These Kids Count Too

In the past month or so, I've been (along with some of our other youth) recruited into the Sunday School department and I've been doing the bus route with a friend Ciara for maybe two months??? Now for those who know me, I'm not the kid type! I've always said I don't want kids, I don't want to be around them, they are just too much! The first time I did this, I was in the baby class, 0-3, I left looking a wreck!! Shaking, dead looking, I went home and just laid there for an hour!!! But it's gotten better and well......I believe my opinions might slowly be changing...

This morning, I was AMAZING!!! I've never seen so many kids from the age of 5 to 16 or older that excited about coming to Sunday School!!! We pick up two on one side of the apartment complex, turn the corner and there were SIXTEEN!!!! We had to not only go and get more breakfast because it was Breakfast Sunday, but we had to make three trips!!! We only have a 15 passenger van.

Once we took the first load, I was in the older class with Ciara, ages 8-11 I believe? They were ok coloring while we waited on their teachers to come, little crazy and loud, but that's alright! They only needed someone to control and probably something other than coloring. Once everyone got there, I moved to the middle age class, 5-7, where I helped my aunt for the rest of the service. We had 14!!! They minded so well, compared to the older ones. I'm only in to help though, I keep them occupied until with coloring while we get settled in, try to get to know them, I attempt to learn names (EPIC FAIL), make sure they don't like try to escape, not so hard. Then when she started the lesson, get them to put the pencils up. Then once they're all sitting down, I keep score and just sit back and watch...

While keeping them entertained with coloring, you have some that get up and come show you how good they're doing or they need another sheet. I had one that come and showed me she was about to loose a tooth, Squeamishly, I smile, "Oh, that's so cool!!" And just to see their face light up, it made my day! Me telling you doesn't justify it at the least bit! Then there are some trouble maker, so you have some that come tell, I had one little girl to tell me her sister called her names, I almost cried, right there! I'm not the best sister in the world, but to tell a little girl she looks ugly at that age can damage her for life!! You never know there full home-life, you only know from their actions, and you try to just make their day was well as them making yours :)

I was sitting there during the lesson and it was like something just clicked! Something about see kids almost falling out of a chair to answer a question about Jesus just excites me!!! To see how willing they are to learn!! Some of them don't know a thing, and it's just mind blowing to think that we could possibly changing a life! That 2 hours they are there, we're teaching for a life time!! It's very encouraging and enlightening!!! Because I know those two hours count, I use to be one of those kids! I had a different life style and background, my grandma brought me on Sunday mornings, but I can remember being in the baby class with Sis Davis then moving to Sis Sara and Bro Loyd's, to Sis Nation's, I believe, to Sis Connie's, Sis Margie's, Sis Marsha, Bro Ricky, and now Bro Mardean! I can remember little things here and there, but to see where I came from, what I remember, let's me know I'm not just doing this to waste time! These kids count too!!

Not Going Back!

Our youth group did this drama for, I believe, Christmas last year, in our Christmas Program, If Christmas Never Came. At the time the song meant nothing to me, just a bunch of words, I'd just skip over it on my iPod when it would come on, then I was "listening" it while I was going down the road this week. My mind was off thinking about hundreds of other things, then I kind of tuned into the chorus and realized what a beautiful song it was! It was almost a year ago when we did this, and I was a total different person looking back, and now to listen to it and sing, "I'm not going back, Moving ahead..." It's pretty awesome to sing along with now and truly mean it!

It's The Simple Things That Make Me Smile

Happiness is like a butterfly: The more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder...

Ice Skating!!!

For our fall party this year, our youth group went ice skating! That's something I've wanted to do, but when I got the chance either I couldn't get anyone to do it with me or, one time, it was broken? But this time, I was very excited! Although I was very scared too! Everyone kept telling me, "Be EXTRA careful, it's dangerous" That's a way to make someone feel good! :D I will admit, I have horrible balance, and I shake, all the time, so I feel like I had a little bit to worry about. lol Especially when I have people preparing me for the worse :) But once we finally got there, even though I was shaking a little more than normal, it was a blast!

On our way there was very interesting and a test of your patients! Let's just say we were a little bit late. But all that matters is we arrived with every passenger and safe! Here is a few of our van pics Cory took on the way up there:


(Darby, with half of the youth behind her, the rest were with Steven in his van)
I think it's so funny the few people you can actually see are deeply engaged in cell phones and game systems!


