2009 did not begin quietly for Aloha Church of God's students. We rang in the new year with the Insomnia 2009 all-night party, hosted by Vancouver's First Church of God. 
Over 300 middle and high schoolers got crazy at this annual event. 
Highlights included two concerts (The Nathan Arnold Band led us in worship through midnight)...
...a message by Pastor Don Doe... 
...an inflatable obstacle course, door prizes, an interactive game with Warner Pacific College... 
...adrenaline-soaked sleep deprivation (even through 6 a.m, as we snapped this pic while waiting in line for breakfast)...
and a Mountain Dew chugging contest (between Ben and Kenny) gone horribly wrong. Anyone with a hankering to see a photo of Ben's anticlimactic, gut wrenching (no pun intended) finale should request to be added to my "private" www.flickr.com contact list.
We are concluding our study of the church's beginnings with a unit on instructions for spiritual growth, as found in the epistles of the New Testament. 
One of the more memorable moments was staging a minor food fight between theater students Alissa and Kevin to illustrate loving (and not so loving) methods of resolving disagreements. This vignette, taped by Derek and featuring a random cameo by Will, also touched on themes of gender discrimination and legalism. 
Public service announcement: any foods harmed in the filming of this production will be matched by a donation to the Food Cupboard ministry.
We would like to say a special word of thanks to those who have already helped out our student ministry in 2009:
- Wendy: for being the best ministry volunteer leader ever!
- Sharon (pictured further below with Pastor Tim, at his installation ceremony): for teaching our students while Garth and Kathy were in Canby at the SHAPE pastoral development retreat, for filling in as our supportive Reaching Servant , and for helping us with our fundraising efforts.
- Janelle: for being a guest speaker on January 14, inspiring our students with her own disciplines for spiritual growth.
---and last, but not least---
- Pastor Tim: for starting out strong with his pastoral leadership and following the vision that God has given him for our church.
We were pleased to honor him at his installation ceremony on January 25th.
We got even more bang for our buck when Ben gave his debut rock star performance for his dad during the service!
In Christ,
Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton
Here are a couple of bonus pictures, not included in the church newsletter:
After getting knocked out of a Wednesday night crowdbreaker, Derek cries out to the heavens, "Why?"
ROMANS 16:19 SAYS!!... Well, our student ministry does strive for excellence in what is good. But who knew that praising God could be so hard on the furniture?
2 comments:
Kathy- I admire you for still being able to do youth all-nighters!!! :) I gave up all-nighters and 30 hour famines a long time ago!
The older I get, the harder it is to stay up. I eventually fall asleep during the movie portion, which gives me a couple of hours of sleep. I'm getting to the point to where I won't be able to do it much longer. Garth is a night owl, so he'll be able to do all-nighters till who knows when.
Kathy
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