Operation Barnabas<br />Orientation

Friday, June 22, 2007

My vocabulary has been reduced to drama lines and puppet songs.

The day started as any other would have, unassuming and early. Once the mystery of unlocking both bus combinations and high schools were solved, showers could begin. Base Camp: aka Lititz, PA, elevation 500 feet, then became a hive of activity.  The teams separated to attend matters of utmost importance. Potomac began the journey to Philadelphia and Urban Hope, Atlantic stocked up on supplies at Wal-Mart, while Chessie finally did some laundry (it's been over a week..trust me, I sleep in the same room, it was time!). Afterwards, ATL and Chessie fine tuned their programs and prepared for busy afternoons.

I must insert that all three buses are finally working to their fullest potential and road ready. We have been praying for this as they have bounced in and out of a local shop for various reasons. Thanks in large part to time from Craig Groff and Dave Knepper, they are up for the ministry ahead. Also, Chessie came back from Urban Hope gaining insight on ministry in a city. Many hearts were moved as we went door to door signing up children for summer camps, then onto Central City were we handed food to homeless and most importantly, shared conversation about spiritual matters. Challenging and rewarding, scared and inspired, weak, but made strong. We then debriefed on the steps of the Art Museum. The morning was for manual labor around Urban Hope and a quick look at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell before heading back to Base Camp.

ATL shared a children's program with the local daycare run by the church and Chessie labored through our speech choir... you may pray about this...we need it perfect by Sunday. Lindsey Boyer, a rep from Lancaster Bible College, brought us some yummy dinner, a brief presentation about the school, and of course, free t-shirts! 

Then came the proving ground. All the hours of memorization and timing put to the test. Three group review! Here we evaluate all the skits, puppets, pantomimes, and clowns to decide what we keep and what can be improved. The process takes some hours and alot of laughter. I'm glad to share that both ATL and Chessie did very well and met the challenge. Most students welcomed a little audience to view their work, since talking to a wall in a room has since lost its appeal. Time here is winding down, and we must be leaving Base Camp soon. We have come to know Lititz as home, but we must go on. I invite you join each team as we separate down differing trails and head into our own journeys. I sincerely hope you find the path challenging, yet enjoyable. Cheers.

 

OB Team Pictures 2007 015 Chesapeake does some much needed laundry!

OB Team Pictures 2007 019 Preparing for VBS

OB Team Pictures 2007 023 Atlantic practices their skits

OB Team Pictures 2007 036 Chesapeake prepares their skits for ministry

OB Team Pictures 2007 041 Brittany sings along while controlling Quimper's mouth!

 

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Students Share about Urban Hope Experiences

Tonight the students (from the 2 teams that had been there so far: Atlantic and Chesapeake) had an opportunity to share about their experiences at Urban Hope. During challenge hour, Tim Clothier (Atlantic Senior Leader) gave a message about faith being lived out through action and had the students read Scripture from Hebrews 11.

Please continue to pray that as Orientation is winding down, God would equip the students with the proper tools they need in order to minister effectively this summer. Also, please pray that dramas, puppets, and pantomimes would be finished up this weekend before the students leave for tour. And lastly, please pray for the Potomac team as they head to inner-city Philadelphia to stay a day and a half at Urban Hope.

Wake up was 7:15 and that was followed by a morning of devotionals, three group prep, and choir.

In the evening, the leaders put on a skit about 'dinner etiquette'. The skit was hilarious as the leaders modeled what NOT to do when trying to eat with proper etiquette.






Practicing the "Gospel Ship" puppets during 3-Group time.

















Andrew R., Johnny S., Annie M., Heather S., and Jess H. working on a drama.














Alex, Matt G, and Stacie during the dinner etiquette skit.














Students conversing after the etiquette dinner.













Heidi E., and Jordan G. sharing with the other teams about their time at Urban Hope.

 

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Students go DOOR TO DOOR in Lititz.

This evening, after a day of laundry, 3 groups and choir, the students had the chance to go door-to-door.

The youth group from Lititz Grace met us for dinner tonight, and together we went door-to-door to invite Manheim's neighborhoods to the rodeo on Sunday. It is just one extra touch the church wanted to make for the big event. It was a great opportunity for our students to interact with the youth. Also, it was good for them to get into the community and talk to people.

The 3 groups were very productive today and the students felt good about the prep time for their children's story and sermons. We ended the evening with team time, games and a meeting without leaders for the students to learn to lead on their own.






The Atlantic team trying to untwist the "human pretzel."












Courtney L. handing out flyers.

 

The Atlantic Team Goes to Urban Hope

What a great 25 hours of ministry! The Atlantic team had a the opportunity to minister at Urban Hope yesterday and this morning. We were able to visit much of the surrounding Urban Hope neighborhood, while finding time for a quick tour of historic Philly.

A highlight of our stay there was our visit to the Cambodian section of town. Several of our kids were amazing as they shared their faith and built relationships with others.

Serving Him

Timothy Clothier

P1000276 Three Group practice on the bus. Singing "I Give you Me" which practicing puppets.

P1000295 Trenton playing a Soccer/Volleyball game with the Cambodians.

P1000339 Bethany, cleaning up a lot owned by Urban Hope.

P1000342 Ben and Casey, pouring concrete in the basement of the Urban Hope Youth Center.

P1000288 Kelsey playing "run around as fast as you can" with a local Cambodian girl.

P1000335 Rachael, helping prep a deck so that another OB team can refinish it tomorrow.

 

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

If you stay up late enough, the students sing in their sleep!

