tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73772795146110450222024-02-22T01:04:21.710-08:00True Disciples Student MinistriesFUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-42638991855730762202016-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:002016-01-07T12:49:06.487-08:00The Grand Prize<span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Grand
Prize<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Each fall for the past six years the
youth ministry has run a Scripture Memorization Program where youth memorize
Scripture verses and receive an entry for each verse. Then we have a drawing at
Christmas time for a grand prize. Every year we have run this program, the
grand prize has improved. The first year the it was an iPod. The next two years
an iPad. Then the group voted that it should be a free mission trip. Needless
to say, participation has grown each year and the students have learned
hundreds of Scripture verses.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This fall the group decided that the
grand prize would be either a free mission trip or an electronic device up to a
value of $750. This really inspired everyone! We had 21 different students
participate and they memorized over 380 verses. However, in the last month two
students really separated themselves from the rest. August Bodin and Claire
Bodin pushed themselves and each other to learn more verses. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now, let me fill you in on some more of
the back story. Claire won the free mission trip last year with 64 entries and
set a new Scripture Memorization Program record. The old record was shared by
Christina Aspinwall and Abbie Wagner at 63 entries. Claire also lost her cell
phone during a youth room clean-up last summer, so she was determined to win
and buy herself a new phone.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August Bodin had his own reasons for
learning so many verses, but sibling competition was definitely part of the
deal. I think he also realized just how good his memory was and keeping up with
Claire was easy in the beginning. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I always post the official entries in
November to encourage the students to learn more in the last month leading up
to the drawing. Here is the official entry list (top six students only) from
November 5, 2015:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Scripture Memorization Program
Entries to Date<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Claire
Bodin <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>60<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August
Bodin <span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>46<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney
Wright <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>24<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Franco
Urra-Morffiz <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>22<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Matthew
Wagner <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>16<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joshua
Bartley <span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>12<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In December, things intesified. The
drawing is always at the Youth Christmas Party and this year’s party was
scheduled for Friday, December 18. Students can only recite verses during youth
bible study meetings on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Claire and
August started telling me verses in my office with the door shut so that the
other one wouldn’t know what verse they had memorized. Claire even recited
verses to me during a Gaga Ball game one Wednesday night. August plays Gaga
ball with a passion, so he wasn’t paying attention. On the other hand, August
liked to whisper his verses to me even with the office door shut. Both of them
made me promise not to reveal which verses they were memorizing or how many
they recited on a given day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the week of the Christmas party,
August and Claire had separated themselves from the rest of the students. This
is the final official entry list (top six students) from December 15, 2015:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Official Scripture Memorization
Program Entries 2015<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Claire
Bodin <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>109<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August Bodin <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>90<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sydney
Wright <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>28<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Franco
Urra-Morffiz
28<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Matthew
Wagner <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>22<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joshua
Bartley <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>12<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Both August and Claire had blown the old
record of 64 entries away! Now, remember, it is just a drawing. Anyone can win.
Ask Cameron Gray. He won the Grand Prize in 2012 with three entries. By the
way, do not bring this up around Abbie Wagner. With their record breaking
efforts, there was still a chance August and Claire might not win the Grand
Prize, but the odds were clearly in their favor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the Christmas party, Zebastian
Alzamora was visiting as a youth alumnus. Zebastian is now in college in Texas.
As a visiting dignitary, I asked him to do the drawing. I recuse myself from
the official drawing and always have a neutral party draw the winners from the
giant bubble gum container used to mix all the official entries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Zebastian drew out three winners. I
carefully placed them in order on the table next to the mini Christmas tree
where our gift exchange presents had previously been piled up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The drawing is always the last part of
our Christmas party. Students must be present to win any prize in the drawing.
