last day at bridge point

Last Sunday

This past Sunday was my last Sunday at Bridge Point working with the Children. It was an amazing Sunday and there was a lunch afterwards which was great because it gave me the oppertunity to spend some "fun" time talking with the kids and saying goodbye. As a support of it being my last Sunday my family came out to see what I had been doing all summer and that really meant alot to me. It was great to get to have them meet all the kids that I spent so much time with this past few months and who have really grown to mean alot to me.
It was very touching when all the girls were trying to talk me into staying and not going back to school. Audriana and Alexis even told me "they called the college and the college fired me so I should stay til I'm 30." Also several girls asked me to write them letters or txt them and I promised to come back and visit sometime. It meant so much to me to see how they were going to miss me too because it made me feel like I really made a connection with them and I am really going to miss them too. It's going to feel very weird for me this Sunday not going to Bridge Point and seeing all my kids and Pastor Cal but I am very grateful for the oppertunity I've had at Bridge Point to work with everyone there.

With school starting...

To be honest I completely forgot my blog existed, so needless to say I have not written in quite some time. But with school starting and all the writing I am doing for my classes I remembered once again about my blog. LOL. My time at Bridge Point is almost over and I am going to miss so much working with the kids, Pastor Cal, Pastor Greg and Ms. Francie. I have learned so much more than I ever thought possible in these past several months. I cannot believe how much I have grown attacted to these kids and how much they have grown emotionally and spiritually right in front of my eyes over the summer. I am going to miss seeing and working with them soo much. I already cant wait to be over to go back and visit over school breaks. However, with work and school right now it just isnt possible to be able to drive to Pittsburgh every weekend. I just can't believe how much I have learned through working with these kids these past few months. God has shown and taught me so much more than just about kids and Himself and I am very grateful for it.

Fortuntally Pastor Cal has taught me how to recognize kids who are ready to step up and be leaders themselves. I have seen some of these kids, girls espically grow so much over the summer, I know they will be great helpers to P. Cal when I leave as they have been all summer. Thier hearts are so big and they just long to serve all the time that they will be great helpers and leaders at Kids Church.

So in two weeks my time will be up for now at least and I am quite sad about it. It has been a little stressful for me the past month doing Kid's Church because of outside stress with school and what not in my life and I feel I haven't quite given the Kids my all these past two weeks and I feel bad about it, but I hope that our next two weeks will be amazing!!! I want to plan a big, exciting Sunday for the last Sunday of September as it will be my last. I am going to miss it all but I just want to enjoy my last two weeks and learn all that I can while I'm there.

hmm...

For once, I dont really have much to say...its an odd feeling of the sorts (lol)...but I did want to post a few pictures...

Sunday

This Sunday will be my first Sunday doing Kids Church without Pastor Cal there. Things have been running really smoothly there lately and I think everything is going to be just fine and dandy anyways. We're going to be talking about fear and how only God has the power to take our fear away. Our scripture verse is from 1 John 4:18 how God's perfect love takes away fear. I think it's going to be a good lesson and a good Sunday with the kids. Todd and Mary will be there this Sunday and the kids really love both of them too. I'm excited for Sunday, which has come to be my favorite day of the week.

Click here to see a video of Ben's baptism.

Ben's Baptism

Here are some pictures I'll be sharing with the Kids on Sunday to show them how excited Ben was about being baptized. We are talking about happiness this Sunday and I'm going to incorporate talking about Ben into the lesson because of how happy he was on this day. I am so proud of him!!













Ben and Pastor Tony of Discovery Christian Cranberry Campus.


Ben wrote a speech out all by himself to read before his baptism.

attachment

So this past Sunday I was not able to attend Bridge Point on account of the exciting news that my younger brother was getting BAPTIZED!!! It was the most exciting day of his life I'm pretty sure from his expression and constant talking about it. I am so glad I was able to have the opportunity to be part of the day with him but at the same time I realized it was difficult for me not to see these kids last Sunday. In the past two months I've grown to really care deeply about these kids and to miss out on a week of their life was a big thing for me. WOW I never thought I would feel like that but as much as its my job to teach them about the Bible and Jesus' love they teach me every week too. So here is a picture of about 25 Kids that have attended His Place!!! WOW 25 KIDS!!!!

