Advent Calendar - Day 9

Christmas shopping with my bro,
a couple of years ago.

Finished with your Christmas shopping yet?

If not, here's an awesome way to do it, if you're an Amazon fan (like me)! Next time you shop, go to AmazonSmile and choose Young Disciple Ministries Incorporated as your support of choice. You'll be redirected to Amazon.com and can shop just like normal. Every time you place an order this way, Amazon gives 5% of your order to Young Disciple Ministries - and you don't pay any extra for it!

You can give gifts to your family and friends, and young people all over the world this way. :)

AmazonSmile.com
(Young Disciple Ministries Incorporated; Inchelium, WA)

15 days till Christmas!

The journey begins

And... I'm on my way. It's already been nearly three weeks since I left home and returned to Walla Walla. Home is here, too, but I left a part of my heart behind me. I'm loving the new experiences and spending so much time with my family, but I will never ever forget the family I have in Inchy. Leaving home is easier said than done!

Forever family (Photo: Schane Johnson)

Love these people! (Photo: Schane Johnson)

My first week at home, I got to live with a bunch of guys. My mom wasn't home yet from a trip to Colorado, so I got to relieve the bachelors of KP duty and cleaning the house. They constructed a room for me in the family room out of bookcases and my dresser and bed, and after I got around to putting all of my unneeded earthly possessions in another corner, it turned out to be quite cozy. I have the best view in the house, too!

My mom finally returned, and so we all enjoy having our family back together again. She and I have been spending some time outside in the garden, planting and weeding and setting up hoses and sprinklers. The garden out back is actually made up of eight large plots, and four we share with other families. It's neat to get to know more people just through having them in our back yard on occasion!

I've already been quite involved with the youth group here. There are so many youth here (it's a multi-college town, after all!) and it is special to spend more time getting to know each of them rather than just the general hi-and-bye that happened when I used to come for a weekend visit. Since my family lives in town, people drop by quite often and so life is never boring!

Last weekend was the Pathfinder Fair - which was basically in my backyard. Very cool! I was gone all day Sabbath but on Sunday I headed over to the academy and got to see several of the old-timer directors and district coordinators. The kids are all different, but it's so special to me to see those dedicated leaders still all about kids. It's their life, and they aren't stopping anytime soon. They have such a huge influence and impact in those kids' lives. It made me remember just how much I love Pathfinders! My main goal of visiting was to watch the drill teams do their performance, so I joined the crowd. Drilling and marching is one of my very favorite parts of Pathfinders and I used to call commands for a few teams way back when. And... certain people in this conference know that, hehe. So, when they turned up short on judges, they spotted me and asked me to judge. Yay! I got to have an eagle eye on those kids' performance, and I really enjoyed it. Many teams did quite well!

As for mission plans, those are coming together well. Last week I got my ticket to Cambodia! It definitely seems more final now. I will be leaving on Sunday, August 25. This week, I was also officially accepted into AFM's missionary training program, and so I'm looking forward to that! That will begin July 15 and go until August 10. Things are happening and I am excited to see what God has in store!

Day-to-day life is different for sure. I've gone running in the mornings with Joey several times and have walked 4-5 miles a couple times now in the evenings. The road by our house is so beautiful out towards the wheat fields! I've also worked in the garden, helped my grandpa prepare his family history book for publishing, practiced my violin, and done some long-distance proofreading for YD. Life is simple and yet there's still plenty that goes on!

Here are a few pictures of recent happenings:

Balloon stampede - the balloons took off behind our house!

Kenny headed out to the Pathfinder Fair on Sabbath morning

Little onions, part of a bigger onion plant!

Sunshine on an evening walk

Kenny's babies (my charges while he's gone camping)!

Day Nine: Difficulties

Oops.

I did think about blogging, but I had a sermon to finish preparing on Friday evening, and Sabbath evening was busy too. And then Sunday was busy. And Monday was too. So even though today is busy too, I don't really have any excuses to not write again. :-) So, I shall start back up where I left off, and try to catch up as I go.

