Harps Youth

Blume 2011 - Arrived home!

2011-07-18T12:39:00.002-04:00

We arrived home a little after midnight last night. Thank you God for this week and the amazing opportunity to go and be with all the teen girls that share common interest. Thank you God for the work you have begun in us and through us this week, help us to stay on task with living a life according to your call FEARLESSLY~~

Blume - Saturday and The Magic Kingdom :)

2011-07-17T03:25:00.003-04:00

Closing session for Blume was amazing!! Great way to end the conference!! We were able to hear from other Missionaries and one girl that was 20 years old who had been rescued from Russia when she was 10. God has began a good work here at BLUME and the challenge there is to take it home and live it out FEARLESSLY!!! 2 Timothy 1:7 After closing session we had lunch and YES headed to the Magic Kingdom!! We had a great day of fun and fellowship, thank you God for "girl time" and relationships that are being built!! As you can tell by the time... we closed down the Magic Kingdom and the girls all had a great time! Heading to bed now, Disney Hollywood Studios in the morning and then to Fayetteville. So thankful for each of you and the prayers and encouragement you have been sending our way :)

Blume - Friday

2011-07-15T21:38:00.006-04:00

There is only one word for today... WOW!! My heart and mind are so full with so many things that I have seen, heard and learned today! God is good and Praise the Lord He is not finished with me yet!! Let me try to give you an overview, we went to Epcot this morning and did activities there to help us learn more about the G3 motto of Acteens. The power of 1 girl to change the world!! Where does the 3 come in? One girl and her relationship with Christ, her ability to impact the girl next door as well as across the world. How awesome is that!! God is good! How did we do this today? We worked at Epcot on the girls made them think about themselves and the differences in them and girls across the world... the BIG picture here, there are some real similarities! Then we worked on how they can influence change and somethings they can do. Our verse for the week has been 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control." God help us use the power YOU have equipped us with to impact the Kingdom ALL for your GLORY!!! Tomorrow is morning sessions and then off to Magic Kingdom for our free time. I know rough life :) Thank you God for the FUN let us shine our light for you!!

Blume -Thursday Night

2011-07-14T22:49:00.002-04:00

Wanted to post and let you know how AMAZING worship was tonight and the Story concert. Never heard of Story until tonight but what an amazing group of women living for the Lord and setting an great example for these young girls. Got to spend some time with them afterwards and it was cool!!

BLUME 2011

2011-07-14T18:40:00.006-04:00

We are having an incredible time here in Orlando, FL at BLUME 2011, formerly known as the National Acteens Conference. We arrived yesterday (sorry for the delay in updating, there were some connection issues) and have had a packed schedule. We had an amazing worship time last night and heard from North American Missionaries. We were able to meet the lady that started the first National Acteens Conference as a college student, that was pretty cool. Also, we have worship leader Cindy Johnson who has been great and guest speaker Chandra Peele. Chandra is an author of some very good books for teen girls. If you have never heard of her I encourage you to check out her books. Today has been packed with conferences, break out sessions and Bible study. Some of these have taught us more about Missions and God's command to go out and share the gospel. While others have challenged us to grow in our faith and be REAL. I mean you can't share what you don't have, and you can't be passionate about someone you don't know!! If you want to see the world through GOD'S eyes you have to get into the word so you will know what He sees!! Coolest thing so far was getting to write our name on a canvas respresenting the tree of life. How humbling and awesome!!The girls are all doing well and having a great time. Only one complaint "There is not enough time to go to EVERY session and the sessions are so good they don't want to choose". That is a great problem to have!! Thank you all so much for following us, praying for us and sending us encouragement. We are truly blessed to be here to learn more about Missions, ourselves and a passion and desire to be part of God's plan!! We are heading to worship now, and then a concert by the group Story. Tomorrow we go to Epcot to the YES program this is an educational program to help us learn about others around the world. Pray for safety and as you might have guessed it is HOT so pray for health. There are 2300 girls + leaders here from all over the US. So pray that everywhere we go, everyone we see will see Christ in us!!

Home Sweet Home

2011-07-09T08:52:00.002-04:00

We made it back to Atlanta last night about 8:30!

Thanks so much for your prayers! It was a great trip and a great experience, especially for the students. I am sure you will be hearing more about it in the weeks to come!

Thursday

2011-07-07T11:05:00.003-04:00

Well today was our last day at our work site. There were many sad American students and also many sad people in the camp that hated to see us leave. All it all it was a great few days of ministering. The Gospel was shared through drama, one on one (or group), and through our time and fellowship. I had the opportunity with one of our translators today to share with 5 men at the camp for over 2 hours. It looks like the JW's (jehova's witness) have been in the camp a few times as well and really caused a lot of confusion. So we spent some time answering questions and then flat out sharing the Gospel. It was a great opportunity to share but with these folks being so poor they feel like they have to steal and beg for $ to make it and since they know that is wrong it makes it tougher for them to want to accept Christ as they know what the right thing to do is. we of course walked through this with them and they understood as best as possible. Tim (pictured below by himself) is the IMB missionary here and will be following up.

We are now about to head to worship the dinner. Then we will be back to pack and go to sleep. We will leave in the morning at 5:30a.m. (Rome time) to catch our flight. Therefore this will probably be the last time I blog before we get home. And just a reminder parents (or whoever is picking up your student) be sure and be on time and you can also check the flight online to make sure it is on time. But again please be on time as you can imagine we are all tired (Good Tired) and ready to be home!

Oh and I also blogged a second time on Wed (after the Coliseum and Paul's prison so be sure to check that out).

Praise be to GOD for HE has done great things!

Wednesday Part 2

2011-07-06T17:46:00.003-04:00

A trip to the Coliseum and Paul's Prison deserved a second post today. For me the most incredible thing I have seen since I have been here is Paul's Prison. It was nothing fancy and I am sure it has changed some since many years ago but simply being there and also taking it in context with God's Word was incredible! The Coliseum was great as well, we have a team picture there that we will receive later.

Now off to bed as it's almost midnight here!!!

Wednesday

2011-07-06T10:37:00.002-04:00

Well it's almost 5:00pm here in Rome and we are back from our work day. Another full day as we were able to have some great talks with kids, teenagers, and adults today about Christ! Some were really open and really had a lot of questions. We also had a lot of fun with the kids that included Bible stories, jump rope, salvation bracelets, and more.

