C-Lite - "No Tombstone" Featuring Sheena Lee

Hey guys! Check out this music video directed by my good friend David Ham. We will be having the artists featured in the video at Planet Impact in the coming months, so look forward to it! - PK

C-Lite - "No Tombstone" Featuring Sheena Lee

World AIDS Day Speech

After my message at Planet Impact last week, many of you have asked for a copy of the World AIDS Day speech that I delivered on December 4th which I made reference to. I need to mention that I am indebted to World Vision for many of the statistics given in the opening. The description of God is adapted from an e-mail forward I received many years ago (no original source was given). OK, here it is ...

World AIDS Day was started in 1988 in order to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. Tonight we gather to celebrate 21 years of raising awareness and focusing attention on AIDS and its affect on our world.

Over 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV and AIDS.

Last year 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV.

Every day more than 5,700 people die because of AIDS – that’s more than 2 million people a year.

Those hardest hit are often children. More than 2 million children worldwide are living with HIV.

More than 15 million children have lost one or both parents because of AIDS.

By next year the global number of children orphaned by AIDS is expected to surpass 20 million.

Rising mortality rates and falling life expectancies due to AIDS mean that much of the progress that has been made fighting poverty in recent decades is being lost.

For example, in the hardest hit areas – particularly in Africa, an emerging middle class is being pushed below the poverty line by the loss of income and exorbitant medical bills. Few can afford to see a doctor, and even fewer can afford AIDS medications.

When children lose parents to AIDS, grandparents often become guardians. If the grandparents are gone, the older children must drop out of school to look after their younger siblings.

While AIDS has devastated millions of people – some of whom were friends of those of you gathered here tonight – I come this evening with a message of hope. I believe there is One Person who can give us hope in the fight against AIDS. It is not President Obama. It is not Bill Gates. It is not even Bono. The Person I am referring to is ...

The First and Last, the Beginning and the End
He is the keeper of all creation and the Creator of all
He is the Architect of the universe, and the Overseer of all times.
He always was, always is, and He always will be …
Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated, and never undone
He was bruised and offers healing
He was pierced and eases pain
He was persecuted and offers freedom
He was dead and offers life
He is risen and offers hope
He reigns and offers peace
The world can’t understand him
Armies can’t defeat Him
Schools can’t explain Him
Leaders can’t ignore Him
Herod couldn’t kill Him
Scholars couldn’t confuse Him
People couldn’t hold Him
Nero couldn’t crush Him
Hitler couldn’t silence Him
Oprah can’t explain Him away, and
AIDS does not intimidate Him
He is light, love, liberty, and Lord
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness, and God
He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure
His ways are right
His Word is eternal
His will is unchanging, and
His mind is on you and me
He is my Savior
He is my Redeemer
He is my best Friend
He is my Guide
He is my Peace
He is my Joy
He is my Comfort
He is my Lord
He rules my life!
I serve Him because His bond is love
His burden is light
His destiny for me is abundant life
I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise
The power of the powerful
The Ancient of Days
The ruler of rulers
The leader of leaders
The overseer of overseers
The Sovereign Lord of all that was, that is, and that is to come
His goal is a relationship with you and me
He will never leave me nor forsake me
He will never mislead me or forget me
He will never overlook me, and
When I fall, He lifts me up
When I fail, He forgives me
When I am weak, He is strong
When I am lost, He is the way
When I am afraid, He is my courage
When I stumble, He steadies me
When I am hurt, He heals me
When I am broken, He mends me
When I am blind, He leads me
When I am hungry, He feeds me
When I face trials, He is with me
When I face persecution, He shields me
When I face problems, He provides for me
When I face loss, He comforts me
When I face death, He carries me home.
He is everything, for everybody, everywhere, every time, in every way, for all time
He is God
He is faithful
I am His, and He is mine
God is in control, and I am His child
That means I will do not fear, I am not afraid
I trust my Father, and all is well with my soul
I love the Lord, and I thank Him for Who He is and all that He does in my life
Therefore I am here to tell you tonight that God is the Source of all Life
Whoever you are, wherever you are from, whatever you are going through, God IS!
He is the reason you are here, alive, and breathing at this very moment
Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing
But with Him we can do all things ...

Including not just slowing AIDS down, but putting a stop to AIDS once and for all!

So I ask you tonight, who or what is the leader of your life? Who or what is your confidence in for solving the AIDS crisis? If your answer – and I mean actually, not just verbally – is anything other than God Himself, then I want you to know tonight that your hope is on shifting sands.

I believe with all my heart tonight that the peace and fulfillment that you long for in your life, and the hope for ending AIDS is not to be found in programs or prescriptions – it is to be found in the Person of Jesus Christ who is the hope of the world! Tonight I challenge you to commit your life to His care and His lordship, and discover for yourself the joy and purpose that you were created to live with.

Let us pray.

God of healing and compassion touch those who are suffering from HIV/AIDS. Through your Holy Spirit comfort those who are grieving the loss of loved ones who have died from AIDS. Guide them into your truth and help them find hope and strength and purpose in you alone. God of mercy, help those who have sinned against you to repent and receive your free gift of grace, forgiveness, and eternal life through Jesus Christ. God of wisdom, help us to find a cure for this disease. God of love, help us to do our part to build a world of care and compassion. Help us to seek first Your kingdom – to love you with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.

