Day 6

Fold Day 6

School scraped, stained, and trimmed:  Check!

Flower beds weeded & mulched:  Check!

Stone sidewalks filled in and leveled:  Check!

Our work team accomplished all the jobs put before us.  I said early in the week that it doesn’t matter how we begin, it matters how we finish; and we finished well.  We worked as hard today as we did on Monday.  We’ve continued to get compliments on our work ethic and quality.  The Fold has been super grateful for our time invested this week. 

Praise God for our group!  We have a lot of stories to share.  Here’s picture to end the week with:

Guest Post: Erin Rutt & Brooke Dienner

Guest Post Erin Rutt & Brooke Dienner:

This week has been a great week. We started out our week as just acquaintances, and ended up being like a big family.  We saw sides of people that you don’t see in just Sunday school and Youth Group. This week has been a really good experience and we would definitely relive it. Since the first day we knew we would have a good time, and we did. On the first day we prepped and stained the walls of the school house. As the week went on we finished up staining and started painting the trim white. We all did different jobs throughout the week, as for us we did lots of staining and weeding the gardens. After we finished working for the day we had a lot of free time to get to know each other. From about 7-10 was when we had time off. We used that time to do various things, as in, intense wiffle ball games, campfires, ultimate Frisbee, and eating WAAAYY too many freeze pops in the kitchen! On Thursday was our “vacation” day, we started out that morning by going into prayer groups with the staff and students at the Fold. Later the morning we headed to Crystal Lake to swim in the lake and have a picnic. We played lots of Frisbee, and kickball, and just hung out for the afternoon. That night, for dinner we went to a cookout at the girls home with everyone from the fold. We spent lots of time getting to know all of the kids and staff staying and working at the Fold which was a great experience. That pretty much sums up our week and puts all of our fun and hard work to an end. Coming to the Fold definitely changed our view of serving and what it is like to serve.

Fold Day 5

Fold Day 5

Today was a complete change of pace from the rest of the week.  Instead of beginning the work day at 8:30am, we joined the Fold staff and residents for a morning prayer and praise session.  It was an intimate sneak peek into the lives at the Fold.  I loved that Christians, regardless of home and background, can gather as family.

Afterwards, we packed up and drove to a lake.  Temperatures today remained in the low seventies; coupled with intermittent clouds and cold mountain water, it wasn’t ideal for swimming.  Then again, there was water and junior highers, so conditions were perfect.  The lake didn’t have a place for picnics, so we packed up and spent the remainder of the day at a different lake with facilities.  We had no agenda for the afternoon but to relax and have fun.

Once we returned from the lake, we were invited to dinner with everyone from the Fold at the girls’ house.  There were about 40 people total—our crew, residents, resident instructors, house parents, counselors, office staff, and executive staff.  We had a little opportunity to mingle with “Folders” over dinner before getting into a large circle for a sharing time.  We got to hear about them, and they got to hear about us. 

I think the highlight of the night was getting to hear the testimony of a resident who recently graduated from the Fold.  It wasn’t planning, so it wasn’t rehearsed, so it was polished.  It was raw and pure.  I liked it for two reasons:  1)I love hearing about how Jesus transforms lives.  2)Sometimes when testimonies are practiced too much, they sound fake or worse, slick.  The lady who shared spoke off the cuff from her heart.  I thought that was powerful.

Our group has grown closer as a result of this week.  We feel free to be silly around each other.  But I don’t think we feel comfortable being honest enough to give a testimony like the girl who spoke.  We have one more full day ahead of us.  Would you pray that our devotion and debriefing sessions would unite us in an authentic way?  Pray that we’d be vulnerable enough to share and compassionate enough to care.

Guest Post: Eirene Hoover

So far, this week has been very eventful. I feel that our whole Jr. High Sunday school has really come together not only as a Jr. high group but as friends. Whether it’s Erin spilling things (and Brandon “whooping” when she does it) or Chad talking about his best friend Steve the earwig, we have had many strange, hilarious times together. We have been painting the school all the days we’ve been here but today was a little different. Since rain was in the forecast, we did gardening, painting trim, and spreading stones. After a hearty hotdog lunch, we headed down to the boys’ home to cut down trees and brush to burn them. I love the team debriefing time we have everyday after supper. It’s nice to hear everyone’s reflection of the day and I love to share my own. To wrap up today, we saw a double rainbow cascading across the sky over the mountains just beyond our deck. Everyone asked “What does it mean?” I personally thought it was God’s way of letting us know he was watching over us. Just like it says in Psalm 46:1. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.”

Fold Day 4

Fold Day 4

I’ve learned more about the life of a teenager over these four days than I have in five years of youth ministry.  Perhaps it’s just taken me these years to be able to see and understand their nuances and habits.  Regardless, this trip has given me a window into the needs, fears, and desires of our junior highers. 