We just got back and have a "free night" tonight. So we are going to dinner and then to see the Coliseum and also Paul's prison. Many of use have been looking forward to this all week.

Continue to pray as tomorrow is our last "work day." Pray that God would give us direction on what we need to do and opportunities to continue to share.

Here are some of the pictures from today. Everyone is doing great!

Tuesday

2011-07-05T11:33:00.003-04:00

Well today was a full day. I think I forgot to mention that our site is about an hour bus ride (longer depending on traffic and wait time) away from where we are staying. Sometimes we get so sit all the way and sometimes we stand just depends on how full the bus is. We left here this morning at 9:00 and arrived about 10:30. We then were able to stay and work in the camp for about 5 hours. We played soccer, basketball, did dramas, balloons, sang songs, and told Bible stories. We had well over 100 kids today. They loved playing with us and those that could used us to practice their English.

We have 3 more days. Pray that their will be some opportunities to share the gospel. The parents are often there much of the day as well so we can share with them to. Also pray that as we are being the hands and feet of Christ God's love will be revealed to them.

I have added some more pictures. The one with the bed is my room (and typical of all the rooms). And did I mention no AC? It's all good though as we are mainly in here to sleep and by the time we get to bed it doesn't matter what temperature it is as everyone is so tired after a full day! All is well and thanks for the comments I have been sharing them with the group.

Monday

2011-07-04T16:28:00.002-04:00

Happy 4th of July!!!!! We saw a few Americans today that wished us a Happy 4th. Being in Rome is great but there is no place like the United States.

Today we were able to engage the people we are ministering to this week. Yesterday the would not let us in to the camp (although all the paperwork had been filled out). They wanted more so we got what they wanted today and still almost didn't let us in. After they figured we were going to be persistent and were there to help they let us in. Best way to describe it is government housing at it's LOWEST. These people live all around trash and some live in their vans that they also use to go back to forth to town.

However we had about 100 kids today playing soccer, duck duck goose, listening to Bible stories (through translator) and other opportunities. Please pray they will be open to hear the Word and that the enemy not have his way in any shape, form, or fashion.

It's bed time!!!!!

Sunday

2011-07-03T16:51:00.003-04:00

Today we had worship as a group and then went and saw the Pope speak. That was...interesting, words can describe later. We later went to see the group we will be working with. We will start tomorrow with more pics and stories to come. All is well and we for sure sleep good at night! That's where I am heading!

Friday and Saturday

2011-07-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

When we got to bed last night we all CRASHED and everyone slept pretty well. Today was a tour day as we went to the Vatican Museum and also St. Peters. It was incredible and later in the week we will be seeing other historic sites. Tomorrow we will go to church and also do some training to prepare us for our site work that starts Monday (we visit the place tomorrow). All is well and everyone is doing great. Here are a few pics from today!

We Made It!!!!

2011-07-01T10:15:00.002-04:00

We made it!!! We are now in Rome and it's 4:15 local time! We are about to head to dinner and then a little training and sightseeing. Everyone is doing great and no one got sick on the plane and all the flights were great. I hope to blog as often as possible but may not have as much internet access as I had hoped. Since we are going out tonight I will have pictures on the next post!!! Thanks 4 praying for us and for God to do a mighty work!

Munich!

2011-07-01T02:20:00.003-04:00

Sitting in the Munich airport as our flight for Rome leaves in one hour. Right now it's 8:20am Munich time (2:20 am GA time). Flight was great. Hope to put up some pictures and blog tonight assuming I have internet

International Bound

2011-06-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

Sitting in Charlotte airport waiting for our flight to Germany to leave (5:30). Its a 9 hour flight so we will fly through the night. Thanks 4 the prayers!

ATL airport

2011-06-30T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here in atl airport about to head to charlotte. From there to Munich, then Munich to Rome. Will be in Rome at 11:30am Rome time, 5:30am GA time.

Italy Team... Ready set GO!!!

2011-06-30T11:18:00.003-04:00

Italy team left Harp's this morning around 10:00, they will catch their first of three flights a little after noon. Please continue to pray for the team as they will not make it to Rome until tomorrow. Continue to follow the blog as Chris will be updating hopefully daily.

Ready or Not

2011-06-29T22:08:00.002-04:00

Here we go. Heading to Rome, Italy tomorrow with 6 others. We would appreciate your prayers. You can follow what's going on here and see some of the sights that we will see. Here is the team:

Morgan Byne
Molly McBride
Kerith Helms
Natalie Tripp
Olivia Webb
Angela Hill
Chris Watson

Feel free to make comments and I will share them with the group! All you need is an account (and it's free an easy).

South Carolina Team~Home sweet home!!

2011-06-25T20:42:00.001-04:00

Arrived back in Fayetteville a little before lunch today. The Students and Adults all had a great week! We are so blessed to have had this opportunity this week to be the hands, feet and voice of Christ. May we continue to be passionate about meeting the needs of others in His name!! Thank you all so much for your prayers, love and support this week, it was a real encouragement!

South Carolina Day 5

2011-06-24T22:55:00.003-04:00

Last work day, "most" of the work is finished :)!! Worship tonight was another amazing night of students and adults being moved to prayer and worship at the alter. It is a hard night, probably the hardest as we say goodbye to new friends. We are having fellowship time until 11:00 to give the students time to exchange contact information. This week has changed lives and God will continue to work in our lives and the lives of those impacted this week, even after we leave South Carolina. Safe travels to everyone headed out!!

South Carolina Day 4

2011-06-23T22:48:00.003-04:00

Today was LONG, HARD and BUSY!! Many crews trying to get their job completed. However, the good news we had a couple of rain showers come through and things cooled off a little. We took our students to Chick-Fil-A for ice cream and devotion after worship and had a sweet time of sharing and challenging them to share their faith and be ready when God gives us the opportunity to serve, go, do... Pray for the teams to finish strong tomorrow and for God to get ALL the glory and praise as we give the homeowners their World Changer Bible as we finish up. May His word be well received!!