World AIDS Day Speech

Serving Granny Frannie

Yesterday a group of 15 of us from Planet Impact went to the home of our favorite adult youth leader, Granny Frannie, and completely cleaned her yard, removing leaves and debris. We also presented her with a check for $150 which students from our youth ministry collected in a special offering for her. Granny loves our students and it was a joy to be a blessing to her during this holiday season. Many thanks to Tim Mee for heading up our efforts, and to all who came out to assist us. We had a great time working together, serving Jesus.

Granny was recently inducted into the Suffolk County Women's Hall of Fame for her lifetime efforts for civil rights.

Serving Granny Frannie

Christmas Boy!

Christmas Boy!

A Leadership Liturgy of Praise 2009

I was reading in Judges the other day in my Holman Christian Standard Bible, and something struck me because of the way it was worded in this particular version. In Judges 5 we find the record of what is known as The Song of Deborah. Deborah was a married woman, prophetess and judge in Israel (4:4). It was customary for songs to be written to celebrate victories, and in this passage, Deborah describes the Israelite victory over Sisera and the Canaanites. What I found particularly interesting was that the first words out of Deborah’s mouth had to do with leadership and volunteerism: “When the leaders lead in Israel, when the people volunteer, praise the Lord” (5:2). A few verses later she says, “My heart is with the leaders of Israel, with the volunteers of the people. Praise the Lord” (5:9)!

I really resonate with Deborah’s words. I love when I look out over the landscape of Planet Impact and I see leaders leading and people volunteering. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Without caring, committed adult leaders we could not have a successful youth ministry. You are the ones who make great youth ministry possible. I want you to know afresh that my heart is with you. I am constantly thinking of you, praying for you, trying to come up with ways to bless you, encourage you, and equip you to be even more effective in loving and leading students to Jesus.

As I look back over this past year, I can say that we have battled and it has been a victorious year for us. Since I can’t sing to celebrate our victory, I have decided to write something of a poem or even a liturgy of praise to God for your faithful service unto the Lord. Enjoy!

Julianne takes girls to Starbucks and talks to them about life and hair.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Don runs wires all day for Verizon, then races to the church on Wednesday afternoons so he can mold young musicians into true worshippers of God.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Janis has a passion for seeing young people discover freedom and healing in Christ and pours herself into them by serving as a teacher for Life Hurts, God Heals.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

David desires to see students worshipping God with reckless abandon and works hard to create environments wherein they can experience God’s presence in a powerful way.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Joey sets up his DJ equipment and entertains students at our Serve and Swim parties and Invite Nights.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Teresa is an encourager and gets up early to go and support students attending See Ya At The Pole at Connetquot High School.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Ines brings her entire family to church on a Saturday to serve lunch to the elderly at the Senior Saints’ Luncheon.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Jean engages with students in lively discussions in small group.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Ren starts Planet Impact TV and gets the Internet buzzing about our youth ministry.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Bob Kogut loads up his truck with tools and materials and works hard to make our Winter Retreat vision come to life.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Stan works alongside our friends from London at Hobbs Farm, pulling weeds so food can be grown to feed the poor.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Tommy Labarbera sets up cones and directs traffic on Sunday mornings and plays sports with students on Monday nights.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Carlo builds relationships with students in his small group and facilitates discussions that cause students to grow in Christ.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Kim meets with girls in small group to talk about godliness and purity.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Lily goes to the city with a group of students to attend a concert. Along the way she laughs with them and talks with them about their lives.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

John Long goes on his 80th missions trip, cooking for the team so they can minister in health and strength.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Patrice oversees registration and serves as a liaison with Tuscarora, ensuring that everyone is taken care of at the Winter Retreat.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Adriana talks to girls on the phone and has them over to her house for conversations about the things of God and to help them discover their identities in Christ.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.
Frank and Diane sit with students to discuss life and faith on Sunday mornings. They also give friendly smiles and answer questions for people on Wednesday nights.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Josh works with students on the Tech Team on Wednesday nights, helping them develop their talents for God’s glory.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Tommy and Naomi show up to Lauren’s Sweet 16 to encourage her and speak blessing into her life.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Tim gets a group of students together and spends a Saturday blessing Granny Frannie by cleaning her yard.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Carmen loves on students during Life Development, patiently interacting with them about important topics.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Mama Muller sees students in the hallways and makes them feel loved and cared for with her contagious smile and warm hugs.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Nico serves as a small group leader, letting students know he cares about them by being a good listener, asking questions, and offering life perspective.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Bradley has an eye for students on the fringe. He greets them and makes them feel welcome on Sunday mornings.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Rolf welcomes students to youth service and ensures that they are kept safe by helping with security.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Richard serves pizza with a smile and makes it possible for James to be a part of our youth ministry by driving him home each and every Wednesday night.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Mike becomes a staple of the youth ministry announcement videos, keeping students informed about what’s happening.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Amarisa is a willing servant and gladly helps people at the Resource table on Wednesday nights.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Granny Frannie lets students know that she cares about them and wants to see them live well and make right choices, and she inspires all of us to invest our lives in the next generation.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Giovanni shows confidence in Justin who now leads a group of his peers on Wednesday nights, handing out goodies to everyone for Cuz We Feel Like It.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

Bob Zuber identifies, encourages, and gives students with technical abilities the opportunity to grow in their giftings as He serves the Lord with gladness, faithfully modeling servant leadership.
When leaders lead and people volunteer, praise the Lord.

A Leadership Liturgy of Praise 2009

"The Country Meets The City" Harvest Fest Pics

My pictures from "The Country Meets The City" Harvest Fest Pics are now up on the Planet Impact Youth Ministries Facebook Group Page. Enjoy!