You can Skype in, under the Cameron Gray rule, if you are out of town or sick
or have an excuse acceptable to the group. By the way, do not bring up the
Cameron Gray skype rule around Abbie Wagner. This year Marco Trillo was in
Argentina and the skype program on our old Mac computer wouldn’t work. The
group voted to allow Marco to win if his name was drawn given that he had tried
to skype several times and his poor mother, Cari Gardner, was texting me madly
all day from South America. I reminded everyone of the rules and we began to
turn over the winning entry cards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August Bodin won the Grand Prize! And
everyone was a good sport for the most part, but it was intense. Claire
received the prize for having the most entries without winning, incidentally a
prize which began the year Cameron Gray won. Sydney Wright won second place and
Franco Urra-Morffiz won third place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next day during Mission Miami, when
the youth visit the elderly of the church for Christmas, August asked to speak
to me in private. He asked me to buy an iPhone 6 for his sister, Claire, as his
Grand Prize. He also wanted to know if I could get it to him before Christmas
so that he could wrap it for her. Luckily, I have a friend who owns a phone
store and he had one iPhone 6 left. The Holy Spirit just works that way. It was
a special Christmas in the Bodin house. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August and Claire and all of the
students memorized a lot of verses this year. The real lesson, though, is that
you cannot intake that much of God’s Word without His Spirit having a profound
effect on you. That is the real Grand Prize.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Winners: Sydney Wright, August Bodin,
Franco Urra-Morffiz, and Claire Bodin<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">August & Claire on Christmas
morning.</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="GoBack"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12873304946732436616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-77420897757297737892015-05-13T08:40:00.000-07:002015-05-13T08:40:44.762-07:00Confirmation Class 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX-BCmq7Gm6Y0GJ0Iy7ttP_v-9hiU_TL-Xzr4xAOZVEjX9DMXNW9B3qOa_hQVlSGMcONKIGMk47tee4L8QYpibI-fbDSQdtryesDAs9GkceySHbvLkbOZsQIQxR4bt_9JoRjlangATa4/s1600/IMG_4504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvX-BCmq7Gm6Y0GJ0Iy7ttP_v-9hiU_TL-Xzr4xAOZVEjX9DMXNW9B3qOa_hQVlSGMcONKIGMk47tee4L8QYpibI-fbDSQdtryesDAs9GkceySHbvLkbOZsQIQxR4bt_9JoRjlangATa4/s320/IMG_4504.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
<o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The Confirmation Class of 2015 </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
L to R Sean Hickey, Jamie Horman, Matt Wagner, Grant Archer,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Marco Trillo, Emily Rios, Kayla Martinez, Gabriel Martinez,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Franco Urra-Morffiz, Robert Gray</div>
</o:p><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Sunday, April 19, 2015 we confirmed another
fantastic group confirmation class.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Confirmation is one of my favorite
things to teach as the Director of Student Ministries. Of course, I have a
wonderful team of teachers who work with me including Andrew and Jen Sheehy and
April Lewis. The class meets on Sunday mornings and includes one of the worship
services. This has been a great strategy because it allows the youth to experience
both the traditional and the contemporary services our church offers. They see
the similarities and the differences as we gather as a community to worship
God. They also get to meet people from these services and participate serving
communion or being acolyte or crucifer.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The curriculum is the entire gospel of
Mark. Along the way, a lot of great questions are asked and insights are
revealed about Jesus Christ. We also include two sessions on the history of the
Methodist church,the Wesley Quadrilateral and the sacraments of the
church.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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The Ropes Course at Warren Willis Confirmation Retreat</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The class meets eight to ten times over
3 months and includes a retreat to Warren Willis United Methodist Youth Camp to
join 350 other youth also going through confirmation. Several of our youth have
been inspired to go to summer camp at Warren Willis after visiting the camp
during confirmation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Each confirmand is sponsored by a member
of the church, who prays for them, writes them encouraging notes and cards, and
provides them with a fun basket of goodies for the retreat. We had a great
group of sponsors this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Confirmand<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Sponsor<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grant Archer<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span> April Lewis<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sean Hickey<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Angela Kim<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Jamie Horman<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Robert Gray<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gabriel Martinez<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Joe Banos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kayla Martinez<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Mirta Banos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marco Trillo <span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Andrew Sheehy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Emily Rios<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Kimberley Rios<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Franco Urra-Morffiz<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Kay Brezina <span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matt Wagner <span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Kathy Howard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pastor Dur sees confirmation as one of
