The All Nighter

Today was a fun day, got up around six thirty this morning for prayer meeting at the church. Did that and got prepared to do the message this morning for the teens. It went well from what I was told but it wasn’t me. I’m just the middle man. I took the words that God had already given me and expounding on it. Hopefully it made an impact in someone’s life today. Even if I never see it take place I sure hope that one day down the road someone will be able to come along and pick up where I left off. After church we took the graduates out to a barbeque place called City Barbeque. That was a lot of fun; we had lunch and just had a lot of fun talking about different things and laughing about old times and new times to come. After lunch I went back to my room and tried to get some sleep but that just didn’t happen. So it is now six thirty Monday morning and I’ve been up twenty four hours and still counting. I am extremely tired but it’s been worth it. Church started around six o’clock and it was the teen service so we had skits and duets done by several of the teens in the group and they did an amazing job. The copies of the skits are actually up on YouTube. The message was brought by both me and another teen in the group. It was a really great time. He spoke about trusting in God to strengthen us and that He will always provide for those that listen to Him and serve Him with all of their being. After he got done I got up and spoke about how even outcasts can be used by God and how one of the greatest outcasts out of the Bible ended up turning into a man after God’s own heart. I don’t know how well that went over because I was the one that was giving it but I think it went well. Again, hopefully God will use my words to speak to the hearts of the people in the congregation. If I don’t see any fruit during my time here I know that God will send someone to reap the harvest that He has laid forth for them. After the services we had our monthly Sunday night after church (SNAC) night and it was a blast. We had sandwiches, cake, watermelon and so much more and I’m so thankful for the ladies that provided and put forth the effort so that we were able to have such a good time. After we ate we played noodle hockey which is a weird game where you have a ball and pool noodles and you try to get the ball into the goal. It was strangely a lot of fun and the teens really loved it. After that we played slam ball or kill as they call it here. Slam ball is a game where a group of people stand in a circle and pass volleyball back and forth and try to hit someone in the middle on the third hit. It’s a lot of fun but can be really dangerous. We played that for a good while and finally it was time for all the girls to leave and the guys to start chilling as we started our all nighters. That was a blast in of itself. We played pool video games a weird version of hide and seek and basketball. It was just an awesome time that I got to spend with a few guys from the youth group. Now the morning is slowing coming to a close and I’m completely exhausted. My body, my mind, and most importantly my head are all saying bed time so hopefully I’ll get to go to bed pretty soon if I don’t all well at least I’ll get a chance to try to sleep whether it works or not is still up in the air. The greatest thing I’m learning from my time in Ohio is that people are so alike. It doesn’t matter if you’re from the north the south the east or the west. We’re all the same and we’re all God’s children. He watches over us, protects us, and comforts us. I’m so thankful for such a loving Father, Friend, and God. He is truly blessing me this summer with memories that will last a lifetime, and lessons that will always be applicable.