South Carolina Day 3

2011-06-22T23:38:00.003-04:00

Thank you so much for the continued prayers!! Sorry I haven't had the opportunity to respond to each person individually. I have shared your comments via facebook, text, and blog with the students each night during devotion. They LOVE to hear from you!! As you can tell by the time, today was a LONG day!! FILLED with many opportunities to be the hands and feet of Christ. Not only did each of our 12 teams, 150 participants work on their job sites today, we handed out nearly 500 flyers to the block party and then came back to our host church and worked the block party. No, it was not Harp's Harvest and boy are we spoiled... it was a smaller version of Harp's Harvest and yes we could have used Judi here to organize it, but all in all it was a fun time, fun for the Students and adults serving and for those in the community that attended. We had an incredible worship time that began at 9:00 and continue with prayer and song for over 45 minutes, God is truly moving here in the students and adults. We then had church group devotion where Marcus, Rob and I had the privilege of praying over each of our students by name. Just when we thought the day couldn't get any better... World Changers brought out the ice cream sundaes!! It is time for lights out and bed now. God, help us to wake up tomorrow with the same feelings in our hearts as we have right now, God help us to be sensitive and open as you continue to move and work here this week. In awe of how awesome you truly are and how much you love us!!

South Carolina Day 2

2011-06-21T22:23:00.003-04:00

Today started with the "Great Send Off" (see pictures) at 7:00 and was a great day!! We worked hard all day and God blessed us with a wonderful time of worship and fellowship tonight!! The challenge tonight was for those who wanted to make a commitment to go to the next level and seek God's plan for our life. What an awesome way to end the night, and really examine ourselves and why we are here this week!! If it is not for the glory of God then it is just "hammering nails"!! Please continue pray for the weather here as it is HOT!!! Also, remember the block party tomorrow night and how it can impact this community. God, remind us we are blessed to be a blessing!!

South Carolina Night 1

2011-06-20T22:03:00.002-04:00

Today has been a great day. Everyone is divided up into teams and ready for the 7:00 a.m. GREAT SEND OFF!!! During devotion tonight we discussed what our individual purpose and reason is for being here and how we think God can use that. Can't wait to see God's plans for the week and compare them to ours :). Everyone is winding down and heading to bed soon so we can be prepared for tomorrow!!

South Carolina World Changers Mission Trip Day 1

2011-06-20T16:30:00.002-04:00

We appreciate ALL the prayers, we had a wonderful trip up and have just gotten settled in. We are heading to dinner then off to meet our crew and team for the week!! SO excited that we will be getting the opportunity to help host a block party on Wednesday evening at the church we are staying at this week. Please say a special prayer for this event and how it might impact the community!!

Texas~Arrived Home

2011-04-09T13:32:00.002-04:00

Arrived home safely a little after 1:00. PTL for safe travels!! Thank you to each of you have been following our journey and praying for us along the way. We have had a great week! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!! Thanking Him for this opportunity and praying that we will use what He has revealed to us as we return to our "comfort zone!"

Texas~The Journey Home

2011-04-08T22:25:00.002-04:00

Left out around 6:30 this morning and we have made it to Saraland, AL. We have had a good driving day today, please continue to pray for traveling mercies as we will have about 4 1/2 - 5 hours to drive in the morning!! Night!!

Texas~Day 7

2011-04-07T21:31:00.005-04:00

Today was a FULL day, we finished up our projects just in time for dinner!! Some of the students and camp staff played a friendly game of softball followed by a "debriefing" with Mr. Paul on the week. We are ending out the night with fellowship time and Minute to Win it challenges!! If you do not know what that is find it on TV and check it out!! Thank you God for growing us this week and helping us to trust in you!! Tomorrow we plan to head out at approx. 6:30 a.m. and go as far as we can toward Fayetteville :)

Day 6 Continued

2011-04-07T00:44:00.003-04:00

After lunch we headed down to the trails and did some team building things! Pictures will come soon! After that we headed to the low/ high ropes course. The high ropes course is 35 feet (3 and 1/2 stories)! It was challenging but a lot of fun! We then headed to dinner followed by our Bible study of 1 John 3 and part of 4. We finished our night off with some fellowship on the basketball and tennis court playing and just talking! Now off to bed.

Texas~Day 6

2011-04-06T12:58:00.003-04:00

Dinner at the Oasis was great, and the view was amazing... see photos!! Today was 1/2 work day so we are headed to lunch and then off to play... more pictures later!!

Texas~Day 5

2011-04-05T15:53:00.004-04:00

Today has been a productive day, we have "almost" finished clearing the area for the volley ball court and many other projects have been started. Some are working on staining, mulch, etc... Everyone is doing well and staying healthy. We are also excited to be heading to the dinner at the Oasis in a few hours (pictures later). God is in control of our time here, He had beautiful plans when He brought this team together, please continue to pray that we continue to keep our focus on Him so that we may be the hands and feet of Jesus this week as we serve in His name!!

Texas~ Day 4

2011-04-04T20:49:00.003-04:00

Today started out with thunderstorms in the area, but cleared up beatifully right after breakfast. We had a FULL work day till around 5:30, we are working on tearing up asphalt and putting a volleyball court in it's place! We also cleared more brush at the RA tent site. We had a wonderful cookout with Mr. Paul & Mrs. Evonne. We are headed to Bible study to continue our study through 1 John, then we will have fellowship time and relaxation.

Texas~Day 3

2011-04-04T00:38:00.004-04:00

Today was a great day that started out with the Cowboy Church and ended up with a great Bible study discussion. So, what happened in between... We toured the camp,did a team building exercise, heard about the projects we will be working on and were even able to get started on one today!! We cleared out some brush and sticks from a site used for RA tent camping! It was a great and productive day. The team is all doing well and motivated to get started early tomorrow with a full day of work!! Praise the Lord for beautiful weather, health and safety today!!

God's hand at work!!