the most important spiritual processes of the church. He likes to bring each
confirmand up individually to kneel and to be confirmed. Then he prays with
them and their parents and sponsor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqoOpgL-TgwMPr2x6dlWb9YMEDJq4z4bV9kGivaAMaFJVyXnKfCW6rlFBQhjifK7gSFrx7EbZgQcKiBJ56QpoVFbFWmQVXcPRd6p5qYiSzSVQedR-5xeVG_L79DYDqgR9Gd4jSNsHgxI/s1600/IMG_4484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDqoOpgL-TgwMPr2x6dlWb9YMEDJq4z4bV9kGivaAMaFJVyXnKfCW6rlFBQhjifK7gSFrx7EbZgQcKiBJ56QpoVFbFWmQVXcPRd6p5qYiSzSVQedR-5xeVG_L79DYDqgR9Gd4jSNsHgxI/s320/IMG_4484.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pastor Dur Confirms and Prays over Gabriel Martinez</div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
with his parents and Sponsor, Joe Banos</div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Confirmands officially join the church as full members upon being confirmed. Franco Urra-Morffiz understood this as he checked the “Member of the Church” box on the attendance form during his confirmation service. He wrote a smiley face and the words, “I am now!” Welcome, Franco, and all your classmates of this year’s terrific confirmation class!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span><br />
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April Lewis, Andrew Sheehy, Jen Sheehy - My teaching team</div>
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Confirmation Class at 9:30am Service</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12873304946732436616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-41643521059936525262015-05-13T08:22:00.002-07:002015-05-13T08:23:36.379-07:00Mission Trip to the Florida United Methodist Children's Home, June 15-19<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This June, the youth ministry will be
going to Enterprise, Florida to work with the Florida United Methodist
Children’s Home. Our church has supported this amazing institution for many
decades. If you check their website you will read that, “</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
Florida United Methodist Children's Home was established in 1908 to provide a
home for orphans and other children that had nowhere else to live.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Members of 1<sup>st</sup>
United Coral Gables have worked at the Children’s Home, volunteered there, and
sponsored activities and buildings on the campus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The youth are very excited about this
mission trip. I made a preliminary trip to the Children’s Home in April to
check everything out. According to Lynn Bellamy, the volunteer coordinator, we
will be working in three different areas. First, we will be working at their resale
shop called “Heart & Home”. Donated items are sold there to raise money. We
will be organizing their store room and the new donations which come in each week.
Some of the youth may get to work the retail floor as well. Second, we will be
organizing the kitchen pantry at the Children’s Home. They receive donated
items each week which need to be sorted and stored. Third, we will work on the
grounds of the Children’s Home doing maintenance items or landscaping work. The
youth are also hoping to interact with the youth who live there as well. We
have to respect that this is their home and we are the visitors. We have had
several discussions about privacy, respect and service and I think the group is
prepared to do great things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The campus of the Children’s Home is
beautiful. They have separate bunk houses for girls and boys. We will have our
own kitchen and bathroom facilities as well. Our group will divide into four dinner
crews each responsible for a breakfast and dinner during our stay. Each youth
will have their own ‘mess kit’ with plastic plate, bowl and silverware set and
water bottle. This way we use less paper goods, are personally responsible for
our own clean-up and work together as a group at mealtime. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am excited to say we have twenty youth
going on this year’s mission trip. We also have some great parents joining us
as chaperones including Carrie Bodin, Meg Wright, Jeff Wright and, possibly,
Axle Font. The group will have some fun, too. We are planning on visiting at
least two state parks to swim, ride inner tubes and explore. At one of the
parks, we will make our own pancakes at the sugar mill restaurant which dates
back to 1830! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Please keep the youth ministry in your
prayers all summer and especially June 15-19. We look forward to sharing our
experience with everyone at church when we return. Love wins!<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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One of the original buildings on the FLUMCH Campus</div>
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The Resale Shop</div>
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Tubing at Kelly Park</div>
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The Fire Pit right outside our bunk house at FUMCH</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12873304946732436616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-38988907805072836772014-09-18T07:31:00.000-07:002014-09-18T07:31:44.853-07:00Why is youth group so important at First UMC Coral Gables?<h2>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Every year on one Sunday in the fall we turn over our worship services to the youth and student ministry at First UMC Coral Gables. Some serve as ushers, some lead in worship, and others give their testimonies on why being in youth group is so important to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This time, four youth shared their stories, Matt, Catie, Zebastian, and Andrew, and it's amazing to see how much youth group impacts their lives. The two oldest, Andrew and Zebastian, came into youth group as two rowdy sixth graders, Andrew even got his own set of rules, and today, they're stories are much different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">From weekly youth group meetings for Bible study and fellowship to visiting with the seniors in the community to mission trips in and out of the country to snorkeling trips and lake retreats to Rock the Universe and beyond, the kids in our youth group make lasting relationships. They learn what it means to live out their faith not just at church, but in their every day lives. So check out the video and hear from these four about why youth group is so important to them.</span></div>
