Mexico 2006

Have you ever been with a group of friends who were all talking about something amazing that JUST happened; something that was so sweet that,“everyone will be talking about it for days"? Everyone stands around in a circle and roars with laughter as things are said like, “and then the keys floated to the top!” And they all start laughing again…except that one friend of yours, the one that wasn’t there. I hate being the one outside of the circle. One thing that makes us feel alienated from the group is when we are left out of the conversation, trying to put together the story by ourselves one piece at a time. Last week our high school group went to Mexico for a mission’s trip, and it was really special. We had a terrific time and we shared many special experiences. This Wednesday night we will show a video, look at pictures and share about our trip; and though many of you were not with us, we want you to be a part of the conversation.

Colossians 3:16-17 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

God wants us as His people to build one another up. Our community does not come from sharing fun experiences and inside jokes, it comes from our shared life in Christ. Our purpose on Wednesday night will not be to hold on to our trip as something that is exclusively for those who were there; rather we hope that you will celebrate with us how we experienced God work on our trip.

See ya,
Ben

Mexico pictures

Liz cutting tile. She did a great job.
Our cafeteria

Nikko decided he had had enough of my leadership and destroyed me with a super double leg drop kick.

Mexico pictures

Parents, It was so awesome...Joey was going 90mph while we took this picture.
Ashley woke up with some weird fungus on her face... we realized it was frosting after we rushed her to the ER.
Jordan did an amazing job giving her testimony

Mexico pictures

Joey or Nikko?
diggin ditches

Mexico pictures

Putting in water lines. Mikee would normally use his bare hands to cut this pipe, but he did not want to scare the locals.
Dan and Suzanne got engaged! She is way out of his league!

Hume Lake 2006

Ninja intermission

We thought we were just going to have a peaceful lunch..we were wrong. As we went to consume delicious sloppy Joe's, ninjas's attacked. They came from everywhere, yet nowhere, Nija's are way scary.

Hume Lake 2006

Hume Lake 2006

Bella Rulez

Bella went swimming. We had a great water fight. I won because I'm way bigger.

Bella- Put her hands over her face, she was trying not to laugh as we watched veggie tales.

Bella wearing a grogeous lu-lu shirt.

New Bella Photos: She's awesome

Bella Chillin, wearing an awesome hat.

Bella-lookin like her old man.

Kevin's ankle

So, Kevin fell off his sketborad,. He's o.k. now, but ankles are NOT supposed to be 90 degrees to the right. Good night! Doesen't that look que horrible'? Taylor, who took the picture said, "I believe Kevin's actual words were, 'Don't touch it, call the ambulance...might as well take a picture.' "

Reaching "the top"

We start our High school careers as meager freshman, freshman that just want to fit in and find a groups of friends who will accept us, freshman who long to be upperclassmen. Freshman become sophomores, then juniors and finally become seniors, eventually rising to “the top”. The top (as the world sees it) is a weird place; we live our lives trying to reach the top but once we are there we feel cheated. You wait you whole life to be seniors but once you get there, all you want is to be done with high school and to be in college, as freshman. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
So, for all the seniors- you are now entering your freshman year AGAIN, whether in school or in the work place, it’s back to the bottom of the food chain. We live our whole lives trying to reach the next level of success, not realizing that “the top” is fleeting. The sooner we come to grips that “the top” is just fool’s gold the quicker we can stop chasing the wrong things and enjoy what God has given us today. God and people are the only things that last, and as Christians we pursue what will last.So, Wednesday night we will celebrate what God has done in the lives of our graduating seniors not because they have earned our love by making it to the “top” but because we have forged meaningful relationships with them over the years. We really care about you all. Thanks to all the seniors who have invested in our lives.

Coolest pictures EVER

I had to hop a fence to get to this billboard. There was poison oak everywhere. You might even say that I was standing ,"ON DEADLY GROUND."

