Important Updates for the week!!!

Hey families,

Salvation Army Carnival
Friday August 1st 12:30pm-9pm.
The Salvation Army is hosting an end of Summer Carnival for people who have been involved with their Summer Programming. We have been asked to help staff the Carnival.

They need at least 20 students who can help with games during the Carnival. They have 10 games and need 2 students per game for running it and supervision.

We will leave church at 12:30pm on Friday and help with a bit of set up before the Carnival actually starts. When the Carnival is over we'll be able to hang out and use the gym or watch a movie in the Theater. We'll be back to Church at little after 9pm.

You need to bring comfortable clothes for the day.

RSVP so we know how many will be coming and how much Pizza to have available!

Dragons Game
Sunday August 3rd 1pm-6pm
The Cost is $10 
RSVP ASAP
We will leave the church parking lot @ 1pm for the game. Please eat lunch before you come or plan to eat at the game.
Our seats are in the outfield, uncovered and exposed. The forecast looks great! 
We will return to church following the game. 

Call, text or email with questions!!

TOMORROW -- CHASE WEDNESDAY

Wednesday July 23rd     6:15-8:45p

Justin is out of town and we need a lot of VOLUNTEERS (kids, parents, and youth workers) to help with this event. If you are planning to attend and can help with the planning and execution of this event contact Jenny Wyckoff at wyckoff@whbc.org , leave a message on the New Heights FB page, or call the church office (434-4676). Let's keep this important ministry outreach event going even though your fearless leader is vacationing.

Salvation Army Carnival

Hey There!!

So, Friday August 1st the Salvation Army is hosting an end of Summer Carnival for people who have been involved with their Summer Programming. We have been asked to help staff the Carnival.

They need at least 20 students who can help with games during the Carnival. They have 10 games and need 2 students per game for running it and supervision.

We will leave church at 12:30pm on Friday and help with a bit of set up before the Carnival actually starts. When the Carnival is over we'll be able to hang out and use the gym or watch a movie in the Theater. We'll be back to Church at little after 9pm.

You need to bring comfortable clothes for the day.

RSVP so we know how many will be coming and how much Pizza to have available!

Thanks!

Back in the Swing of Things...

Hey everyone,

It's good to be back in the rhythm of the day to day. It took me several days to readjust from the Nicaragua Trip, but I'm back feeling somewhat normal.

Hey so, here's an update on upcoming events!


Friday July 18th
5:30-7:30 I need help with a service project. The Bill Glass Prison Ministry Dinner is being hosted at the church. They need help cleaning up after the dinner. There will be food available for volunteers and it's pretty simple work, just a lot of it. 300 chairs and a bunch of tables need to be put away. Please come out to help!!!


Saturday July 19th
9:45-12:15 MVWC workday

Wednesday July 23rd
6:15-8:45 Chase Wednesday!!!

Friday August 1st
Salvation Army Summer Festival
Times will be announced ASAP. We will help with running the festival then have a chance to hang out and use the gym/theater when we're done.

Sunday August 3rd
1pm-6pm Dragons Game!! $10 per person Junior High and High School are invited.

Wednesday August 20th
Back to School Bash 6:30-8:30 in the Youth Room

Wednesday August 27th
6:15-8:45 Final Chase Wednesday of the Summer!


Stay tuned for other info!

Nicaragua Reunion

Hey Nicaragua Team,
There's been some confusion about the reunion tomorrow night.

We'll meet in the Youth Room at 7pm for some conversations and pictures.

Bring yourself and your family. Many of you have shared some of your personal stories with your families, tomorrow night, hopefully they can get another perspective on the trip.

We'll officially end at 8:30...but if we stay a little longer that's fine too.

If you have an SD card with pictures from the trip please bring it. When the Gammies return from Vacation you will have the opportunity to get all of the pictures she took.

7pm-8:30pm in the youth room. Families invited.  Bring your SD card with pictures on it.

Day Eight

Day Eight

Today was busy from the beginning. We are breakfast and hit the road close to 8. We drove an hour out of town to a zip lining center. 

We harnessed up and were drove to the top of a small hill nearby. These lines are in the jungle. So we clipped on and zipped from one platform to the next. There were about eleven platforms and it took about 45 minutes to complete the course. 

After completion we got back on the bus and drove to Laguna de Apoyo. This "resort" is settled in the crater of an extinct volcano which has filled with water, creating a massive lake.  We had an amazing lunch and lots of free time. Many played in the water, floating on rubber inner tubes, kayaks or pool noodles. We played King of the Mountain on a floating dock and other crazy games.

