Me & Marvin

He couldn't seem to find his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator....
Marvin has long been my favorite Looney Tune...

At Six Flags?!?!?

Yes. They make it fresh here. It's not the best sushi, but it's decent.

Batman!

One word to describe Batman: "INTENSE!" I liked it, but not twice in a
row, so here's the other three in my group riding.

Her first character picture!

Tonya is soooo excited to have her picture taken with a character!

Magic Mountain

Of course, the biggest flaw with Magic Mountain is (or always has in
past years) that like Disneyland, the "Magic Kingdom," they have NO
MAGIC SHOWS!!! :-(
To me, that's sort of false advertising. But either way, we've got a
full, every seat occupied trip.
It's going to be a fun (although long & hot) day. And believe it or
not, sushi for lunch. There's a place next o Colossus that makes fresh
sushi.
More to come...

The after...

Justin & Justin enjoying their first ever In-N-Out Burger!

The Face of Team Spirit

So Ben is definitely the front-runner in spirit. He comes with his
face deorated different every day.

BicycleBicycle!!

We're getting ready for Bicycle Day!!

Ready for Synchro Bikes!!

Here's the arial view where we'll be judging the Synchro Bikes from
tonight.

Team Tango!

Now THIS is team spirit!!!

Mudpit Madness

We're in final stages of getting the mudpit ready. It's going to be a
chaotic fun time tonight!!!'

Dragonista

A little fun after the conference is over...

Kajabe in Action

If you've never played Kajabe, this will only give you a little taste
of what it's like..... (it MUST be experienced)

Getting ready to head out

Kajabe!

Day Two

Ben is ready for Kajabe tonight!!!

Digging the Mudpit

The Mudpit is Coming!!!

The digging of the mudpit has begun! We're getting ready for an
exciting day of Mudpit Madness tomorrow! Benny is working hard to dig our pit! If you're in Middle School, don't miss out on this one!

Worship @ MS Conf

Here's a little sample of worship at MS Conference this week. So far
it's been an awesome conference! The HS Sudents are doing an AMAZING
job leading the rec. I'm so impressed with our HS Students!!!!

Conference is Here!!!

We're ready for a great week!!!! The High School students are the Team
Leaders for MSC (Middle School Conference). Obviously they're pumped
and excited about it!!'

So blessed!

How often do we forget how much God has blessed us? Do we constantly meditate on the Gospel and what it means for us? At least once a day (usually way more than once) someone asks me "how are you today?" C.J. Mahaney has probably the best answer for that question. More and more I'm using his answer.The answer is: "better than I deserve!" Thats such a great answer! It's not only a great response, but it reminds me that while I deserve death, punishment, and God's wrath, I won't receive any of that.Because Jesus suffered and died and took God's wrath in my place, I stand righteous (in Him) before God. That's definitely way more than I deserve.Yet all too often, I don't really think about that. Even working as a Pastor at a church, I get distracted by all the "things" that have to be done.So the next time someone asks you "How are you today?" let it be a reminder of everything God has done for you. It starts with salvation.The list of all the other stuff is no doubt very long too.
For me, that's where it starts. The list goes on. I was reminded yesterday of one more thing on the list. How amazing is it that God has blessed me to live and work here in beautiful Southern California. Have you been to the beach recently? It's so peaceful and beautiful. There's a song titled "Ocean" by Ten Shekel Shirt that says "there's something about the ocean that reminds me of your faithfulness" We live in such a beautiful area. Take some time the next time you're out to look around and remind yourself not only where God has blessed you to live, but also of how amazing He is. We definitely get so much more than we deserve!

Rob
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World Changers!

So we're inundated with over 200 students this week here to work &
share the Gospel with 10 families here in Highland. Pray for them as
they serve and share.

Video Blog Test

So if you can see the above video, it works! There will be much more
to come. Stay tuned!

Loading step 1

So the weapons carrier is loaded up with our luggage. Once we get two
more vehicles loaded up, we'll head down & put it all on the bus and
head down the hill!!!!
(I'm definitely sad to leave, but will be glad to get home)

Circle of Life

There's really no way to adequately describe this...

Week 4

Here's the whole camp.

Barbecued Tri-Tip

So tonight's dinner was amazing! I'm definitely going to come home
weighing more than when I left in spite of all the climbing up and
down the hills.
I definitely eat waaaay better at Wildwood than I do at home.
P.S. - the pizookie is still yet to come.

Prayer Partners

So we have prayer partners this week up Herr. Each studnt drew a name
and is praying for that person through the week. This afternoon, we
revealed who our prayer partners were. This is Tyler, one of our
incoming seniors sharing about his prayer partner.

GI

This is Kristina on the swing. She made it across every time. We had
to swing about 35 people over a pit of "molten lava" and then back.

Solo Time

A couple of the students doing their Bible Study during Solo Time

Final morning meeting

We're about to head out for our final Solo Time of the week. We're
studying Philippians 2:17-18 this morning.

Still cleaning

Cleaning the giant thing that cooks eggs for 120 people...

