Pool Party and Lake Day pics

Hey gang…FYI…Lake Day pics are up on our pictures page.  Also, don’t forget about the pool party on Wednesday, August 5th!  Look in the bulletin for more info.  See you there!

Lake Day and Melon Fest!

With the summer quickly (and I mean quickly) coming to an end, the CRYG is not going back to school without a fight!  This Saturday, July 25, we will be having Lake Day and Melon Fest at Marty and Dawne’s Lake House.  Meet at CRBC at 8:45 on Saturday morning.  Bring a towel, swimsuit (girls, one piece please), suntan lotion, and a change of clothes for an incredible day of fun on the lake (and some unexpected fun with watermelons!)  We will arrive back at CRBC around 6 pm that evening.  The cost is nothing…so don’t miss out!!!

4th Quarter in Baltimore

Well our mission work is over…and your children finished very strong.  We woke up this morning to pouring rains.  They continued as we drove into Baltimore, but stopped as we reached the church.  Both the landscaping team and  the drywall crew got right to work.  We finished early, and were able to enjoy a lunch at a local market just a few blocks away.  Afterwards, we toured Fort McHenry. 

This evening arrived smoothly.  Over the past few days that Baltimore rush hour had really slowed down our arrival to VBS, but today, we arrived about 45 minutes early.  Today was water war day at VBS, so we spent much time watching the kids simply soak each other with sponges and buckets.  Afterwards, your CRYG put on two hilarious skits before our time came to a close. 

The Middle River Salvation Army was very thankful for the time that CRYG spent with them over this past week.  They said that our work had made such a difference in their lives, yet little did they know just how much their group had impacted ours as well, and many of your children left the Salvation Army with teary eyes because of the love that they have for those children.  At the beginning of the week, our group was quick to keep to itself, but by the end of the week, the CRYG was scattered all over the children and youth from Middle River.  I remember watching Alex in particular tonight holding 2 little girls during our large group session while another leaned up against him.  It is quite possible that their time in his arms tonight would be the only hugs they would receive today, or this week. 

Well, we have a long day tomorrow, as well as a change of plans.  Instead of fighting the numerous people trying to get into D.C., we have instead chosen to reward the CRYG for all their hard work this week with a lake afternoon at Marty’s.  We will still be home at 7pm tomorrow night, but will be at the lake for the majority of the afternoon.  We will see you tomorrow night!

Visiting Fort McHenry

Wednesday in Baltimore

Well here we are again and i am speechless.  Literally.  I do not know where to begin because sooo much has happened today.  Guess ill start from the top.  This morning, although it was very overcast and looking like rain, we continued our work at the park, and it is really starting to look good.  The students there are quickly learning how to get the job done and are coming up with new ways to be more efficient at their work.  While this was going on, Marty, Sarah, Alex, and Micah took on a job of their own.  It seems like another youth group was in a little over their heads with doing some drywall work at the church, so they asked if our group had any expertise.  They gladly stepped up, and are pushing forward with the project.  A pic:

The ceiling fix

After our morning duties were completed, we rested up and ate lunch at the church before heading to the famed Baltimore Aquarium.  The exhibits were pretty cool, but the dolphin show was by far the best, and we had front row seats! 

In the 'Splash Zone' at the Dolphin show

Where are the pictures of the dolphins?  You’ll have to be at the Shareholders Meeting this Monday for those! 

A Baby Beluga Whale!

And now for the day’s crazies: 

1. We ran into a TON of pre-rush hour traffic after our aquarium visit, so some of your fearless chaperones trudged about a miles run in the increasingly cold and pouring rain to get to Marty’s vehicle so the van group could make it to VBS on time.  When they left the van, there was not even a drizzle, but when they reached the Suburban they were drenched.  Who knew?
2. The slap heard round the world.  I can’t elaborate here…but do be sure to ask your students about this one!
3. A few of us had the pleasure of meeting Jackson’s girlfriend.  She seems nice (and really likes pizza!)
4. Joseph’s Birthday!  (Happy Birthday Joseph!) Our lone senior turned 18 today, and with the help of Greg and Donna, we threw him a surprise party in my room after VBS.  We had some great pizza and birthday cake.  But it took some of our guests a little longer than expected to arrive for the party.  Which leads me to day crazy #5…..
5. The Great Holiday Inn Elevator Lockdown!  Well, Alex, Kevin, and Cody were late getting to the party, and we were starting to wonder where they were.  We soon found them….stuck in the elevator on our floor.  There were some of our students as well as some others standing around the elevator door talking with them trying to offer some help/advice.  And so what did i do…..?  Run for help?  Call the front desk?  Pry the doors open and save the day?  Nope…i took funny pictures with the on-lookers, thus making the most of the boys misfortune!