"The Country Meets The City" Harvest Fest Pics

Announcements

Announcements

Announcements

Announcements

Winter Retreat 2010 & Fall Harvest Party

Winter Retreat 2010 & Fall Harvest Party

Small Group Advice from Pastor Zarlengo

Small Group Advice from Pastor Zarlengo

Impact 2009 Slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Impact 2009 Slideshow

Planet Impact Announcements 9.30.09

Planet Impact Announcements 9.30.09

The Leash

One experience that many of us go through is trying to figure out what Christ wants us to do with our lives. Maybe it isn't always trying to figure out what college to go to or what career to have, but trying to understand how God wants us to serve Him. I think most of us know that we are created with unique skills and purposes. The problem is that most of the time we aren't sure what to do even when we know these truths. So what happens most of the time? We wait. Wait and wait to see if God will finally tell us what our purpose in life is. One thing is for sure--this whole process can be frustrating!

Now, have you ever been around a dog or another animal that didn't want to do what you wanted it to do? That also gets very frustrating! Imagine someone pulling on a leash trying to get a dog to go where he wants the dog to go. Psalm 33:8-9 talks about how God wants to instruct us and guide us in love. It also warns us not to be like a horse or mule that needs to "be harnessed with bit and bridle" in order to be brought close to people. These things are often used to control horses. The bit is placed in the horse's mouth and the rider uses the reins connected to the bit and bridle to direct the horse where to go. Of course horses can't talk, but most of us humans can't talk with something in our mouths. I think God warns us not be like this because He doesn't want to directly control us. He wants to be able to talk to us.

Many times we just sit still waiting to find out what our purpose is and end up not doing anything. We can end up being like a stubborn mule that won't move until we know every detail of what God wants us to do. Instead, God wants to have an intimate friendship with us. He could easily force us to do what He wants, but He rather have us want to follow Him. When we get to know Christ for ourselves, we learn that we can trust Him and start to follow him in our everyday lives. Often, our purpose is to serve Jesus and when we simply serve Him, He leads us exactly to where we are supposed to be!

The Leash

This Week @ Planet Impact

This Week @ Planet Impact

This Week @ Planet Impact

This Week @ Planet Impact

Fall Kick Off Service ... Debut of our Youth Choir!

Fall Kick Off Service ... Debut of our Youth Choir!

Tonight & This Week @ Planet Impact

Tonight & This Week @ Planet Impact

Tommy Pierro Update Friday, September 11th

Tommy Pierro Update Friday, September 11th

Update on Tommy Pierro 9.10.09

Update on Tommy Pierro 9.10.09

This Week @ Planet Impact

This Week @ Planet Impact

Last Serve & Swim

Tonight was our final Serve & Swim of the month. We broke up into 8 different groups picking up garbage on the streets of downtown Smithtown and prayer walking as we went along. It was really great and we had probably 20 bags of trash in just one hour. Afterward we went to the Jainarine's house where we swam, ate, and laughed a lot. It's been an awesome month!

Last Serve & Swim

This Week @ Planet Impact

This Week @ Planet Impact

Hosting Missions Team from London, England

Yesterday we excitedly picked up a missions team of ten people from London, England whom we are hosting for a week-and-a-half of ministry. We worked with them two years ago in London, and their youth were inspired to go on a missions trip of their own. Today we are thrilled to see their vision become a reality and glad that we get to be partners again in kingdom work. We will be doing many things together across Long Island and in New York City. If you would like to link up with us, drop a comment (sign your name) and we'll let you know what we're doing and how you can help.

Hosting Missions Team from London, England

Serve & Swim Recap

Serve & Swim Recap

Tonight @ Planet Impact

Tonight @ Planet Impact

Having Fun @ Camp Shiloh

Hey everybody! We are alive and well and having a fun time at camp. I was violently sick Saturday night and it was a real miracle I even made it here. But God is good and after a rough day Sunday yesterday I seemed to be through the worst of it and today I am much better, thanks God. Sunday evening the kids got registered, had dinner, and in the evening had an opening chapel at which Pastor Laurie Crowley gave a great message to open the week. Yesterday was full of activities including kayaking, swimming, water skiing, tubing, etc. They also had team competitions climaxing with a slip & slide water balloon race which was quite comical to watch. In the evening I spoke at chapel about the glory of God, laying the groundwork for our messages this week based on Isaiah 60:1-3. At the end of the message dozens of kids came forward and made commitments, and this morning we heard reports that several kids received Christ for the first time. So exciting! This morning we had skill classes and chapel. The kids are walking to lunch right now as I look out the window. The camp is posting daily pictures and videos on their website www.campshiloh.org Blessings to you all! Thanks for your love and prayers!

