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ARCHIVE
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Issue 6, Volume 5, March 2007
March 28, 2007
Vol. 5
Issue 6
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Issue 5, Volume 5, February 2007
February 20, 2007
Vol. 5
Issue 5
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Volume 5, Issue 4, January 2007
January 23, 2007
Vol. 5
Issue 4
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Issue 3, Volume 5, December 2006
December 6, 2006
Vol. 5
Issue 3
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Issue 2, Volume 5, November 2006
November 27, 2006
Vol. 5
Issue 2
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Issue 1, Volume 5, October 2006
October 25, 2006
Vol. 5
Issue 1
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[MORE]
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God became man
and experienced life's storms
among us
so He could calm the storms
within us.
Wishing you God's peace at Christmas and all
year...
--your friends at Youth Encounter
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A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven
Mid-Winter Team Training Retreat
Tiffany Schmader
As a teamer, the Mid-Winter
Training retreat was one of the highlights of my year. It was a time of reunion
with all the other teams and many staff, a time to reconnect, a time to relax,
a time to refresh, a time to be encouraged, a time to evaluate myself and my
team and strive for improvements, a time to refocus for the rest of the year,
and a time of celebration. I remember when we arrived at the Mid-Winter
campsite and I saw the staff and other teams, instantly a feeling of joy and
excitement came over me. I couldn’t help but smile and smile! I also remember
being both excited and nervous to share my team’s program, even though we’d
been doing programs practically every day for three months! I was excited for
the encouragement and enthusiasm, but also nervous about the upcoming critique
and the desire for perfection within myself.
Mid-Winter Training is an
intentional week with a full schedule to focus on the very things I listed
above. The setting for the past five years has been Covenant Pines Bible Camp
in McGregor, Minnesota. It’s a lovely setting for a winter retreat. Teams take
a week “off” from their normal travels and bookings and come back together with
the whole community, working with staff to gain more tools on how to work
together better and learn more about themselves.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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Blessed to be a Blessing
God Changes Lives through Team Ministry
Kathy Luedtke
In late October, I
received some mail from the mother and grandmother of a young boy named
Nicholas. He had been diagnosed with
autism and had attended the Vacation Bible School at his church in July of 2004
to help him learn to socialize and interact with other children. Captive Free South Central led the children
in sing-a-longs every day, but he did not take part in the singing. Late in August, he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma,
a rare cancer. While on his way to an
appointment for chemotherapy, Nicholas sat in the back seat of the car and sang
three Captive Free songs without missing a single word. Grandma asked if the team Nicholas heard in
July could come to his school to do a program.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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FMSC and Youth Encounter Come Together on the Web
www.fmsc-youthencounter.org
Check out www.fmsc-youthencounter.org, a
new website celebrating the ministry partnership of Feed My Starving Children and Youth Encounter. You’ll learn more about the crisis of
children in poverty all over the world and how you can help by joining FMSC in
packaging nutritious meals for starving children. You’ll also find information on Youth Encounter’s Construction Zones, where
hundreds of senior high students gather to grow spiritually through worship and
service by packaging meals with FMSC.
It’s a great resource for youth leaders, volunteer coordinators, or anyone interested in making a tangible impact
in our broken world. Bookmark it today!
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Your Gifts Make a Difference!
Reaching Out to the World
Brett Koopman
Thank
you to all of you who have supported Youth Encounter’s ministry with a
financial gift this year. Your gift, along with the gifts of others,
helped us reach out to more than 260,000 people around the world with the love
of Jesus Christ during 2004. I hope these monthly e-mails provide you
with valuable information about the incredible impact your gifts make in the
lives of young people. Your gift before the end of the calendar year will
help us continue and strengthen our ministry efforts. Please click here to find out how you can
make an end of the year contribution.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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The Hope That Jesus Brings
Read Excerpts from the Team's Online Journal
http://www.youthencounter.org/teams/team_journals....
New Dawn
For the last couple of
days, our team has been visiting the H.E.A.R.T. (Hunger Education and Resource
Training) Missionary Training Institute in central Florida. It’s a place to learn ways that you can
bring practical ideas and resources to economically developing nations to which
God may be calling you. They do this
through class instruction and by actually living in the same modest manner that
would be in those places.
There was a definite sense
of community in everything at the institute.
From fixing the palm branch siding on a toilet house, to cooking meals,
to cleaning up after eating, to gardening and feeding the animals. We did a revised Family Night Program for
the students and the village coordinator's family. It was so much fun, and I truly felt a part of the H.E.A.R.T.
community. They loved to dance, do
actions and be goofy with us in worship.
