Monday, July 8, 2013

SERVE 2013 - Day 3 - Worship, Farm, and Fun

SERVE 2013 - Day 3 
Worship, Farm and Fun

Greetings all.  
Hope you are enjoying the events of SERVE 2013.  
After going to bed at 1:00 am, I did get a good 4 hours sleep, then it was restless. 

However, I did feel more rested than yesterday. 

We are now into Day 3.  Sunday.  
Two worship services and other fun activities, so let's get to it.  

Each day the rooms seem to get messier and messier....I'll have to get a picture of the girls' room tomorrow to see how they are faring.  



Annette opened our morning with devotions again.
We spent a bit of time doing some "soaking" prayer.  Annette and I prayed over the group for a short time.     


I found out what the winter coats were used for.  When we got up, I found them draped over our chairs, and on the backs of them were words like the one above. We were to wear these coats for a time, and think about the word that was on our coat.  Made for some great conversations during breakfast.   


Breakfast was once again delicious.  Cinnamon rolls and croissants and yogurt.  Yummy food once again.     


Zach really seems to like his new coat.  No Zach, you don't get to keep it.   


Everyone was hungry this morning and we went through the food quite quickly.   


Here you see Annette praying over an individual.   


Even after our coats were taken off, several people kept the words on their backs.  Cool to see.   


Valerie caught under the rainbow.   


For church this morning, we needed to get the fellowship hall ready for the service. The mentors and participants decided they would be greeters for the morning.  Here's John getting ready.   


He did a great job, as did the others.   


Worship began at 10 am.  Jonathan is jamming with Alex.   



I always find the worship of SERVE to be one of the highlights (trust me, there are many more).  Music is such a powerful medium, and for our participants it is even more so.  I know I said it before, but it's worth repeating.  I love watching everyone praising God.  Tyler is into the groove of worship.   


Zachary is having a good time as well.   



This morning's service was a team effort.  
I opened things up...




Jane, our summer interim candidate, did the middle portion, .....


...and  Mark preached the Word.  A nice mix.   



 Here you see the SERVE group being commissioned by Jane, and the congregation. A nice thing to watch.  



Back to music, and John playing the drum.  He couldn't bring his own, unfortunately, so I'm hoping this is an adequate substitute.   


 Zach and Kyle love playing for the services.  


At the end of our service we sang,
"My friends may you grow in grace..." 
all lifting joined hands during the chorus.  I love this song, and I love doing it this way.  A sign of unity.  


John playing and lifting his hands in worship.  : )  



Joel and Alex.  Guitar buddies.  


Chris is our drummer, as you may or may not know.  He seems to be really into his role at the moment....or he may have just seen me as I woke up this morning....not sure.  : )  


Shawn and Justin.  Buds.   


Chris needs more sleep.   


Joy talking with Tyler.  Tyler can carry a conversation for a VERY long time.  : ) 



John and Lucy.  
Catching up.   



Mark is a great guy, and it was time for hug of encouragement...but we only try to give sideways hugs.  


Now, I'm not completely sure what Joanna was doing here in this picture.  Looks like she's praying, but this isn't really her prayer "style" so maybe she wanted to ask me a question and was trying to get my attention.... : ) 




Today, we had two birthdays.  
Chris and Anne. 
We sang them happy B-day, but Chris needed a little help with the smile.   


I got to hold Colton for a time.  
A cute kid. 
Looks JUST like his brother.  Apparently I make funny faces when I hold a baby...and thankfully they didn't make it into this blog.  


Hmmmm.  
Seems Jonathan can make those funny faces too.   
Something not going so well during Small Group time? 


Amy working with Jordana during small group time. 
Amy is a bit of a quiet person but she's opening up here at SERVE.  Nice to see.  



Rachel is one of our small group leaders.  
She's doing an amazing job, as I knew she would.   



Jessica and Jessica getting things done during small group time.  



Kyle looks very stylish today.   


Steven and Shawn. 
They are getting along quite well this week.   



Valerie and Lisa are hitting it off quite good too.  Lisa is a hoot.  : )  



Small group time.  