PK

Having Fun @ Camp Shiloh

Bake Cookies

Please bake cookies and drop them off today by the youth office. We will deliver them to our neighbors this week at serve and swim...be here at 5:30 each wednesday in August

Bake Cookies

Cross Culture @ Planet Impact

Cross Culture @ Planet Impact

Happening This Week @ Planet Impact

Happening This Week @ Planet Impact

Costa Rica Tuesday

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Today was our day off, so after breakfast we drove an hour-and-a-half to visit the Irazu Volcano. It is an active volcano east of San Jose and is the second-highest point in Costa Rica. “Irazú has erupted frequently in historical times — at least 23 times since its first well-recorded eruption in 1723. Its most famous recent eruption began in 1963 and continued until 1965. It began on the day US President John F. Kennedy started a state visit to Costa Rica and showered the capital San José and much of the central highlands of Costa Rica with ash. Since the 1963–65 eruption, the volcano has been dormant, although frequentearthquake swarms show that magma is still moving about beneath the volcano. In 1994, a small phreatic eruption occurred, caused by heavy rains destabilising part of the volcano's flank, resulting in rapid decompression of a shallow hydrothermal system. The volcano's summit has several craters, one of which contains Diego de la Haya, a green crater lake of variable depth. It is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. It is easily visited from San José, with a road leading right up to the summit craters and a weekly bus service to the top. It is thus a popular tourist spot. The volcano summit also spots a few television transmitters for television stations in San José. From the top it is claimed to be possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day; however, such clear days are very rare indeed, and it is typical for the volcano's summit to be covered in cloud for much of the time” (Wikipedia). When we arrived we were greeted by a whole bunch of Pizotes that came right up to us. We then enjoyed the magnificent view and walked around for about an hour before loading back into the bus and driving an hour to hot springs. When we arrived I thought we were mistaken because there were three pools. When we asked where the hot springs were, we were told that these were them - that the water was indeed from a volcano vein. However, the water was not hot. Still, we had a great time! All of the kids enjoyed swimming and playing soccer. We have just returned to the camp for a quick shower and then we are heading out for our final dinner together at a restaurant where we will share about our trip. Great times! Can’t wait to be home tomorrow night! See ya soon!

Costa Rica Tuesday

Costa Rica Monday & Slideshow from Thursday-Monday

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This morning we had breakfast at 7 a.m. then headed off to Los Guidos where we helped out with their children’s program. They took care of singing and the message, so we just did our skits and dance, played games, made crafts, etc. At the end we threw about 100 balloons off the second floor and the kids went nuts! It was a really fun service! Afterward we did a lot of hanging around before and after lunch because we were supposed to have an afternoon service, but it got moved to 7 p.m. We decided to go ahead and do our souvenir shopping today and tomorrow we are going to go to a volcano and to some hot springs where we can swim. Should be fun! We spent about 2 hours at an area with lots of shops and the team had fun shopping. After that we hit up a Burger King for dinner on the road and drove to a rough, poor area for our final service. It was a tin shack in the side of a hill, and when we descended into it, it was very tiny. We figured they could seat perhaps 40 people. However, they told us that they would have about 200 kids at the service! Believe you me, there is no way that capacity would be allowed in the states, but ... that’s the beauty of other countries! lol! The service started off well. We were interacting with the kids who were hanging all over us and giving us high fives - there was a lot of excitement in the air! The team had made over 100 balloon animals and we were excited about giving them out at the end of the service. When the service started, it was so full that people were standing outside trying to get in. Crazy! After doing a skit, David & Tiffany led some upbeat songs and it was full-on audience participation! This was going to be fun! David then shared his testimony followed by a little game I had prepared to fit in with my lesson. The game went awesome! But, as soon as I started to preach, the crowd started losing control. I constantly had to stop and ask them to please be quiet. It was very hard to talk, so I was cutting stuff out and trying to get through the important parts simply and quickly when all of a sudden, two boys started having a fist fight right in front of me. The pastor’s wife grabbed one boy but the other one was still attacking him. Being the closest one I jumped in and grabbed the boy and pulled him away. He was kicking and clawing even at me, so I had to restrain him. I was waiting for one of the adults from the church to come and help, but they were all the way in the back so Adriana asked Giovanni (who was in the room behind the stage and hadn’t seen the commotion) to come and help. G took the boy from me and carried him out as the boy tried to bite him. At that point the entire place had erupted and Mike said we needed to stop and leave. I calmed everyone down assuring them that the boy was OK and I prayed. I was ready to just leave the ministry stuff with the church and leave because I knew that until we left the children would not disperse and I didn’t want a mob scene, but Mike and the local leaders got the kids organized and we filed them through and straight out of the church with either a balloon or a bracelet. When the kids had left I got word that Giovanni and two other full-grown men were still having to restrain the little boy because he was determined to hurt someone, and had in fact head-butted Ken in his flailing. When I went outside they were really praying for him and it was apparent that it was a demonic attack. After getting the team on the van, Mike said we needed to leave, so we turned the boy over to the pastor and some others and left. It was a somber ride home. This was supposed to be our climactic ministry time, and it seemed to have derailed. But that humbling experience was a powerful realization for us on a lot of levels, and our bus was filled with intense intercession and passionate weeping for a good portion of our ride back to camp. When we arrived we had a group meeting and a good chance to unpack the day, especially the situation we had just been through. It was a powerful experience for sure!

Costa Rica Monday & Slideshow from Thursday-Monday

Costa Rica Sunday

8:45 a.m. Just finished breakfast. All of the kids and Giovanni went down to the river with Lynette at 6 a.m. to go swimming. Over breakfast we were dying laughing as we listened to Giovanni recount his horrifying adventures of jumping off rocks, rope swinging, and crossing the river in the rapids, all while Lynette stood on the rock encouraging them and taking pictures. Or, as G describes it, watching them die as she worked on her suntan. lol! We are about to head out for our morning church service.

