Encouragement in the face of... stuff.

  A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle was on my shortlist of favorite books for my sophomore and junior years of high school (if you read it, you will understand the appeal it holds for an awkward teenage girl). In the story there was a poem that captured the attention of the heroine and myself. It wasn't "The World", by Henry Vaughan, although that would be a good guess considering the book's title. The poem was actually a short and odd-sounding snippet (to my modern ears) by Sir Thomas Browne, and it helped our moody protagonist as she dealt with the immanent death of her grandfather.

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin blog

Here's the link to the Western Wisconsin team blog... we're starting it up again this year.

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin team: 2013: This year, eleven teens from our area will attend training camp in June and teach 5-day clubs throughout the summer! ...

Sooo... What DID CYIA look like this year?

Let's see if my brain has processed the two weeks of camp yet!

     There certainly were all kinds of adventures. There was serious car trouble when missionaries started heading out to 5-day clubs the second week. Then on our way home, two of our area missionaries got in a car accident that could have killed them, but they only suffered some bruises and sore muscles. The paramedics must've had an interesting night, because the two missionaries found the situation very funny and couldn't stop making jokes about it. God must have surrounded them with more than airbags in that car -- the front was completely smashed in.

So... we got back on Friday night...
that is Friday, June 22nd... and at least one summer missionary I know slept until 5:00 Saturday night. That's how tiring camp is, I guess.
It was intense.

So intense that...people had to write things down.

     The summer missionaries I worked with were mostly in the missionary class, meaning it was their first year and they would not be learning how to teach a Bible lesson. They would, however, learn everything else. :) Their requirements included presenting to their instructors all five missionary stories and segments, presenting the Wordless Book twice, presenting counseling for salvation, teaching a Bible memory verse, a 5-day club song, and a prayer teaching.

It was a lot of work!

Even more things written down.

     Our team of 9 young ladies was epic.

Their personalities are on all points of the... what shall I call it -- the personality spectrum. One of the girls has attended 5-day clubs as a kid for years, and she was passionate about learning how to share the Gospel -- not just for the summer, but in school too. She worked super hard, and finished her requirements with excellence!
     Another missionary had a harder time focusing. She's a people-person who likes to shake things up... not a good personality for finishing a task on time. But when she came back from her first 5-day club during our second week of training, she was excited to be actually reaching kids with the gospel of Christ. Her heart was touched by what God was doing in the lives of her students.
     These two missionaries are both first year students. But another of the girls, a 14-year-old second-year student, blew the rest of us away with her focus and hard work. Her skill at keeping things focused when others were pulling away was incredible to see. She is good at getting people engaged in the task at hand, and keeps things interesting so they remain focused. She's one of our four Bible teachers this year (meaning she had to present all five Bible lessons and at least a couple of the missionary stories, plus all the requirements of a missionary class student). Whew! What dedication.
It was an encouragement.

     So many new friendships were forged, and old ties from last year were strengthened. One of my friends, who started teaching about the same time I did, came back this summer -- she skipped last year, and we really missed her. She's gotten engaged in the interval (!!!), so of course we had to talk about that. I also got to counsel a cabin of girls who were leaving after the first week of camp -- meaning I lost my cabin halfway through training! -- and they were all super-friendly, uber-talkative people. No drama, no cattiness. Just new friendships and unity in our common goal. What a blessed year.

It was  S O  M U C H  F U N.

What will CYIA look like this year?

This year, nine young people from Western Wisconsin will be training to reach kids with the Gospel. They'll be training with two team leaders, who have taught 5-day clubs for years and are now willing to share what they know with the younger teens. 

Here's a few things that these summer missionaries will learn this summer...

At the risk of being over-obvious...

They'll learn how to teach! And not just during the two-week training. One missionary said last year, “we were having difficulties teaching [at club] because of the large variety of ages and there were 36 kids. So we split the club, and it worked.” Another teen said she learned that God “can empower me to teach 25 kids just as well as 2.”

“I am excited to learn this year,” says another returning student from La Crosse, “and to review my lessons from last year.” She adds, “Watching those kids [last year] understand and accept the gift God has given was so cool.”

CYIA Winter Retreat!

This weekend a group of us came together for a Christian Youth in Action winter retreat. It was a time of refreshment and fun for everyone who came, though I think our visitors from down south felt it was a little chilly (and it was)!

Ready for lunch! And what a delicious lunch, too.

"Christian Youth in Action" in a parent's words

I can talk for hours or days on end about the things CEF and Christian Youth in Action do to evangelize to children and to disciple teenagers. But I love hearing from other people - and sharing their stories as well. Here with a parent's take on things is... full disclosure... my mother. According to her, Christian Youth in Action has a lasting impact.

I have 3 daughters who have participated in CYIA and [I] have gotten to know several other CYIA teens over the years. Here are a few of the reasons I highly recommend CYIA.

The training at CYIA is exceptional. The teens are extremely well equipped to teach children the truth of the Gospel. Beyond that, the teens gain confidence in communicating with all age groups. They also come to understand that it is God who works to draw people to Himself. They become excited about God's work and humbled as they see Him accomplish His purpose through them.