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/106401019">Youth Sunday 2014</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/fumccoralgables">FUMCCG</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<br />FUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-14179367887553516132014-06-18T06:31:00.001-07:002014-06-18T06:31:39.830-07:00Hope Swings Mission Trip, Wednesday<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">June 18 - Washington, Illinois - 7:15am</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It is Wednesday in the middle of our mission trip and I am tired and sore. But it is a good pain and a welcome weariness. As they have told us over and over again, our task is to build swing sets and our goal is to build relationships. We are making much progress on both fronts.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are organized into four work teams and my team delivered our first swing set yesterday. It was to a family of a little 3 year-old girl. They still weren’t living in their house yet, but it was almost ready. We met the mom, Kelly, and she was so happy and thankful to receive the swing set. She told us how much her daughter, Jocelyn, would appreciate it. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The hope and love we share with this community is so much more important than the swing set itself. So many families are not yet back in their homes, that we must keep that in mind. A swing set is a great thing for the kids, but it does not compare to a roof over your head. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Being here reminds me so much of Hurricane Andrew. The repair effort that our community in Miami underwent in the months and years after that tragedy are mirrored in the efforts here. On our first day, we met a man named Al in the CVS while we were buying things we had forgotten. Al found out why we were in Washington and told us how he had gone with a group of men from his church and worked in Homestead after Andrew. It has felt like my opportunity to give back to this community what was shared with Miami in those days 22 years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We had an idea in December to build swing sets for this town and God had a plan. The first person I talked to here was Dan Phillips, the outreach coordinator for 1st UMC of Peoria. Dan was the perfect person to pick up this idea and run with it. He is a combination of positive energy, creative fervor and good old midwestern dogged dertermination. His laugh and smile are infectious and he lives to serve. But he is not alone at all. He has an amazing cast of characters surrounding him and making this whole thing happen. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Julie Rolffs is the boss. She has built this based on a program she ran in Cincinnati the last few summers. They are extremely organized and it is quite impressive. They have foreman to direct the work teams and help them build the sets. They have intern/team leaders who run everything from the food to the small group bible studies. They have teams at each church providing dinners. They also have the praise teams from each church helping with worship each night. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Julie is the director this week and runs the whole operation. In their wisdom, (and these folks are very wise) they are rotating the weeks directors. Next week Dan will direct and then Trevor Bartolomucci, Youth Director from Crossroads UMC, after that. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Mike Francisco, the youth director from 1st UMC Peoria, has been really great to work with as well. His team is staying at one church while we stay at Crossroads. All the swing sets are assembled in the parking lot of Crossroads UMC. Once the set is ready the work team delivers and it and completes the assembly on-site. Mike has been great since their three church vans are our transportation. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our team leaders are amazing college students who do most of the work. Katie, Logan, David, Caitlin, Rachel, Sara, and a few others whose names I haven’t remembered are the heart and soul of this operation. They are working closely with the kids and are fantastic. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I do not have time to tell you all the amazing things happening but they are many. I sit here in the cafeteria watching Black & White team set up breakfast. Each work group is organized and color coded. Each group sets up breakfast one day during the week. All your tools and lunches and anything else you need is in a bin color-coded to your team. There are eight work teams this week as we are working with a team of 31 youth and adults from 1st United Peoria. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">This is three United Methodist churches working together and they have built quite a machine. They have enlisted the support of the community and other organizations (for example the kids shower at the community center) The schedule is full and littered with great ideas. One is that they put a little ‘Coming Soon..” sign on the front yard the week they plan to deliver a swing set. I told you these guys are organized. I think they may invade Iowa this fall but that is just a rumor.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our task is to build swing sets and our goal is to build relationships. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">See photos on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FUMCCG" target="_blank"><b>Facebook Page</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Signing out..</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Robert Gray</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Crossroads United Methodist Church</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Washington, Illinois</span></div>