This day capped off the trip in a special way. We got back to the center around 6:30 and ate quickly. After packing our suitcases we met for our final debrief. 

We spent much of the evening discussing re-entry. We talked about how even though our friends and family love us, they won't love slowly looking through the thousands of pictures and videos we've taken. We talked about the feelings of sadness that are common after missions trips. 

Ask your students how the trip was. Ask them what made an impact. Ask them what they don't want to forget. But make sure you ask them how God changed them or what He taught them. 

I will post from one of the airports during our travels tomorrow. Thanks for joining us on our journey in this way. Thanks for your prayers. 

Day Seven

Day Seven

Today we started with work projects around the center. We cleared gravel and cement from an area near the dining hall, painted a few buildings and started the process for a loading dock. We were able to finish a number of projects and set up a few others. 

After lunch we headed out to Javier's church again. For some of us it was our third trip there. We played games and entertained. A soccer game broke out when some 18-25 year olds saw one of our soccer balls. These guys are good!

After a while we served a snack and Tang to the small kids and got them to sit down. We sang some songs and then did a puppet show. Mark taught a lesson and a verse to the kids. After that we played some more games. We had a long jump rope that the little kids loved. After a while the soccer guys gave it a try. These guys take competitions very seriously. 

Debrief tonight was really cool. Tim Erlandson shared his testimony. One theme that has surfaced through our reading in 1 John is the assurance of our salvation. It has also surfaced in our debriefs as an issue many students struggle with. Tims testimony was a perfect fit with this theme. 

God is working. 

God is good, all the time. 

All the time, God is good. 

Day Six

Day Six

In some ways it's hard to believe that it's day 6 already. The time has gone by quickly. But when I think about what's been accomplished I am amazed that it's only been 6 days.

 I've lost track of all of the deep conversations I've had. Some where in groups, others one on one. Some where entirely spiritual. Some where resolving conflict or drama. Some ended in tears as the Holy Spirit melted hearts of stone. Others ended with shoulder shrugs and ambiguity. 

God is working. 

This morning we split the group and attended 2 different church services. One group went to El Camino, which is a Children's Ministry Center. If you saw the pictures of us indoors doing a vbs that's El Camino. This group sang a bunch of songs both in English and Spanish. They prepped a snack for the kids and showed Gods love to them. 5 students shared their testimony  to the entire group through Abby as she translated for them. They had a great time. 

The other group went to Pastor Javier's church. The pictures from our first VBS were at this location as well. We sat in the small concrete block building that is is a state of repair due to the earth quakes from April. Javier just finished repairing the top half of the walls this week. We sat with his young church on flimsy plastic patio furniture and listened as a Gloria Player played hymns in Spanish. It's hard to sing How Great Though Art in English while your neighbor is singing in Spanish. : )

The scripture reading this morning in church was Psalm 34...go look it up. Spend a few minutes looking at the homes and places these people live, then look up Psalm 34. 

 

This afternoon we spent a few hours hanging out at the Holsingers home. It was relaxing and fun. 

Our debrief tonight warmed my heart. God is using your children to do great things. 

Pray for strength as we enter our final day of ministry. Pray for boldness. Pray the the Holy Spirit would work in His timing to solidify lessons we've all learned this week. 

Thanks. 

Day five

Day five

Today was a long day. It started for some of the team yesterday morning. I'm sure most of you know Jordan Barlow has been fighting a battle over his health almost since we got here. Everything came to a head Friday night. The decision was made to fly him home and Joel Harbaugh and Mark Holsinger spent all night working on the details to get him home. 

This morning the team headed out to Masaya Volcano and then to the Masaya Market for some touristy fun. Many of our groups were escorts by "helpful" locals who were eager to show us the place to find the best prices and authentic merchandise. Typically they took us to a vendor who happened to be a relative or someone who was willing to split the profit. 

After the market went to Papa Johns for lunch. This was the best Papa Johns I've ever had (and not bc I was hungry or missed pizza). We left the touristy part of town and headed out into the "county". After 45 minutes of driving up a mountain, weaving back and forth and being jolted around we arrived. 

Pastor Luis's church uses a humble piece of property less than half the size of our sports field back home. We did our program right away and then got to play and interact with the kids.  

The Holsingers brought a massive smiley face piñata for very in to enjoy. When the piñata finally broke the mayhem that ensued was startling. Kids and adults rushed in for handfuls. I picked up pieces that had flown further from the pile and handed them to a little girl who could just barely walk. Her sister (maybe 7 yrs old) thanked me profusely for helping. 