2011-04-03T01:31:00.002-04:00

Today God showed up and SHOWED OFF!! It is hard to tell you all the ways God provided for our team today, so we want to just share a few!! Today has been an interesting day FULL of praises, opportunities and lessons!!! We started out as planned around 9:45. Along around Katy, Texas something flew up off the highway knocking a whole in the lead vans radiator. God's timing is always perfect and since we were already looking for a gas station, we took the next exit and didn't even know the radiator was leaking until we pulled into the station. So as we begin to "try to work on the situation", God already had the solution. Long story short... God put at that station not one but two men in the ministry, one of which was an AWESOME mechanic. The local auto parts had the radiator in stock and within a few hours Chaplain Chris had it in and running. Mr. Mike and a couple of the guys were a big help to him. Meanwhile, Mr. Adams (the other ministry man) talked to the students and adults about his mission and opportunities he was involved in. Angela, Vikki and I had the opportunity to talk to Chaplain Chris' wife, Stephanie and encourage her in her journey to seek and serve the Lord!! What a blessing these people were to us today and how incredible it was to know that the student and adults (myself included) got to see first hand God at work and the people that He used today to be His hands and feet to take care of us in our time of need!! Thank you God for your faithfulness, your provision and thank you for not letting us get in the way of your work!! We are getting settled in our room and heading to bed. Excited about attending the cowboy church in the morning and getting our schedule for the week!! To God be the Glory!!!

Texas - Friday/Saturday

2011-04-02T04:10:00.004-04:00

Have had a great drive so far, we have checked in the hotel in Covington, LA. We have approx 530 miles to go tomorrow and plan to head out from here about 9:45. Please continue to pray for traveling mercies. Will update soon...

Texas

2011-04-01T22:50:00.001-04:00

Be sure to check here daily for updates and pictures of the Texas mission trip!

Home Safely

2011-02-26T10:15:00.002-05:00

Thanks for all the prayers that went up on behalf of the students and adults this week. We had a great time and God worked in a mighty way. Over 20 students gave their life to Christ! Not to mention we had a great time of fellowship and just plain fun! More pictures will be up soon at www.harpsyouth.com

Last Day

2011-02-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

About to head to bfast before our last session! God has done some great things in all of us. I look forward to seeing how God will continue to speak to our students and adults as we take what we have been challenged to school, home, work, and play. We will be heading out at 11! Please pray for safe travel. Parents we will be back by 6:00p.m.

Day 3 Night

2011-02-24T22:54:00.004-05:00

A great time of worship tonight as Adrian challenged us on how consistently seek God. It was a great message. It was followed by a "talent show." Some of it was talent and some of it was well... We are now headed to bed and then up in the morning for our last session before we head out. It has been a great week. Parents I encourage you to ask your student what God did in their life when they get home!

Day 3 Afternoon

2011-02-24T15:28:00.002-05:00

We have had a great morning and afternoon.

Adrian challenged and reminded us this morning what God has already done for us as believers and that HE paid the ultimate price! "Christ in us the hope of glory." After the service we headed to lunch and then most of us went to Wonderworks and a few went shopping! It was a fun time to hang out with the adults and students. We have got some great pictures and I will put some up tonight along with another blog.

Dinner is at 5:00 followed by our last evening session! Pray for God's Will to be done in all of our lives.

2 Night

2011-02-24T00:00:00.002-05:00

A great day of skiing, tubing, ice skating, shopping, and...! Good news is we brought back to the hotel everyone we left with :)

The messages today were both great. The Lord has blessed Adrian to be an excellent communicator of the gospel. There were several students this evening who prayed to receive Christ and other decisions as well. I am sure you will hear more about these when we get home and also on Sunday.

Tomorrow is shopping/ track day. However it is supposed to rain and storm. So we are doing shopping and Wonderworks (pretty cool, you can google it). Looking forward to another great day.

1st Night

2011-02-22T23:02:00.002-05:00

It's just before 11:00 and all the students are headed to their rooms. We had a great first night of worship. The Akins lead and did a wonderful job as always! Adrian followed up with a message on 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 regarding Passion and Suffering. He made a statement that I am still thinking on, "Passion makes suffering look like excitement" and followed it up by 2 Cor 12:10 and Acts 5:40-42 (encourage you to go read all the scriptures:). He encouraged us to rejoice in our suffering for the Lord and if we have a Passion for Him we will suffer but that we can use that for His glory as Paul and others did. Very challenging message.

Tomorrow it's off to skiing, shopping, ice skating, snow tubing, and the like!!! Please pray for us that we will enjoy the fellowship together while here and that all students/ chaperones will know Christ before they leave and those that know Him, God will speak to them.

Made it Safely!!!

2011-02-22T19:04:00.002-05:00

We have made to Pigeon Forge about 6:30p.m. All are here and accounted for. About to head to worship! Pictures and update to follow later tonight!

A Few on the Road

2011-02-21T10:51:00.002-05:00

Kay Croxton and Sheila Watson headed up to Pigeon Forge about 10:00a.m. this morning. They will be getting everything ready for us so we are all set up when the group arrives tomorrow night! Please be praying for the Akins, our speaker Adrian Despres, the group and for specific students whose name you might have gotten to pray for or one God has laid on your heart! Thanks!!!!! Here is another link to check out where we will spend some of our day on Wednesday!

http://www.obergatlinburg.com/

Ski Bible Speaker

2011-02-20T22:20:00.003-05:00

Here is a little info. on our speaker! He is great and I am really looking forward to how God will use him! Excited to have him again as I was saved in 1998 when I heard him speak for the first time.
First update for our trip should be Tuesday night late!

http://www.adriandespres.com/index1.html

SKI BIBLE 2011

2011-02-16T13:47:00.002-05:00

Ski Bible is just a few days away! Check back starting Tuesday night for updates and pictures of the trip!!!! Please keep us in your prayers!

Revolve Tour 2011 Day 2

2011-01-30T16:33:00.003-05:00

Had a lot of FUN on Saturday!! Heard about what it means and how important it is to be who God created YOU to be. Jenna Lucado-Bishop spoke truth and scripture into our hearts about heaven and dreaming about heaven. Her quote "Keeping your thoughts on heaven will make your drama, seem smallah". :) Hearts have been touched and the Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of our young ladies. Please continue to pray for each of them, as we know it is hard to bring what you learned home and apply it!! Can't wait for Revolve Tour 2012!!

Revolve Tour 2011

2011-01-29T00:21:00.003-05:00

Revolve was very "high energy" tonight!! Please pray for the young ladies and chaperones here. That God would move our hearts towards Him and that we would be "truly" in tune with what He has for us this weekend!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Lights out!!

