December/January--Cold Days Make For Great Campaigner Weekends Away!

Although the winter temperatures are bitter cold, the smiles and stories from Rockbridge warm the heart.  Dozens of teens from Floyd who attended Fall Weekend in mid-November experienced intense fun, new friendships, and eye-opening talks about the character of Jesus. The great news is that all the camping adventures can be had again this summer at Rockbridge, June 3-8, 2014. That’s one way to get warm... think about sunny Rockbridge in June where kids from Floyd and areas all over Virginia will be having the best week of their lives! Deposits can be made starting in February to confirm a spot, so plan camps and vacation around Young Life Camp! 
Speaking of scheduling, winter is a break from Club for leaders and staff to focus on Campaigner opportunities and there are MANY coming up (see dates below)!  Club will resume in mid-late February, but campaigner meetings resume this month. A campaigner dinner this Sunday (the 12th) 5-7 pm will be at the Grim House at 1419 Old Furnace Rd. Floyd, Va 24091 to discuss new semester plans and best times to hold Campaigners this spring--so please stay posted about set timing for Campaigners after that dinner Sunday. 

Growing & Exciting Opportunities for Campaigners to Serve: We encourage Campaigners to attend one (or all!) of the following opportunities to serve, lead, grow in their personal faith, and enjoy fellowship. “Work Crew” is designed especially for high school students, however, traditionally “Prayer Overnight” and “Committee Leader Weekend” have only been attended by leaders. We will extend the invitation this year to Campaigners who are excited & ready to grow through these opportunities to sit through seminars and talks with leaders & staff. Unlike campaigner meetings and club in which every kid is welcomed at the drop of a hat, we would need to know in advance if your child in interested in attending any of the below weekends. 
Opportunities in the upcoming weeks include:

• Work Crew Weekend January 17-19 at Rockbridge Alum Springs Camp: Students get to serve campers from other areas alongside their leaders and camp staff to get meals on the table, grounds cleaned, etc, etc. It’s hard but rewarding work to serve the needs of campers attending that weekend. Many teens say Work Crew is even more fun that attending Rockbridge as a camper because they are able to help others. We would leave Floyd late Friday evening the 17th and return Sunday afternoon around 1 pm. The cost is $15 with all meals included. If your child would like to participate, we need to know by this Monday, Jan 13th. Teens needs to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, Bible, journal, and warm clothes.  
• Prayer Overnight January 31-February 2nd: Leaders, Staff, & Student Leaders will attend a retreat at Rockbridge joined by leaders & staff all over the state of Virginia for a time of directed prayer for the mission of Young Life and for schools across Virginia. Prayer Overnight is very meaningful and focused on prayer. Similar to the above, we leave later Friday and return by 3 pm on Sunday the 2nd. The cost is $45 to attend, and the packing list is the same as above.  
• Leader Committee Weekend (LCW) February 28-March 2nd. This weekend is in Richmond and will host every leader and Young Life committee person in the state of Virginia for encouraging talks, informative seminars on leadership, and opportunities to serve in downtown Richmond. We leave Floyd by 3 pm Friday the 28th and return at 6 pm on Sunday. Parents can find out more information directly about LCW, but we encourageonly sophomores, juniors, and seniors to pursue this opportunity.  
  

November Update

     A busy month has passed, but an even busier month is coming up! Thrift Shop Club was our most exciting club so far this semester. Kids were encouraged to get a group of friends together to hit the local thrift stores such as Angels in the Attic or the more well-known Goodwills throughout the NRV. Kids showed up, some in crazy outfits, others in what they wore to school that day and were pleased to find tons of donated clothes that they could have their pick of to find their perfect outfit for the night. We had boys v. girls relay races and the kids with the best outfit won the highly sought after “Golden Shoe” lamp as a prize (pictured below). Kevin shared the power of Jesus by talking about him calming the storm and applying that to what that means in our lives. 

Bryce Altizer wins costume contest

     It has been a fun semester of clubs, games and relationships deepening between kids and leaders. The next half of the semester should be even more exciting! Here’s a look at what’s coming up in YL:

*November 4th- Fall Weekend Sign-Up Night at El Charro, 6:30-8 pm: If your child wants to go to Fall Weekend and you, as a parent, would like more information please drop by Nov. 4th or call Kevin Parkhurst- 540-250-5708

*November 11th- “Country” Club 6:45 pm at the Clubhouse: 

*November 15-17: FALL WEEKEND!! At Rockbridge Young Life Camp

*November 25th- 2nd Annual FEAST Club! 6:45 at the Clubhouse

*Campaigners: Every Thursday at 7 at the Clubhouse

Floyd Young Life has hit the ground running…literally!

