bracelets on their feet. And when I looked closely I saw their names: the little girl was named Sarah, and the little boy was named Sam.
“I have seen the risen Lord.
“I have seen him all over the place, around every corner, and I am constantly surprised–amazed–at how God has worked to bring good out of even the worst situation.
“Like Mary, we meet Jesus in unexpected places. She expected to find the dad body of her saviour and friend. She found new life. God always, always brings new life out of death.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not let them be afraid. You will see the risen Lord.”
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Christina Gillard
In the beginning, we traveled by bus for three hours singing the same five praise songs over and over again the entire ride. By the end of a road trip like that, you’re singing “Days of Elijah” in your sleep … and tapping your feet … and the bruises from clapping your hands so long are still throbbing to the beat.
Finding dorms, room keys, and awesome looking t-shirts was pretty exciting. And we all where banging on each others’ bathroom doors to see who our neighbour was. Humming to ourselves, we began to “settle” down … only to go to “the Stump” and jump around singing and dancing like happy-go-lucky maniacs. Meeting up with old friends and making new ones was a wonderful experience … but as dinner hour rolled around there where still some people missing.
“MARKUS! EUN!” My brother yelled those names countless of times over dinner trying to find my friends from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Every head would turn towards us and my head would simultaneously hide under the nearest table as he called out for my long lost friends. (Being from “Southern Ontario” I don’t get to see many Newfies very often). I would later find out that the incessant screeching had all been in vain because the bus from Newfoundland had broken down for eight hours somewhere in Quebec. (According to the bus people, Shrek 2 is only good the first 4 times you watch it). They did arrive… but maybe just a little too late.
In the beginning the Lord said, “Let there be light” But as I approached the room I had been told was the place to worship, I was positive I was in the wrong place. Purple and blue light was streaming into the hall. I could hear music, and noise, and could see bleachers filled with people. My first thought was “Cool, I didn’t know they held rock concerts at university, sign me up! ” But I was ushered in and realized, wait, this is the right place! Then the second thought? WICKED!
The music was wonderful, not necessarily rock concert quality but definitely uplifting and awesome. The preaching was fabulous and the assortment of slide shows and dramatic productions where spectacular, and everything was “good.” Going to bed, we all knew there would be no such thing as sleep … even though we were all running on our last reserves of hyperactivity before the inevitable crash.
And the Lord called the light day and the darkness night, and so I say goodnight to a blog I am trying desperately to write. I am on Microsoft Word writing this, because I can’t find internet. So today is the first day of CY, even though it wont be posted until … well I don’t know.
I am Christin(a) Gillard, I am 16, and I am filled with God’s love and the energy from CY. I don’t know who you are, but I hope someday you will be given such an awesome opportunity.
Toodles.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Christina Gillard
This morning after breakfast, I was told to go to the Underground to watch two videos, “Dirty Little Secret” by the All American Rejects and “World on Fire” by Sarah McLachlan. It was fairly eye-opening. I always thought the All American Rejects were just a whiiine-ey boy band singing about sleeping with someone or cheating on their girlfriends. And though that’s mentioned, it’s not the whole message. Nothing ever is. Everywhere there is an allusion, a code, a secret to be found. Songs about heartbreak aren’t just songs, they are the pain. A song about secrets isn’t just a song, it’s a secret unto itself showing the desire to be able to anonymously announce what is on your mind, or written in your heart. It showed that many of the things we fear are the same as those of the person sitting next to us. We all fear failure because it is inevitable. We fear disappointing our parents because we all have a deep desire to make them proud. The biggest secret of all is that none of us are alone.
After a long, wonderful spiritual day, we went to yet another magnificent worship and were ushered to a hall for some type of performance. I assumed it would be some guy with a guitar singing “Kumbaya”. When I heard he was some type of magician, I was even more skeptical. However as I sat in the audience I was quickly swept up in his stage presence, charm, and humor. It’s not everyday you see a full grown man playing Dance Dance Revolution, not to mention a full grown man memorizing a song on expert well enough to juggle pins at the same time. Even more seldom seen is a full grown man on a 6-foot unicycle juggling milk, a tea cup, and a dagger. All in all it was a fascinating show that was totally captivating for audiences of all ages. Birthday party of the year anyone? Also immediately after the show, every third kid had a chinese yoyo. You couldn’t walk more than a minute without sidestepping a flying cone type thing. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and the energy was flying through the air nearly as quickly as a bag of milk.
The one problem with summer and vacations is you can never remember what day is what. So I think I am writing this under my Wednesday account … when it was actually on Tuesday. So I guess that can mean one of two things: I’m crazy and can’t remember my name not to mention the date. Or the memory is so vivid it feels like yesterday … Wait , it was. Well option three is that I’m still psyched about it. Not psyc-O, psych-ED.
What actually happened today during recreation was as follows. Our groups were divided into synods and we (being from Southwestern Ontario) were brought into a large lecture hall. Now there are not normally very exciting things to do in lecture halls, but after throwing candy at us, we were content to eat and listen to two speakers from our area who where both inspirational and well-spoken. All my peers thoroughly enjoyed the event and claimed that they wouldn’t have traded it for the party the east coast was having. Since this is a Christian retreat, I wont lie and say I agree. Though it was wonderful, I definitely could have gone for some crazy Newfoundland spirit.
Another day of fun, worship, community, laughter and love here at CY09.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Dustyn Frankcom
I did a little bit of research today, and found that some people think that some things here at CY can be improved. Here are their thoughts:
Drew, from Calgary, thinks that the biggest improvement can be made at “the Stump”.
One of the leaders, Bob, thinks that one room at 11:00pm for meet and eat is not enough space to fit three groups into. He also says that more seating can be put in to make more people comfortable.