2010-07-24T00:45:00.005-04:00

Just now getting in for lights out. Had a great worship and some hang out time with our crews and then our church group with nightly devotion. I continue to be in awe of the students and their heart for service!! Praying that God will bless the seeds that have been planted this week!! We will be GA bound around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. Night!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Final work day!!

2010-07-24T00:39:00.004-04:00

Finished up our final hours of work and it has been a great trip!! The team continues to have a Christ like attitude and is excited about wrapping up here and heading home!! Still have night time worship to go and final meetings with crews. Sad to say goodbye to our new friends :-(.

Tampa Mission Trip - Day 3 on Projects

2010-07-22T23:10:00.002-04:00

Everyone is a little tired today. Last day of work tomorrow... Continue to pray as our VBS teams will be presenting the ABC's of becoming a christian tomorrow and for the construction team because the temperature here is HOT HOT HOT!!!

Tampa Mision Trip - Day 2 on projects

2010-07-21T23:12:00.002-04:00

Everyone had a great day!! We worked on VBS, cleaning gutters, painting and yard work. There are many jobs here and many opportunities to give God the glory for allowing us the opportunities to serve Him and further the Kingdom through service. It is trips like these that make us so thankful that we are from a mission minded church that teaches and encourages us to go out and share with others. We are a blessed team!! Thank you for your continued prayers!

Tampa Mission Trip - First day at work sites

2010-07-20T21:36:00.003-04:00

Today was a good day!! The word from each of the three sites we are serving at "HOT"!!! We have two teams on VBS and afternoon street evangelism and one team at a site that is doing construction and street evangelism. We are all doing well, pray for God to give us strength and endurance as the temperature here remains high again tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers!!
Oh, and when we get back we want to talk to Mrs. Judi about why our VBS doesn't have an inside moonwalk for recreation time :-))

Tampa Mission Team - Ready for the Great Send Off!!!!

2010-07-19T22:32:00.002-04:00

Met with our crews today and found out that we will be doing some VBS and some street evangelism. Headed to bed to get ready for the "Great Send Off" at 7:00 a.m. EXCITED!!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Fun at the beach

2010-07-19T13:45:00.004-04:00

We had alot of fun at the beach!! Some got in the water and some just chilled in the sand!! Had lunch and just checked in at the church. Headed to our rooms to get settled in before we get to go meet our crew and find out what we are doing for the week. Praying for God to use us no matter the job!!

Tampa Mission Trip

2010-07-18T23:51:00.002-04:00

Got checked into the hotel. Hitting the beach in the morning before checking in at the church. Praising God for His protection on our road trip here! Seeking Him to do great things in and through the team this week!!

Tampa Mission Trip

2010-07-18T18:08:00.004-04:00

Thanks to all who stayed after church today to give us a send off!!! We hit some bad weather for a while but crossed the Florida line a little after 5:00 and have beautiful weather now. Will update when we settle in for the night at the hotel.

Day 5- Summer Camp

2010-06-06T17:32:00.002-04:00

Well we made it home about 2:45. It was truly a great camp. I can honestly say it was one of my favorite summer camps in a while! Thanks for the prayers!

Summer Camp- Day 4

2010-06-05T13:25:00.002-04:00

Well the students are headed to their family groups right now! It has been another great day so far and a really great week!!! Just another reminder that you can email students/ friends here at camp and also watch worship live tonight at 7:00 at www.studentlife.com. We are headed out tomorrow and will be back at the church by 2:30p.m. if not before!!!

Summer Camp- Day 3

2010-06-04T23:55:00.002-04:00

Another great day of fun, fellowship, and worship! God really worked in our share time tonight as everyone was open and honest. Remember also to follow online at www.studentlife.com.

Summer Camp- Day 2

2010-06-03T23:57:00.003-04:00

Another great day!!! We had a day of games, free time, and worship. The speaker has been great. If you have the time Friday or Sat. night I encourage you to listen live starting at 7:00p.m. and anytime up till about 9:00p.m. or so. You can find the info at www.studentlife.com. Here are a few pics from our group (some more of our group on student life site). Also remember you can email your student or friend here at camp and they will get it!!!!

Summer Camp - Day 2

2010-06-03T07:53:00.002-04:00

Go to www.studentlife.com and click on "follow your student at camp." From there enter Covenant College and then June 2-6. There you can see pics (few of our group there from last night), send your student or friend a note, watch worship live starting tonight I believe (starts at 7:00), and several other things!

Headed out for quiet time!!!

Thanks for the Prayers!

Summer Camp Day 1

2010-06-02T17:36:00.002-04:00

Well our travel here was safe and uneventful, PTL. We arrived about 12:30 after stopping to eat lunch! We are now about to head to our family groups and then off to worship time. I hope to add daily what's going on along with pics!!!!

Thanks for the prayers, continue praying!!!!

Texas Day 10

2010-04-10T17:29:00.002-04:00

Thanks so much for all your prayers and comments! We made it back to the church at 12:45 this afternoon. We had a wonderful trip and were able to serve the camp in many ways. Thank you Father for giving us a great trip and for keeping us safe!

Texas Day 9

2010-04-09T23:59:00.003-04:00

Well we drove 755 miles today and ended up in Alabama, about 70 miles south of Montgomery. Thank you Lord for safe travel. Everyone is in their rooms and I am sure some are already asleep. Just a reminder parents we do plan to be at the church by 1:00p.m. tomorrow so be sure and be there to pick up your student. If we will be later than 15 minutes we will have your student call you but we are leaving enough time to be there by 1:00 if not before.

Texas Day 8

2010-04-08T23:07:00.003-04:00

Well today was our last work day here in Texas. We were able to finish up the projects we started and start a few new one's that the camp staff will finish up. Overall we were able to get a lot done around the camp and the staff was really thankful and gracious. We plan to head back towards GA tomorrow at 7:00a.m. (8:00a.m. GA time). Thank you for all the prayers and comments as I have been able to share them throughout the week.

Texas Day 6

2010-04-07T23:02:00.005-04:00

Well today was a "free day." Some were able to sleep in a little late and then we headed to the zip line. That was a lot of fun. Everyone has a lot of good pictures and vidoe from that. We then ate lunch and had a mini birthday party for Landon before heading back out. We then rode on the kayak's and let's just say some people got wet. Then before heading to clean up for dinner, we played a little paintball!!!! After cleaning up for dinner we went to a place called tha Oasis. It was the biggest restaurant we have ever seen and it overlooked Lake Travis. The view was amazing as the sun set. Now off to bed before our last day of work tomorrow.

