HAPPY SPIRITUAL BIRTHDAY JUSTINE!

I just wanted to send a special shout out to Justine who is celebrating her 1st spiritual birthday today. Happy Birthday Justine!! I'm so proud of your commitment to the Lord and his people. I am so grateful for your partnership in the gospel. :D

Hey guys! sorry you haven't seen me around lately...I've been really sick and it apparently doesn't want to leave me even though I've been drinking medicine like no tmw haha...but pray for me! I really miss you guys a lot and hope to see you soon (:!

John 16:33 Memory Scripture Score

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." NIV

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” NLT
John 16:33

I hope the memory scripture was really alive during the days of the week that we could of been discouraged by satan. We could put our hope in God that we can overcome our weaknesses and be streghened by God to do the right thing. Amen!

I am really encouraged by most of you guys because I feel that everytime I grade the scores for the ms i notice that most of you guys are improving and actually studying harder. Keep it up family:)
So the maximum pts that could be earned is 29. Remember that every word counts as one point.
Enjoy!

Teen:
April:29
Ashely: 29
Cynthia:27
Daniel F: 0
Drew:25
Erick:29
Frankie:29
Herlinda:28
JP:0
Justine:29
K-tan:0
Luis S:0
Matt: 29
Michael D: 18
Ray S: 27

Teen Leaders
Ejay: 25
John Q: 29
Karina: 29
Marco: 29
Maria:29
Michael Wangster: 29
Taraneh: 29

Learn about your new teen leader: Taraneh

Hey all!
For my first entry on our awesome teen ministry blog. I thought I'd follow Mike Wang's example by letting you know a little bit about me. I'm sure I will learn a lot about you and you about me now being apart of the same ministry, but now you have an opportunity know a little more about my life before the teens.
I traveled for a year after I graduated from college (University of California, Irvine... ZOT ZOT) and I kept a blog; a journal, of my journey.
Just a warning... I wrote A LOT and it's a year's worth of journaling.
Here it is:

http://journeyaccrosstheborders.blogspot.com

Much love

Taraneh Nava

Lady Pirate of the Year

Hi everyone!
So yesterday was my end of the year basketball banquet! It was a lot of fun being able to hang out with some of the girls from the team. But it was also ver encouraging to recieve recognition from my coach as I was awarded Lady Pirate of the Year for the 2nd time! This award is given to a player for their character and example. I was very encouraged by my coach =) he said that if he had a daughter that he would want her to be just like me! It was very nice and encouraging but i feel that I am who I am because of you guys. So in a way I just wanna say thank you guys for being a part of my life....and always being here for me...LoVe YoU guyz

A Night in Emerald City

Prom tickets are now available!! Teen disciples in the 10th-12th grade are invited to attend. (Freshmen can attend if they are invited by someone in the 10th-12th grade.) You can buy your ticket from me. See more details below.

Date: Saturday, May 2nd
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Brookside Country Club - Mediterranean Room
1133 N. Rosemont Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91103
Fee: $70 per person

The Jesus I Never Knew

We had over 500 people at the teen rally this past Saturday! Incredible! I can't wait for the next one. :)

R.I.P. phone

hey guys sorry if i dont answer when u try to call or txt me from now on i kinda killed my phone...it fell into water and died lol
but anyway sorry for any future probs itll cause until i get another one!
K-Tan

Hebrews 12:2

Was up Teen Ministry Family:)
I am excited to post the results for the memory scripture! Great job for many of you guys once again. I am happy to see that we have a few individuals that have gotten a perfect scores since the semester began. The maximum points you could of recieved is 39pts. Enjoy!
Teens:
April:33
Ashely:39
Cynthia:37
Daniel F:38
Drewsky:23
Erick:38
Frankie:0
Jp:0
Justine:39
k-tan:26
Luis S.:0
Matt: 39
Michael D: 0
Ray:0

Teen Leaders:
Ejay:39
John Q:39
Karina:39
Marco:39
Maria:34
Wangster:0
Taraneh:39

Teen Camp Theme Ideas

Teen Camp is just a few months away and we want to get your input on this year's theme. Now, I know some of you will be going to Senior Camp and not Teen Camp, but we'd love your thoughts as well. Below are some of the theme ideas that have been mentioned. Let us know what your favorite is. We will be finalizing the name of our camp tomorrow morning so you'll have to put in your vote TODAY. Thanks!!!