12:30 p.m. Just arrived back at camp and everyone is packing up and cleaning their rooms. We had a good service this morning, and it was nice to have Lynette along with us. She is super nice and it’s been nice for both parties to be together these past few days. For her it has been nice to have conversation. She’s all alone out here and speaks no Spanish. She carries her dictionary around to converse with the couple who oversee the property, and to get around at the store, etc. The church we went to was small, but very nice inside with a tile floor, tile ceiling, and even mounted fans (which we sat right under). The service had maybe 50 people there including kids. Apparently this was a special service as their normal service is Sunday nights. We did our stuff, Tiffany shared her testimony, and I preached a message from Hebrews 3. After the message we had a time of altar ministry during which we surrounded the pastor and his wife and the entire church and prayed for them. The Lord gave me a word for the pastor, and Ady also had a word for them. After the service we made balloons and bracelets with the kids, and gave them toys and candy. We also left a bunch of craft supplies and Bibles with the pastor. After lunch we will be loading up and heading back to San Jose.

5:30 p.m.

So after leaving camp we decided it would be worthwhile to go on a riverboat tour about 20 minutes away before going home since it was only $5/person. We loaded onto the boat and the tour took about an hour. Along the ride we saw some beautiful birds. monkeys, poison dart frogs (which the guide caught and brought onto the boat for us to see), bats, a basilisk (lizard that runs on the water), an iguana, and a 4’ crocodile. Of course, our guide got us almost on top of it (literally within 2’ of it) but it would not move and everyone was asking if it was fake, so Giovanni decided to throw a craker at it. The first cracker missed and floated past it. The second cracker, however, hit it and with a flash and a big splash that got us wet it took off straight under our boat. You can only imagine the horrifying screams and the rocking boat followed by sheer laughter. It was hilarious!

Costa Rica Sunday

Costa Rica Saturday

6:45 a.m. Slept like a baby and woke up at 6 a.m. fully rested. Another awesome rain storm in the middle of the night! So strange to sleep so deeply, so long, and get up so early feeling so rested. Wondering if this is achievable at home.

10:30 p.m. Wow! What a full,hot, muggy, sweaty day! This morning Sarah shared a great devo over breakfast, and then we headed out for our first of three ministry locations for the day. The first stop was in El Progresso which was about an hour-and-a-half away. When we got within a mile of the church we knew we were in for a challenge. It had been raining a bit, and we faced two major hills that were nothing more than a few pebbles and a lot of red clay. Reminded me of driving down the clay hills to our camp in Georgia, but with much less developed roads. Our bus driver Danny was nervous about getting the bus stuck. The first hill he could make it down but was uncertain about making it back up, but he went for it. The second hill was another story. In Latin America I have noticed frequently that they have a very different philosophy when it comes to overcoming slippery hills. In the states we would try to build up speed on the decline to make it up the incline. Here they get all the way to the bottom; stop; then try to gun it only to get stuck. This is what happened to us. I tried to convince him that he needed to build up his speed, but he was nervous about losing control. Add to this that this bus is his livelihood and it is understandable why he did not want to risk it. He ended up backing his bus back up the hill, and we let Kent attempt the hill with his van. He made it by building up speed as suggested, so he headed up shuttling the team in two groups up to the church and Danny parked the bus at the top of the hill about a half-mile from the church.This was by far the poorest church in terms of a building our kids have ever seen. It was a wooden shack basically on stilts. The pastor proudly showed Bobby a pile of 50 bricks that the church members had paid for in hopes of one day building a brick church. Talk about a humbling perspective on a building campaign! It will take around 500 to do what they are hoping. Inside our team - all of them, not just me! - were sweating in the heat. The church members brought us all coconuts with straws in them so we could have something to drink and they were really great! Through the sweat we did the Banana Race, the Dr.'s Office skit which everyone got a good laugh out of, “I Can Only Imagine”, Lauren shared her testimony, I shifted from my original message to the story of David & Goliath when I discovered that the majority of the people there were small children, we did “Everything”, then we prayed for the people. When we finished our presentation the pastor, with a huge smile on his face, thanked us for coming all of the way out to be with them. We then did face painting, made balloon animals, distributed balls, toys, candy, and some clothes, played parachute games, then took a picture with all of the folks from the church.

We then drove back about 20 minutes and ministered at another church in La Colonia. The place was packed with over 200 people, mostly children and youth. We did almost the same routine as before less the Banana race, and with Justin giving his testimony and Giovanni preaching. Afterward I did some quizzing to decide who would get the 8 or so basketballs we had to give away, asking them questions from the service. We then did our best to spread the kids out by sending some outside to play Parachute, some up to the front for balloons, some to the back for face painting, and others to the side to make a faith bracelet. Try as we did to spread them out, we were still mobbed by the children who were pushing their way to us, pulling on our clothes, etc. I walked around giving away some small balls, toys, and candy. When we were sure that everyone had gotten at least something - most several things, we finally had to just pack up and go because the children would not go until we did. When we left we went up the street to a small store so everyone could get a drink and a snack. We then drove a few blocks to a park so the kids could play a bit. The entire area is banana fields for Dole and Chiquita, and is filled with government houses for all of the people who work the fields, mostly Nicaraguans. We found that we were only a half an hour from Nicaragua. There were some teens playing soccer, so our kids went out and ended up playing a game with them for about a half an hour. A few muddy clothes later we loaded up and drove to Los Lirios, our last ministry stop of the day.