Dishes

Don't let your student tell you they can't do dishes. Every studet
here jas helped with dishes at least once this week. These guys are
cleaning up our breakfast dishes.

I pledge allegiance..

We raise the flag and say the pledge & pray for our country every
morning. There is definitely an emphasis on how blessed we are as a
country. Mixed in with all the rest of the things we've been learning
this week, I think our students have really come to see some things in
a new way this week.

And Ciara Gets the plunger!!

Ciara receiving the servant of the day award. Note Jeremy & Jesse
behind her, who also got the plunger. The plunger recipient is chosen
by fellow students. Quite an honor!

Yikes!

They're even scarier close up! (sorry, these end up posting in reverse
chronological order)

The Aftermath

So there's this "mudpit" up at Huckleberry Meadow where the bike ride
goes...

The Ruins

So yesterday our team had GI. We did the one called "The Ruins." It
took us a couple of tries, and we didn't complete the task, but we did
learn quite a bit. It was a really good day.

Bike Ride

So one of the cool things about Wildwood is the bike ride. It's a
pretty intense climb up to Huckleberry Meadow but an amazing ride back
down.

Ruben takes the Plunger!

Each evening, the Golden Plunger is awarded. Ruben received the award
tonight.
After a genuinely authentic International Dinner, we headed down for
our worship time. A young man from South Africa (whose name I can't
pronounce, much less spell) spoke. He is defintely a young man of
passion for Christ. He is involved in an organization that ministers
to children in Africa.
Topped off with some great worship led by Bryan, it was a great day.

What I like about Wildwood...

Well, the list is certainly quite long, but one of the main things I
like about Wildwood is how laid back and relaxed it is. The pace is so
different from daily life. One of the great benefits of the slow pace
is the ability to have really deep conversations about the Gospel and
all that it means for our lives.
I just got to spend almost an hour with one of our students really
explaining the Gospel to him. It was a great conversation and we're
definitely going to talk more.
Be praying for all of the adults up here. One of our goals is to spend
one-on-one time with each student so pray that we are able to have the
conversations we need to have.
Pray for:
Ken, Dominic, April, Tonya, Jenna, & Me.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Joshua Tour

Some of us are headed over for a tour of Joshua. Joshua is a 9 month
intensive discipleship/missions program that Hume offers.

Aloha from Wildwood

Hanging out at Wildwood.
Dominic, Bader, Nathan, & Davis.

"The most fun I've had all week!"

Today was work day for my tribe. I'm really proud of my students. We
worked all around camp picking up trash, washing cars, raking pine
needles, digging up rocks, and pulling grass & weeds out of the rocks
(pictured). Not once did I hear or even sense a complaint. The
students were just going with the flow and working and talking and
singing (a few Disney songs thanks to the iPhone).
One student commented "this is the most fun I've had all week!" and I
didn't even detect any sarcasm.
In all, a great morning.
Dinner will be interesting. We're all skipping lunch today. 60% of the
world only has one meal a day. 25% has no sustainable food source.
20% of the world (the US and Great Britain mostly) has 60% of the
food. We have no idea what that is like. Today isn't a fast, but just
going without a meal to give us a tiny taste of what that is like. Be
sure and ask your student about it. There's something specific going
on during dinner that will further reinforce this.
The week is defintely going great so far. Three of our students have
memorized Romans 12 so far.
Keep us in prayer as we continue through the week.
Rob

Our Luxurious Accomodations

Here's a picture of one of the tents. Inside, there are bunks for 10
people and actually, they're pretty nice. They're more spacious than
most of he cabins I've stayed in at other camps.

Shh... It's a Secret!

Another thing we do at camp is the whole Prayer partner thing. Each
student and adult coming to camp draws a secret prayer partner. Each
day, they pray for their prayer partner and write them a note of
encouragement.
At the end of the week, we reveal who our prayer partner was, share
something that we saw in them during the week, and pray for them out
loud with eyes open. It's a really different type of prayer
experience, but a great one. I'm deinitely looking forward to that time.
As you pray for our students this week, pray that they begin to grow
in their praying for one another through the whole Prayer Partner
scenario.
(the picture above is Ben Johnson writing his prayer partner a note)

Extra Mattresses?

So today we'll be searching the other tents for extra mattresses. I've
been going to Youth Camp as either a Youth Pastor or a chaperone since
1992. Last night, way in the middle of the night, there was a "first."
So I'm sleeping peacefully when a loud thunk next to me wakes me up.
It's not 100% dark in my tent so I can see just a little bit. I see
one of the students crouched on the floor next to my bunk. After a
second or two I realize what's going on... He fell out of his top bunk
while sleeping. He was ok, but seemed a little disoriented and
confused as to why he fell.
I'm sure there will be a further investigation today. We'll be
checking for spare mattresses to put next to his bed after breakfast
today.
And who knows, maybe we'll do an interview with him and try & see
exactly what happened.
Yesterday was a great day. Some of the really good spiritual
conversations are beginning to happen. Keep me abd the adults in
prayer as we seek to help our students have a great week growing in
love, knowledge, and discernment. Be praying Phil. 1:9-11 for them.
More to come...
Rob
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