RAW: Rebelling Against the World
Carpe Diem(seize the day)
Looking Higher
Into the Wild
TBT (Truth be Told)
a time for change
Its now or never
be transformed
The Kingdom (with gatoraide theme IS IT IN YOU?)
The Narrow Road (with liscence plate theme (NRRW RD)
Into It
No Excuse
Definance

Good For Right Now

I just wanted to let you all know that I got the results from my biopsy last week. As it looks right now, I don't have cancer (Amen!!!). However, I'm not completely in the clear because I could have some type of disease but it doesn't look like it right now. So, all in all, I'm good. To God be the glory.

soo....

I know that Valentine's Day was over a week ago but just incase someone forgot what they were awarded for it just so happens that I have the info. (excuse me for not having everybody on here, some of the cards were missing)

I apologize for not getting it up here sooner. Everybody looked great and I hope all you guys(literally) were very encouraged because I know that us chicas were.

And good job at keeping your little plot on the D.L. haha.......sneaky.



Gentleman of the Year- Erick R. =-D

Best LOL Funnyman- Daniel F. 8)

Most Loyal Friend- JP C. :]

Best Team Player- Michael Epps =-)

Love and Leadership- E-Jay V. B-]

Kindest Spirit- John R. :D

Greatest Teen Leadership- Matthew E. 8D

Best Example of Academic Achievement- Mike W. :-]

Greatest Helping Hand- Kevin T. xP

Most Caring- Drew R. =>]

Best Set of Twins to Spend the Day With- Ray and Frankie :o)

Inspirational Man of the Year- Marcel H. 8-D

Most Genuine- Marco M.

Men of Honor- Juan =~]

Hebrew 10 :38-39

Was up Family :) Finally the results you guys have been waiting for are here ( YAY!)
The maximum points for the memory scripture is 40 pts. Some of you guys did really great and others need to study a little harder. Over all, i am happy to see the efforts of many of you guys that are studying very hard. Remember dont focus to much on the results than the point of learning the word of God:)

Teens
April:40
Ashley:0
Cynthia:38
Daniel F:0
Drewsky:28
Big Erick:37
Franky S:40
Jp:39
Justine: 40
K-tan: 40
Luis S: 40
Matt: 38
Michael D: 0
Ray S: 0
Rodney:0

Teen Leaders
Ejay:40
John Q:40
Karina:40
Marco:40
Maria:40
Wangster:40
Taraneh (aka) Teriyaki Sauce:0

Closing song! :)

Ashley's Unconcert [Glendale High Choir]

Awesome concert Ashley!! I loved every single songs! This year is by far the best one I've seen from Glendale High! So much talents! :) I'm glad to see that you're very encouraged to see us all there last night! I hope that you will remember it as one of your treasured moments with your brothers and sisters in Christ who loves and supports you! God is good to you Ashley.. he's blessed you with such a spiritual family who truly cares for you! Amen sister?! We're all so proud of you! I envision you singing and worshiping God with your voice even greater than this! Love you lots!

I'll upload the vids later today! ;)

My People Make the Papers

Check this article out. I'm humbled and honored by it. May God be glorified and praised. For those wondering, yes we did mention the teen ministry and how great you guys are but it didn't make the cut. Next time.

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/02/19/features/gnp-civicpride19.txt

Gophers Wanted

Teen disciples are invited to serve as "gophers" at this year's Youth Camp (5th -7th graders) from July 6th-July 11th. Gophers must be under 18 years of age and serve as assistants to the staff (i.e., helping out in the craft and game room; helping to set up and take down field sports activities; keeping the staff house, where they too will sleep, clean; etc.). If you are interested, send in a one-page letter to Geo Garces on 'Why I want to be a Gopher.' The letter is an opportunity to explain why you would like to be a gopher, as well as what would make you a good one. Letters must be must be submitted by May 1st via email to geovygarces@sbcglobal.net.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. NLT

Hello teen ministry family, how are yah doing?
Is a brand new semester and i hope we are all thinking about doing much better in the memory scripture scores! I want us all to get perfect scores and let the word of God move us through the week.
So here it is, the maximum points possible to earn is 38pts.
TEEN'S
April:38
Ashely:38
Cynthia:37
Daniel:0
Drewsky:37
Erick:0
Frank:34
JP:0
Justine:38
k-tan:38
Luis:0
Matt:37
Michael:37
Ray:0
Rodney:0

Teen Leaders
Ejay:38
John Q: 38
Karina:26
Marco:38
Maria:28

Great Job to all of you who got perfect scores!

