Since returning from International Youth Convention in Orlando last month, our students at Aloha Church of God have enjoyed a month of spiritual encouragement from the book of Philippians, fellowship, and laid back summer fun. Among the latest highlights:
Crazy games during E.P.I.C. Wednesday nights
Sharing about IYC Orlando with the students back at home
Campmeeting at Warner Pacific College
Dual fundraisers holding signs for a car dealership, earning money for our upcoming summer activities
Water balloon fight!
Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge
Cruising in the Jeep
Playstation 3 gaming at Garth and Kathy's new house
Our young people thank you for your prayers. We've had a fun summer!
In Christ, Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton
P.S. I'm having some difficulties getting our youth camping/boating pictures uploaded. In the meantime, here are some other bonus pics from this summer:
BLAM!! Collision on home plate!
The infamous banana cake, in honor of Garth's birthday
The dominant team goes deep field to win the water balloon toss
Kenny gets pwned by Brandon and Patrick at the E.P.I.C. water fight!!
Note: My latest post for September 2010 is still in "draft" mode (as this one has been), so I'm posting this 2009 entry for a fun look at what we did last year at this time. As soon as I finish uploading recent pics from this summer, I'll publish the new entry. Enjoy!
This has been a fun and action packed summer for our student ministry. We created many memories together, and remembering God's blessings have been a key theme from our teachings this past month. We've been following Israel's story as the Lord led them further from their slavery in Egypt, preparing them for a new life of freedom and obedience in the Promised Land. We can also be free to experience God's promises by relying on the Holy Spirit to set us apart for His calling (as Moses and Aaron were anointed for ministry), acknowledging that everything we have belongs to God (as demonstrated by God's instructions for the Year of Jubilee), and learning to be grateful for God's blessings (in contrast to the Israelite's grumbling and complaining in the desert).
In addition to this summer's day hikes, backpacking/ camping trips, swimming, and boating excursions, we always consider OR/SW WA State Campmeeting to be a highlight. Will operated the camera on the opening night as this year's theme, "A Hope and a Future," was introduced. A group of students also took part in Warner Pacific College Night on Wednesday.
As always, we celebrated the end of summer with laughs and thrills at our annual camping/waterskiing weekend in Washington State. After setting up camp near the town of Couger, we had dinner together and walked down to Yale Lake for a brisk twilight swim. Back at camp, we explored the area, toasted s'mores, and enjoyed interesting conversations around the campfire.
Garth's dad, Bo, made a surprise appearance at camp the next morning while Garth was leading morning devotions.
After sharing a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast at camp, we launched Bo's boat in Yale Lake and cranked up the fun.
Our toys of choice were the wakeboard, the kneeboard, and the water tube. Bo pulled each of us behind his boat according to our own preference of speed, sharp turns, and craziness. It was a great weekend of camping and boating, and we look forward to next year!
Thanks in advance for remembering our student ministry in your prayers for the upcoming school year. Details on the launch of our new E.P.I.C. Student Ministry will follow next month!
In His grip, Youth Pastors Garth and Kathy Hamilton
Here are some blog-exclusive bonus photos for this month:
Playing Tree on Garth's birthday
Taste testing different blends of joe at Coffee Stop, narrowing down options for the upcoming Aloha Church of God Blend
Not one, but TWO soaking wet water balloon fights. We had a Slip 'N' Slide contest before we dried off. Derek G.(pictured) easily took the top honors.
And finally... observing communion together on the playground (after one of the water fights) at the end of Garth's teaching
I was living the bachelor life at home last week, while Kathy was leading (in my place, as mentioned in my last blog entry) our student ministry’s trip to International Youth Convention in Orlando. Though it provided some good sermon material for that week, was bummed about missing the trip and missed having Kathy with me. My injured leg prevented me from doing anything active (I wasn’t even able to drive until earlier in the week), so there were only a few minor tweaks in my current routine: enjoying some “Garth time,” eating unhealthy foods, having my students over to the house more often, and playing my movies and music louder.
That last part, about cranking up my home theater system, wasn’t nearly enough to drown out the series of loud booms that drew our new neighbors and me together late Thursday night. I thought the first blast at around 10:40 was coming from my rear surround sound speakers, as part of the fireworks display from the rock concert that I had blaring in my living room. The second boom rattled things on my walls and sent me hopping out to the front porch, grabbing a crutch on my way out. I glanced over across the street to see if Dave my neighbor had driven into his garage door or something.