Worship Worshiping God through song!

What a crazy looking bunch of students we have! Clowns abounded in the halls of Grace Church in Lititz, PA, early this morning, fully adorned in their best/worst renditions of a three ring circus. Once the make up and costumes were removed, we began focusing on different presentations of our personal testimonies. The students learned the difference between one focused on outreach with a Gospel message and invitation to receive Christ, and the other, focused on encouraging believers with their walk since their faith decision.

Then we sang, and we sang, and we sang, and we sang until we could sing no longer... then we sang some more. Teams were working apart from the whole ninety like they had been used to, but in a few short days, the tour gets real. So we split into our teams and refined the differences. Speech choirs were also assigned, just in case the students felt they had everything memorized.

Dinner was provided by Grace College as we gathered outside to watch the storm roll in. Currently, a magnificent display of thunder and lightening showcases the sky, bringing along some much needed rain for this area. The challenge hour, shared by Pastor Scott Distler, was both informative and inspiring. He shared his vision of the Rodeo upcoming, then about pitfalls of ministry. His final story touched the students, ending with a testimony of a missionary, whose life was spent pursuing the Lord. The front cover of his Bible summing up his creed: "No reserves, no retreats, no regrets!" We hope each student serves the Lord with excellence and nothing less each time they take the opportunity to minister in His name.



Clown Makeup Samantha W. and Lindsay D. practice putting on clown makeup!



clown makeup guys Cody I. and Jake S. transform into clowns!



group clown Is Barnum and Bailey accepting applications?



Guys sharing Atlantic team returns from Urban Hope and shares about their ministry.



Haley Meridith Haley M. shares special music with us.



Pizza from Grace 1 Free Pizza and T-shirts...Thanks Grace College!!



Pizza from Grace 2



Pastor Scott Distler Pastor Scott Distler shares in challenge hour!

 

Monday, June 18, 2007

Students learn to replenish after long Sundays

Tonight the students really learned how to minister as a guy/girl. The girls on each team split up with their girl leaders and talked about what it means to serve Jesus as a young woman. Also, the guys on each team split up with the guy leaders and talked about what it means to serve Jesus as a young man.

The morning started at 7 a.m. with showers, breakfast and spending an hour with God. On Sundays the students really pour out a lot of energy as they serve Jesus by building relationships, singing in choir, etc. Therefore on Mondays we want to teach the students how important it is to spend some alone time with God after a long day of ministering, and one way we encourage this is by spending one hour with God in the morning.
The afternoon was blended with lots of Choir and Three Group practices.
The night was wrapped up by a message by TK and then a discussion (as mentioned above) about what it means to serve as a girl/guy.


Alyssa K., and Shelly B. during hour with God.




Practicing lines during 3-Group time.


Heather S., Lindsey B., and Josh K. working on puppets.



Jesus is our Superhero!!













Greeting from Philadelphia, PA from the Atlantic Team. Yummy Philly cheese steaks!!! =)

We ventured over to Urban Hope Monday morning. Our teens had the opportunity to visit kids who attend Kingdom Kids and invited them to Day Camp. Many of them came back with a lot of cool stories about people they had the chance to interact with. Of course, the lady who was selling the italian ice, got to talk to our whole team, a couple times! Later in the evening we drove to the Cambodian section of Philly. We split the team into different teams and some picked up trash, while others focused on talking and playing with kids and their families.
While debriefing later that night, the team shared how God was working in their hearts, as well as, the people they talked to. Specifically, Drew, Michael, and Carli got a chance to share with a teen named Chris. They ended up giving him a Bible and we are continuing to pray for his salvation. Trevor had a chance to share with "E", and got to some deep spiritual issues. What our students learned the most at this park was that it is our job to plant the seeds, and God is in charge of the timing, watering and harvesting, we just need to be ready.
This was a big learning experience for our teens. They were challenged culturally, to step out of their comfort zone, and talk to people who they normally would never talk to. Continue to pray for our students to continue to seek out opportunities and take them. Please also pray for the ministry of Urban Hope. They are doing some great things here, and we were just glad to be a part of it for a day.

Thank you for your support and prayers.
Atlantic

 

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Who knew there were so many hours in a day?







Operation Barnabas 2007 Choir



Finally, the moment that solidifies each student as an Operation Barnabas team member. They get to put on their slightly wrinkled Sunday outfit and gather in mass to help lead worship on their first Sunday service. It was by no means a small task to be prepared for this, having only been in Lititz for six days.

However, the day certainly did not begin there. The alarms sounded at six am and we began stumbling to the showers and moving our sleeping rooms so we did not interfere with classes held in the rooms we call home. By nine, we were all smiles, greeting attendees and hurrying to the stage for our first song. The services both went flawless, with the group sounding very refined. An outdoor baptism was held briefly after the service, followed by the next classic OB step; team pictures.

The afternoon was all business, running from puppets, to drama, to clowning; hoping to remember those lines and cues. Rich Russell shared on Children’s Ministry for two sessions, giving them a slight break in activity. Then back to three groups for more work on the programs. Exhaustion had set in for most, but many choose to smile through the droopy eyes and prolonged yawns. Finally, the last evening session and some time to debrief on the day.

Most believed Sunday morning was a few days ago with the amount they had experienced today. We tucked the students into bed, read a bedtime story (kinda, but not really… it just seemed to fit here) and prayed for our teams and ministry opportunities. Take a breath, get some sleep, and let's get up to do it all over tomorrow.

Apologies for the lack of photos of today, but Team Chesapeake's laptop seems to be quite moody.