This excitement goes well beyond 5-day clubs, as [the teens] have an increased awareness of God's work in everyone around them. All the teens I've spoken with have appreciated the friendships they have built with like-minded young people. I believe this experience encourages the teens to continue to seek such friendships outside of CYIA. 

Western Wisconsin, here I come! -- Oh wait. I'm already here!

I've just come on staff with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

This is crazy exciting!!

Keeping up with Testimonies

Unless you, dear reader, know a hardcore CEF/CYIA participant (and I happen to know several - what a coincidence), you may not have heard testimonies recently of the great work God is doing through CEF in the Midwest region!

My coworker's comment when I told him what I was doing was "wow, I haven't heard of CEF in a long time. Are they still around?"

I think Child Evangelism PR needs a reboot, maybe. But you didn't hear that from me.

Hopefully you (dear reader) know all about what CEF has been doing in Western Wisconsin over the past few years. But just in case you haven't, I've compiled a list of links to check out for testimonies, news, and some all-around fantastic pictures of teens and kids and grown-ups serving the Lord.
Check them out!

* Testimonies from Western Wisconsin hosts, parents, teachers, etc.
* A photo gallery of CYIA 2010 
* Quotes from children (what this blog is really about!)
* For old photos (I mean like ancient, ancient, 2008-2009 photos), see here and here

Check out the stories. Are you excited? :)

Exciting Stuff!

265 children were reached during the La Crosse Interstate Fair with 85 professing faith in Jesus Christ. Exciting?? Yes!

One more exciting thing: they were reached by teenagers from Western Wisconsin!

When you put those two things together, you may see what I see...

Well. A new opportunity and call has presented itself this spring.

Over the past three summers, I've been training and teaching with Child Evangelism Fellowship to spread the gospel to kids in western Wisconsin. This year I won’t be training to teach kids… I’ll be helping train their teachers!

Christian Youth in Action

For the last two weeks, the team has been at training camp, learning how to teach 5-day clubs!

It was an amazing time of relationship building (as we're so fond of saying, not relationships between the genders - not those kind of relationships), a lot of mental and spiritual learning, and some fighting in the spiritual realms.

I really believe there were demons fighting us this year - whether it was trouble focusing or injuries and sickness, the kids were struggling to complete their learning... it was kind of abnormal. But... we had people asking God on our behalf back home and we spent some time each day asking Him ourselves. He blessed those two weeks of camp more than I can say!

During the second week as we taught practice clubs in the area, 22 children accepted Christ as their savior. 22 more received counseling for salvation assurance. It was awesome!

I was a 1/2 team leader - 1/2 student, which made life interesting at camp. But I'm really enjoying being an intern.

It's cool to see how the CEF leaders come to decisions and what they have to work through during CYIA training. It's also cool to see how they begin each day with prayer, and pray each time they meet together, usually sharing scripture too. I want to have a life like that, that is so full of Christ that in every circumstance His power is the first outlet I plug into! *

Orientation 2!!

As you can possibly see from the pictures...

O2 was fun. :)

That's my arm in the picture below, holding up "Adelia" the puppet. Adelia was mostly a model puppet... but she and "Hank" needed some help from wise Mrs. Weibel to become truly excellent puppets.

This second orientation was held at the camp where training will be this June, and was the first chance some teens had to see the place they'll be training at for two weeks! It was also the first change for many to learn the games they'll be teaching kids over the summer. Some of the games involved parachutes (see above and below) while others were variations of Ships Across the Ocean and Crows and Cranes.

It's a good thing these teenagers have good attitudes - and wanted to be there. In my experience, teens get bored much quicker than children!

It's harder to keep their attention. :)

It's cool to think that God will use these young adults
to bring others to Himself. If He wanted to, He could use someone else,
but He chose people like us. People who make mistakes
and don't always obey Him, but people He loves and
always forgives. Thank you, God!! Thank you for calling these teens!!

A Reminder ;)

"Every element of self-reliance must be slain by the power of God. Complete weakness and dependence will always be the occasion for the Spirit of God to manifest His power"

- Oswald Chambers.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 4:19

CYIA video

Check out the promo video for Christian Youth in Action, Wisconsin style!

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=3cc8d8d2b261e81e96a2

And tell me what you think, with a comment on the post!

The video is a few years old... but CYIA training camp is the same - a lot of work and a lot of challenge!

Orientation 1

It was a loong ride there and back... but worth it to see everyone!

Today was Orientation 1, when the summer missionaries get their support letters ready to send, and everyone receives their orientation manual.

That is, they get homework. :)

For the 5 day clubs this summer we have 5 missionary stories and 5 Bible lessons we'll have to learn at camp. But before we go, we're prepared; by reading the Bible passages and the story from India!

I can't wait for this summer; it's always exciting to see what God does through the missionaries. But this year I'm in a more "observing" position; I'm coordinating clubs, locations and times, and not doing as much actual teaching.

(But whenever a missionary can't teach or needs a partner, I'll be around.)

Please pray for the teens as they study for the summer! The work has only begun!