Mark believes that the sermons at the worship service are too much alike. He thinks that they can make them differ a little bit.
James and Matthew both think that breakfast and curfew are too early. They both think the times of both them should be extended. Also, Matthew believes that the activities at “the Stump” could be a little more suited to our ages.
This was my research. I hope it helps towards future CY events.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Brenden Sheratt
In my normal life I hardly touch twitter. (I do have one for a website I run @SharkTankABC but its not a personal account and to be honest it drives me a bit mad.) This week Colin Carmichael (the Communications guru for the PCC) asked me if I would twitter about what is going on at Canada Youth 2009. I created a new account and went to it. Well let me tell you its hard to explain what’s going on in only 140 characters.
I had a funny experience, Sarah Travis came up to me at lunch today and asked me what’s the deal with Twittering during her sermon (with a joking smile on her face). I told her I thought it brought people from around the world into her sermon, she smiled and said then keep doing it.
a tweet from last night service: There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less … We don’t have to do anything to keep His love… It just is #CY09
It may only be a single sentence but in my mind I hope it is being read by those who could not make it here, or those who are praying for us here.
If anyone wishes to send a message about Canada Youth 2009 simple place #CY09 at the end of their twitter message.
There are two places you can follow use:
1) BeingPresbyterian.ca
2) Twitter
God works amidst suffering.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Leila Paugh
Do we celebrate suffering? Do we turn a blind eye to the people who are hungry, homeless, sad, oppressed? Do we need God’s suffering? At worship Tuesday night, Sarah Travis pointed out that we do indeed need suffering. But how much anguish can one life take? What is your breaking point? Why are breaking points so very different?
“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalm 9:9.
As a paramedic, if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what the worst thing I’ve seen at work was, I think I’d be a millionaire. Maybe twice over. My strength comes from Him. The Lord has been good to me. I do see bad things, but I also see good things. I cope, I hope and I pray … and I have the satisfaction knowing He works through me to help others. As Sarah said, God loves us to capacity; pain and suffering is just a part of the deal. Faith does not protect us, but it leads and guides us in His paths of righteousness. This is what he wants for us.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalms 18:2.
Believe in Him. Find peace in Him. Love Him. He is your strength. He is your rock.
After worship, we were entertained by juggler Bob Cates. That man is just plain funny. I was truly entertained. And to those who didn’t believe me that what they bought was a diabolo, check this out. It also gives you a list of tricks you can impress me with later!
A quest, some skittles and some DDR-juggling.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Holly McKenzie-Sutter
The second day of CY ’09 began at 7:00 a.m. for me. If you’re wondering why so early, it’s because I was on a quest to find out what “morning devotions” are and whether or not I’d be written up for not attending. I still don’t know what or where they are, but I do know that if you leave your room at 7:20 to go Morning Devotions, they will already be over. Thanks, girls in front of the elevator, for enlightening me in that regard. I returned to my room and later went down to breakfast.
“The Stump” began at 9. Highlights today were some complicated elbow-to-knee icebreaker games and action songs. As the Stump ended we branched off into our smaller groups named after trees. Their more professional name is “sequoia groups.” These groups spent the rest of the morning eating skittles, talking about last night’s worship and just bonding in other generally pleasant ways.
Then, lunch happened. It was fairly mind-blowing.
After lunch we returned to our small groups to talk about Genesis and make a tree out of cardboard to be used in a competition of sorts against other sequoia groups. Since it was raining, the “competition” took place indoors. Maybe not what was planned, but it was indeed an experience to remember. The Maple group was clearly the best, not only because I myself was a part of it. That helped, though. Next my brother and I went to the bookstore and had dinner with some chummy chums.
After dinner was worship which tonight included a Toy Story clip and “phat jams” from the band. That evening a juggling while DDR-ing man entertained us with his talents on “giant Chinese yo-yo”, a unicycle, and other comedic mediums. There’s day two in a nutshell.
“Today was good, today was fun, tomorrow is another one.” 
Participants help rejuvenate a low income housing site.
posted on July 22, 2009 in Blogs, Connie Purvis
Mission Track participants descended on a community of low income housing, rolling up their sleeves and ready to turn the ramshackle residences into environmentally sustainable gems. They ripped up paving stones, pulled weeds, and churned ground as Jan Hanlon, coordinator of the Climate Action Now project, answered their questions and beamed as she looked on.
“I’m absolutely amazed at how quickly work is getting done,” she said. “It would have taken volunteers a lot of time to do this project. A lot of the residents here are disabled and on social assistance for good reason. With this group taking care of the hard labour, residents can plant trees and flowers.”
The new plants and shrubs will be indigenous to the Niagara region, and less pavement means less heat will be attracted during the hot summer months. New high efficiency furnaces were recently installed in residents’ homes and new windows are planned for the future. This is a pilot project, but one Hanlon hopes can be used elsewhere in Niagara.
“I feel blessed to be here,” said resident Natasha Whitaker, who came out to watch the work. “I think it’s a great location, close to the country. And it’s a co-op so people work trying to keep it nice. It’s a real community.”
Whitaker has lived in the complex with her 22-month old daughter for almost a year now. Before moving in, she spent time in shelters and transitional housing as she struggled to recover from addiction. Yesterday marked her second anniversary of being sober.
“Those places were a real blessing to me,” she said. Among the places she stayed during those difficult times are the YWCA and Bethlehem Housing, two other projects where the mission track participants will be pitching in this week.
Despite the heat and hard work, the youth kept up their spirits. In the words of Kaitlyn Lamont, a youth from Ottawa: “This is our own little worship.”
Read More:
“Pilot Project Helps Put the Green in Meadow Green Co-Op” in the St. Catharines Standard, Wednesday July 22, 2009.