Strait flush! 4 of a kind! 5 of the same suit! 14 same color!

Hey all!!! i just wanted to say that i had such a great time on Friday's devo. Erick you did a great job, it was great how you made it relate to sports. s-m-a-r-t! and it was so cool to see April share about her convictions, nothing is more inspiring than hearing how people change for God! The game was wild! it was so encouraging to see the high school students fellowship with the jr high peeps. the teens have so much to offer! you have no idea! :D
see ya!

hola

Just wanted to say hi to all of you and let you know that I've been encouraged by the different things going on in the teen ministry. xoxo - karina

Technical difficulties...

Hi,

I know I promised to upload the videos from HOPE performance. However, just like Ejay and some of us who has tried to upload videos.. I also couldn't. I think it's the blogger itself. So for some of you who's interested to see it.. I have them up on my facebook account for you to see. Great job teens! and Ejay and all who put it together!! Thank You all!

See ya!
Lyn

Hi, I'm Michael Wang

Hi All, For work I had to write a little bio about where I'm from and where I grew up. I copied it below so that you guys can learn a little bit about my past, in case you don't know. This is Mike Wang by the way. Here's the excerpt below:

I was born in Chicago, IL. on a fine summer morning. I lived in Chicago for five years, during which I gained an appreciation for winter snowfall, piano, and birthday splurging. After Chicago, I lived eight years in an international community in Saudi Arabia and grew in my understanding of many foreign cultures and learned to find joy in the simple things of life, like star gazing on the desert dunes, wandering the streets looking for mischief, and the juiciness of a properly made shawarma. After my stay in Saudi, I found myself back in the US; I attended Arcadia High School and went on to complete my BS.EE and MS.EE Degrees at USC. Since my move, I’ve come to call California my home and could not imagine life without the friends or memories that I’ve made here.

Great Job

I just wanted to say that those of you who performed at the LA Day on HOPE did a great job. You guys will have to do it again. Maybe you can do it at the Youth Rally for the entire Teen Ministry in March. Lastly, where are the posts? No Christmas, New Years updates or nothing. What happened w/pictures from the Winter Bash or the performance yesterday?

WINTER BAAAAASH

SUP YA'LL>....HERE'S WHAT U BROUGHT TO THIS YEARS BASH!!!>..ENJOY!!!

Was up Teen Ministry !
So if you guys have been living under a rock and dont know about my new dating relationship now you do. lol.
I asked my best friend Elice Estrada to be my girlfriend on Jan the 3rd. Elice is a faithful Christian in the west campus ministry. She was babtized in the teen ministry in Ventura when she was 14 so she definitely knows all the struggles of being a Christian in High School.
So if you guys see a tall beautiful woman next to me please come and let me introduce you to her she is excited in meeting all of you.
Peace!
The law of the Lord is perfect , reviving the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure enduring forever. The ordinance of the Lord are sure altogether righteous. They are more precious that gold , than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Amen!

Memory Scripture 1Cor 15:58

The maximum score is 33pts

Teens:
April:0
Ashley: 31
Cynthia:31
Daniel:21
Drew:0
Erick:32
Frank:0
Jp:0
Justine:33
Kevin Tan: 33
Luis:29
Matt:33
Michael:0
Mikey:0
Ray:31
Rodconey:0

Teen Leaders:
Ejay:13
John Q: 33
Karina: 33
Marco:32
Maria:33

Quiet Time Series

What's happening. I just wanted to see how the Quiet Time Series is going for people. I know we didn't give the specific start date but it was Monday. Let's hear the good news, comments, questions, etc.

ICE SKATIN

Hey Everyone.....I wanted to share a great time some of us shared on Sat. We bundled up and headed to Pasadena Ice Rink....

Definitely unforgettable...tryin on 4 different ice skates till they were comfortable enough, playin tag with Mikey and Erick, tryin to make others fall,,,hahaha, seeing Matt get off the wall and do a fantastic job, Drew's ice dance..lol, meeting Ashley's friend Karina (Corina?)...spelling..lol, having Drew's cousin Devon with us was hilarious, and Justine joining us later in the evening. It was a fun and memorable time for Christmas. : D

Memory Scripture Prov 24:16

The maximum score was 19 points.
Teens
April:0
Ashely:19
Cynthia:0
Daniel:0
Drew:0
Erick:0
Frankie:0
Jp: 19
Justine:19
Kelly:19
Kevin Tan:19
Luis:0
Matt:19
Michael: 15
Mikey:19
Ray:0
Rodney:0

Teen Leaders
Ejay:18
John Q: 19
Karina:19
Marco:19
Maria:19

WOW! Yeah much better guys.
Lets not let the junior high beat us!