From my front porch I heard the third and final, biggest, deepest boom of all… followed by a cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky. My first thought was that the Intel Aloha Campus was blowing up, one section at a time. Chills shot down my spine at the fear of a major meltdown at an industrial plant that I could see from my living room. We could have been in big trouble if Intel was going down in flames. As Doug, my neighbor, so comfortingly put it, “We’re right in the blast zone.”
The flames were coming from the corner, however, at the Aloha Garbage and Recycling plant, just west of the Intel Campus. Two garbage trucks were destroyed by the flames, reportedly causing over $350,000 in damage. As bad as this was, I audibly thanked God that this was not the more potentially catastrophic crisis that I had feared.
I hobbled across the street to the corner, joining the growing number of gawking onlookers that came running from blocks away.
Police cars and fire trucks had Blanton Street completely blocked off.
Local affiliates from all four networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX showed up on the scene within minutes. I was interviewed on camera by news crews from KGW and KPTV, and I encouraged them to also talk to my neighbor Brett (pictured), who was the first to see the flames erupt.
Channel 8 and Channel 12 broadcasted my interviews live on Thursday night (I think), and clips from my interviews were repeated at least every 30 minutes on both channels all morning, at noon, and during the afternoon and evening news on Friday. I was floored by the dozens of people who called or Facebooked me (including one guy who I’d never even met, on Monday) throughout the week about seeing those interviews. If only my paid work in print ads and TV commercials was that popular!
I am so excited that our high school students from Aloha Church of God are in Orlando this week experiencing International Youth Convention 2010! At the last minute, it was determined that my recent leg injury from work would unfortunately prevent me from leading our group's trip to IYC Orlando. Now that the students are away, however, (and considering the fact that I am mostly couch-bound), I have some spare time on my hands... to upload a classic blog! Here's what our students were up to last year at this time:
We serve a God who delivers us from our circumstances and calls us to live a new place, in the Kingdom of God. When God protected the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt, God made it clear that following Him also meant a new way of living.
Our student ministry sessions at Aloha Church of God are currently examining God's instructions, including the Ten Commandments, which He gave to His people after freeing them from slavery. We have also discovered how the intention behind Jewish rituals and celebrations such as the Passover, Pentecost, and Purim remains relevant in pointing out our own need to remember what God has done for us in our lives.
Our student-led congregational service was one of our ministry's finest moments yet this year. After weeks of preparation, we had our final practice the Wednesday evening before the big Sunday. During the actual Sunday morning service, our students served in the following roles: Flow person- Ben; Praise team- Ben and Eleanor; Information table- Jessica; Greeters- Brandon W., Jackie, Kenny; Ushers- Brandon E., Jackie, Juana, Kaila. After Garth preached his sermon titled, "Prison Break!," Will delivered the closing prayer. We were so proud of how well our students led Big Church!
The week after fellowshipping at the Fourth of July picnic…
…A few of the guys backpacked 15 miles (round trip) along the Eagle Creek Trail to a remote campsite in Oregon's Mark Hatfield Wilderness. After marching their heavy backpacks past (and even under) seven gorgeous waterfalls to the 7.5 mile mark, Garth, Ben, Brandon E., Dean (visiting from Pennsylvania), and Will set up camp and went for an evening swim.
The weather was so nice that everyone slept under the stars after dinner...
...waking up just in time for morning devotions.
A much needed stop for a refreshing swim at a popular cove notwithstanding, the pace was quickened for the next day's hike back to civilization.
Later in July, we picked the hottest weekend of the year (so far) to hold our car wash fundraiser for International Youth Convention 2010, to be held in Orlando, Florida. We took in enough money to set a new car wash record since Garth and Kathy came on board in 2001! We enjoyed spending time with new student Jessica Hayden, who recently moved here from Salem for her senior year at Aloha High School.
Most of us managed to stay hydrated amid the water fights, car cleansings, and a purse snatching/ recovery from the brave Wendy Peterson.
We are so thankful that God is watching over and blessing our student ministry!
Sharing about IYC Orlando with the students back at home
Dual fundraisers holding signs for a car dealership, earning money for our upcoming summer activities
Hiking in the Columbia River Gorge
Playstation 3 gaming at Garth and Kathy's new house
The infamous banana cake, in honor of Garth's birthday