Then as we started to get a little more serious, diving into our theme,
I was touched by the openness of the group that shared stories of
"storms" in their lives and the "calming of the storm" that
followed. There were tears shed, a few
laughs and many smiles when talking about the hope that Jesus brings amongst
those uncertain times in our lives.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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Your Life Matters!
Read Excerpts from the Team's Online Journal
http://www.youthencounter.org/teams/team_journals....
Captive Free East Lakes
We recently had our first Quake
of the season in Niagara Falls, NY, with about 200 junior high youth. We were rockin' out for Jesus, playing lots
of games, studying God's word, listening to an amazing speaker (yeah, Kari Lyn
Wampler!), heard some great music and sang sing-a-longs with Swen and Dean, and
just had a great weekend of fellowship full of little sleep and as much junk
food as we could get our hands on.
A big thing that we all
talked about this weekend was how we are all connected, and how each of our
lives matter. Kari Lyn (our event
speaker) spoke a little on a woman from the Bible named Ruth, who lived a life
of truth and loyalty to her mother-in-law, all either of them had was each
other. Kari Lyn shared Ruth's story and
then opened to the book of Matthew, and at the beginning there is a list of
names called a genealogy, which is a
record of descendants. Ruth is found in
about the 5 th verse, giving birth to Obed, who had a son named
Jesse, who married and had a son named David, who became one of the greatest
kings in history. The list continues,
and then you find the name of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who gave birth to
Jesus, who is the Christ. What would
have happened if Ruth had not remained loyal to her mother-in-law? What if these people had made different
choices? Our lives today could very
well be extremely different.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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To Become Servants for Christ
Read Excerpts from the Team's Online Journal
http://www.youthencounter.org/teams/team_journals....
Captive Free South Central
Well, the road is
being good to us right now. I'm a little tired, but we've had some awesome
experiences since I last wrote. We had our first "return" church
this past week in Kansas City where a girl continues to touch me with her life
trials. She has meant a lot to me this year simply because I can see God
working in her, even though she has still made a few mistakes since I saw
her last. She has accepted Christ into her life and is constantly in my
prayers that she may keep in touch with us and continue to grow in her faith.
We are now in Hays, KS and
having a blast. Our contact here has been so supportive of us, and
we had a full day yesterday with two nursing home visits and a program.
It was nice to be running around! At
the nursing home, there was an adorable woman named Mimi who lifted our hearts
when she responded to herself making the common dog be quiet. With a look
of sheer joy on her face and a wrinkled fist shaking in the air, she yelled,
"I did it!" with extreme pride in herself.
I'm doing pretty well
myself and felt the need after surviving the first Construction Zone to have a
similar reaction of "I did it!" This year is so full of awesome
opportunities for ministry, and I look forward to taking them home and
sharing the experience with my loved ones in NY and AL this Christmas.
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]
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Do You See What I See?
What is God Up To?
Jeff Rowdon
Have you ever listened to
the Bible on CD or cassette? Michael W.
Smith has recently recorded a reading of the Gospels which I’ve begun listening
to on my way to work in the morning. I
have so many new thoughts and questions as I hear the story of Jesus unfold. For instance, why was all of Jerusalem
disturbed when they heard the news that the King of the Jews had been born? You can find that in Matthew 2. You would think they would be excited. God’s Word often gets me wondering about
what God is up to in the world today.
Our perception can often be so different for what God is doing. May we be a people who keep seeking His will
and keep looking for ways to be a part of what He is doing.
Speaking of one of the
things Youth Encounter believes God is doing – have you considered being a part
of our Team Ministry? You can read more about what it means to be
in Team Ministry by
going to our Team
Page on the website. You can also
give Jeff or Sarah a call at the Youth Encounter office. The number is 800-659-6884. If you want to talk with Jeff, dial
extension 8483. If you would rather
talk with Sarah, dial extension 8474.
They can also be reached by e-mail – jeff@youthencounter.org and sarahl@youthencounter.org,
respectively. If you love Jesus and
might want to take a year sharing the good news of who He is with others, we
want to talk with you about the possibility!
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Merry Christmas from the YE Store
Order Your Event T-Shirts and Team CDs Today!
Ryan Veil
Greetings
during this Holiday Season!
If
you and your church are planning to attend an Event during this Event season,
call 800-659-6884 to find out how you can save money on t-shirts by ordering
them beforehand!
Also,
in early December, we recorded all eight of our Captive Free teams and are
currently producing their CDs. The CDs
will be available shortly after the New Year and the International Team CDs by
late January. Call 800-659-6884 to
order yours today.
Have
a blessed Christmas! Don’t forget to check
out www.youthencounter.org
and click on “store” for those last minute gifts!
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