Joseph was offering kind and comforting words to our suffering comrades...

Quite a crowd had gathered...and if you look closely, you can see Alex, Kevin, and Cody smiling behind the stuck door!

But eventually, it was time to get them out, and our three friends were rescued after a grueling 8 minutes of suffering and pain in the stuck elevator.  How they made it without food and water no one will ever know….

Well, if you’ll notice the post time on this, you’ll know that it’s time for me to crash.  Pray for the Lord’s mercies tomorrow, and that we will finish our tasks strongly for His glory alone.

Charm City-Day 2 and “The Stack”

Well, day 2 has come and gone, but not without some great changes.  First of all, we are really making some headway on Robert Baker Park.  After diagnosing a fouled-out spark plug, we were able to get our mower running in time to cut the entire park.  We also had some mulch delivered, and since the entire team was there, we were able to get quite a few beds cleared of weeds before the mulch was put down.  To sum it up…the work is hard….but it is paying off greatly, and the community is beginning to notice!  We are set to have a community-wide block party in the park on Thursday evening, and we still have alot to do, so pray for good weather and a working spirit within us.

Weeding Robert Baker Park

After finishing up at the park, we went to Federal Hill for a picnic lunch.  We spent some time just hanging out and preparing for our evening VBS while enjoying one of the most beautiful views of the city of Baltimore. 

Takin' in the view from Federal Hill

After lunch, we had some free time before starting up our VBS.  Your students performed flawlessly to say the least.  They were cool, comfortable, and collected, and one watching them in action with these children would think that they had been at it for years.  The children attending were climbing all over our youth…and they(the CRYG) loved it!  It is great to hear them at dinner or in the van discussing the VBS’ers they interacted with…you should be very proud of them.  I know the youth council is.  And i was proud of both our youth council for their hard work up here as well as each of your students…

That was….until tonight.  For your youth AND your youth council devised and carried out a crafty scheme known as “operation stack” upon your helpless youth minister.  Here’s how it went down:  As we were finishing out our evening devotional, Kevin led us in prayer, and as soon as we closed, the YC hollered “Stack”, and your entire youth group pounced upon again your helpless, sweet, and undeserving youth minister just like a short order cook stacks pancakes one on top of the other.  In short, the entire youth group completely squished me all in good sport.  It looked something like this:

Yes, yours truly is at the bottom of that pile...hoping and praying that he will survive in order to see his baby girl come into the world...

Thanks for your prayers and notes….we love you guys, and we will check in with you tomorrow!

Charm City: Day 1

Let me begin by saying that we have an incredible group of students here this week!  I have sooo enjoyed our time together so far i do not know where to begin….soooo ill just start with the hotel’s fire alarm that went off this morning while we were at breakfast.  The chaperones and i were having our morning meeting, and when the alarm went off, we immediately begin to look for the CRYG.  Of course they were all with us, and (long story short) another student from a church in Arkansas accidentally broke the sensor in his bathroom, thus sending much water into his room! 

We began our day at the Church on Warren Ave.  The girls spent the morning serving the surrounding community by operating a mother’s morning out, where they (and Marty and Tesha) cared for 9 little children/toddlers.  The guys spent the morning cleaning up Robert Baker Park in downtown Baltimore.

Robert Baker Park

We spent the afternoon at the Baltimore Harbor.  The students split into groups and toured the area on their own while the chaperones and I took a break at a restaurant that would probably make most jealous, so it will simply remain unnamed. 

This evening, we ventured to the Middle River Salvation Army for our 1st night of VBS.  It was incredible!  Your students dove head first into something they have never attempted before…and they did great!  We had an attendance of 37, with 19 of those being teenagers. Our students were divided into teams, with one team teaching 1-3 grade, another 4-6, and another teaching youth.  By the end of the evening, the VBS attenders were clinging to the necks and hands of your students, wishing that they wouldn’t leave.  Again, it was amazing, and we cannot wait go get back!  We will follow the same schedule tomorrow, but as for now, a little R and R before some much needed rest.  Keep praying for us!

 

The Youth VBS class had to meet in the chapel b/c ther were too many for their room!

Red-Rover!

VBS at the Salvation Army

Day 1- Live from Washington/Baltimore!!!

Well, we finally made it!  We rolled into Washington, D.C. around 1:45 this afternoon and rode the Metro to the Smithsonians and the Mall area in Washington.  We were able to take a quick tour the Museum of American History before we journeyed to the Washington Monument.  The students had a blast and it seemed like they all enjoyed the museum as well as the rest of our quick tour of D.C.  A few pics…

Riding the Metro to D.C.

