Day two started off with sleepy eyes and sweet smles as they gathered int he kitchen for breakfast and then headed upstairs to our loft for worship.. We created each other good morning and spent very little time going over the day's events before diving in to God's word. We spent the morning in Genesis Chapter 1, learning about God's creation. We talked about how God took what was full of darkness, void and without form and turned into a beautiful earth for us to enjoy. We learned how the first three days, he was setting up a place for us to be able to live and thrive and how he made plants and animals and everything has its purpose. We learned that God made man to be a part of this so that man could enjoy what was good and holy. We then ventured into the story of when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve taking the fruit of the tree of knowledge and eating it, therefore, causing them to be disobedient to God's command. Sin separates us from being in fellowship with God, because God is light, he is holy and he is righteous. He cannot dwell where sin is and take part in it. He won't accept sin. We have to be forgiven, redeemed and restored in order to be in fellowship with him. Therefore, he sent Jesus, his son, to die on the cross and to take the blame for us, so that we can be in fellowship with Him. We have to accept this gift, believe in Jesus and commit to a life devoted to Him and His will. After our invitation, we refueled with lunch and threw on our swim suits to head to the river for an afternoon of tubing. See, we wanted to spend time enjoying God's creation, because that is what he intended it to be used for, our enjoyment!
We spent about an hour and forty-five minutes tubing down the river. We laughed at those who got stuck (ME), those who flipped, and clapped/cheered for those who jumped off the rock into the water. Parents, it was safe and was a spot designated for doing the jumping. No one was harmed. They left their youth leader way behind, as they floated away. They kept trying to save me, pull me along, but I was just enjoying the slow ride. and change of pace. HA! After we got out of the river and back to the bus, we drived off and headed to the store to stock up on grocery that we needed and to grab a quick snack.
The kids were eager to get back to the cabin. After our kitchen crew got their showers, they worked with Richard to prepare a delicious feast of spaghetti, alfredo and garlic bread. I think most of us went back for seconds and we still have some left over! You could hear laughter as they sat out on the porch and ate together. What a great sight to see and sound to hear.
Night worship was one to remember. We learned about Jonah and the Whale, but this time we looked at it through our older, more mature eyes. We talked about how Jonah ran from God when asked to go to Nineveh to spread God's message to the people who were living in sin. Jonah told God, "No" and ran to board a boat to Tarshish. We talked about how we are often like Jonah in that God is asking us to accept him and walk with him, yet we flee or he asks us to step out in faith and instead, we try to hide. However, like Jonah, our sin and disobedience will catch up to us and we will have to come face to face with what we had done. As Jonah slept on the boat to Tarshish, a great storm was raging. God created that storm, because although Jonah was running, he was unable to hide! The other men on the boat were non-believers and cried out to their own gods. However, they soon realized that Jonah was to blame and asked him to cry out to his God to stop the storm. When Jonah told them to throw him over because that was the only way to stop the storm, the men wouldn't do it. They kept trying to get to shore on their own will, however, the storm got worse! Soon, they realized they could not get to shore and knew they had to throw Jonah over. When they threw him over, the storm stopped. Those men were made believers that day!! How cool is it that even in his disobedience, God was using Jonah to plant seeds of salvation and to reach new believers! When he was thrown overboard Jonah was eaten by a big fis/whale. God used that whale to hunker Jonah down so that he could deal with his heart. He dealt with him for three days. It wasn't until Jonah gave up all control and was ready to give up hope, that God showed Jonah true grace and redemption, by having the whale spit him out onto land. We talked about how God will send a big fish into our lives whether it be another person, a consequence or other means to get us to meet him head on with what we have done so that we are able to recognize our disobedience and sin and seek his forgiveness and mercy. Our invitation was a sweet, sweet invitation with our kids spending time in prayer with us and one another. Hearts were mended, kids broke chains of bondage and others began to open up and seek God's guidance in situations they were not able to control on their own. It was AMAZING!! God was moving and his sweet spirit was felt all over the room.
