Youth Encounter

Youth Encounter’s Alumni Advisory Board is pleased to announce that Juliana Tanning (New Vision 1984-85) is the recipient of the 2003 Alumni Service Award. This award was presented to Julie at the 2003 Commissioning Service held on September 12, 2003, by Pastor Angela Way (Cross Fire 1999-2000), who is a member of the Alumni Advisory Board.

Julie (Burce) Tanning was born and raised in Papua New Guinea as a missionary kid and saw New Vision teams as they toured. She attended boarding schools in Papua New Guinea and Adelaide, South Australia. Her final year of high school was spent in Valparaiso, Indiana. She then attended Valparaiso University to receive her Bachelor of Arts degree, and later received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota’s Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
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Keep On Praying!
News from the Events Division of Youth Encounter
Jeremy Rodriguez

Well folks, it is February and the Event season has reached its halfway point! We have been all over the country and it is consistently encouraging hearing week in and week out about all the great things that are happening at Youth Encounter Events from coast to coast. One of the greatest joys I get as an Event Director is being able to read the evaluations from the weekend and read what people’s reactions are and what they have learned. One youth from the Seattle Congress writes, “I learned no matter what, there is a place for me in Christ.” Another writes, “I learned that no matter what, God will always love you. It brought me to realize that I need to get others to know Him.”
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Kindred Makes an Impact in South America
Excerpts from Kindred's Online Journal
Kindred

January 19, 2004 Chiclayo, Peru

“Yesterday we arrived at the first stop of our tour in Peru. After 11 hours of restless sleep, we made our way to our host home in Chiclayo with an hour to spare before church. In both the morning and late afternoon, we joined three different church communities in worship and praise of our Lord. So many children and such beautiful people! They welcomed us with grace and enthusiasm, as well as many kisses on the cheek.
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Watermark Shares God's Love in Denmark
Excerpts from Watermark's Online Journal
Watermark/Denmark

January 24, 2004

“Well, we've been here for a week and a few days now. Elisabeth and I are sleeping in the library of our host family, and every morning I wake up looking at the book titles, wondering if this will be the day that God miraculously gives me the gift of knowing Danish. So far, no dice. But I am surprised at how much I can pick up in a conversation or a newspaper article. I've almost learned all of the prepositional words, so I know if something is on or in or with or by or from something else. And listening to Elisabeth translating our puppet show during the concerts has helped me recognize the phrases ‘say the alphabet backwards,’ ‘do ten one-handed push-ups,’ and ‘jump on this trampoline.’ So you can imagine the depth of conversation I've been able to have with most of the Danes I'm meeting. Actually, I think that not knowing Danish has helped me in some way because it forces me to think harder about the English words I am using.
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Captive Free North East
Excerpts from Captive Free North East's Online Journal
Captive Free North East

“We had our first Youth Quake last weekend in Baltimore and it was such a blast! We don't get much sleep at events and some of us were still recouping from illness, but the Holy Spirit is always working to keep us renewed and refreshed, pumped up for God!

Wow, much has happened in just a short time. Thanks and praise to the Lord for all of the experiences he has provided thus far in the new year.
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The Story of How I Came to Team Ministry
Youth Encounter Alumni Play a Crucial Role in Recruitment
Jeff Rowdon

“The story of how I got on team includes many God moments, but I will include only a few. I have known about team ministry for years. In fact, I’ve known about it ever since a couple of co-workers from Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp went on team. Even my program coordinator at Riverside, Dan Scharnhorst (Captive Free West Coast 89-90,90-91), has a history with Youth Encounter. The actual “pushes” to go on team came through people in the twelve months prior to me officially becoming a teamer.
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Don't Miss Early Registration for Youth Create 2004!!!
Spend a Week Celebrating the Arts and Worship!
Cathy Pino

Plans for Youth Create 2004 are in full swing, and once again we look forward to a great week of fun and fellowship. Workshops this year include worship leading and planning, songwriting, dance, puppetry, drama and more. Our house band will be Watermark to Germany, Romania, and Czech Republic, and as usual YC Director Cathy Pino will be joined by her faithful co-administrators Beth Gearhart and Phil Greve.

If you haven't had a chance to register yet, there's still plenty of time (the final deadline is June 7). BUT if you register before April 30, you will receive our early registration discount, so, hey, why wait! (And don't forget about the group discount too!) For programmatic information, registration forms and answers to FAQs, check out the Youth Create link at Youth Encounter's website. Or e-mail Cathy at youthcreate@youthencounter.org .

Spoke Folk 2004
Gearin' Up!
Eric Arundel

Hey all! Your National Spoke Folk Director here with a little update about this summer. Have you been interested in doing something this summer but can’t find something that is fun and shares Christ at the same time? Trying to lose some weight with others who are there to motivate you? Do you like to bike? Do you like to praise God through music? Do you like people? Give Spoke Folk a try! We still have lots of space on our tours this summer and we’d love to have you join us. The tour dates are: Wisconsin June 16-27, 2004, Michigan June 30 - July 11, 2004, Indiana July 14-25, 2004, Minnesota July 28-Aug 8, 2004, Oregon August 11-22, 2004.
The ages for participants are 15-20. So if you fit in that age group we’d love to have you. A little longer in the tooth? We still need counselors! Every tour is still in need of a few quality adult-ish folks who are willing to give up a week and a half in order to join us for only $40!! Crazy, huh? If you’d like to know more about what we do on tour or have any questions feel free to contact me at sf@youthencounter.org or check out our website at www.spokefolk.org . I’m always here to help you with any questions you might have! I’d love to see you on a bike with us this summer!

From 12 to 55 Confirmation Youth
News from Our Friends at Faith Inkubators
www.faithink.com
Amy Hubach

At Grace Lutheran, Pocatello, Idaho, we are in our second year of using Faith Inkubators Head to the Heart Confirmation. It is a great system that has enhanced our Junior High ministry by blending confirmation and youth group into one focus area. When we started H2H, we grew from 12 to 55 students. Part of the growth was due to the change from lecture-based confirmation to a nontraditional interactive event. Most of the growth occurred due to a restructuring of students. Instead of having lone-ranger students, we put kids into small groups.
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The Latest from Resource Ministries
Resources Available for Your Youth Group!
Ryan Veil

As winter continues on, so does the cold. It’s not too late to get your warm Captive Free Gear! Check out www.youthencounter.org for the latest in long-sleeve T-shirts and Beanie Caps, or call 800-659-6884 ext 249 to order Captive Free Hooded Sweatshirts! They are very warm and reasonably priced in comparison to store brand sweatshirts.

If you’re one of those people who think ahead, Spring is just around the corner. You can also find our baseball caps and a wide range of T-shirts at www.youthencounter.org ; click on “store” to view our products.

HAPPYFUNTIME NEWSFLASH!! Remember those crazy funny people in all the videos at our Events? Well, they have some great resources available for personal use and for youth groups. There are two volumes of Bible studies available. Each video has four comedy sketch parables and explanations. These videos are great for laughs and to learn through the use of comedy. These videos used to sell for $20. NOW THEY ARE ONLY $15 AND YOU GET THE CURRICULUM CD-ROM THAT GOES WITH IT FOR FREE. Check out www.youthencounter.org today. Click on “Store” and then “Interactive Resources.”

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