(Me and Ciara)
See even I'm changing the song on my iPod that's connected to the radio!


(Melody)

Once we finally got there, were one got really happy! Like the mood totally changed within seconds!! And staid that way for the rest of the night! We had a few who did ice skate, including our camera-man, Cory. He took videos and pictures of all of us wobbling and falling all over the place! Him and Caleb were just wanted to catch people fall, you can here them talking about it in the videos!


(Caitlynn about to go back out & Josh)
If you look really close you can see Tierra and Joshua to the left and to the right in the back is me and Melody.


(Tierra and S.J. in action!)


(Me and Melody, Kevin in the back behind Melody, Darby to the left, and Ciara and Jocelyn all the way to the right. Oh, and Jacob's sleeve?)

So all it all we had a really good time! Memories of trying to hold a conversation with Medley, Melody "spinning" around in a circle, Jacob's continual falling, Definitely a night to remember! I never fell, come REALLY close like a few times, but I never went down! Although I probably would have had it not been for Melody and that one time that was caught on video with Medley! It was quite funny though, I was trembling the whole time, I didn't realize until after it was all over I hadn't eaten since like 1:30 that day, this was at like 9:30, so I'm sure it was quite a site to watch me! Especially when we first started! I come close just to watching, but mind over matter! I'm glad I did! :)

One of the Scariest Dreams of My Life!!!

I've never had a dream in a dream until last night! And the dream in the dream was FREAKY!!! Me and a friend drove to apartments where we usually go to do outreach for the bus ministry. We were in the church van, and she was driving! She doesn't even have her license yet? So we park, and the whole apartment complex is different, so we park in this parking lot, get out and we go to the back of a car, it looked like mine, but I'm not sure how it got there??? But we go to the back of the car to get the candy and the fliers ready to pass out, and a guy we go to church with walks up (he has not been with us? he doesn't always go on outreach? I don't know where we come from, I didn't see a car, nothing??) But he walks up and says a small town near us, Summit, as been attack by terrorist and they took the color away from the town, it's all in black and white! And they took at gas, like for gas stoves and heaters. I don't know if that is even possible, but the whole town was in a bad situation because they couldn't cook and they were cold, plus everything was in black or white! Even the sky was black and white, apparently. I don't know how all of this is such a bad thing besides the heaters, but I got a text on my phone from either a friend or from a Facebook status or something, saying the same thing. So we were all like flipping out here, we were afraid because if that town was smaller than ours and only like an hours so away, they could very well come over to our town! So we never did the outreach, and the next thing I know everybody wakes up? and we're all in the same place (I think there were a few other people from church there now) and everybody has had the same exact dream of the terrorist attack. But yet all of the signs where still the same, so everybody was still scared? I don't know exactly what went on, but I know I was like really scared! But we were all trying to calm down because it was a dream, but everything was still happening??? I don't know? So I FINALLY! wake up, in real life, and realize what happened and that everything was ok and I was like drenched! Apparently I was SUPER scared! Although I do look at it now once I'm awake as very comical, because nothing makes sense?!?!

I don't know where this dream come from? Why? But this isn't the first one I've had that totally scared me, just the first I've had two in one. I had one last week, I promise it was like every fear I had, in one! Whoa, scary! And around the beginning of the year, I had like dreams everyday for like a month that were beyond scary! It seems I don't have dream very often but when they come, they are all at once, like all in one month or near each other.

A Miracle From Above!!!!

As my friends and family know, I have a bad habit of keeping things in my pocket...and washing them! 2 days before I went to PEAK, I found my iPod in the washer, I found a dollar just the other day in my jacket pocket, but the most recent was defiantly a miracle!!! My USB drive!!!! My last one was stolen over the summer, while I was at PEAK, actually, but this one has all of my English IV papers on them!!! And I had just written one that has not been graded yet, and my teacher is out of town so if she lost it...I'd be in a HUGE mess!!!! When I seen it in the dryer, I thought my heart stopped!!! I pulled it out Sunday morning, already running late, I ran to the computer to see if maybe by chance the files were still there and....THEY WERE!!! Defiantly a miracle!!! I was totally excited!!! But I will try harder for that NOT to happen in the future!!!