Encouragement for Abram from the JHM!

Hello family,

I just wanted to share how encouraged we are to know that Abram is doing good and is recovering fast - even though it's still tough, God is providing strength to Abram. God is soO good! The teens did a wonderful job in sending their big hearts to Abram today by making this board full of their well wishes and greetings for our awesome brother in Christ! It was refreshing.. just as Prov 25:11 says "A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

Let's continue to keep Abram and Lisa in our prayers because I truly believe that God is listening to all our prayer requests! :D




Much Love! :)

What's Going On?

What's up? There's been little activity on the blog. What's up w/that? Let's get it cracking and let the ministry know what's going on in your life. As for the Halls, please pray that God will provide a new tenant for our house in Fontana. We need that ASAP. Now, let us know what's going on w/you.

Thanksgiving 2008

[Marcel shared Psalm 100 to us]

We're so grateful for our Team of devoted brothers and sisters in the Teen Ministry! Thank you again Halls for hosting our traditional pre- Thanksgiving dinner as usual! Karina's hard work was delish :D God has truly put you all in our lives so that we could seek God and be closer to him. Acts 17:26-28 and Acts 2:42 was lived out every time we broke bread together! I love it! Thank you everyone for all your hearts that are precious than gold! :)

Love,
Miglyn

11.27.08

Memory Scripture Score James1:2-4

Hey Family i hope you guys are doing excellent and ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family and loves ones. I have the scores hot and ready to go. The maximum score you guys could of recieved is 40 points.

Teens:
Ashely:40
Cynthia:32
Erick:36
JP: 0
Luis:23
Matt:40

Teen Leaders:
Ejay:40
Karina:39
Marco: 39
Maria:40

Much better scores but i noticed that more people did not turn in their test. Please lets encourage eachother to good deeds so we can get everyone to get perfect scores.

New Update on Abram's Status.

Hello Family!

I just wanted to share a text I received from Lisa about Abram's hospital update. She said...

"Abram is scheduled for surgery at Glendale Memorial tomorrow [Wednesday] at noon. His pain got worse today because he got a slight infection at the pin site. He started on antibiotics yesterday :(. This is stressful, we're gonna be in the hospital for Thanksgiving."

This all the info I know so far about Abram. But lets continue to pray for his well being and for the surgery to go smoothly.

I hope that we can all call them at least on Thanksgiving day as well. Although Abram would most likely receive your encouraging emails or ecards right away I believe. But do both if you're in doubt! :D

His cell number is: 626.233.9145 Email: apologos@gmail.com
Lisa's: 213.215.5694 Email: xiolisa@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for all your love and support for our awesome brother and sister, The Guerras!!! :D

Abram Update

I went to the hospital yesterday and saw Abram. Considering the circumstances, he's doing pretty well. However, he still has to have another surgery. So, let's continue to pray for him and Lisa.

Pray For Abram

As most of you know, our dear brother and faithful Junior High Ministry Leader, Abram Guerra, was in a motorcycle accident this past weekend. He will be fine but he did suffer a broken arm and leg. He told me that his surgery on Sunday was successful but will remain in the hospital a couple of more days. Please pray for him to have a speedy recovery and that someone will become a disciple from all of this.

April's Baptism!!!

Here's some of the photos of April's Baptism. A few more are on my "Miracles from God" album on facebook. Congratulations again April! We're all so happy for you!! :D

woohoo!!

APRIL GOT BAPTIZED!! I'm so proud of you April. May you stand strong in the faith. Love you dude!

Memory Scripture Quiz!

Hey family, i hope you guys are enjoying the beggining of the week; and lets also be encouaraged by April's babtism which defenitely brought glory to God.

The scores for the memory scripture is here ( YAY). The maximum score you guys can get is 23 points.

Teens:
April:15
Ashley:23
Erick:22
Cynthia:21
Kevin:21
Matt:21
Mikey:23

Teen Leaders:
John Q:23
Karina:22
Maria:23
Marco:5

If you guys dont write your name on the quiz i can't give you credit! So one of you guys lost
a perfect score. Just for this time i will let that person slide if they talk to me before friday. However, there will be no exceptions afterwards! Thanks teen family.