After posting the blog from yesterday, I joined the team outside at a camp fire.  Dave has more experience with junior highers than three of me, and it shows.  He can have fun, play along, and match them in just about everything.  He’s awesome.

This morning, rain kept us from finishing the staining of the school building.  Instead we divided our team into three groups to complete projects around camp—weed a flower bed, paint trim under a porch, and add crushed stone to a walkway.  It was a chilly morning for everyone in the rain.  Again, I’m impressed with how little grumbling there is.  This is an attitude that I know can persist after the mission trip is over. 

In the afternoon, our team travelled a few miles away to the boys’ house.  The Fold has a few different properties.  The school, office, and place we’re staying at is on one property, the boy’s home is on another, and I believe the girls’ is on yet another (though I haven’t seen it.)  Our job at the boys’ home was to gather brush and felled limbs and build the fire big enough to allude to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We succeeded.  We also got an opportunity to meet the house parents for the boys in residency and the boys themselves.

I’m pushing a few youth to provide some blog insights, so there may be more updates later tonight.  Here’s how you can pray for us:  The novelty of being on a mission trip has worn off.  It’s around this time that tempers have worn thin, frustrations have mounted, and the temptation to curl up into a selfish ball of irritability flares up.  Pray at those moments we would looked to Christ and the cross to be reminded of the grace shown us and have it melt our hearts in praise to God and love for others.  It’s a big prayer request.  Pray that God would do it.

Fold Day 3

Fold Day 3

If yesterday was Christmas morning, today felt more like New Years morning.  We worked hard yesterday, and our beds might be TOO comfortable.  There wasn’t a lot of conversation over breakfast or during our morning devotional time together.  

We gather each morning and evening for a time of preparation and reflection centered on Jesus.  Day one we introduced the idea of searching for God’s fingerprints—developing our eyesight to see God’s handiwork so that we might see his glory, be grateful for it, and bear witness to it.    That evening we explored the relationship between expectations, disappointment, and anger with the aim of developing a kind of flexibility rooted in humility.  This morning we looked the idea of Love by examining 1 John 4:7-11.

It’s not easy to wrap our minds around what God’s love is like.  It’s too easy to insert our own distorted conceptions of love rooted more in the latest chick flick than the Scriptures.  So when we read, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him,” how is our understanding of love challenged?

We see God’s love manifested by sending us Jesus, letting go of something (Someone) precious.  This act of love was so that we might live—a sacrifice for our good.  This morning, I fought against a kind of mushy, Hollywood lie that defines love purely in the realm of feelings.  We defined love as doing what’s best for another person even if it involves personal sacrifice.  I challenged our youth to look for opportunities to give up their own preferences for another’s benefit.  In the evening, we reflected on times when we saw God’s fingerprint, decided to be flexible, or chose to love.  I’m looking forward to more of the sharing time following that type of reflection.

From a work perspective, we settled into a more sustainable pace today.  Dave and I zeroed in on a healthier balance of work, rest, and play for our youth.  After three days of being together 24/7, our personalities are shining through.  I love it!  It’s easy to put on a face for two hours on a Sunday night or Sunday School hour—it’s tough to fake it for this long or under these circumstances.  I’m looking forward to getting to know them more this week.  In a way it’s plowing the soil for fruitful ministry during the school year.

Plaudits and Accolades:

• Brooke & Erin have more stain on themselves than the walls, but are always willing to do whatever they are asked to do.
• Ethan in fearless and gets parts no one can (or wants to) reach.
• Nicki is a quiet servant, often times doing what needs to be done before anyone realizes it.
• Chad is our creative specialist—looking at the world through a unique lens.
• Hannah is our photo journalist and my personal water jockey when I got thirsty today.
• Bryan and Ben prefer the safety of terra firma, but they still manage their fair share of the painting and scraping.
• Cohen gets the most innovative thinker award for taking the handle off the broom and attaching it to a roller so I didn’t have to risk my neck.
• Rachel and Eirene have attitudes that, though each unique, give the group its pep; their upbeat attitudes are contagious.
• Elam is like Nicki, only a full-size, grown man version.
• Becky is our cook responsible for my added 10lbs.
• Dave should sit at the top of a mountain and change his last name to Lama—he has all the answers.

Thanks so much for your prayers!  We’re looking forward to seeing more of God’s fingerprints and opportunities to model humility in flexibility and sacrificial love.  You can pray that we see that!

Fold Day 2: First Day at Work

Fold Day 2

A wise man once said it doesn’t matter how you start; it matters how you finish.  But if how we started is any indication of how we’ll finish, it will be an awesome week. 

