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Youth Ministry
Youth News
Plans
have been made and tickets have been purchased to take the teen girls to the Revolve Tour in Philadelphia in
November.
Revolve is a spin off from Women of Faith, geared for our teenage girls
and will involve Christian music, drama and guest speakers.
Revolve is relatively new; only in its third year.
The
kids are also already discussing possible destinations for next summer’s
mission trip, as well as possibly participating in some fun activities in the
upcoming months, such as swim parties, lock-ins and a possible amusement park
day trip.
Our
fund raisers planned for the year are two car washes; one in the fall and one in
the spring, as well as our annual Souper Bowl soup and sandwich sale.
We
will keep you informed of all dates!
Submitted by Hanna Simane

On June 29th, 2008 eleven members of the
CLC youth set out for the town of Monessen, PA otherwise known as The Mon
Valley. Paula Livers, Kim Jones, Don
Forcino, Kirk and Dane Livers, Chris Davis, Shawntelle Forcino, Hanna Simane,
Molly Harmon, Corrina Ricker, and Rachel Ober were ready to set out to do
God’s work that week. The trip had
an impact on me as well as many others. This week we would be put to work doing
house work in the local neighborhoods or help lead a VBS type program called
Kids Club with the children of Monessen.
On Monday morning we found out that we would get a chance to work on both
activities doing Kid's Club as well as working on the houses. So our group of
eleven split up into two, one being Don, Chris, Dane, Shawntelle, and Molly. The
other group was Paula, Kim, Kirk, Rachel, Corrina and myself. My group would
start off with Kid's Club first and Don’s group would start with the houses.
We then departed for the day, house work leaving the Schooner Center
(where we stayed) and the Kid's Club workers hanging back to get ready for the
day ahead. As we stayed back to get
ready for the fun filled day with the kids, Kyle, one of our leaders for the
week, discussed what would happen the two days we were there.
Our talk ended up being a half an hour of him discussing the
“expectations”, because when children hear the word rules, it immediately
feels like this isn’t going to be fun. So
he gave the “expectations" for us as well as the kids. Kirk and I were
confused as to why he was telling us all of this. Almost all of the kids on the
trip had been through a Youth Works site before. Later we found out why he
talked for so long. We kept preparing for the day and got all the activities
ready for the kids. Kirk, Kim, and I
then headed out to the neighborhoods to pick kids up for the day and bring them
to Kids Club. When we arrived at the
Manor, kids came running from all directions and we looked at each other in
shock and got out of the car to start transporting kids to the Center where
Kid's Club would take place.
After two or three trips back and forth all the kids had arrived.
Once they were all there we would play board games inside until it was
time to start skits and songs. Everyone
was to grab a buddy which we all did. We were to keep an eye on our buddies and
make sure they were following the “expectations” and had fun.
The day was chaos; kids running everywhere, some misbehaving, others
behaving. It was definitely a crazy day filled with excitement and frustration.
We were all worn out by the time they left. We also realized why Kyle
stressed so much on the “expectations”; because there were more misbehaving
children at times then there were behaving children.
We would then do the same thing the next day which was extremely tough.
Once we survived the two days of Kid's Club, we then got to switch roles
and go work on a house the last two days we were there. So on day three Don’s
group went to Kid's Club and my group went to go work on one of the apartments
that we would be assigned to. When we got to the Manor where we would be working
we met the person who runs the Manor. His name was Butch. When I heard his name
was Butch I was immediately scared as was Rachel. I pictured this big guy,
tattoos, mean, "get-the-work-done-now" type of guy, but he wasn’t at
all. Now don’t get me wrong, he was big and he had the tattoos but he wasn’t
mean in the least. So he showed us to the apartment we would be working on. He
gave us our assignments then said, “I don’t care what you guys do, just have
fun!” Him saying that was just unforgettable; he was just so happy to see
everyone there getting some work done that would take our group of ten a couple
days to do, but if he had to do it with a few other guys, it would take him
three to four months to do. He just wanted us to have fun and it was so awesome
that he wasn’t worried about getting the work done, he just wanted us to have
as much fun as possible. I then said
to myself "he’s a pretty cool guy",
and he was. Our work on the
apartment would be painting the whole interior of the apartment and also
cleaning out the kitchen. Let me say
this wasn’t a normal kitchen. The stove was covered in grease and other stains
as well as the oven. The sink had
cigarette butts and old rotten food in it, and the refrigerator had bugs and
what looked like soda or some sticky substance in the bottom.
We cleaned for about four hours straight and it was definitely some hard
work. So we all decided to take a
break and go eat our lunch. At lunch we started discussing the two different
jobs we were doing this week in Monessen and someone said that Kid's Club was
mentally tough but this work was physically tough. That was completely true and
the way everyone felt. We finished
lunch and continued on the apartment and did the same sort of thing the next
day.
Not only did working with the kids and working on the houses have a big
impact on me as well as others, but we participated in so much more: a
prayer walk that took us around the town of Monessen to show us key places where
violence had happened in the past. We
also walked down what used to be drug alley. It was a great experience to see
more of the town and also pray for the town. We also went to a church service
many people from the town attend. Now this service wasn’t one of our services
with stand up, sit down “Thanks be to God” things. They called this service
a "bumping service" and it really was.
When we got there we were immediately standing at the front of the church
dancing and singing. I thought this was just really neat to see how other people
praise God. I think it was something that everyone should experience, because
there are so many ways to praise God other than just the way we do.

One thing that had an impact on me and always will every year is that we
do a foot washing service. It’s
just amazing to hear the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.
I mean it's Jesus, son of God, who sits on the ground and washed his
disciples’ feet. I can’t
comprehend that; that someone so powerful sits down and washes someone’s dirty
feet. That’s what gets to me: the
feeling of someone so much older and wiser washing your feet. Who would do that?
I guess it’s out of love, that someone loves you so much they would wash your
feet. That’s what happens during
the Service. The Youth Works Staff
washes the adult leaders' feet and then our adult leaders wash ours. It is such
an overwhelming feeling that it brings tears to your eyes and it’s just
amazing how you can look around the room and fifty other kids are sitting
around, not a dry eye in the place and they're feeling the same things that
you’re feeling. That, I feel
impacts me the most and makes me feel so loved, and it's the one thing I look
forward to on each trip we go on and every trip after.
I, as well as the rest of us, would like to thank the church so much for
your support and donations for this year and every year getting us there.
Without you, it wouldn’t have happened. I, and the rest of us kids,
would like to thank Paula, Kim, and Papa Don because without you guys that week
we wouldn’t have made it. Thank you so much and God Bless!
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