The Best Valentine Ever

Valentine's Day can be a very lonely holiday. For just about any type of person. It could be hard for you, a high schooler or middle schooler, or your parents or your teachers or your neighbors. This Valentine's Day we wanted to extend some love toward the widows in our church. So, our high school girls small groups each adopted a few widows to send Valentine's day cards to.

We may never know how many lives have been touched through the giving of these cards by our high school girls. But, we do know that at least one life was touched significantly...I'd like to share some excerpts from a letter that we received this week from one of the widows that received a Valentine's Day card.

"I would like to make you aware of a special blessing that came my way recently from one of your Sr. High Small Groups. A group sent me a special Valentine. It included a wish extending God's love to me. This meant so much to me. It gave me such a lift to think some young people from home was thinking of me. I just want you to know you and your young people are in my prayers daily. At my age (83) and partly disabled I have lots of time and I try to use it to glorify the Lord. May God richly bless you."

All that to say, never underestimate the way God will use something as simple as a Valentine. It reminds me of a verse I read recently, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for men." Colossians 3:23 God can use even the smallest things to touch people's lives. Doing even the smallest things for his glory and to the best of your ability can make the difference in people's lives.

Thank you to all that participated in writing these Valentine's Day cards. You may never know the impact you made on someone's life.

Journey to the Cross

To recognize the season of Lent this year, Wooster Grace Students is hosting "Journey to the Cross," on 45 day online devotional to help people reflect on, know, and draw closer to Jesus. We see this as the original purpose of Lent, established by the church many years ago. The Journey begins today, Ash Wednesday, and will continue until we reach the cross on Good Friday. If you would like to take the challenge to go on that journey, you can visit www.journeytothecross.blogspot.com. It will be updated daily with articles, online videos, and downloads to supplement your quiet time with Jesus. Let us know that you've become a traveler either by leaving a comment or by calling/e-mailing the student ministries office. We'd love to know you're walking with us.

Sincerely,

The Wooster Grace Student Ministries Staff

My Biggest Fans

by: Rachel Snyder

One of my biggest passions is high school basketball. Probably because it has been one of the most impactful experiences in my life so far. Last night after the LAST open cafe, I got to go with two of our students to watch the Smithville/Waynedale sectional game at Triway high school. These two girls that I went with are in a small group together along with a player from Waynedale. Now, mind you, one of these girls i went with was from Smtihville. But she came to support her small group friend -- and sat on the Waynedale side (w/ her bright green Smithville Letterman Jacket, but that's beside the point). I was completely impressed by the support that these two girls gave to their small group, despite the rivalry. It was so awesome to see a connection stronger than their school affiliation. And despite Waynedale's loss, seeing the small group together, laughing, smiling and encouraging each other after the game reminded me of the value of our small groups and the connections that become possible because of them. I feel completely blessed to be a part of HSM because these girls reminded me of the deep connection that comes when friends are following Christ together. It is so cool to watch you guys be a part of and investing in each other's lives.

This is a shout-out to Ellie Shoup, Amanda Gessel and Abby Kauffman. :)

If you want to walk on water...

by Nick Cleveland

YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT! That's the title of John Ortberg's great book on 
living a life of faith. Yesterday I used that title as inspiration for HSM! It was a wonderful service yesterday that saw a great game of "Will it Float?", a solid worship set, Sydney's powerful story of life change in Christ, a drama, & the message.

In Matthew 14 Peter & the disciples encounter Jesus...walking on water. It's interesting that as Jesus approaches the boat the disciples really had 2 choices. (1) they could stay in the boat (2) they could walk on water. In our current series called "Hooked" we're discovering how to overcome temptation. In my mind when it comes to temptation (the easily entangling sin in life) we can either stay in the boat with it or get out and experience something else...much better!

So whatever you might be facing in life...no matter what sin has entagled you...no matter what temptations are all around you, God has called you to get out of the boat and to do something extraordinary! Remember...if you want to walk on water, YOU'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF THE BOAT!

The Imitation of Christ

by Ben Framstad

I read this today and found it to be pretty powerful:

"Let it then be our main concern to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ...If you want to understand Christ's words and relish them fully, you must strive to conform your entire life to His."

from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis.

Jesus, let me be more like you. Let my heart withdraw from the visible things in search of the invisible...you.

The reason we go...

by: Nick Cleveland

There is something exciting about 200 students gathering in front of multiple buses and loading in under an hour. There is something exciting about the caravan of 4 buses trailing up 250 to Sandusky. There is something even more exciting about seeing nearly 800 students and leaders gather to celebrate God's presence together. There is something exciting about the set up of the Kalahari Retreat weekend; the band pumping the music, the video cameras catching all the action on the giant screens, the laughter of students as the speaker holds their attention in the palm of his hands, the excitement of hearing the stories of peers whose lives have been changed by Jesus, watching the dramas, hearing the songs, playing the games, & of course enjoying the amenities of north america's largest indoor water park...all of which is truely exciting.