Memory Scripture Score's

Well family, is that time again when we get to stretch our spiritual minds with the word of God. If some of you guys are under performing with the memory scriptures please STUDY! Is really important we hide the scriptures in our hearts so we can fight our daily battle with sin and stay near Christ. AMEN!

The max points you can recieve is 16points, so here it is:

TEENS:
April: 0
Ashely:16
Cynthia:15
Erick:15
JP:0
Justine:16
Kevin:16
Erick:16
Rodney:0
Matt:0
Drew:0
Daniel:0
Ray:0
Frankie:0
Michael:0


Teen Leaders:
Karina: 15
John Q: 16
Marco:1
EJay: 0
(If your name doesn't appear is because your test was never turned in, thus, is an automatic 0 points)

Lip Sync'n

Hey ya'll...let me just share that ALL of you are amazing people...your warmth, zeal, brotherhood or sisterhood, and friendships are so encouraging to my faith...and have allowed me to be reminded of God's care for us all....like Ktan and Justine shared..the weekend was AMAZING>..I believe we have all learned a lot..left that mountain inspired and faithful to our Lord. Im so proud of our ministry and truly feel honored to be here in it!!!...BABAYYY!!!!...

Besides that...here are our oh so famous Lip Sync performances....OH MAN!!!>>You guys are supa fly!!...Doin yo thang!!..and showin us all how its done!!..Come on Drew...oh i mean Mr. Jackson...haha....watch out Maria leadin the show...oh and who can forget the gansta of all gangstas....PAOLA....(spelling?)...!!!!...Homegirl knows what's up...haha....Fun times..unforgettable/ : D 

This weeks teen retreat.....

was AWESOME! i really loved it and i agree with Kevin and would liked to thank Karina, Marcel, all the teen leaders and anybody else that helped make this happen. but most of all i thank God for allowing us to make it up there, stay up there, open up, and i was very encouraged to see people make an effort to get to know people they did not know. this was my first retreat and i was so excited to go and get to know people more coz i really don't know almost everybody in the ministry. i had a lot of fun and it was B-E-A-UTIFUL up there. The stars brought me back to teen camp and i am so glad God gave me another opportunity to gaze at His creations. i am also happy that He humbled me to his scriptures and that i do need to really really really go after setting up bible studies and following through with those who are willing to study. I loved the Central teen retreat, i learned many things, and i'm already looking forward to next year!!

~justine =)

Time to Take Action!

hey guys i dont know about you but that was an AWESSOMEEE retreat n i just wana thank marcel karina and everyone so much for just organizing it! :)
and like recently i was having a hard time just really wanting to put God first before everything else but this retreat just allowed me to reconnect and really want to prioritize God and do everything i can for Him and although archery was probably one of the funnest things that we did that night hike was just the most amazing thing ever!
it was just so crazy to walk alone and just be praying to God and looking up at the stars and it was then i think that i realized how i could even imagine trying to put something as silly as homework before God who created everything and how even the things that we see are only a fraction of wat God can do. so now hopefully ill be able to get into more of the guys' studies and just really help them out more! thanks to everyone again and especially to God for just opening my eyes (no azn jokes!!~ >< hahaha) and just really giving me a desire to start taking action instead of waiting around for things to happen. so lets do work! -Proverbs 14:23

Bible study!!!!

HeY Everybody!
i hope you guyz r doing great! I am very excited about this coming up weekend. whoop whoop!
:> so i just wanted 2 let u guyz know that today i studied the bible with Valarie today! it went really well and she wants to study 2morro! i am super encouraged by God. Please continue 2 pray for her. luv u guyz. c u guyz soon <3

Teen Retreat

I don't know about you but I am excited about the retreat this weekend.

Run Your Race

Hi guys...

Thought I would post two encouraging videos that John Markowski shared with the teen leaders on Tuesday night.

His message was on persevering to the end...



The scripture to read after watching is Hebrews 12:1.

Take note that it says "the race marked out for us." Young's literal translation reads: "through endurance may we run the contest that is set before us"... You can take that to mean we all must run the race together to the end, and there is a good point there, but the point that John made was that we each must run a race that is set before each of us...

