UK Mission Update Two

Hey Everybody!

What an incredible time we have had here in England.  Yesterday afternoon our team conquered a mountain called Rosbury Topping... I know it doesn't that intimidating, but believe me when I say Stone Mountain has nothing on Rosbury.  Once we reached the top we could see the entire Teeside Valley where UK/USA Ministries is based.  We were joined by a team from Memphis, TN that departed this morning.  We shared a time of prayer over the valley and the city of Middlesbrough where we will be serving while here.

Afterward, we headed out to our host homes and had some tea (dinner time).  The host homes are incredibly hospitable.  The food has been surprisingly good.  Last night everyone slept long and hard to try to beat jet lag.

We awoke bright and early this morning to the rain.  The morning forecast said that we could expect a month's worth of rain today... they were right.  Even so, we hit the pavement and walked to meet some ministry leaders here in Middlesbrough.  While in the meeting we learned that our Park Outreach scheduled for Saturday was cancelled by the "Town Government Council" due to rain.  We regrouped and spent some time praying to ask God to give us new direction.  God united our hearts around a series of ideas.  Within 30 minutes our team and the ministry leaders put together a game plan for a different kind of outreach involving American sports, an open cafe, crafts, and random acts of kindness.  We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

We headed out to a local primary school and spent some time playing with some local kids at primary school.  They had a good time trying to imitate our American accents.  A few girls left with a slight crush on newly crowned English heart throbs Aaron Killian and Taylor Russell.  We grabbed lunch with our guide Andy and he helped us understand some more about the English mindset and culture.

After lunch, we walked the streets of Middlebrough to get a better grasp of the area we are serving.  Mile after mile we heard about the needs, hopes, and frustrations of the people here.  One thing is certain, this is a region of spiritual darkness in deep need of Jesus Christ.

Gotta go, we are back at the host homes now and it is Tea Time!

Please pray for open doors tomorrow as we try to have spiritual conversation with locals.  Pray that God would give our team members courage to talk with others about why we have come to Teeside, UK.  Pray for God to use us to make an impact in the darkness here!

Steve

2012 MS SUMMER CAMP REC TEAMS!!!

Red		Purple
FLIP JOHNSON		BRIAN METZDORF
Ahern	Katelyn	Seagraves	Valerie
Bridger	Sara	Tidwell	Kayla
Brown	Abby	Whitwell	Riley
Cooksey	Mary Katherine	Moye	Jonathan
Bennett	Sophie	Sammons	Nick
Bradberry	Maci	Spain	Andy
Coffield	Noah	Norton	Marshall
Edwards	Mark	Oluwadare	Tope
Bailey	Jesse	Pritchett	Tyler
Brumbelow	Brady	Rodriguez	Jordan
Bullock	Nash	Rogers	Jamie
Beasley	Alex	Stokes	Graham
		Davlin	Lauren
Najjar	Sarah	Wesley Smith
Pink		White
JAKE GLOVER		MIKE DICKINSON
Donatucci	Ashley	Turner	Hallie
Evers	Amy	Vande	Rachael
Dickinson	Lilly	Strickland	Allen
Dills	Jodi	Strickland	Luke
Brisby	Morgan	Thompson	David
Coffield	Sarah	Valenzuela	Fabio
Fabricant	Wyatt	Vance	Christian
Gedgoudas	John	White	Joel
Charron	Caleb	Walker	Nicholas
Dubose	Jake	Birkbeck	Cole
Dickinson	Jacob	Stewart	David
Forrester	Caleb	Golden	John
Brandon Pedraza  Raphael Latimore		Dajuste    Rebecca
Blue		Teal
CHRIS HOLLAND		JIM PEEVY
Foskey	Avery	Woodward	Grace
Fanczi	Sarah	McDaniel	J. Connor
Goodman	Rebecca	Reid	Gabrielle
Grove	Brooklyn	Saunders	Jordan
Crabtree	Brooklyn	Taylor	Miranda
Foskey	Lauren	Terry	Jessica
Glover	Joe	Provence	John
Gutierrez	Miguel	Riddett	Jackson
Etheridge	Elijah	McGee	Chase
Evans	Eli	Mikle	Chase
Glover	Ben	White	Jacob (Jake)
Henderson	Nash	Wiggs	Taylor
Maxwell	Lawson	Rank	Andrew
Pedro Monterosa
Green		Yellow
DEREK SPAIN		KARL RIDDETT
Gedgoudas	Maddy	Sammons	Madison
Henderson	Lauren	Williams	Virginia
Howard	Lauren	Moye	Rebecca
Korbien	Jasmin	Palmer	Jillian
Gibson	Alyssa	Mezzles	Hannah
Haverty	Kaitlyn	Provence	Mary Rose
Hutchison	Christopher	Palmer	Bryant
Hymes	Joe	Peevy	Carter
Fabricant	Marshall	Johnson	Sutton
Franklin	Joseph	Lawson	Daniel
Hubbard	Joseph	Penn	Leo
Kellum	Will	Taffar	Silas
Vargas	Mateo	Bailey	Anderson
Cassidy Irizarry		Jennifer Lopez
Black		Orange
JOHN MCGEE		JIM GLOVER
Holland	Olivia	Oluwadare	Yetunde
King	Emily	Rodriguez	Jackie
Martinez	Aylin	Miller	Becca
Merrill	Brittany	Mills	Samantha
Headley	Meredith	Killian	Jena
Holland	Carson	Manus	Jordan
Kennedy	Logan	Moyers	Michael
Metzdorf	Trevor	Oliver	Daniel
Goodman	Daniel	Holliday	Ryan
Hedgepeth	Andrew	Johnson	Slone
McDaniel	Austin	McMann	Nick
McMann	J.C.	Oliver	Drew
Dajuste	Ketsia	Clayton Hopkins

Ally Findlay

UK Mission Update One

Hello from Tees Valley England!