On September 16, Floyd YL had its first club of the new school year! We participated in a new version of “Couch-O-Rama” that we named “Kiddie-Pool-O-Rama.” The night consisted of 6 teams of 7 to 12 kids, each team had its own un-inflated kiddie pool that they were required to bring around town and take pictures of their team IN their pool at various checkpoints. Some of these checkpoints included in a pick-up truck bed, next to the cow outside of Harvest Moon, and with a FCHS teacher or coach that might happen to be in town. It was a ton of fun running around town like crazy people trying to help our teams win, but I think what most of the kids and leaders enjoyed the most was the opportunity to forget about whatever was on our minds or bothering us as we all showed up to clubhouse in the basement of the State Farm building in town that night. After the adrenaline rush of running around town while simultaneously trying to blow up our inflatable pools, we returned to the clubhouse for the rest of club where we sang a few songs then heard a message from Morgan about Jesus spending time with sinners and how he is totally not who we would expect and is someone worth hearing more about! 

Kids sing in Clubroom, some still in their kiddie pools!

Heres what is happening with Young Life for the next month:

CLUB

September 30: YL Club, meet at the clubhouse at 6:45 pm

October 14: Dodgeball Club! Location TBA

October 28: YL Club, meet at the clubhouse at 6:45 pm

CAMPAIGNERS:

Campaigners will be every Thursday night at 7 o’clock at the Grims’ home: 1419 Old Furnace Road

Bowl-A-Thon

      On March 28th-29th Floyd YL took about 140 8th-12th grade students to an annual all-night bowling event called Bowl-A-Thon. It was a crazy night that started with the biggest Young Life Club that Floyd has had all semester, with at least 130 kids showing up to sing songs, play games and simply have fun together. At the end of club Kevin shared with everyone there the story of the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethsaida in chapter 5 of the Gospel of John. He shared how God created us to have Him as the center of our lives, and that even though we fill our lives with countless other things, he still loves us and calls us to be the people we were created to be! After club, all 130+ of us went on to Grace Baptist Church where the church members prepared an incredible meal for us. We had a great time of hanging out and eating together before we all loaded up onto the bus again and headed to NRV Bowl in Christiansburg. 

      We arrived in Christiansburg just before midnight and geared up for 6 hours of bowling, arcade games, and billiards, but most importantly, we had ample time for our volunteer leaders to deepen relationships with the numerous kids who had never come out to any Young Life event before. The whole purpose for Bowl-A-Thon was to take kids out of their usual routine and get a chance to be with kids in a new environment. We had a great time together (with very few people sleeping through the night on the bowling alley floor) and I’m sure everyone in attendance spent the rest of their Good Friday sleeping!!

Spring Club Begins!

Above, kids start club with Paper/Rock/Scissors-Under-Over (Loser joins line, through winner's legs!) 

At the first Club of the Spring 2013, or maybe it's still winter...  a mixed crowd of kids from all over the social spectrum and grade-range gathered together to laugh, to sing, to hear about a love that isn't based on performance or behavior but on the endless compassion of Jesus Christ.  Kevin read the story of Zaccheus and told kids at the closing of Club, "That is the kind of love we'll be talking about this semester!"  "That" is the kind of love that changes lives, and communities, and relationships.  "That" is the kind of love that welcomes kids of all kinds. "That" is the kind of love that reaches out and restores goodness to our broken world.  "That" love is from Jesus.  Pray that kids understand their worth & the love the Father has for them as they show up, laugh, and listen each week to a message of "that love."

Work Crew Weekend 2013!

       This past weekend, Jan 18-20, Staff Associate Kevin Parkhurst, and a few of the volunteer leaders took about 20 Floyd students to Rockbridge to do Work Crew. This meant that they volunteered their weekend to serve other kids who were having the best weekend of their life on a Wyldlife Winter Weekend. They worked in the Dining Hall, setting tables, serving each meal, cleaning the tables after meals and then setting them all over again. It was an awesome weekend, and the kids that were on Work Crew were so encouraged in their faith as they sacrificed their own weekend so others could have a great time. The idea behind Work Crew is that we would all be non-verbally communicating the gospel to the campers, as Jesus said in Matt. 20:28 "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many," as a work crew the kids did all they could to be an example of that verse and a reflection of Jesus Christ all weekend. The kids worked their tails off, but none of them regretted it. One of the kids who came, Josh, said at one point: "I would rather work here all the time than have a job that I get a paycheck, the pay off for this work is WAY better than any paycheck or amount of money I could have earned!" It truly was a fantastic weekend of serving others and the hope is everyone came home changed. That all who went trust Jesus a bit more than they did before!  

Merry Christmas!

          Trevor King, 9th grader at FCHS, was the victor of the first Young Life Mr. Elf Christmas Pageant last night! This"Android Elf," in android character all night, was the landslide winner!  Amidst all the laughter & excitement of the pageant, the highlight of the night for everyone was hearing from Randall Hale, as he shared his testimony to over 150 attenders.  "There is nothing like the love of Jesus," Randall shared as he explained that he felt empty in his quest to find full life in golf and video games a year ago.  "I first came to Young Life because there was a girl there I liked... but it was the talks at the end that really got me."  Randall shared that it was a year ago today, December 4th, that he started a relationship with Jesus at Fall Weekend (Young Life Camp), and how he's experienced a full and purposed-filled life since then.  Randall and others share their story in this video also shared last night: CLICK HERE FOR YOUNG LIFE VIDEO!

        As we're winding down to the last 2 Clubs of 2012, we still eagerly expect that kids, "being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" Ephesians 3:17-18.