Tuesday, May 15 brought to an end another youth group ministry season. It's been a wonderful year once again. We hosted Kanata CRC's youth for the year and saw our group grow to about 35 ish when we met with both CIA/ETM.
This larger size took a bit of adjusting for some people, including our youth leaders. It sure was louder this year, that's for sure. : )
We persevered, however, and had a good year of learning and growing together.
Our last event for the year was a BBQ and something Jeannine and Mel called Banana Olympics. I asked them if they would do some games this time, and they nervously agreed. Just so you know, they did AMAZING! Everyone loved the games, as you will see from the pics below...speaking of which...here we goooooo!!!!!
We'll start of with yours truly. I had to bring my BBQ from home, but it was no trouble at all.....oh, my aching back.. :)
While the group was being entertained by Jeannine and Mel, I began cooking the burgers.
It didn't take long for smoke to begin causing me to tear up.
It seems that Chris B didn't like the smoke either. Can't blame him.
Here are some of the boys hanging out before the games began.
Mel and Jeannine lined up everyone and began to place them in their respective groups to form teams.
Here they are in their teams, but not sure what do yet. : )
Chad and Janine began to slowly creep into my BBQ space. I figured, hey, why not let them BBQ if they wanted to. Janine really wanted to...and Chad just gave pointers, which really bugged Janine...it was fun to watch them "interact" with each other (tee, hee).
I guess Chad gave up coaching...no, I sent him inside to put the cooked burgers in the oven. Janine needs a fire extinguisher I think.
Back to the Banana Olympics. I wasn't privy to all the planning, so I'll make it up as I go along. I THINK they started things out by making banana mascots. Cute!
In their groups getting their mascots prepared.
They formed lines and had to move their banana from the front of the line to the back, or maybe it was the other way around.
I'm not sure what the rules were in getting the banana from through the line, but there are some pics I just couldn't put on the blog because they were just down right weird.
Another game ensued which involved running up to a table....
Zack is taking no prisoner's.
You then needed to put 3 crackers in your mouth and whistle. THAT was fun to watch.
Come on Gaelen, you can do it. After you whistled, which most people didn't, they had to make 3 full turns with the banana by their head and run back so the next person could go. Funny!!!!
Hannah and Joy look like they are going to up chuck! : )
Brother against Sister......
Now Megan has a bit of a sneaky streak in her. She tried to get me (the one taking the pictures) full of eaten cracker crumbs. Gross!!!!!!!
I'll get you back sometime, believe me Megan!!! : )
Steffi and Casey trying to chew and whistle.
Ryan and Jonah trying it too.
Jacob and David trying. David spewed everywhere too. Notice Jacob holding his teams demolished banana.....ewww
The mess left behind.....
Ethan reminds me a lot of Chris, my son, when he was a kid. Chris would come with me to many events and thought he was just another one of the youth group. Ethan feels that way too I think. : )
The final game had something to do with holding the banana in your mouth and walking to a bowl filled with clothes pins and picking up a bunch and putting them in your hair????
Go Silke Go!
Leah and Sarah tied......
The end result for Steffi.
Jacob, I think you could use this as a new hair style. The girls would go crazy over it....bahahahaha
Fontana doesn't look so happy, but she sure does look interesting. : )
Rosy really into the game.
I guess this was the best of the bunch (Jeannine took these pictures, not me). They all look soooooooo nice.
After the games it was time to eat!
Jeannine and Mel resting after all their hard work. Again, thanks for doing that. It was AWESOME!!!!!
We had hamburgers and junk food. What a better meal for young people......well, maybe pizza, but this comes a close second...
Lining up for the food. A very patient line, thankfully.
The hustle and bustle of hungry teenagers.
The Kanata crew, and Tori....hmmmmm, Tori,....seems you have some water issues to deal with..........
Just hanging out while digesting.
Another group took to the picnic table at the end of the parking lot. A nice place to sit and eat.
Jonathan....what ARE you doing....????
Lucy staring into space. I wonder what she's thinking.....
This pic of Rosy and Megan reminds me of some slow motion trailers in movies where people are walking towards you with determination and purpose. MIB comes to mind...bahahahahaha
David and Chris eating yet another cup cake. I kept offering them to them, FYI, and they kept accepting.
Oh my...I guess they caught me eating them too......
Now Gaelen and Zack have come to every meeting this year with a different hat. It's been interesting to watch. Some good ones, and some strange ones. Thanks for being original guys.
We gathered for a group picture at the end of the night. Here we are getting ready, and Chad is practicing taking the pictures.
What a nice group. I'll miss the grade 12's who will be leaving us this year....Megan, Chris H., Mikaela, Zack, and Casey.
A bit more strange picture of the group.
I wanted a unique picture, so they all turned to face the wall...well, not EVERYONE complied....oh to be original.
So that draws to a close our 2011/2012 youth ministry year. Over the next 3 weeks we will be attending the Billy Graham training sessions for the Rock the River event coming up September and then our older group will be going camping up in Algonquin in mid June (oh beware of the black flies this time of year : ) )
Thanks to our 5 youth leaders:
Jeannine
Janine
Mel
Ken
Kevin
who took the time again this year to invest in the lives of our youth. Priceless stuff, and I'm forever grateful to you for you commitment to this calling.
We'll hopefully see you all in September ready for another year of growth and fellowship with each other, and with our Lord!