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FUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-42900513362374049432014-05-05T08:51:00.001-07:002014-05-05T08:51:21.930-07:00Mission Trip Update<br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The plans have really come together for our mission trip this summer to Washington, Illinois. We have a team of 28 going including 23 youth and 5 adult chaperones.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would like to thank everyone who has supported our trip with your prayers, encouragement, attention and financial contributions. The majority of our youth raised over half of the cost of their trip through fund-raising and that is truly a blessing! </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a meeting with the entire team on Sunday, April 13. We filled out our paperwork for the trip and shared a packing list. There are a lot of fun activities planned for the youth when we are not assembling swing sets. They include bowling, eating at local restaurants and a barbecue with the families we are working with. The barbecue will be at a park right in the middle of the devastated neighborhood. The folks in Washington were telling me that they have to remove about 6-8 inches of top soil in the park and replace it. This is because there is so much debris blown into the ground like glass and shards of building materials from the tornado. So, we are praying for the topsoil replacement to be completed but understand if things change. The long winter has not helped the rebuilding efforts. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>We have also received donations for ten (10) swing sets! We are hoping to get about five more swing sets donated. So, if you would like to help out, please contact me immediately. Robert Gray 305-726-6775. Thanks.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to read more about what is happening in Washington, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/04/23/305898812/in-illinois-a-town-thats-half-destroyed-but-filled-with-hope?utm_source=npr_email_a_friend&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20140423&utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_term=" target="_blank">check out this story from NPR.</a></span></span><br />
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FUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-57563659206260508542014-05-05T08:22:00.001-07:002014-05-05T08:24:34.263-07:00Lake June Retreat<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">For the fourth year in a row we have been blessed to have our Spring High School retreat at Lake June in Lake Placid, Florida courtesy of my brother-in-law and sister, Chip and Mary Jean Lafferty. This retreat is the favorite event of many of our youth and is excitedly anticipated by the middle school youth. They are only allowed to go on the ‘High School’ retreat beginning at the end of their 8</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> grade year as part of their move-up rite of passage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">The Lafferty Lake House is a wonderful getaway with a fantastic dock, jet skis, a wake board boat, playroom and amazing deck overlooking the lake. The best amenity, though, is my nephew, Bob Lafferty, who comes up for the weekend and drives the boat. He teaches the youth how to wake board and how to survive tubing behind the boat. At least thats what he tells me as the youth are always talking about the ‘fun’ rides Bob gives them as they ride the tubes behind the boat. Everyone sleeps well on Saturday night after tubing all day and playing water basketball and other fun things.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a few traditions at the lake house like; chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast, lasagna and macaroni and cheese for dinner and lots of chocolate chip cookies. We always stop at the Wendy’s in Clewiston on the way up and the way back. There is a Little Caesar’s and a Subway nearby, too. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">The retreat always includes a serious discussion and lesson for the high school youth. This year we compared the Beatitudes to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The discussion was very interesting and continued on the dock afterward.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year we had sixteen youth and three chaperones at the lake. There were a few blow up air mattresses as the girls occupied the master suite and the guys filled in the rest of the bedrooms, futons and couches. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weather was warm and sunny and this translated to a lot of time on the water. A few sunburns were inevitable. The rope swing on the neighbor’s dock next door also saw a lot of action. You can see some videos captured by Alex Holian on our Facebook page; True Disciples Youth Ministry. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone feels blessed to be able to have such an awesome retreat in a beautiful setting and at a wonderful home. Special thanks to Heidi Aspinwall, Bob Lafferty and, of course, Chip and Mary Jean Lafferty for allowing us to continue this great tradition. I also praise and thank God for the depth and honesty of our youth in discussing serious things and keeping it real. </span></span></div>
FUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-85000137785054484712014-02-25T10:09:00.001-08:002014-02-25T10:09:26.732-08:00Why Washington, IL?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/87584813" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>FUMCCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15184077384458687657noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377279514611045022.post-80949358139919425032014-02-14T09:21:00.001-08:002014-05-05T08:25:03.620-07:00Summer Mission Trip Overview<div align="left" class="MsoNormal">
February 14, 2014<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Story about How We Decided to Go to Washington, Illinois
for our Mission Trip this Summer<o:p></o:p></div>
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Every fall we meet as a
youth ministry with all the youth who are interested in attending the mission
trip and discuss what we might do. We pray together for God’s guidance. We
discuss last year’s trip and the positives and negatives of the trip. We ask
everyone if they have a recommendation for next year’s trip and we make a list.