Special thanks to Pastor Nick and the AP interns though for giving me the opportunity to be with my family this past Sunday.

some pictures

Growth...

16,11,13,9,15,20,25!!! 25 Kids in Jr. Church this past week. It just keeps growing and growing in amazing ways. Not only are the number of kids growing but the kids are too. They really do pay attention during the lessons and remember questions and previous memory verses. I'm very impressed with their attention skills sometimes.

This past Sunday in honor of mothers day we planted little white flowers in small pots they had painted for their mothers the week before. It was an incredibly messy craft but I think the kids really enjoyed it. The best part for me was seeing the older girls take charge and helping everyone else AND doing all the clean up too. Their hearts to serve are incredible.

I didn't follow the lesson curriculum for this Sunday so I thought maybe we would just make our own lessons for the whole month of May since the last Sunday is also going to be different. I am very excited to say I will not be there on the 25 on account of my younger brother getting baptized!!! So this Sunday we are also going to do things differently and break up into 3 smaller groups after P.Cal tells the Wolff story. The theme of the story is kindness which will be great for small group discussions since some of the older girls are not speaking to one another. I'm pretty sure its just a little thing their going through but hopefully Pastor Cal and I can help.

Well I am finally home in pgh for the summer so theres lots of unpacking still do to after the busy leadership weekend seminars. I'm looking forward to spending the summer with BridgePoint though and already have some ideas to energize Jr. Church.

life lessons vs class

I've been meaning to post about this for quite some time lately but I figured that after I was actually asked about how I feel I am or am not learning working for His Place I really should post about it. Truth is I am completely bored in my classes at school, with the exception of Ms. Kozaks class, but feel that through what I'm doing at Bridge Point and by talking with Pastor Cal I am learning such an incredible amount. There is soo much that I have learned not only about ministry in this past month but also about life, focus, listening, sincereness, patience, and sooo much more (key on the focus part). When I go to classes each day, I barely feel like I am using my brain, let alone being challenged in anything or thinking about much, but I know and can understand what I'm learning through this and impartially working under and with Pastor Cal. When I wish I had stayed at CBC, I remind myself that if I had I would not be having this amazing opportunity, nor learning what or how I am and I am so thankful for the lessons I am being shown by God right now. I can see how He is working among my life and I can see how He is working in the lives of others and its an amazing experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

BEADS...Beads...beads...

The new big thing at His Place is going to be beads, beaded animals to be exact. Before we give the "lesson" each week, we allow the first 1/2 hour or so to connect with the kids, get to know them and just have fun with them (though I sometimes feel like I'm going in 12 directions at once during them time trying to keep things organized and spread out my attention all at once). Even so I've been trying to do some fun crafty things with the kids during this time. Thanks to the help of Mary and Todd Spencer (thanks sooo much) last week we were able to teach the kids how to make beaded lizards and other objects. There is a large group of girls ages around 9-13 and I wanted to really find something they would find interesting to do. I remember making these animals all the time when I was that age with all my girlfriends so I thought they might too. Well it was difficult to explain to them and they did have a lot of difficulties grasping the concept of threading the beads but all together I think by the end they understood and did have a good time. I've decided I'm going to bring the beads back tomorrow. I think that after trying it out last week they will enjoy it more this week (and it will be a lot less stressful too). I'm learning through this time before hand the importance of really connecting with the kids and especially these older girls. They are a close group of friends but thats a tough age for kids and I want them to know that myself and P.Cal are there to help them.

Greenleaf

Greenleaf discribes leadership in a servant leadership definition. He says, "The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first." Today in my leadership class we discussed this topic and it reminded me that serving is a word I feel I hear Pastor Cal say to me every time we talk. Greenleaf's definition is a great definition of what I feel Pastor Cal is trying to teach me about working with the kids. Working with children it is important for them to know who the leader is and who holds authority to keep control amoung children, but I am realizing it is just as important to serve them and be their servant in return too. I am going to try to keep this thought first in my mind.

Pastor Cal and two of our girls at His Place, Steffany and Heather.