Texas Day 5

2010-04-06T21:26:00.003-04:00

Well we had another good day. We built another bridge at the low ropes course, others spread some rock and mulch on the trails and others did some more painting. We were really busy today so I didn't get to take as many pictures as normal. Tomorrow is the Zip Line day and play day! Thanks for all the prayers and comments, things are going well.

Texas Day 4

2010-04-05T17:28:00.003-04:00

Today was a beautiful day. It was cloudy but nice and breezy this morning and then the sun broke through this afternoon. We had several different teams of people today. One was building a bridge at the low ropes course, one was painting, and one was clearing out some brush and cutting down trees for a climbing wall. Now we are about to eat and then have our Bible study (Going through James while here, then have fellowship time and of course watch Duke vs. Butler for all who want! I have put some pics up from today and also a pic of the high ropes course we are doing on Wed.

Texas Day 3

2010-04-04T17:49:00.005-04:00

Today was a great day as of course we were able to celebrate that our GOD LIVES!!! We had a great worship time at one of the local churches here and also joined the youth group for SS. We then came back and had lunch and then took a tour of the camp and saw some of the things we were going to be doing this week along with trying out a few things on the low ropes course. We also were introudced to a new type of dodgeball game that you will see in the pictures. We are about to have dinner and then have some free time along with a share time before we head to bed! Remember if you want to make any comments you will need to create an account which is free and easy!

Texas Day 2

2010-04-03T23:40:00.002-04:00

Well we finished our 981 mile adventure at 7:00p.m. Texas time. We then unpacked our things and ate dinner with Paul and Evonne. The graciously cooked for all of us. We then hung out, rested, and even played a little basketball. Now headed to bed as we will be celebrating Easter here tomorrow at one of the local churches! I will have some pictures to post tomorrow! Thanks for the prayers as they were answered in the Lord getting us here safely!

Texas Day 1

2010-04-03T02:27:00.002-04:00

Well we are spending the night in Baton Rouge. We arrived about 1:00 their time, 2:00a.m. back home. We traveled 510 miles before calling it a night. Thankfully this means we are over half way there. Everyone is doing well. Time for bed!

Texas Trip

2010-03-31T14:29:00.002-04:00

This site will be updated daily starting Friday 4/2 on our mission trip to Texas. In order to read and see the pictures you just need to go to the site. However if you would like to make comments you will need to create an account which is FREE and EASY. Please keep the team in your prayers:

Chris Watson
Lisa Watson
Landon Watson
Jim Castleberry
Jamie Pope
Molly McBride
Morgan Byne
Brook Heard
Hannah Lentz
Natalie Tripp
Josiah Helms
Caleb Castleberry
Hunter Spivey
Kerith Helms
Robert McBride
Kerstin Byne
Stephanie Powell
Trista Underwood
Nicole Sipe
Nathan Sipe

Legit Quote

2010-03-23T11:04:00.001-04:00

"He (Jesus) also refused to be guided by anything other than his high call. His heart was purposeful. Most lives aim at nothing in particular and achiece it. Jesus aimed at on goal- to save humanity from it's sin. He could summarize his life with one sentence: The son of man came to seek and save the lost. Jesus was so focused on his task that he knew when to say, 'my time has not yet come,' and when to say 'it is finished." But he was not so focused on his goal that he was unpleasant!" Just Like Jesue by Max Lucado.

May we all know what our purpose is as we go through today and tomorrow, if the Lord would allow. But may we not be so selfish and focus on our/ His purpose (although worthy and good) that we become unpleasant!!!

KNOCK the ME out of ME

2010-03-08T11:33:00.002-05:00

This past week I heard Bill Stafford say "God wants to knock the me out of me." How true is that. When we look at God's Word we are told daily to die to ourself. God tells us it is no longer us living but Him living through us. But the struggle is for us to daily yield to Him. We have to die to ourself. We know God's word says to offer our bodies as living sacrifices however the problem is that the bodies are living meaning we have the tendancy to walk away. I want to be a living sacrifice always giving myself to Christ so it is Him living, not me. I want to wake up with the prayer, "God live through me today, may all you are take over who I am and may others only see Christ." But it's a constant state of dying. It doesn't just happen before we go to school or work but constantly dying to ourself. What about you, do you want Him to CONTINIOUSLY live through you? What steps are you taking to die to SELF?

We Often Have it Backwards!!!

2010-03-03T15:21:00.000-05:00

We(me included) Often Have it Backwards!!!!

Our friend has hurt our feelings, our SS teacher said something that made us mad, someone did something or said something you would have never thought they would, your teacher is not being “fair,” your parents in your eyes expect way to much out of you than you think they should, and I am sure you can think of more. With these and others what is the usual process that happens as we deal with such things. Let me take a shot at it as I see it often.

1) First we get so mad and fuming we can hardly think. The problem consumes us making us ineffective and quite frankly a jerk to those that come in contact with us.
2) As we are fuming we begin to tell our closest friends what happened and begin to gossip about it and put little hints on facebook to let people know what’s going on so they know why we are mad and so we can gain sympathy.
3) Then when we are at church or out wherever we get with our friends that know what’s going on and secretly talk about it and maybe laugh and if it deals with someone else we laugh about that person not realizing all the people we have now brought into this situation.
4) You or your friends come up with a game plan on how to fix the situation, however often not wanting a solution because we want to be mad or frustrated. We want to waive our flag of self pity and continue to fume.
5) In the end what happens is often not good. Maybe a blow up ensues with the person that hurt you or you are mad at. And maybe you don’t talk for weeks or more or you don’t acknowledge that the person even exists.
6) In the end nothing good has come out of it. Just another situation where you became angry, gossiped, fumed, and now has a fractured relationship with your parents, friend, enemies, or whoever.