Pastor Luis would later tell us that the reason the adults had jumped at the pile as we'll was that many of them are near starvation and so they were not too proud to rush in like the children.  

We then walked the quarter mile or so into the valley to visit some homes. We visited Maria's home. This home is the inspiration for the M&M hut that was in the foyer for several weeks. We prayed for her and her family of five. 

God is breaking hearts. Not just bc of the abject poverty we've seen, but bc of the hope we see on the faces of so many who have nothing. We've seen pastors who board a bus and travel 3 hours in one direction without the money to get a ride home, trusting that God would provide. We've seen children laugh with pure joy at bubbles. God is changing your students. 

When we get home, after you e gotten the tourist recap from them, ask them what they'll never forget. Ask them what poverty smells like. Ask them what it's like to see the poorest of the poor love with such faith and love. Ask them how they're different. 

Day Three

Day Three

Today we were up early for devos and breakfast. Half the team went to the Feeding Center near Lake Managua. This is the center we raised the money for with the M&Ms. It was truly amazing to see these kids get to play and worship together with our teens. The cool factor increased when Mark and Jen told us that some of the money raised went to purchasing chicken fir their meal today. So they got the treat of chicken with their usual meal of soy protein, rice and handmade corn tortillas. We handed out the sets of bowls, cups and flatware as well. 

The other half of the team was able to paint half of the Seminary building at the Center. They also continued the task of filling the septic hole with rocks. 

We ate lunch at a Nicaraguan buffet then headed to a Children's Center on the coast of Lake Managua. The whole team ran VBS at the Children's Center and had a blast. The children like playing with us, but mostly like teasing us. : )

When we got back to the center, a storm had knocked out the power for a few hours but it was back on before dinner. 

Spirits are high! God is working in hearts. Pray that students would work through problems or sin that is holding them back. Pray that the Holy Spirit would protect us and change us. 

Day Two

Day Two

After our long day of travel we all slept in until close to 6am...actually most of the guys were up before 6...the sun begins to rise at 5am and our curtains let it in. We had an awesome breakfast of rice and beans, eggs, toast and fresh local fruit. We had devotions out of 1 John 1 and orientation.

Some of the team jumped into work projects around the center...filling low spots in the dirt roads, filling a septic hole with rocks and hauling other rocks to the septic hole. Others prepped crafts and VBS supplies. 

After jalapeño chicken, rice and plantains for lunch we headed out for our first VBS. Don't picture a WHBC style VBS. There was no drama, coordinated movement of crowds of people or Dan Ernst leading songs...but realistically that's not what would work here. Maybe if Erica Kwast was here to plan it, but alas... We played soccer and whiffle ball, painted fingernails and blew bubbles. We hung out with 20-30 kids and then had a snack.  Next we sang some simple songs in Spanish. Abby DeLange served as my translator and did an awesome job. 

It began raining right as we packed up and we were treated to a beautiful double rainbow! 

We came back to the center for grilled steak, chicken and pineapple kabobs with rice and beans. 

Day Two ended with a debrief recapping our experiences from the day and free time. Most students spent their 2 hours of freedom in the centers massive pool. It was a refreshing end to a very warm and sunny day. 

As we head to bed the only things we've got to worry about are blisters, soreness and drinking more water. Everyone is feeling pretty good as we wind down. 

I guess I've done a good job preaching about drinking water because now when I gather the group together someone always guesses that I'm going to talk about drinking more water. : )

It's 10pm here in Managua which means it's 12am back home. The dorms are quiet but warm. Pray for no injuries or dehydration tomorrow. We'll be away from the center most of the day doing ministry at 2 locations. 

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!

Day One

Day One

Travel

Today was great. After a safe ride to Dayton International Airport we made it through security fairly quickly and boarded our plane with time to spare. All of our flights were on time for arrival and only once did we sit on the plane before take off. 

We had some downtime in Houston which allowed us the chance to watch the US vs Belgium game. : (

We landed safely in Managua just before 9pm local time or 11pm Eastern. We made it through Immigration without any problems AT ALL. And we went through customs and security so fast I was left wondering if we'd skipped a step. Praise The Lord!! 28 people and all our luggage arrived on time and safely. 

The small stomach issue we had during travel has resolved itself without an other casualties. 

The Holsingers picked us up at the door and we made the drive through the city of Managua and to the ABWE center a little after 11pm local. After a short pow wow to address Wednesdays schedule we headed to bed. 

Praise God for smooth and safe travel. Be praying for worshipful attitudes and God honoring work! 

This is a great group and God is already working!