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This year we decided a
few things at our initial meeting on October 13<sup>th</sup>. We decided:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We would not return to Puerto Rico this year<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We would like to invite our friends from Ponce, PR to
join us wherever we go.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We wanted to return with a short list of 3 places and
they would include; an international location, a domestic location, and
possibly a location related to disaster relief.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our next meeting was on
December15. On November 17, a tornado hit Washington, IL and destroyed 800
homes. I called Brent McLaughlin because I knew his family was from Illinois
and that Josiah, Sierra and Keenan had spent most summers up there. Brent told
me that his parents lived in Morton right next to Washington and that they
attended 1<sup>st</sup> UMC of Peoria. He also sent me a link to the Peoria UMC
website. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At our meeting on
December 15 there were three locations which we had researched as possible mission
trips destinations; Jamaica, Washington, IL and Fort Collins, Colorado. Jamaica
is, well, beautiful and Gavin Knight is from there. Fort Collins, CO had experienced
flooding and DOOR network was going to be doing relief work through August. All
three locations were presented to the youth and discussed. Josiah McLaughlin
talked about his family connection to Illinois and how cool it would be to help
the people there. The youth voted for Washington, IL.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then we discussed what we
might do in Illinois. Having lived through Hurricane Andrew in 1992, several of
our adult leaders had insight to share about the rebuilding. We knew that the
homes would be rebuilt by contractors and would be underway by the summer. We
brainstormed ‘other’ things we could do which included:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Put on a Vacation Bible School for the neighborhood<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Build Fences for the homes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Build Swing Sets for any family who wants one<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Paint Something. (we love to paint)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Paint a Mural somewhere. (we also love to paint murals)<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was decided that Swing
Sets was our favorite idea. As experienced mission trip people, we knew that it
was best to ask the people you are intending to assist what they need for the
best possible result. I was tasked to contact the people of 1st UMC Peoria and
see if this trip could happen. We prayed about this as a group and decided to
contact them after Christmas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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On January 7, I called
Dan Phillips who is the Missions and Outreach pastor for 1<sup>st</sup> United
Methodist Church of Peoria. I told Dan that we would love to come help the
people of Washington this summer on June 14-21. We already knew our time frame
and I was hoping they could host us and give us an idea how we could help. Dan
told me how Crossroads UMC had been sheltering people and serving meals and how
they and some other churches were working together. It was a great initial
phone call and I decided to mention our ‘Swing Set’ idea. Dan liked it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over the next few weeks
the details started to come together. Dan kept in touch with me and 1<sup>st</sup>
UMC Peoria confirmed that they would host us in June. But this ‘Swing Set’ idea
started to take on a life of its own. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A group of pastors, youth
pastors and leaders from three United Methodist churches were meeting and
working together to focus their efforts on the rebuilding in Washington. On
January 20, Dan sent me an email stating that the churches were going to focus
on ‘Swing Sets’ this summer. They would host teams for 7 weeks and see how many
swing sets they could bring to the people of Washington. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Hope Swings Washington
was born. Check it out: <a href="http://www.hopeswingswashington.org/">www.hopeswingswashington.org</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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We are so excited that
our idea has galvanized the community there and we can’t wait to go on our
trip. Our goal is to find sponsors for 10-15 swing sets. We will be doing our
regular fundraising to raise money for the youth to attend the trip as the cost
will be $800 per person. We currently have around 25 youth interested in
attending. We also have about 5 swing sets verbally sponsored. Dan and his team
are deciding on the best swing set to be the model. They want something under
$500, made of wood and expandable for the future. We will know shortly the
exact cost to sponsor a swing set and will get the word out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In the meantime, keep
supporting our youth with your prayers, encouragement, attention and
sponsorship of the 100 Car Wash-a-thon on February 23. Thanks<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12873304946732436616noreply@blogger.com0