May I suggest whatever is going on in your life and whatever is happening as you read this right now, that you STOP AND PRAY FOR THE SITUATION AND THE PERSON YOU ARE DEALING WITH. Why is it prayer is often the last thing we do when Jesus told us it was the first thing to do? Why do we not pray for our friends, family, church, youth group, lost friends etc? Whatever you are dealing with STOP AND PRAY NOW. Not just once but often. Remember God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if we humble, PRAY, seek and turn, then he would hear, heal, and forgive. I want to become a person who is praying for God to do what only he can do, to fix relationships only he can fix, to save only those he can save, and do use us…. What about you? Would you join me in praying big and expect God to answer and not give up until HE does? If so start now!!!! I would also challenge you to join us on Monday’s at 7:15 in the youth room for a time of prayer. Any excuse will do I know but do you want it?

VIDEOS

2010-02-17T18:27:00.003-05:00

Sorry the videos didnt work. They worked last night as I signed out and then went back on to the site and played them???? Anyway most all the pictures that were taken will make it to the website (www.harpsyouth.com) by next week and and there will also be a slideshow on Sunday morning during the service.

We have had a great week!!! I encourage all you parents to ask you student what God taught tem this week and if they made a decision. Off to breakfast and worship and then headed home!!!

Ski Bible Day 2 (Tuesday)

2010-02-16T23:36:00.003-05:00

Today was a great day. It snowed just about the entire day on the mountain!!! It was beautiful and the skiing conditions were great. No major injuries on the slopes :) Many that didn't ski either did some ice skating or shopping. Worship was great tonight and God really spoke. We had several students pray to accept Christ tonight, and you will definetely be hearing more on that when we get home and on Sunday!!! Please continue to pray as God is working and some students are just searching for God and really asking some great questions. Videos to come tonight, the ones that I had originally put up didn't work :( Just a reminder if you want to comment you will need make an account!!!!

Ski Bible Monday

2010-02-15T23:16:00.004-05:00

Well we all made it safe and arrived about 6:45p.m. Both worship and the message was both great tonight. Christian brought a great message on Matthew 14 about desire, courage, and faith.

It was snowing as we walked backed to our room. All the students are now in their rooms having small group discussion and then going to bed (hopefully :)! Tomorrow is ski/ Gatlinburg day.

Please continue to pray for both students and chaperones and for God to do a great work. Hope to have some video tomorrow along with more pics!!!! Some are a little blurry tonight but they will be better tomorrow!!!

SKI BIBLE

2010-02-10T09:42:00.003-05:00

Students and adults Ski Bible here we come.

Let your parents, friends, and family know they can follow what goes on all next week at this site. There will be at least 1 update a day and most days 2!

Pray and ask God to do what only HE can do!!!

8 DAYS LEFT

2009-12-19T15:27:00.002-05:00

8 days left to sign up for Ski/ Bible. If you sign up by the 20th you save $20. Remember to invite your friends as well!!!! All details at www.harpsyouth.com or http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=164623332627&ref=mf

Whatever you do be sure and sign up by Dec. 27th or it will be to late.

SKI BIBLE

2009-09-02T16:44:00.001-04:00

I know we have a lot more events going on between now and Ski Bible but just wanted to remind you it will be here before you know it. Start saving $ and inviting your friends now. You can get more info. at www.harpsyouth.com

Student Week August 3-7

2009-07-31T22:10:00.002-04:00

Student Week coming up August 3-7 (this Monday). Don't miss out on the last big event before school starts back. A whole lot of fun, food, and fellowship and our topic this year will be "Purity." Check out each days theme and topic!!!

Chattanooga - Day 6

2009-07-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

Today has been a good, but long day as many projects are trying to wrap up before the end of the week. We are all well and hanging in there.
We are still planning to leave at approx. 10 p.m. tomorrow night, pray for safe travels and a safe day tomorrow. Pray that all the sites will get finished!!

Chattanooga - Day 5

2009-07-22T22:52:00.004-04:00

CAUTION --- JESUS FREAKS!!!! Today has been a great day!! We worked till 11:30 and then had FREE time, we did not really do much during FREE time but fellowship and enjoy each other in fun and laughter. The pictures tell the story...

Chattanooga - Day 4

2009-07-21T22:37:00.002-04:00

Today was a good full day of work, many of us will complete our project tomorrow and move to other jobs on Thursday. Tomorrow is the half day off so we will work till noon and then be off, pray for us to have fun and get rested up for a big finish to this week. God is really working here in Chattanooga. The girls are sharing sleeping space with another church and two of the girls from Valley View Baptist in Alabama were able to lead three children to Christ today!! How AWESOME! More pictures tomorrow...

Chattanooga - Day 3

2009-07-20T22:35:00.003-04:00

Today has been a long, but GOOD day!!! We are all tired, but it is a good tired!!
We all had a full work day today and we did everything from painting, pressure washing, yard work, cleaning out utility sheds etc... The weather was beautiful all day and PTL for cooler temperatures. We had an incredible worship and youth devotion tonight, I think all of the students shared one or more things with the group. Please continue to pray for the team as God is really working on them as well as us!!
I have posted a few more pictures, but I can not get pictures of all the students so we decided as a group tonight that they are all taking pictures at their individual jobs and we will combine them when we get home onto a disc, so you will have to wait for the "action" shots :-) !!

WC Chattanooga - Day 2

2009-07-19T15:34:00.002-04:00

Today has been a great day!!! We met our crews this morning, went to church with our crew, lunch and then visited the locations of our individual projects for the week. We will be doing many different things; painting, roofing, siding, building a wall and replacing an entire bathroom floor to name a few... This afternoon we will be going through some Evangelism training and the students will be training on specific crew positions that some of them will carry out this week, then dinner and worship. To all of you who prayed for cooler weather, AMEN!! The weather has been great the last two days and looks like it may continue to be cooler during our stay.
Please pray for us this week, that everything we say and do will be a reflection of Christ love!!! Also, tomorrow morning the "GREAT SEND OFF" is at 7:00 a.m., we have 32 projects this week, we will need GOD'S speed to finish them all! Our team is divided into 7 different crews so we are really spread out this year, but I will do my best to post pictures during the week.

WC Chattanooga - Day 1

2009-07-18T15:45:00.002-04:00

We arrived safely, headed to Celebration Worship!!! Then to meet our crew and dinner!!

St Vincent Day 9

2009-07-04T08:54:00.003-04:00

In the St. Vincent airport waiting for our flight. We leave at 9:40 and then head to Miami at 2:30 then to ATL at 10:15. We will arrive at 12:10. Good news is we will have already gone through customs!!!! See you soon.