Being nice is overrated

Christians should be nice and polite whenever possible. However, being “nice” often gets way too much credit. It is a mistake to believe that maintaining a pleasant demeanor at all times is the highest form of demonstrating Christ’s love. Let me illustrate….
This weekend I went to my sister in laws college graduation at a major state university; this institution has rightfully earned a reputation as being a major “party school.” It was my first time at this university and since I attended a “Christian” college, got married, had a baby and work in a church; I felt that I was quite out of place. The longer I was in this environment the more I felt unnerved at some of the students’ behavior and began to insult these people in my mind, although I remained pleasant and friendly on the outside. I am glad that my thoughts remain in my head because it is so much easier to be nice when people can’t hear what I am thinking. Later in the day I was at the graduation ceremony and sat back and watched the people around me, and came to realize the nastiness of my heart at that moment. God ruthlessly loves these people, so much that he died for them, and here I believe my own hype that I am better off because I am more polite. I was better behaved than most of the students around me, but God brought to my attention that I am no different than any other human. It is a humbling reminder to know that I have done nothing of my own merit to earn good standing with the God of the universe. Being well behaved is a good thing, but this will not save me! Though I felt guilty for being so unloving, I am thankful that God was not at all surprised at the depth of sin creeping around in my heart (I need to stop being surprised myself). I am even more thankful that through Christ, God doesn’t see the crud in my life, rather, He sees me clothed in Christ, and this pleases Him. We’ll talk about this tomorrow night as we look at Romans chapter 3 and discuss the richness of the gospel.

Miyagi Know Karate

I don’t know about you but I miss those old classic movies like Casablanca, Gone with the wind and the Karate Kid. The karate Kid was about a 17-year-old guy named Daniel Laruso who moved from New Jersey to L.A. with his mother. Daniel got in trouble with the local bullies (most appropriately named ‘Cobra Kai’), who beat him up daily. Daniel was outnumbered, was too small and was too weak to fight Cobra Kai. What could he do? This is where I believe the crux of the movie takes place, Mr. Miyagi, the local handyman, steps into Daniel’s world and defends him.
Miyagi takes Daniel under his wings, teaches him how to listen, how to work hard and how to believe in himself. Miyagi teaches Daniel how to fight and eventually beat the Cobra Kai, but most importantly, Miyagi teaches Daniel about life, friendship, honor and Love. I am still outraged that the Karate Kids did not win any Oscar’s or Academy awards…
Two things I have learned in life are that, first; there aren’t many guys in this world like Mr. Miyagi, wise men willing to share their life with a young kid. The second thing that I have learned is that when a guy like Miyagi does come along, it’s time for me to listen.
Proverbs 13:14 states, “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.”
Wednesday night we have an awesome treat. Dr. Paul Toms, who is an 80-year-old man of God, who is a tremendous man of character, will be sharing his wisdom with us.
I am really excited; I’ll see you at Church

Ben Youngkin

Announcements
Hume Lake- June 18-24. We have a few spots left.

Mexico- June 9-16

"VMA" night

It’s time for the 1st annual Grace Bible V.M.A’s (Video music awards)!
Come experience the thrill, the joy, the laughter and the tears as we watch the final edited, ready to go awesome videos that we have been making these past few weeks. We will have some sweet games, some killer prizes, and healthy movie food like popcorn, sour patch kids and milk duds. The goal of the night is simple; we expect to have a great time together. So, invite a friend, wear some nice threads and expect the unexpected.
*During a screening of these videos over the weekend in Los Angeles we’ve accumulated some rave reviews. Here are what some celebrities said about the Grace Bible Student Videos…

Tom Cruise said, “ I thought Mission impossible three was action packed, but after seeing these videos; man alive, they made MI3 look like an Anne of Green Gables flick.”

George Lucas stated, “Superb. I haven’t seen special effects of this magnitude in my life. I thought we hit the ceiling of what mankind could do with computer graphics when we made Yoda’s last fight scene, but whew…. This is unbelievable. I’m just mesmerized right now, I think I need to sit down.”

Jim Carrey said, “ These videos were so funny and original. I believe these videos will revolutionize the world of humor in the same way the ‘three stooges’ did.”

See you all Wednesday night!

Ben Youngkin

Announcements
Hume lake- June 18th-24th

Mexico missions’ trip- July 9th-15th