Our third year here in Vero with the teens. Activities have transformed themselves into real ministries. The kids are getting older and becoming more involved in things outside of church, like music, drama, sports, and of course JOBS. The kids that were junior high and seemed so young when we first came are fully involved in high school now. We had our first real class of seniors this year and that was of course exciting but bittersweet. It has been great to watch these teens grow, but then watching them move on to college is hard. It's sad to not have them a part anymore and we miss their leadership, but we are excited for them in their new adventures. Favorite activities of the year include: Christmas party with the marshmallow guns, seen here;
Encounter 2005 in Cocoa Beach--we cleaned and repainted the entire exterior of a food and clothing shelter in Rockledge, (don't forget our cool XL freebit t-shirts and trucker hats from some random radio station promotion.) Summer Camp was combined this year--Junior and Senior High the same week, and we had a GREAT group attend. And then the most amazing mission trip yet, Columbus, Ohio. We worked with Lower Lights Ministries and helped with the remodeling of two Rachel's House buildings, which provide housing for recently released female prisoners. We met some incredible people there and the group that we took was amazing. They worked so hard and grew a lot through the experience. We got to have a ton of fun somewhere in the middle of all the work, too! The pix in the beginning of this blog is of us playing broom hockey at the end of the trip with the local youth group. We also got to go hiking through a cool canyon and canoeing in the dark, ride the most thrilling roller coasters in the nation at Cedar Point, and nothing says mission trip but a 16 hour road trip (both ways) with a 3 vehicle caravan. Mission completed.