St Vinvent Day 8

2009-07-03T19:21:00.002-04:00

We had a free day today. We went to the market and then to the beach. We saw the place (and stood on the dock) of where Pirates of the Car. was filmed. It was a great day. About to head to worship now and then to bed so we can head home tomorrow!!! No time for pics. Sorry.

St Vincent Day 7

2009-07-02T16:17:00.002-04:00

Today was another great day!!! It was our last day of going to the ministry sites. However we were able to exchange contact info. so we can keep up with those we have met. We had a man come to where today asking for a Bible. We gave one to him and I also sat down and talked with him. He does have a relationship with Christ but was curios about growing in his faith. We had a great talk.

Tomorrow is our free day as we head to the beach and also around town. Then we head home Sat. morning. It has been a great trip. I hope to add some more pics tonight or tomorrow.

St Vincent Day 6

2009-07-01T16:19:00.002-04:00

All is well. My team had the privelage of leading 3 teenage guys to the Lord today. We did a drama and after the drama we talked with the guys. Chris Murray shared with them and led them in a prayer and 3 of them prayed to recieve Christ.

From Katelyn and Becky: We want to say hey to both of our moms and we miss you and our wonderful family. Can't wait to see everyone and tell some awesome stories. God is definetly working and doing some great things.

Thanks everyone for the messages and encouragement. It means a lot to know you are praying for us.

St Vincent Day 5

2009-06-30T16:19:00.003-04:00

Today was another great day!!! Have a story from Katelyn, Becky, and Angela’s team. They were in a community and Angela had the opportunity of leading a man to Christ. There story to them was that he had murdered someone years ago and that God could not forgive him of that and he couldn’t have a relationship with Him. They shared with him that he could and he prayed to receive Christ. Everyone is doing great. Again it is very sunny and hot but everyone is drinking a lot and doing well. The food is also really good especially compared to many other mission trips. I have put some pics up. One is an ocean shot and another one a house right next to the ocean (house to them). Definitely different that we would expect to see on an island. The area is very poor. There are no many jobs currently. So sometimes whole families sit at home all do with no source of income. Continue to pray for the whole team.

St. Vincent Day 4

2009-06-29T15:48:00.003-04:00

Well we all had a great first day of ministry. My team (Chris is on my as well) went to the top of the island (1 1/2 hour drive) and went to a school. We played games with them and also got to talk with them a lot. One of the other teams near us led 2 people to Christ. The team that Angela, Becky, and Katelyn are on is not back yet but will be soon. They were going into the community and doing surveys and building relationships. I have attached some pics so you can get an idea of what we are doing and what is going on. Continue to pray for us. All is well.

St. Vincent Day 3

2009-06-28T12:18:00.004-04:00

Well it's 12:15p.m. Sunday afternoon. All is well. Our flight didn't leave Barbados last night until 9:15p.m.. So we got in a little late. Everyone got some sleep and then we went to church this morning and are about to eat lunch. Then we are going to do some training. It is HOT, just like back home, nice and humid. Only bad part is everyone has their luggage but me. Hopefully it will come in today. Continue to pray for us as we minister to the people here. I hope to update daily if I get the chance. Pictures to come tomorrow!!!!

St. Vincent Day 2

2009-06-27T16:41:00.006-04:00

I am letting Katelyn give you a synopsis of today- so in her words:
Becky and I attempted to have Chinese for bfast but it wasn't open yet. Our flight left at 10:00a.m. We got to Barbados at 2:00p.m. and are now sitting in the airport in Barbados getting ready to head to St. Vincent. Our flight leaves at 7:40. Well I (Chris) helped Katelyn out a little but you get the picture. We have a few pics of us in the airport (boring)!!! Sorry about the bad pics. My camera was dead so I took them with the video camera. Now that it is charged I will have better pics tomorrow!!

St. Vincent Day 1

2009-06-26T21:54:00.001-04:00

Well it's 9:50 and about to head to bed. We made into Miami about 6:00p.m. Everyone is doing well. Please pray for us tomorrow as we have a long travel day. We should be at our final destination about 8:30p.m. Team members include Angela Hill, Becky Sloat, Katelyn Glavosek, Chris Murray and myself. I hope to blog 3-4 times while there so check back. If I have the time I will put a few pics up as well. Thanks.

Harps Youth

Blume 2011 - Arrived home!

Blume - Saturday and The Magic Kingdom :)

Blume - Friday

Blume -Thursday Night

BLUME 2011

Home Sweet Home

Thursday

Wednesday Part 2

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

Friday and Saturday

We Made It!!!!

Munich!

International Bound

ATL airport

Italy Team... Ready set GO!!!

Ready or Not

South Carolina Team~Home sweet home!!

South Carolina Day 5

South Carolina Day 4

South Carolina Day 3

South Carolina Day 2

South Carolina Night 1

South Carolina World Changers Mission Trip Day 1

Texas~Arrived Home

Texas~The Journey Home

Texas~Day 7

Day 6 Continued

Texas~Day 6

Texas~Day 5

Texas~ Day 4

Texas~Day 3

God's hand at work!!

Texas - Friday/Saturday

Texas

Home Safely

Last Day

Day 3 Night

Day 3 Afternoon

2 Night

1st Night

Made it Safely!!!

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A Few on the Road

Ski Bible Speaker

SKI BIBLE 2011

Revolve Tour 2011 Day 2

Revolve Tour 2011

Tampa Mission Trip - Lights out!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Final work day!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Day 3 on Projects

Tampa Mision Trip - Day 2 on projects

Tampa Mission Trip - First day at work sites

Tampa Mission Team - Ready for the Great Send Off!!!!

Tampa Mission Trip - Fun at the beach

Tampa Mission Trip

Tampa Mission Trip

Day 5- Summer Camp

Summer Camp- Day 4

Summer Camp- Day 3

Summer Camp- Day 2

Summer Camp - Day 2

Summer Camp Day 1

Texas Day 10

Texas Day 9

Texas Day 8

Texas Day 6

Texas Day 5

Texas Day 4

Texas Day 3

Texas Day 2

Texas Day 1

Texas Trip

Legit Quote

KNOCK the ME out of ME

We Often Have it Backwards!!!

VIDEOS