We finished the night with brownies and watched WAR ROOM. The kids have begged and all voted unanimously to stay at the cabin tomorrow for the WHOLE day. They wanted a day of worship, fellowship and rest. Their words. They have agreed to let me keep their phones during our time of fellowship (which is in between our services) so that they can play wiffle ball, rest on the porch, watch a movie or just relax. They will be able to have their phones in the morning, during supper and after night worship to call their parents. If you need them, please send me a message and I will get it to them as quickly as possible.
Keep praying for these babies. It is truly amazing to watch them grow closer to God and one another in just a short time. Everyone is spending time together, laughing together, comforting each other and encouraging. I'm ready for day three!
-Bekka
We spent about an hour and forty-five minutes tubing down the river. We laughed at those who got stuck (ME), those who flipped, and clapped/cheered for those who jumped off the rock into the water. Parents, it was safe and was a spot designated for doing the jumping. No one was harmed. They left their youth leader way behind, as they floated away. They kept trying to save me, pull me along, but I was just enjoying the slow ride. and change of pace. HA! After we got out of the river and back to the bus, we drived off and headed to the store to stock up on grocery that we needed and to grab a quick snack.
The kids were eager to get back to the cabin. After our kitchen crew got their showers, they worked with Richard to prepare a delicious feast of spaghetti, alfredo and garlic bread. I think most of us went back for seconds and we still have some left over! You could hear laughter as they sat out on the porch and ate together. What a great sight to see and sound to hear.
Night worship was one to remember. We learned about Jonah and the Whale, but this time we looked at it through our older, more mature eyes. We talked about how Jonah ran from God when asked to go to Nineveh to spread God's message to the people who were living in sin. Jonah told God, "No" and ran to board a boat to Tarshish. We talked about how we are often like Jonah in that God is asking us to accept him and walk with him, yet we flee or he asks us to step out in faith and instead, we try to hide. However, like Jonah, our sin and disobedience will catch up to us and we will have to come face to face with what we had done. As Jonah slept on the boat to Tarshish, a great storm was raging. God created that storm, because although Jonah was running, he was unable to hide! The other men on the boat were non-believers and cried out to their own gods. However, they soon realized that Jonah was to blame and asked him to cry out to his God to stop the storm. When Jonah told them to throw him over because that was the only way to stop the storm, the men wouldn't do it. They kept trying to get to shore on their own will, however, the storm got worse! Soon, they realized they could not get to shore and knew they had to throw Jonah over. When they threw him over, the storm stopped. Those men were made believers that day!! How cool is it that even in his disobedience, God was using Jonah to plant seeds of salvation and to reach new believers! When he was thrown overboard Jonah was eaten by a big fis/whale. God used that whale to hunker Jonah down so that he could deal with his heart. He dealt with him for three days. It wasn't until Jonah gave up all control and was ready to give up hope, that God showed Jonah true grace and redemption, by having the whale spit him out onto land. We talked about how God will send a big fish into our lives whether it be another person, a consequence or other means to get us to meet him head on with what we have done so that we are able to recognize our disobedience and sin and seek his forgiveness and mercy. Our invitation was a sweet, sweet invitation with our kids spending time in prayer with us and one another. Hearts were mended, kids broke chains of bondage and others began to open up and seek God's guidance in situations they were not able to control on their own. It was AMAZING!! God was moving and his sweet spirit was felt all over the room.
We finished the night with brownies and watched WAR ROOM. The kids have begged and all voted unanimously to stay at the cabin tomorrow for the WHOLE day. They wanted a day of worship, fellowship and rest. Their words. They have agreed to let me keep their phones during our time of fellowship (which is in between our services) so that they can play wiffle ball, rest on the porch, watch a movie or just relax. They will be able to have their phones in the morning, during supper and after night worship to call their parents. If you need them, please send me a message and I will get it to them as quickly as possible.
Keep praying for these babies. It is truly amazing to watch them grow closer to God and one another in just a short time. Everyone is spending time together, laughing together, comforting each other and encouraging. I'm ready for day three!
-Bekka
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