Washington Monument

After our quick stop in D.C. we headed up to Laurel, MD to our hotel to meet the other youth groups.  Thanks for your prayers b/c we found out that it took another youth group from NC over 10 hours to get here due to traffic accidents on the Interstate before them!  Please keep lifting us up to the Lord. 

After our orientation meeting with YOM (Youth on Mission), we had a wonderful dinner with the staff of The Church on Warren Ave.  This is the church that we will be serving during the mornings.  Afterwards, Marty led our (CRYG) devotional out of Ephesians 6, discussing the whole armor of God and how we need to be sure to make use of it this week. 

We have a very busy day tomorrow.  We hope to be in downtown Baltimore by 8:30 am to start work on the park.  We will work through lunch, then head to the Baltimore harbor for some free time before we hit our VBS tomorrow night at 5:00.  We will not be back to the hotel until 8 pm or so….which means a long day.  Pray for perseverance from our students, for we will be pouring ourselves out so serve this wonderful community.  Please pray the prayer of Paul for us today as seen in Ephesians 6.  Paul tells the saints of Ephesus to “(pray) also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel…that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”  Pray that we do so boldly in all that we do!

Keep watch for more to come.  I most likely will not have another update until tomorrow evening.  Much love!

CRYG Summer Schedule

As summer has FINALLY approached, the CRYG is starting our summer schedule.  Please note, that this schedule is a different one than we have followed in summers past.  To start off, Sundays are not affected.  We will still have our regular discipleship hour on Sunday mornings, as well as our youth group meeting on Sunday nights from 5:30-7pm.  

But Wednesdays are going to be different.  Instead of meeting every Wednesday night, we will only meet over a few Wednesdays throughout the summer for special events.  The initial Wednesday schedule can be seen on the Upcoming Events tab at the top of this page.

Keep checking back for more info… and pray for us in Baltimore!!

New Blog

Well, the time has come and i have decided to switch some things around regarding the blog.  I have started a personal blog in which i will post more personal things as well as some thoughts regarding theology.  The new blog is http://www.jpharmon.wordpress.com.  The youth blog will continue to run and its main focus will be on CRYG events.  Thanks for reading…keep visiting!

New Age Chantries

 

English Chantry

As i was listening to the radio the other day, i was surprised to hear my local country station DJ talking about the prayer that he had just purchased and had his computer say for him.  Yes…the prayer his computer said for him!  There is a new group that has come along recently called Information Age Prayer.  Their mission: To help “those who are unable to pray as frequently as they would like.” They do so by using the latest text to speech synthesizers which help them to charge any prayer purchaser the lowest rate possible for daily read prayers!  

IAP offers prayers that are, according to them, beneficial for many religions.  A good number of Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Islamic prayers are available for purchase in a variety of packages, with new prayer packages constantly being added.  For example, a Catholic can purchase a basic package containing a few simple prayers a day, or according to IAP’s website, a good Catholic can “show God they are serious” by purchasing their complete rosary package!  

IAP charges a monthly fee to daily voice prayers over the computer for those who have purchased them.  And when asked why this would work, IAP replies that since God is omniscient, He will hear all the prayers that are voiced and see the purchaser’s name on the computer screen.  And since 10% of their prayer fees go to charity, God will also see that part of one’s payment for their prayers went to a good cause and He will bless the purchaser for that as well.

Now before you go off thinking that this is the mark of the Beast or something of that order, you would do well to understand that daily purchased prayers are something that has been around for hundreds of years.  In the mid 1100’s in England, Chantries begin popping up on the side of various monasteries and churches.  They were basically small buildings where a monk or group of monks would take turns praying for wealthy individuals who would pray for prayers to be said on their behalf.  This would occur either a few times a day, or for some individuals, 24 hours a day!  And while some monks daily prayed diligently for their prayer purchasers, record has shown that some monks simply used their chantry for a mid-afternoon nap!  In the end, most chantries were destroyed in the mid-1500’s by King Henry VIII after they were not deemed as beneficial to the country.

In the same way, these online prayer services will only last for a set period of time, for prayer is personal.  And if more grace or special merit was obtained by the number of prayers that one chanted or had played aloud, i’m sure that many of us would have already had a continual loop of our prayers being played for us daily.  Thankfully, the power of prayer comes not from the one who is praying, or the amount that they pray, but from the One to whom the prayers are directed if they are being directed to God the Father through the one and only mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ!  And yes, God the Father is omniscient as IAP states, but unfortunately for them, He does not look at what comes out of the mouth (or computer speaker), or is displayed on a screen, but instead He knows that what springs from the mouth comes from the heart.  And no computer service can fix the sin that is the root of our heart problems, for only Christ can do that!