During small group time I was able to snag a 20 minute nap.  Much needed, as I began to feel quite tired after the morning service.  Chris, obviously, was able to grab a picture of my nap time.  I am sharing my room with Colton, so maybe during one if his nap times, I'll be able to nap with him.  : ) 



After lunch and small group time, it was time to head for the museum of agriculture, a working farm.  It started to rain, which wasn't the greatest, but we all needed a shower anyway, so this was more like a pre- emptive shower for us all.  Except for Colton, who was sheltered from the elements.  



Tyler loved the farm and petting the goats and sheep.  



We split our group into 2, and this is our group.  We had a 1.5 hour guided tour, which I had never done before, nor knew could be done.  Our guide was fabulous.  


A great looking sheep......no, that's a goat....sheesh... 



Alex petting the sheep, no that could be a goat too....oh my..... : )    



I'm not sure if Steven liked petting the animals, but he sure didn't enjoy the smell.   



Sarah and Kyle walking in the rain between buildings.  



One of the many cows we saw.  At the end of this blog, I hope to show a cute little thing that Chris put together.  Stay tuned....I hope.  



Becca taking her own pictures of all the animals.  


Lisa, and others, got the chance to brush a calf.   



Rachel just LOVES animals.  Seems this calf loves her fingers. 


Amy loved the calves as well.  


Not sure why this picture made it into the blog, but hey, guess what it is....  :?   





During the tour, Jordana needed to take a rest.  We were all tired I think. Lots of walking, but it was really interesting to hear about what happens with the animals at the working farm.  


After the farm, it was time for showers (yahoo) and then supper.  
Supper today was lasagna and salad. Dessert was fruit cups and a special snack gift from Chris' mom.  Thanks Wilma.   


Fellowship around the tables.  



After dinner, it was time for worship session #2.  
Chris loves to drum, is good at drumming and gets into his drumming as well.   



Several of the songs we do have actions to them.  Here's Rachel getting into things.  



Sarah and Lucy and Nicolette taught us actions to a favourite song.   


Ryan picked up a tambourine and enjoyed playing to the beat of the music.   


It was nice to see guests in the crowd yesterday and this evening.  


Hannah is our praise team leader.  She's doing an awesome job, though I'm not sure what she's doing here...either an action to a song, or she forgot the words to the song she was singing.....hmmmm. 


Ailene played with the team tonight because Joel and Jacob were unable to be here.  She's amazing on that violin.    




After worship, it was time for Mark to assume his role as reporter.  

I assumed my role as Mark's boss. 




 Alex helped Mark with some hints in order for Mark to get the scoop on how people can be holy, even if they aren't pastors.  



It seems that Noah (left) and his wife (right)  paid us a visit this evening.  They were a hoot and a half! 

Ailene the Panda also accompanied the Noah couple.   


Jessica and Jessica illustrated how God takes our sin upon Himself and gives us shirts that are free of sin.   



Becca enjoying our final worship set.   


After worship it was time for a craft and some game time.  It was wet outside so most of the group did the craft.  Here's Francine and Joy working on theirs together.   


Lisa is well into painting her pot.   


Bea at work making sure the small group time has all the materials it needs. She is a tireless worker, and loves what she does...makes for a great combination.  



Ryan decided that playing the game 'Sorry' was the thing to do.  It proved to be a great connecting point for Carissa and Ryan, which was great to see.  


The end result of the craft.  Looks really good.   


 Kyle and Fayth with Kyle's craft all finished.  




Me beginning my blogging time. 
Chris and Ailene did a great job again today of selecting pictures.  They have 100's more that didn't make the blog, but participants and mentors will get all of them sometime soon.  

And this brings us to the end of Day 3.  
We ended our time as mentors in the youth room, sharing our highs and lows of the day.  Really great to hear them.  

Time to let Fayth edit the blog and then see if the cow surprise will work.  

Oh it did...enjoy Chris' masterpiece.  : ) 

Until tomorrow then.........








3 comments:

John's Going To SERVE! said...

Wonderful! thank you for all your hard work! :)

Janet said...

Glad to see all the FUN! We are very Thank-ful for Serve! A HUGE Thank- you to ALL!!!

Sarah said...

Hey Dad, I know you're tired and all, but I think that you need to go back to kindergarten because you don't really know the different between a sheep and a goat.