Craft Time

So, we're going to be attempting something new tomorrow at His Place: Craft Time. I think its going to be interesting but I'm hoping for the best. For tomorrow I'm keeping it simple but I foresee paint in more places than I'd like. Oh well.
We're going to be painting wooden shapes (bears and stars) from Michaels then putting magnets on the back so they can put them in their lockers. I think the kids will really enjoy it. I just hope their crafts turn out looking neater than my sample ones. LOL :)

The Seven National Crimes

My minor at Gannon is Leadership. I started taking the first class as a requirement and found it both very interesting and very useful to life so I decided to start taking the rest of the Leadership classes as my minor. To be honest, they are my favorite classes and I learn the most out of them from all my classes.
My final project for Leadership Process is to make a "Leadership Log" or binder on all the different topics of Leadership from past handouts, internet sites, books, magazines, etc. While reading through quotes today on the topic I came across "The Seven National Crimes" according to William Boetcker. I think they are something all Christians should consider because we often say them when dealing with things in the world.

1. I dont think.
2. I dont know
3. I dont care
4. I am too busy.
5. I leave well enough alone.
6. I have no time to read and find out.
7. I am not interested.

These are not excuses to live by but far to often we do.

Disclaimer: I do not know, yet, who Boetcker is.

Starting Strong...

His Place had 15 kids again this week!!!!! 13 of these kids were the same from the first week and I'm positive they will keep returning. Its amazing! They are very high energetic (but well behaved kids) but I'm glad. Their energy energizes me and keeps me excited about working with them.

So the Easter lesson with them went better for me than the first lesson. I think I said the word "umm" several less times and held their attention better than the first time when I was a little frazzled. The kids really look forward to P.Cals object bag story already though. Theres a group of 4 older elementary girls that just follow his every word. They are great girls just looking to please and help you in anyway. It's going to be an awesome experience see them mature and learn about God. I really cant wait.

Next week we're going to have a ticket pole and give away TONS of easter candy. This past Sunday we had a little egg hunt in the weight room.

With 15 kids already we already need to set up more lockers around the room because some of the kids are sharing lockers and we want them to each be able to have thier own. Some of the girls brought locks for their lockers and you can just see the pride on their face to have their own locker at church. I took their picture on Sunday and we're going to do a craft magnet for each of their lockers.

So needless to say we are starting out strong in His Place ministry and we're going to stay strong through this spring!!!

First Day - Psalms 23

Well Pastor Cal and I had a great turn out of kids this morning. 14 or 15 total, mostly girls... It was sooo exciting!!!

Things went very well. We intended on taking the kids upstairs during worship (because the basement can echo a bit) but the turn out upstairs was so good there wasn't really room for the kids upstairs so we brought them down and started making connections. We really want them to know that this is their place and His (Gods) place so we set it up as a hang out area first so we could let the kids have fun and get to know each other and us. Then we started the scary part, my first real lesson. To be honest, it went pretty well, but I was really nervous and a little jumpy. Though I know I'll be less frazzled less week and over time and it was still an amazing experience. Then of course we ended jr.church with Pastor Cal's story and object bag. It was so cool to be in the other seat watching the kids listening after many years of being in the listening seat trying to guess the object bag.
God is really opening my eyes to these kids and showing me His work. I am so excited for this experience and I can already see some amazing work God has done at Bridgepoint with these children just over this weekend.

I can't wait to prepare an Easter lesson for next week. I am sooo excited to be working with these kids. The excitement on their faces makes it all the worth while. We're going to have a great Easter Sunday with a game (as soon as I think of a good one...) and CANDY and ticket-pools... It's going to be good.

The Begining

Well it has been suggested that I start a blog to document my up-coming internship. I've looked through some blogs and never really thought they were for me but after thinking about it a little I decided it would actually be a good idea for the time. Besides I enjoy writing and it might be a good way to put to use my journalism major at the same time.

A little over a year ago I made a reconnection with a very important mentor in my life. Over the past six months that God has opened up many doors for me, stretching my maturity on many levels. One of those doors opened was through the mentor ship I have with Pastor Cal when he asked me to team up with him in the Children's Ministry department at the Tarentum church opening up on Palm Sunday. This is what I will be trying to document.

All I have to say right now is I am very EXCITED about what God has to do in Tarentum and I know this is going to be an AMAZING experience if I just let everything be God's Plan and not my own ideas. I'm a little frightened to be honest but I know this coming up Sunday and this summer will really work out...