When we arrived at the church, Andres, our local guide for the day, took Ady & I behind the pastor’s house and showed us so many incredible plants and trees. It was so tropical and incredible to see all of the fruits and such that we pay so much money for in the States. We ran the entire service doing “I Can Only Imagine”, Peter shared his testimony, then I preached a message from I Thessalonians 2. After the message we did “Everything”, then David & Tiffany sang “Rescue” and I gave an altar call. Perhaps 7 or 8 people came forward to receive Christ and we prayed for them, gave the Bibles and some literature, then I gave an invitation to come forward and almost the whole church came up for prayer. For over an hour there was intense prayer and worship happening which climaxed in celebratory singing and dancing. It was awesome! Then the pastor invited our team to the front, had the entire church come forward to thank us, and prayed over us. After a pic with the pastor and his family we loaded up and drove back to camp. Along the way Andres was pointing out the drug problems in the area, especially among teenagers. Cocaine is big here, and he pointed out drug houses, dealers, and lookouts as we drove. He also told us that there is a house of child prostitution in which 12-13 year old girls, and some boys, are in. They are given tiny bits of cocaine as payment for their services. So sad! As we drove through the streets, our team began to pray for these situations and for the churches in the area. When we got back to camp John and Lynette had dinner ready for us and we had a good time debriefing our day. It was truly humbling to experience the people and situations we did today.

Costa Rica Saturday

Costa Rica Friday

8:15 a.m. Today is my sister Naomi’s birthday. Happy birthday Moinks! Last night we did indeed make it back to camp by 11:30 p.m. Peter and Terry had prepared a delicious meal of Mac & Cheese and North Carolina BBQ. Terry said Pete was the man! He also made strawberry cheese cake for dessert. After a quick 5-minute meeting and prayer everyone hit the rooms for bed. As showers were being taken we could hear monkeys and other jungle creatures in the trees behind us. During the night there was also an awesome rain storm which sounded so incredible as it poured down on our tin roofs! I slept like a baby opening my eyes to the bright, welcoming day only to discover it was 5 a.m. I went back to sleep until now. In a bit we are eating breakfast and then taking a hike in the rainforest. The plan is then a mirror of yesterday but at another church an hour away.

11:15 a.m. We just returned from a hike down into the edge of the rainforest here on the property. We had a good time and everyone - even the non-sweaters - are soaked with sweat. It’s great bonding! lol! On the hike I was trailing behind the group when I caught a glimpse of a long, black, sleek, fox-like animal with a long tail walking onto the bushes. I got my camera out and followed to see if I could see him again. Suddenly he ran out into a 10-foot clearing and I snapped a picture just catching all but his head. Mike, one of the nationals, said it was what is called a pizote. When I can get back to the internet I will look up some pics to confirm. Some of the girls wore flip flops for the walk which was quite muddy. While we were walking across a significant puddle, Tiffany lost one of her flip flops which was swallowed by the mud. Half of the team was in the muddy puddles up to our elbows trying to find it. Mike finally found it and Tiffany was quite happy! We really enjoyed seeing the ants who carry leaves for tens of yards in unity to put into their hills. They don’t actually eat the leaves, they eat the mold that forms on them. Also saw some really cool plants, one of which is carnivorous! It actually closes when something touches it which is how it catches the insects that land on it. We also saw a red dart frog which is poisonous, parakeets, butterflies, and Mike even jumped off a rock into the river. Some of the team want to swim, so if we have time we might take a group down. There are also vines that we can swing on, so we’ll see if we can get down there. Everyone is now rinsing off and in a half-hour we are heading off to our next ministry assignment in the town of Venecia.

9:30 p.m. We are on the bus heading back to camp. When we arrived at the church this afternoon we got straight to work painting. Within 2 1/2 hours we had painted the entire sanctuary. Today’s painting went the smoothest of our three paint jobs. The team is getting better and cleaner with each experience. We were all cleaned up and drinking coffee when I asked Mike to take us somewhere to kill some time as we had three hours with nothing to do before service. They drove us a mile or so to the town center. There was not much to do as it had rained, and most of the stores were along the lines of grocery stores or local supply stores, but it was fun to get out and we all grabbed some snack foods. When we came back to the church I gave a lesson on making balloon animals. OK, I really just showed them how to make dogs and swords, but ... After that we got changed and prayed for the service, especially for Giovanni who was to preach. After the church sang an opening song, they turned the service over to us. We did our dance “I Can Only Imagine”, Emily shared her testimony, Giovanni preached, we did “Everything”, and had altar ministry during which Ady sang a worship song. During the altar call two teens accepted Christ and others came forward for prayer. It seemed to be quite a struggle in the spirit when it came to decision time, but Giovanni did a good job. At one point he called all of the teenagers of the church forward and had our group surround them in prayer, and that’s definitely when the breakthrough came. Ady also spoke a word to them, and it was a really powerful time. After the service we gave away some Beanie Babies, balls, candy, made balloon animals, and played with the kids. It was a lot of fun, and it was tough to leave. Thank You Lord for a good day of ministry! John Long arrived at camp this afternoon and we are looking forward to seeing him within the hour and eating some of his delicious food for another late night dinner.

11:45 p.m. Finally into our room. When we arrived we were so happy to see John Long’s big white chef’s hat sticking up in the kitchen. He had an awesome chicken dinner waiting for us. Bobby & Kathryn were also with him as was our interpreter Cindy from El Salvador. After dinner we went around the table for a time of sharing. It was really great! Terry has just collected our team shirts to wash them because they are definitely smelling gamy with everyone sweating in the humidity. Tomorrow morning we have to get up at 6:30 a.m. so I’m hitting the sack.