Today's (er, Friday's) theme: Difficulties God has brought me through.

As I looked back over this year, I realized that I haven't had terribly many difficulties this year. Well, I have, but smaller kinds. So I'll share a few of those seemingly insignificant ones, and how God has, once again, shown His miraculous power in each scenario.

Spiritual down times. These come somewhat often, but each time I can know that God is near me, and that each time teaches me more about Him in a different way. Oh for the day when I have a constant connection, and my selfish heart doesn't get in the way!

Stressful press weeks. Each year we have four of these! I actually enjoy some of the stress that happens during these weeks. But usually at some point, whether at the very beginning when I realize just how much I have to do, or sometime in the middle when I have a late night or two at the office, a different kind of stress envelops me. And at those times, if I choose to let Jesus take control, He will give me perfect peace in my heart, and the strength I need to keep going and get it all done.

Drama. Oh yes. We've had our share of it around here. I can't really go into detail about the drama, but I'm so glad that my God is such a calm one. :-) He's always there with simple solutions, and never-ending grace to make it through emotional trials.

Friends leaving. I've discovered recently, to my chagrin, that I am an extremely nostalgic person. It can't be all bad, but sometime in the middle of this year, I decided that I definitely needed to learn how to get past the "good old times" and live joyously in the present. Two of my close friends have left YD this year (actually, one of those just left yesterday morning), and God has been teaching me through this difficulty that He is always there, and that life ahead will be full of just-as-good times and blessings.

It's over

Camp came... and went.

Registration...

Child Evangelism class

RC Airplanes class

Digital Photography class

Firebuilding class

Health Evangelism class

A few spare minutes...

Unit sharing - each person shares from their devotions 

Line call

Second week campfire

Fishers of Men unit

One of those who caught the fire :)

Sabbath afternoon outreach - Health Evangelism class

Listening...

Even though I was sequestered away up in my little office on the hill for most of camp, I had a few special opportunities to spend time with campers during the space of two weeks. Choir practice afforded me a spot next to a camper who made a very special decision by the end of the week (see her counselor's post here).  Two nights as a relief counselor put me in the youngest girls' unit one night and the oldest unit the next - very different!  One Friday afternoon I spent some time with the RC Airplanes class. With each wedge into the camp experience, I was able to spend quality time with individuals who were willing to talk and share their heart. It was so special!

Only three nights ago, I sat on a log bench and listened to teen after teen share how much Christ meant to them, how they had been changed because of camp, and how they were going to live their lives differently than before. More than one made a public 100% commitment to Christ - and I could tell they were serious.

Just imagine how quickly God's work could get done with consecrated young people like these sharing with everyone they know! Life is tough, and there are obstacles to overcome. But with God's strength, these youth can go anywhere and do anything for Him! I can't wait to see the way He leads their lives. :)

"With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world! How soon might the end come—the end of suffering and sorrow and sin!"*

*Education, page 272

Photos by Jonathan Hill.

Rocks = hearts

On my way back up to my creekside office from Earth Lodge, I often stop at the rock garden, which records campers and counselors from years gone by at Young Disciple Youth Bible Camp. It's a lot of fun to examine the jumbled array of faded names, years, and creativity. Each one prompts a memory of the person it represents.

Photo: Heidi Reinecke

Photo: Heidi Reinecke

But when I walked by the other day, a different realization hit me. As I looked over the rocks, it dawned on me...

These represent hearts.

Each rock stands for one young person whose life has been influenced in some way or another by the camp(s) they attended.

It's not just a few rocks, either. There's a whole pile. Think about it: a minimum of 60 campers per week (usually many more than that). Multiply that by the number of camps held at YD since moving to Washington in 1999 (at least 24 if not more). It adds up!