Others may seem to have and easier race than us, an "inside track," and that is the portion God has given them (Psalm 16:5). Others may seem to have a harder race than us... some run cross country through woods, some run marathons on asphalt, others run in the ironman through sand or gravel, others still run on a treadmill... the point is that your race may be different from others, but God's will is the same: that you finish the race (Acts 20:24; 2 Timothy 4:7)

I held my tears for that first video... but I couldn't hold them any longer during this one:



Maybe it was Morgan Freeman's always stirring voice... Maybe it was the crescendo of the orchestra as Derek Redmond's agony flashed across the screen... Either way, John's point was well taken: The agony of the race may be intense, but when we persevere we have an opportunity to inspire others, and bring Glory to God...



Grace and Peace,
Abram

=D

Buenas noches

Midweek today was very fun. it was cool getting to know and hang out more with the teens. I have more good news and that is that my mom had her first bible study this week! She sat down at a starbucks with Crystal Epps and a sister named Brenda and when she came home she said she had a very good time. they challenged her to read the Book of John and i know she is scheduled to meet again on Sunday. I ask that all of you guyscould please pray for her and that nothing gets in the way from her studying on Sunday. Also, for her to continue reading John and that God can really soften her heart and humble it to the scriptures. i would greatly appreciate it.
THANK YOU ALL!
lates
~Justine
=)

God's Hand is Def Moving

Last weekend was an amazing retreat with all the teen leaders from the LA Church. Man, i was having so much fun driving up there with E-jay and Mike ( john Q) ha ha. E-jay is straight out a fool! in a good way guys lol. It was so much fun laughing and actually bonding with the rest of the guys. Driving up there went really fast because of Ejay is a fool lol.

We actually heard amazing lessons from Pedro Garcia and it was amazing to hear him share and preach the word. What was truly faith building was to see so many new and young teen leaders from other regions. I felt so inexperience compare to everyone here in the central but to see many young teen leaders made me feel a little more comfortable. I was able to build relationships and bond with other servants of Christ!

Please guys pray for me that i can take what i learn to help the ministry!

Thank God - Life Lesson

I wanted to inform everyone and ask for your prayers for our new brother in Christ, Kevin. As we all know K-tan was baptized on Sunday, thankfully, because he was hit by a car on Monday. I talked to him and his dad and he appears to be okay. He didn't have to go to the ER but had bumps, bruises and slight bleeding if I can recall correctly. He did go to the clinic to get checked out but I have not heard the latest. As stated earlier, thank God, K-tan was baptized the day before and that he was not seriously injured. Imagine if he would have been hit the day before he got baptized and it was a serious or fatal accident. The lesson we should take from all of this is that life is short and we can't take it for granted. For those who are not disciples, you need to get right w/the Lord today (Matthew 24:36-44). For those of us who are disciples, we need to clean out any garbage in our hearts and lives and repent today and follow Jesus (Hebrews 3:7-15). With all of that said, I'm grateful that Kevin is alive physically and, even more importantly, alive spiritually (Romans 8:10-11).

ReFRESHed!!!

Hola my peeps!!!..
Aight....let me just share some awesome news and joys with ya'll///This past weekend was AMAZING......God has def. refueled my soul....

The teen leaders had an all LA teen leader retreat as we all know...and man it was so awesome, relaxing, and needed. It was great being able to go and hang with one another, meet other teen leaders in our church, and chill.

First, it was a great bonding time for me to spend time traveling with Marco and John. I love these guys. From the drive up to Oxnard to eating out for dinner...and laughing at my craziness and randomness....it was a great time with my bros.
Meeting other teen leaders from different regions was so faith building and encouraging. A lot of them were new to the teen ministry..making me feel like and 0 G..haha...but man..the conversations I had and seeing them live a life that parallels mine...like schedule and lifestyle was truly faith building. It spurred me on!
The lessons were amazing, convicting, and just straight INSPIRING!!!....loved it.
We had lots of free time, which was nice...I had the chance to relax, take a nap, hang with others, and enjoy the great days in Oxnard.
Having morning quiet times outside, going for 6 am jogs, and just gazing at God's beauty in prayer was all apart of the refreshment I experienced.
Then...on the way home Marco, John, and I were able to go to Erick's soccer game...that is always fun to check out and spur Erick and his team on.....the three of us teen leaders hung out some more.....and then of course K.TAN's baptism!!!..WOOP WOOP!!...man...just seeing God work all over the place is comfort to my soul : )

So this Monday morning...I family, am encouraged by God and the kingdom. We are in this together and to be reminded of that....is refreshing!!!