Day 4 (Wednesday) - Re-energizing, Re-connecting, Re-newing, Re-al Awesome

Hello, blog-readers! I hope this post finds you well (and probably asleep).

Quinn's writing the blog tonight, and he's very excited to do so.

We got up bright and early this morning and rushed out the door and took an hour-long drive to Speculator, a lake in the Adirondacks. We went up there with a few purposes:

1) to relax and recharge our energy to close out the last few days in an ENERGETIC way.
2) to eat great, home-cooked food
3) to really connect with the 1Gen youth program, which is the youth group that Donn started up in Gloversville

In my (slightly biased) opinion, I would say we accomplished all three.

Cyndie's parents (the Gates) opened up their house on the lake and all the amenities that came with the house. Tyler Lynn and I embarked on a sailboat journey, and I was greatly relieved when we didn't capsize the boat. Dyon Vega and John Kruszka, both "expert" sailors, were not so lucky. They capsized the sailboat and catapulted out along with it. After that ordeal and being stuck out in the middle of the lake, they finally returned about two hours after setting out. In this story is a lesson for all of us: when John and Dyon were out on the lake, they were totally at the mercy of the wind and, in a broader sense, God. I think that they knew this. They were patient and calm even when their boat was halfway under the water and they were stuck without wind in the middle of the lake. No amount of panic or worry could have helped their situation, and so they didn't do either. Their situation reminds me of Jesus' words in Matthew 6: "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?" NO! We cannot. I often fall pray to worry -- even on this trip. But it really does nothing but add to my stress level and detract from my ability to serve like Jesus did.

Donn took a bunch of us kids out on a speedboat with the expressed goal of throwing us off. I don't think anyone managed to stay on for an extended period of time. Grant Harris in particular recounted his stories of being thrown from the intertube.

Some of the counselors - Brenda and Mike H. - and Stephen F. relaxed by engaging in heated games of euchre, while others, like Mike Godsey and Jay Cobb and Ben Icard got to chat with Donn's in-laws, including 92-year-old great-grandfather nickamed "Bop."

Cyndie's mom cooked up some "haystacks" - essentially rice topped with chili and other vegetables - for dinner, and we all ate our fill and then some. She provided scrumptious ginger bread for dessert.

But the most important and meaningful aspect of the day was hanging out and getting to know the youth from 1Gen, who were also up at the lake.Jon Godsey spent a long time with and was very intentional about talking to the youth from 1Gen. Peyton's relationship with the girls of the 1Gen youth is unique. Since she is the only girl in our group, the girls from 1Gen respect her and wanted to hang out with her at the lake. She spent some time with and encouraged them, which meant more to the girls than she or any of us knows.

The culmination of the night was a bonfire. We started with a time of worship and singing, teaching some of the 1Gen youth songs like "I Like Bananas," "Light the Fire," "Mighty to Save," and "Set a Fire." Aaron Barber shared the touching and raw story of his life before a crowd of at least 40 -- the first time he had ever done so. With deep emotion, he recounted how he lost any father figure in his life and found it again with God. After his sharing was a time of open sharing and reflection. Many of the AOF guys talked and encouraged Aaron and those in 1Gen. We heard some of the 1Gen youth share about how they felt called to ministry and how they were trying to start Christian groups in their schools here. That may seem easy to us Bible-belters, but up here, any Christian group in a school like that encounters inherent persecution. We in AOF are blessed to have heard these awesome examples of the Christian community in Gloversville and shared our encouragement with the youth and will continue to share our prayers.

On last year's mission trip, this day at the lake provided a huge boost to the 1Gen youth program and gave them renewed motivation. My prayer is that the same thing happened this year, and that 1Gen will continue to grow and prosper. Donn and Cyndie are certainly doing God's work by reaching out to and bringing in the youth of Gloversville, for they CAN change the descent of this town.

We came back very late tonight, exhausted physically but renewed mentally and spiritually. We are READY to take on two more awesome days here in the community of Gloversville, New York.

One final thought, in the form of a Kirk Denny quote: "[Upon our return to the house for the night] Phillip Daniels was so tired that he literally fell asleep fully-clothed seconds after arriving back at the house."

I think this is a good thing.

God bless you all!