After a long day of travels through Boston and Amsterdam we landed a short time ago at the Durham/Tees Airport.  The temperature is a wonderful 68 degrees.  It is raining hard, but our team spirits are high.  I am writing this from missionary Mike Taylor's living room.  They are welcoming us in true American style with Hamburgers and Hotdogs fresh from the grill for lunch.  Afterward we'll head out to pray over the Tees Valley from a nearby highpoint.  A little later on we'll head to our host homes and get to know our host families.  We'll hit the ground running tomorrow with a full day of ministry.

Please pray that he weather will allow us to do the planned ministry projects.  Pray that God would continue to keep our team safe as we travel throughout Tees Valley.  Pray for lives to be changed as we begin interacting with people.

We love you all!!!  #prayforengland

Steve

Now We're Having Fun...

We are fast approaching the close of Day 2 here at High School Camp in Daytona Beach.  What a day it has been!  Students started off the day early as they grabbed a quick bowl of cereal and then headed out to the beach for morning Quiet Time.  These Quiet Times are designed to help students connect with God's Word at the beginning of each day.  After they wrapped up time alone with God, they poured into the ballroom for our morning session. 

In the session they got to expereince "Storytime with Flip and Steve" where students volunteered to act out an impromtu story on the spot.  They also got to be guest at our morning talk show called, "Life! with Shannon Young".  Shannon's special guest was Miley Cyrus (Alex Dills) who lit up the stage.  Most importantly, our students were challenged and instructed in how to share their faith in a message from Pastor Kevin.

Breakouts also began today after the morning session.  They featured a wide variety of topics from dating to social media to keeping a passion for God.  After Breakouts, students had a quick lunch from Publix before beginning Rec.  Throughout Rec this afternoon, we experienced some showers (torrential downpour), but students kep a positive attitude and competed well.

A small miracle occured this afternoon as the sun decided to shine while our students were enjoying free time on the beach.  After dinner provided by Olive Garden we were back in evening sessions.  Tonight, Pastor Kevin brought our students to the book of Jonah.  Using this wonderful, true story he gave our students three points to remember:

1. Every Step Away From God is a Step Down
2. We Can Get Away Easily, But We Recover Slowly
3. Satan Can Work Through Circumstance... Be Careful About The Choice You Make.

So far, we are having a GREAT camp experience.  Please continue to pray as students are responding to God's movement.... In fact, as I write this students are in their family groups discussing what God is teaching them this week.

Now, it's time to get ready for the Talent Show!  Stay tuned for more updates!

Steve

We made it!

After a long day of traveling on the busses, we finally arrived to what would become our "home away from home" for the week!  Students were thrilled to jump off the bus (even amidst the drizzling rain), and head inside to search out their rooms.  Once in their rooms they found several surprises that had been carefully placed, which were waiting for them on their beds!  Moments later, pizza was delivered to each of their rooms allowing them to relax, unpack, and get settled in before heading to worship!

Our first worship service was full of excitement as Severely Yours, our band for the week, kicked things off with powerful worship!  Students had fun playing, "Movie in a Minute" in which three of our rec teams competed against one another by acting out scenes from a popular movie and tried to get the crowd to guess what movie it was.  Finally, our beloved pastor, Pastor Kevin, preached a gospel-filled message which reminded our students that God is the author of our lives.  With several students making decisions to commit their lives to Christ, it was certainly a great start to what is sure to be an incredible week!

Last night our students congregated on the beach, in the rain, to conclude the evening by competing against each other in our very first "Beach Wars."  They were tasked with digging up a puzzle in which they had to carefully flip to find a map on the back which lead them out to find their team flag on the beach.  Once they had their flag, an energy-filled game of capture the flag ensued.  The rain didn't seem to bother our students at all as they played -- we discovered we have some very competitive students who crave the thrill of victory.

Today we will experience our very first "full" day of camp, and "full" it most certainly will be!  Starting off with a morning celebration service, and stellar break-out sessions we're excited about what God desires to teach our students today!  Please be praying specifically that the hearts of our students would be open to what God wants to teach them while they are here.  Also, please pray that they continue to be flexible and enjoy having fun at the beach, even in the midst of cloudy, rainy conditions!

Feel free to check out the live webcam of the beach this afternoon, as (weather permitting) the beginning day of our volleyball tournament will be taking place during free time.  (4-5:30pm)  Who knows -- maybe your student will even look up and wave to you! :-)

While your students are away, please join us in praying for the following things today:
1. Pray that God would give us a clear day, weather-wise, free of lighting and thunder.
2. Pray for our Breakout leaders as they begin leading students to think through different aspects of their faith.
3. Pray for your student (or any student you may know), by name, asking that God would help them go "ALL IN" with Him this week.

High School Summer Camp Rec Teams

Following is a link which contains a list of our High School Summer Camp Recreation Teams!  Look for your name, find your color and prepare to join your team in an epic battle next week as together you will compete for the coveted title of Summer Camp Champion!!

HIgh School Summer Camp Recreation Teams

High School Ministry Parent Handbook!

If you would like to view or download a copy of the High School Ministry Parent Handbook, please click  the link below.

High School Ministry Parent Handbook 2012