JSM Connection: January 2013

Monday, January 21, 2013

Until Next Year!

We've had SUCH an AWESOME weekend here together and we ALWAYS hate to see it end! But we look forward to coming home and living out the UPRISING that God has called us to!

131 seeking students, 45 selfless leaders, and 1 amazingly huge God!

Our Winter Camp 2013 Team

Thank you for trusting us with your kids and allowing us to partner with you in bringing up a generation of students that are learning to seek God's face and His good, pleasing, and perfect will!

Team leaders have been watching their students all weekend and taking notes on which students stand out as leaders. One student from each team was chosen to receive an award for showing "excellence on a team and individual level through stewardship, serving, and encouraging others."

This year's recipients are:

Josh Ryer of Red Robin (Yummm!)

David Diggs of The Big O

Madison Cooper of the Pac Manz

Andrew Wade of The Greenbacks

Amador Landaverde of The Blue Avatars

Paige Rollins of Purple Riot

Hunter Thompson of Pink-a-Link

Dakota DeGroodt of Aqua Believe It

Sarah Nixon of Bringin' Sexy Black

Costner Palmer of The Abominable Snow Angels

Casey Gage of The Gold Medalists

Alex Curtice of Silver Swag

Way to go students! We LOVE LOVE LOVE each and every one of you and look forward to continue watching you grow in your leadership abilities through Christ!

Final Points!

The Greenbacks - 3,417,500

Red Robin (Yummm!) - 3,422,000

Aqua Believe It - 3,712,000

Silver Swag - 3,750,000

The Blue Avatars - 4,051,000

The Big O - 4,595,000

Bringin' Sexy Black -4,867,000

The Gold Medalists - 4,902,500

The Abominable Snow Angels - 5,117,500

The Pac Manz- 5,392,000

Purple Riot - 5,481,000

Pink-a-Link - 6,163,000

Monday Morning Session

Coach Walton opened our final session this morning with Galatians 6:9 where Paul was encouraging the Galatians to "not become weary in doing good." It takes PATIENCE!

He told us a story about a toll booth operator on a railroad who took his son to work with him one day. His son had been so excited and looking forward to this day and was so happy to get to spend the day with his dad!

It was a beautiful day so the two went outside to eat their lunch. As they were finishing up the dad remembered something he needed to do and went back up to the control booth for a minute. While in there he heard on the radio that a party train was heading in his direction and the bridge would need to be lowered. As he reached for the crank he remembered his son was still outside. He looked out the window of the booth but didn't see him where they had been sitting. He quickly scanned the area and spotted his son...Right under where the bridge would need to be lowered in order for the train to pass. He could see the train in the distance and could hear the whistle as it grew closer. In a panic he yelled for his son and banged furiously on the window knowing there was no way his son could actually hear him. The train was rapidly moving closer and there were only seconds to spare. What to do? How to choose?? If he left the bridge up, his precious son would be safe but no one on the party train would survive the crash. But lowering the bridge meant crushing his very own son. The dad cried out, completely broken, as he turned the crank lowering the bridge. With a heartbroken wail, he watched his innocent child die, but as the train passed everyone inside continued on with their partying having NO idea the danger they had been in or the sacrificial choice the dad had just made in order to save THEM.

In order to start an uprising in our own life that we can share with everyone around us we first have to realize that this is exactly the sacrifice God made for US! It's as if Jesus' last thoughts while he hung on the cross were, "I'm doing this for YOU! So YOU can live every day working your little bit with COURAGE and BOLDNESS and doing things you never thought you could do!"

Sunday Late Night!

Last night BB introduced us to some of her groupies...

These guys are 'BB's New Crew!"

And these girlies are "BB's Babes!"

Our first challenge of the night involved dropping pennies in an aquarium from a few feet above in hopes of having them land in cups worth varying amounts of points...

Next it was time for our last Leader's Challenge!

(And this one has now become one of my all time faves! You SHOULD try it at home!)

Each leader had an alka-seltzer rubber banded to their forehead while one of their students tried to dissolve it by shooting it with some pretty powerful water guns!

And of course we couldn't end our final night here at camp without a good bit of That's Nasty action!

A student from each team was given the opportunity to visit our yummy buffet of spaghetti with meatballs, sardines, vienna sausages and cocktail onions...All the items were worth varying points and they could choose to eat as much or as little as they'd like! And in case they like it to go down smooth they also had the option of having it blended for them!

But...Since there major points at stake (and this was their last chance to earn points for the weekend!) most everybody chose to have a nice blended concoction and some even added on a full plate of solids too!

Video Recap!

Good morning!!!

Thought we'd start you off with a little video recap of some of our games here at camp!

Games Video

Busy morning before we head home...See y'all soon!

Sunday Night Session

Tonight Coach Walton took us to Matthew 14:17 where Jesus had just asked the disciples to feed the multitude and they replied “But we ONLY have five loaves and two fishes!” Yes - True statement! What they had WASN’T enough, but God took the little bit they DID have and multiplied and used it!

Sometimes we get caught up in thinking we have to have everything all nice and pretty before we can present ourselves to God but all He really wants is just our “little bit.” Focusing on other peoples’ little bit only causes us to forget the little bit that WE have, but it’s THAT little bit that God wants us to GIVE Him so that He can turn around and multiply it in us to use for His glory!