BUT, nothing is more exciting than lives being changed forever! Saturday night Jeff Bogue shared his heart with students and from what we know 16 students gave their lives to Christ for the first time (pause here to listen to the celebration going on in heaven - that's REALLY exciting). That same night over 300 students made a commitment to sharing their lives and the hope they have with friends who need Christ (pause here to see if you can do the math on the impact that could have - that's REALLY exciting). The entire weekend featured the body of Christ celebrating God together...800 voices lifting Jesus on high! (pause here to see if you can depict the smile on God's face - that's REALLY exciting).

Since the Kalahari the office in which I work has seen many students come through the doors...most of which are dealing with the truth from God's Word that they were confronted with at Kalahari. Some convicted, some confused, some ready to take a step in obedience, some ready to start a new life in Christ. ALL impacted - that's truely exciting.

Who knows all that God did during those 50 hours in Sandusky, but the evidence I see is REALLY exciting!

Awesome Water Park

by: Michelle Ream

What?! You didn't go to the water park? Who goes to Kalahari & doesn't visit the water park with their friends?! It's the most awesome indoor water park around!

Of course, many do visit the water park all weekend. In fact, who out there skips sleeping in or meals to get that extra hour in the water? I know some of you who do.

By far, my favorite is the "family toilet"! So, as soon as lunch was over, my small group & I headed straight there. The line was long but we are never short on things to talk about, so that helps time pass quickly. The closer to the top we got, the more we laughed & talked about last year's ride on the giant toilet! I'm sure the life guard at the top has heard his share of giggles & screams from those of us who just can't help it. The anticipation builds, the slide is fast, water splashes everywhere, but you don't want to be the person going backwards at all!! Our group was going so fast that we went around "the bowl" 3 times before shooting out the bottom & into the pool below. Now we all know that everyone watching at the bottom is a little jealous of how much fun you seem to be having & they secretly hope that their trip from the top to the bottom is just as awesome as yours. Thanks girls for the ride!!

On the the wave pool, which when visited with the right people, can be hilarious. Not only is it fun to float around in the waves, but really- who doesn't like watching everyone else and the faces that they make. Now that's great!

The slides, the coaster(which was broken when we tried to ride), and the racing slides add to your fun for the day. And about that lazy river... if you are fortunate enough to get in when you can actually see water, then it's your lucky day. IF NOT, well when half of the water park tries to cram in with you and there isn't even room for your raft to lay flat, maybe they should change the name OR you should try again another time. Just ask the girls,if nothing else we laughed at the craziness.

So, bring on Kalahari '10 & if you have yet to dive into the water, grab a few friends and give it a try. You won't be disappointed and you too can talk for the rest of the year about the family toilet. Now what a great topic of conversation!!

O the pizza...

by Rachel Snyder

To pick up right where Ben left off. . .

We got there and wowee who knew that the wind chill was going to measure up to a whopping 5 degrees BELOW zero!! It was a mad dash to get our bags from under the buses. . . .I don’t think I’ve ever seen 200 people so motivated to sort through luggage and help each other get inside! Whew. Then we had to find our room…I’m not sure how we did it…but all 200 of us found the people we were crashing with for the weekend and made the haul to our rooms. On the way to our wing of the resort we walked by (in complete awe) the WATER PARK….it looked just like it did when we left it last year, but somehow it was even more awesome this year! You could feel the energy as we talked about the toilet…about the lazy river…about the indoor/outdoor hot tub. It was like walking down memory lane. I can’t count the number of times I heard “you remember last when?” The emotions were tremendous and the excitement was uncontainable…I even heard somebody say, “Hey, guys! You remember that awesome pizza that they served us last year on the first night….”

It was a race to get to dinner to eat that hunk-o-pizza that they serve….but it was a bigger race to the main ballroom after dinner to save “front row seats!!” Wow. . .and that’s where the real excitement began…so many things happened behind the doors of the main ballroom, but I’ll let some body else pick up the story tomorrow.

Kalahari Rewind: Part 1

by Ben Framstad

So how does the biggest event of the whole entire school year begin for Wooster Grace Students? Well, I can at least share my side of the story. I helped the student ministry team tackle "check-in" on Friday afternoon for the 200 people we had scheduled to go to Kalahari this year. It had potential to be a MAD HOUSE, but since this is the fourth year now since the Kalahari tradition began, we kinda knew how to pull everybody together in the least amount of stress possible. Score!

Then it was a mad dash to the buses. We took not 2...not 3...but 4 buses to Sandusky, OH. On my bus, I sat with Joel, Megan, Kendra, Savannah, and Lori. We told jokes until we got bored of that. Then we played "Big Booty" (a completely appropriate game that regrettably uses a getto-fabulous synonym for an enlarged posterior as it's name) until we got bored of that. Then we played the Korean Slap Game. Let me explain. Everyone is in a circle and the group has one leader. The leader counts to three and then makes one of four known Korean Slap Game signs with his hands. At the same time, the other group members randomly choose to make one of the four signs as well. If they match with the leader (kinda like "rock, paper, scissors"), the leader gets to slap their hands a determined number of times based on the value of the sign. It's kinda violent. My hands were throbbing and bright red by the time I was done playing. 

When we arrived at Kalahari Resort, we waited on the bus a bit too long, but finally got to get off and grab our stuff. It was a little crazy getting everything to our rooms and to the conference center, but we did okay. The energy was high because this was it - the moment we had all been waiting for: Kalahari! I could share more but I'll wait and let someone else jump in tomorrow!