Costa Rica Friday

Costa Rica Thursday

This morning we were up, packed up, and eating breakfast by 7 a.m. We enjoyed a typical Costa Rican breakfast of rice and beans, ham, cheese, bread, juice and coffee. After breakfast we loaded the bus for our 2 hour ride to Pueblo Nuevo. our ministry base for the next four nights. Along the way we had the great ptivilege of driving through the Baraulio Carillo rainforest! Wow! Amazing! And it was raining for a good portion of our trip through. When we arrived we unloaded our gear into our dorm-style rooms at an Assemblies of God camp called La Cumbre. An American girl named Lynette from Arizona welcomed us and gave us a brief orientation. She told us that the showers do give hot water - well, not hot, but a warm, but that the water is heated in the shower head, so the less pressure used the warmer the water. Twenty yards behind our dorm is the beginning of the rainforest! She told us that at night we would hear the howler monkeys, that we would also hear geckos in our rooms that sing, that we would all be supplied with mosquito nets to cover our beds since there is no glass in the windows, just bars, that if we needed to watch our steps to ensure that we don’t startle or step on any snakes, and that there are leopards and panthers around so if we see them we should calmly get back to our dorms. Wow! Now this is missions! The best thing ever is to watch our resident tough guy Giovanni act like a school girl at the thought of seeing anything other than humans. This is going to be fun! Following our quick stop everyone on the team less Terry and Peter got back onto the bus and drove an hour to Santa Rita, our ministry location for the day. Terry and Peter stayed behind to cook dinner for our late night return. Adriana and Giovanni were both sweating and almost had bladder problems during the ride. The roads were narrow, bridges even narrower, winding up and down beautiful mountains, and, oh yeah, there were no real guard rails or any of those nice, false securities that we love. With lots of tractor trailers also using the roads to transport jungle foods like pineapples from the many pineapple fields we were driving through, it was quite an adventure! At the church we spent the day painting the entire inside of a church. They did a really great job! Another couple of very funny moments ... At one point Adriana set David up by asking him to inspect an outside wall for the prospects of painting it. As he was next to the wall Giovanni dumped a rain catch filled with water on an unsuspecting David! He got soaked, but Ady did as well. She was not far enough away to avoid the waterfall. Also, while cleaning the paint supplies with paint thinner, I noticed a bit of paint on the sidewalk outside the church, so I used some thinner to get it up. A few minutes later G was complaining that it was hot outside. It had rained and was wet outside, so he assumed the place he was sitting was just wet. Nope! You guessed it! It was paint thinner! A few minutes later he hopped up yelling that his butt was on fire! lol! Oh we laughed! No sooner had we finished than the power went out and it started pouring rain! It was near dusk, so we soon had to break out flashlights, and you know that singing and dancing in the rain was inevitable. We were worried about the prospects of a service, but with assurances that the rain and the lack of power would not keep the people away I asked the team to begin a time of focused prayer and I was mentally planning alternatives that did not require technology. No sooner had they started to pray than the power came back on. Within minutes tens of people showed up and we ended up having a terrific service with probably 150 people. We did our “Sin Chair” skit, I preached on living in Christ’s victory, Brendon shared his testimony, David and Tiffany sang “Rescue”, we had 30+ minutes of altar ministry, and Adriana sand a song. After we were done with our formal ministry, the pastor came forward to bless us and pray for us. He gave a word to Adriana and me about God opening doors around the world for us to minister. Earlier he had given Ady and I a verse, Isaiah 60:11. He then gave a word to Brendon about how God is going to use him to speak a powerful word to teenagers around the world. Wow! So awesomt! It is now 10:30 pm and we are driving back to camp. They were expecting us at 9 and it will be at least 11:30 pm by the time we get there. Welcome to missions!

Costa Rica Thursday

Still Alive in Costa Rica!

Hey everybody! We just returned from 4 days of ministry in the rainforest. Needless to say ... no internet access. I have been keeping track of our adventures, but with so many days, the post would be forever long, so I will try to give an abbreviated rendition tomorrow. For now suffice it to say we have had the experience of a lifetime and we are all still alive and well. We love you all and thank you for your prayers! Until tomorrow ...

Still Alive in Costa Rica!

Costa Rica Wednesday Night

9 p.m. After posting the blog at McD’s I was picked up by Bobby and Kent and we went by the grocery store where we picked up Kathryn and Terry who had been shopping. We then returned to the church where the team had finished cleaning after an afternoon of painting. We loaded into the bus and headed to the town of Santana. On the way we stopped at a Burger King / Church’s Chicken to grab some dinner for the ride. Half of the team went to each restaurant. After everyone finished their dinner in the bus we spent some time quieting our hearts and praying for the evening service. When we arrived we were greeted by the pastor, Guillermo. It was a small church in a residential neighborhood and we were blessed as about 50 people showed up for the service. After the church’s worship team led us in a great time of singing, Ady & I introduced the team, gave some opening comments, then invited the team forward to perform our drama Everything. There were more than a few teary eyes in the room. Following the drama I shared a message on Ananias from Acts 9 with Adriana interpreting. During the message I had Sarah Chalgren come up and share her testimony which tied in perfectly with the message. After the message David and Tiffany Davila came up and sang a song entitled Solo Cristo. Following their song the team came forward and prayed over almost everyone in the church who had come forward for prayer. During the altar ministry Adriana sang a song. It was a beautiful service, at the end of which the pastor and his family thanked us for coming and presented us with two beautiful paintings as a token of their appreciation for us coming.