We arrived at the Fold around 9:30pm last night.  Our whole team is occupying a large guest house—six bedrooms, six baths, kitchen, and large dining room and living room.  It’s ideal for our group.  We were welcomed by our hosts who live in the basement of the house.   We had to hustle to get everything moved in, provide some quick briefing, and get to bed before a strict 10 o’clock quiet hour.

This morning, our crew woke at 6:00am, despite the fact that breakfast wasn’t until 7:30am.  It was Christmas morning anticipation.  After breakfast, we walked to our worksite.  Our task:  Prep and stain the school building.  The wooden barn-style building needed to have the old stain scraped and wire-brushed, caulked, taped, and stained.  There was also an overgrown flower patch that needed some TLC.

Our crew put some serious effort into the morning session before breaking for lunch at noon.  We can walk from our house to the school and vice versa yielding a welcomed respite in the refuge of the AC.  The afternoon brought hotter temperatures and an every fading motivation and output.  We worked them hard today. 

I managed to get some quality time with Mike, a Fold staff member.  The Fold brings in boys and girls from around the country.  I found it interesting to discuss the backgrounds of the majority of the youth—missionary kids, adopted kids, and pastor’s kids.  On the trip we have a missionary kid, pastor’s kid, and sibling of an adopted kid.  They are no different than our kids.  The vast majority of the fold teens have parents who love Jesus.  Why are our kids here to serve and other kids here to be served?  Are our parents just better at parenting?  Did our kids get better genes?  Maybe I’m simply a superior youth pastor and have rescued these teens from the brink of disaster.  Something tells me none of these are correct.

At this point, I want to say that God gives grace to some and not others.  Because I believe all things flow from the hand of God, I credit our excellent teens not to my ministry or fine parenting but to God’s gracious hand.  But why do I think God’s gracious hand is on our youth and not the Fold’s youth?  What if God decided to show his grace to a set of parents by giving them a rocky teenager?  Perhaps through that trial, those parents were able to experience a level of faith and intimacy with God that they never would have encountered with Johnny Star Athlete and Suzy Homecoming Queen.  Perhaps through the pain and adversity, those teens were able to experience the love and mercy of God in a fuller way than Johnny or Suzy. 

I don’t believe that we can say that God has shown us any more or less grace judging solely by our circumstances.  I look through the darkest times of my life and see the gracious hand of God orchestrating the chaos.  Those are precious moments for me because they led me closer to Jesus.  That was grace for me.  Whatever leads people to seeing and savoring the fullness of Jesus, that’s grace.  And grace can come dressed as Johnny or Suzy and as the black sheep.

I’m grateful for our team.  I’m praying for a kind of impact this week in our teens’ lives that will ripple until the end of their lives and to the end of the earth.  That’s a big prayer request.  Want to join me?

Junior High Exposure: Fold Tour 2011 Day 1

Junior High Exposure:  Fold Tour 2011

I haven't found wifi yet so this post is being transmitted via iPhone.

The Cast:
• Ben Sparks
• Erin Rutt
• Ethan Hoover
• Bryan Eltman
• Brooke Dienner
• Rachel Severein
• Chad Stoltzfus
• Cohen Peifer
• Hannah Robinson
• Eirene Hoover
• Nicki Beiler
• Brandon Fisher
• Dave Ulrich
• Elam & Becky Glick

The Plot:
From August 7th through the 13th, Keystone Junior High will be serving at The Fold Ministries in Vermont.  The Fold Family Ministries is a Christ-centered facility in Vermont that provides residential care for struggling teens in crisis from around the country.  Our team, composed of seventh & eighth graders, will provide manual labor for several maintenance projects around the facility.

Day 1:
Just like Jesus, we left Paradise to serve the ones we love.  We rolled out of Keystone’s parking lot at 9:30am and began the nine hour trip to Lyndonville, VT.  All fifteen of us crammed into a perfectly matched 15-passenger van with our gear loaded in a trailer.  It’s easy to know if we’re missing someone; if you’re comfortable, something’s wrong.  I’m personally very grateful for Elam Glick, our professional chauffer; he operates this machine like a surgeon.

We encountered no real troubles on our trip.  Praise God for safe travels!  It took approximately 67 seconds until someone was lobbying to play mafia, but it was a full 10 hours before a Veggie Tale sing-a-long session began.  If you listen quietly, you might here them while I’m typing.

I’m excited for our week together.  It’s a very fun crew.  And there’s a godly depth for a group of junior highers that I haven’t seen before.  I was continually impressed by their insights and comments in our pre-trip meetings.

I expect to arrive at the Fold within the next hour.  Once we arrive, I don’t know what to expect.  Housing arrangements, work assignments, team breakdowns—we’ll see what happens when we arrive.

For those praying, Thank You!  Here’s how you can join us in praying:
• Spirit-filled & Spirit-led work and conversations.
• Team unity.
• Humble servants.