These campers have left their mark at YD, but YD has left its mark on their hearts. And they will never be the same. God spoke to them at camp, and whether they listened or not, they were pointed toward the goal of establishing a living relationship with Jesus. It's our prayer that they will follow after that goal!

In just five days, counselors will arrive to begin orientation, to learn how to reach the hearts of their campers and draw them to Jesus. Pray that they will be able to consecrate their minds and hearts to God so He can use them to change lives.

Pray for the campers. Pray that their hearts will be touched by the words, the actions, the sights, the sounds, the messages of YD Camp. Pray that they won't pass up the opportunity to learn how to live a true, happy, and fulfilled Christian life.

Just pretty rocks? Not at all. They're so much more. And I want to be a part of the influence for eternity!

Won't you pray?

Young Disciple Youth Bible Camp: July 11-29, 2012

Purpose

I wave my little blue keychain across the keypad to deactivate the alarm. Beep! I step inside the office. A stream of sunshine greets me through the window. Setting my bags on the cabinet next to my desk, I slide my notebook out of its case and snap it into the dock. Power on…

So begins my day.

Every so often, I shiver with excitement as I realize a simple fact: I love my job.

It's an amazing combination of creative graphic design and spiritual encouragement for young people. To the casual observer, it might seem like a regular job, but it's not. Not at all. My work has purpose. I don't work for the sake of climbing any corporate ladder, or enticing people through design to buy needless products. I work for a much higher goal:

Inspiring young people to follow Jesus.

Suddenly, I’m no longer sitting in my chair. I’m kneeling by my bed, agonizing—a frustrated 15-year-old at the end of her rope. A longing inside me burns for something that will satisfy my heart, and change me. Nothing is working. I don’t know what to do.

Then I remember. I reach into my bedside drawer, underneath my Bible, and pull out a purple-tinted magazine. I open it to the middle, the Bible lesson. The title: Conversion and Righteousness by Faith. Could this possibly hold what I’m looking for?

And so began my study of the Young Disciple Bible lessons. Each one encouraged me to dig deeper in the Word, and strengthen my connection with Jesus. On the days I spent time studying in the morning, I actually had peace throughout my day.

The memory fades. I lean back in my chair and smile at the sunshine. I smile at the ways God reached me, and I long to be the means to reach other young people who are searching in the same way. The work I do, the work I love, is this means. God not only fills my desire for purpose, but inspires young people to serve Him. Isn't He amazing?

A Shift of Perspective

When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

Today was a busy one - and still is! I have yet to go home and finish as many responsibilities as I can before bedtime. Is it just me, or does everything big happen all at once? Everything I have to plan for, all the trips I have to make, all the neighborhood drama . . . it all seems to plop into my lap at one time. But then again, maybe I'm looking at it from the wrong perspective. Shift that, and I can see just how powerful God is, in helping me through it all, and giving me strength to meet the demands of life.

Just before lunch, I took some time out at "my" cabin, my favorite spot in the whole of YD camp. Its tiny porch overlooks the lake, and since it's not inhabited by campers this time of year, it's a perfect place to spend a few minutes with God before I go back to eat. As I stood there and told God all about what was happening and causing me stress, a quote came to mind, one that encourages me every time I think of it:

"Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future. Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty, He has a way prepared to bring relief. Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet" (The Desire of Ages, page 330).

Amazing isn't it? That one simple principle opens up this path of life like nothing else. As we truly serve and honor God in everything, He will take care of the rest. Our God has knowledge that goes above and beyond our highest expectations. He is so powerful. He is so big. And yet He takes pleasure in helping me in my majorly-tiny-compared-to-His trials. He is truly my hope and stay!

Morning Manna

Just thought I'd tell you about one of my little personal ministries, inside of my work at YD. It's an e-mail sharing group where young people (and some older ones too!) give tidbits of what they've learned in their devotional time. It's really encouraging to see what everyone has shared! If you'd like more information, e-mail me at morningmanna@youngdisciple.com. I'll be happy to tell you more! :-)