11 p.m. The team is now settling down to bed. I just discovered that we have WiFi here at the barracks, so I thought I would get up another post. Tomorrow morning we are heading out to another location where we will be staying for the next four nights. Thanks to those of you who posted comments! I will pass them along to everyone tomorrow.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Costa Rica Wednesday Night

Costa Rica Tuesday - Wednesday Afternoon

Wednesday, 7/1/09

7:30 a.m. Yesterday we had a safe trip down and arrived more or less on time (as airline travel goes) along with all of our luggage! One interesting thing that happened on the plane deserves mention. The brief version ... a lady and I were talking on our flight from New York to Atlanta. She had just dropped her son off at West Point and was flying home. She asked about our team and in the conversation mentioned that she was a Christian. A bit later I was asking our kids if they were going to summer camp. Brendon said he wanted to go but didn’t have the money. Fast forward ... I got up and walked to the lavatory at the back of the plane. While waiting for it to become available the lady walked back to me. She extended her hand toward me and put something in my hand. She said that she was rummaging through her purse and found $200 that she thought she had lost, and felt the Lord instruct her to give it as an offering so Brendon could go to camp. She included a note written on a napkin listing the names of her children and asking our team to pray for them. It also said to use the money to help “the boy” go to camp, and requested that I not draw attention to her on the plane. I expressed my gratitude and assured her we would pray for her and her children. Later I informed Brendon that someone had paid for him to go to camp. He couldn’t believe it.

When we disembarked the plane in Atlanta we were greeted by Kent and Terry Denton, our LendaHand team leaders from Virginia. After hitting the restrooms and grabbing a quick bite to eat we were off to Costa Rica. Other than two screaming, obnoxious kids in the back row with a mother who had lost the reigns, the flight was uneventful. After landing, going through immigration, collecting our luggage, and going through customs with the tremendous blessing of an airport worker who basically walked us through after explaining that we were doing missions work, we were met by Bobby Hoyle, the founder of LendaHand. We loaded onto a bus and drove about 45 minutes to our accommodations for the first two nights - which, of course, was changed at 4 p.m. yesterday afternoon (it wouldn’t be a missions trip without surprises! - former military barracks! We were excited about the rugged sounding adventure only to be mysteriously disappointed when they were actually very nice and more like hotel rooms. lol! We enjoyed a fairly decent night sleep and were pleasantly awakened at 5 a.m. by some people playing soccer outside. Now we are off to do some painting, and tonight we are doing a church service.

1:30 p.m. After about a 45 minute drive we arrived in Los Guidos. We met up with the construction team from Virginia and together had breakfast of eggs, toast, bunuelos, and lichas - a fruit that looks like a blowfish. After removing the spiny outer shell inside you find a grape-like fruit. Everyone did well and actually enjoyed them. After breakfast we were to begin painting the children’s center, but unfortunately the supplies and paint had not arrived, so we found ourselves playing the waiting game. Brendon hooked the iPod up to the speakers and we enjoyed listening to some music. After quite a while the kids got on stage to run through their dance. Sure enough, the paint arrived. They got an oil-based paint (yuck!) and here they mix it with paint thinner. Unfortunately it did not mix well and was too watery, so it took us some experimenting to get the consistency right. When we finally did I gave a quick painting lesson and the team got working. They knocked out the main wall in no time, and we are hopeful that by our quitting time at 4:30 pm we will have the entire first floor done. After lunch the team will continue working while I run out to hopefully get some Wi-Fi at McDonald’s to get this post up.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Costa Rica Tuesday - Wednesday Afternoon

Congratulations Class of 2009!

This past week was graduation for what we have considered our core class during our first four years at our church. They are the group that rallied around us when we came and helped us get the foundation laid for a healthy youth ministry. It was a weekend of mixed emotions for Ady and me. We were proud of the students and their accomplishment, excited for them as they venture out on their own, sad to have our connection times lessened, and amazed at how fast the years have flown by. Grace and peace be with them!

Congratulations Class of 2009!

Planet Impact 2008-09 "Reach" Recap Video

Planet Impact 2008-09 "Reach" Recap Video

Harvest 09 Slideshow

Harvest 09 Slideshow

Celebrate Small Groups Pool Party!

Celebrate Small Groups Pool Party!

The Journey of the BIG BEARD for small groups

The Journey of the BIG BEARD for small groups

Youth Ministry ... A Poem

Hey guys! I had my first poem published today.

How you got into youth ministry
The possibilities are endless

... Read the full poem here.

Youth Ministry ... A Poem

Live Pure Banquet

Live Pure Banquet

Shave PK's BIG BEARD & Help the Costa Rica Missions Team!

Bring your $ beginning Wednesday night to buy raffle tickets for your chance to win!

The winner will be selected at our Celebrate Small Groups Party on Sunday night, June 7th @ The Fenimore Home.

They will then be given the clippers and can artistically cut off PK's beard!

Tickets will be $1 each or 10 for $5.

Shave PK's BIG BEARD & Help the Costa Rica Missions Team!

BIG BEARD for small groups Week 6

BIG BEARD for small groups Week 6

Serving Senior Citizens

Today our Costa Rica team along with several other students from our church and youth ministry served at the Senior Saints Luncheon hosted by our church. It was great, and the attendees were very generous in giving us donations to help with our trip. It's hard to believe that we're only 38 days away from our departure.

Serving Senior Citizens

BIG BEARD for small groups Week 5

BIG BEARD for small groups Week 5

Live Pure Small Groups Pics

Live Pure Small Groups Pics