Student Ministry Newsletter- July 2009

[May 8, 2010] I know, I know... Everyone's waiting for me to post photos of our new house (Diana, my realtor, handed me the keys at work this past Wednesday!). I hope to get those pics up soon, but first I decided to raid my archives for a student ministry newsletter from last summer. I'll be posting the rest of last year's ministry newsletters as time allows, and check back SOON for photos of our new house!

Aloha ChoG Student Ministry Newsletter- July 2009

The Class of 2009 has made it! We had several seniors graduate from high school this year, and four were core members of our student ministry at Aloha ChoG. From Aloha High: Kevin Gade, Alissa Degman, and Sam Fleig. From Merlo Station: Emmaleigh Mallery.



Aloha High's graduation ceremony was well attended and highly emotional, and we heard that Emmaleigh gave a wonderful speech at her own graduation. The last time we checked, Alissa, Sam, and Emmaleigh were planning to attend PCC and Kevin was heading for Warner Pacific. We are so proud of them and pray God's blessings on them in their future.

Our graduates, as well other young people who are hopeful of a brighter future, can relate to our new teaching series, "Leaving the Old Place." We've been following the story of God using such an unlikely leader as Moses (and Aaron, to support his leadership) to deliver the Israelites from slavery… not that high school is slavery!

Two of our biggest fundraisers for International Youth Convention 2010 helped us pick up steam for the big event next summer.

The first, our annual rummage sale, was held here at the church on Saturday, May 30. The students worked hard on Friday night sorting the donations and setting up the displays. Then they stayed all day Saturday to assist the "rummagers" and ring up purchases. The sale was well attended and, thanks to the abundance of donations, is tentatively scheduled to make a second run this fall.

Our other fundraiser, the June 14 dessert auction, brought in more cash for IYC. There was quite a variety of treats to bid on, from cheesecake to freshly baked cookies. We got a kick out of watching the King's Kids "bidding" on items, too. To top it all off, Tom Peterson made his sophomore (no, not sophomoric) appearance as our energetic auctioneer.






The next Friday, a few of us took a campus tour of Warner Pacific College...

...Followed the next day by a beach trip for a couple carloads of our students on July 20th.

To our surprise, Seaside was featuring a "Father's Day Cruise-In."



After gawking at the classic cars on display, we toured the shops and wasted some pocket change at the arcade. The sun eventually drew us to the beach, although the air remained a bit chilly.



Some of us were even bold enough to brave the icy cold water!

Our upcoming car wash at the Burger King on TV Highway is scheduled for Saturday, July 25 [2009... This is a past event]. All of the proceeds will go to our IYC 2010 fund. We could use volunteers to help us out for any amount of time during the day. Please let Garth, Kathy or Wendy know if you are willing and able. If nothing else, we would love to wash your car!

In His Grip,

Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton

And for those of you can't get enough of our student ministry, here are some bonus photos:


Our graduates eat pizza, receive gifts, and get prayed for (students are laying hands on Alissa in this second photo) at our School's Out Party.



Derek takes a tumble during a Wednesday night game of soccer at church.




Mickey D's



Ben directs traffic towards our rummage sale fundraiser, all while trying to find his way out of a plastic bag.