Ski trip stuff, Sunday Seattle visit, and next week's youth group!

Here's the scoop! 

Some people that paid to go on the ski trip could not make it due to sickness or other issues. You can checkout the ski trip flyer posted on this blog a couple of weeks ago for more information. On the flyer you will find that after January 13th you can receive 1/2 back. Here are a few of the reasons why we have to do this.

1. The renters of accommodations charges a certain amount and so I see how many people might show up and divide the cost by the number of people. So if people drop out at the last minute the price for the accommodation does not change and I can't go back and say to the ones that are going, "I know I told you $100.00 but at the last minute 3 people dropped out so the price is now $120.00."

2. In the past I had several people sign up for the ski trip and at the last minute they decided that they had something better to do. By requiring people to put a nonrefundable deposit down it holds people at their word because there is money riding on it. Next year I am going to make a change that if a person cancels within the week of the ski trip that person would not be entitled to get anything back for the reasons mentioned above. The only exception is if a person finds someone to go in their place and then that person would pay the person that could not make it. This person would also have to be approved by the youth leaders before that person can go.

3. We really need to have a accurate count because numbers change everything. For this past weekend if we had 20 renters in our group we could have gotten about a 20% discount b/c we would be considered a group. If we had 20 renters and 1 or 2 people pulled out that changes the cost for everyone.

4. This is an extremely great deal because many youth groups tack on the cost for each of the leaders to the student's cost and also the cost of food. How we do it is that both the food and the youth leaders costs are taken care of by the youth offering and donations.

Some of you might question why youth leaders don't have to pay. The answer is that some of them due (they will not let me pay for them) but another reason is that they work their tail off preparing for the trip, organizing for the trip, and in some cases they take off of work so they are loosing money to go on the weekend. Over the many years of youth ministry I find that you have to take care of your volunteers because there would be not youth ministry without them.

The purpose of this post was not to call anyone out or shame anyone but to inform people on 0what it takes to organize something like the ski trip. I also wanted to post it so that in the future I can send people with questions to this post instead of rewriting all the information. Check with your teachers and coaches to see what they go through as they plan away games and other activities to get a full perspective.


Ok, moving on....

This Sunday Ria and I will be taking people down who want to visit Lee Sue at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle. If you are interested please let me know because we have limited space. We can take 9 people in the church van so let me know today.

Details:
-Departure: meet by the church van at 12:15 (after the morning service)

-What to bring:
1. Snack: eat a snack before we leave or bring one with you. We are going to try to pick Lee Sue up and take her out to eat in China town if I can find it :)
2. Money for a late lunch and possibly dinner
3. (Optional) you could bring a silly hat for Lee Sue, a good book, her favorite food, a game that she can play in the hospital, a photograph of you, a stuffed animal, flowers, or anything else that would encourage her.
4. Your healthy body. Because Lee Sue's doing chemotherapy, her immune system is weak. If you have a bad cold or the flu it's best that you wait until another time.

-Return: we will leave between 5:00 and 6:00 pm from Seattle and arrive in Lynden between 7-8 pm.

If you want to join us send an email (danh@firstcrclynden.org), Facebook me, call me (360-nine 27-nine 722), or text me.

Our next youth group is our family dinner! YES! We are going to be at Molly and Mindy's home. If you can make it, meet at church at 6:45 or at Molly and Mindy's home at 7:00 pm. I hope you can make it.

Some advanced notice: For our next Family dinner on Wednesday, February 20th we will be meeting at church for a Chinese New Year's celebration. We are asking that each Chinese student bring a traditional dish for us for dinner. Since I don't know the names of the dishes I am asking if there is a international student that would like to come up with a menu so that each student brings a different thing.

Why isn't our next family dinner on February 27th? Because the 27th is the start of your midwinter break and several people usually attend the state basketball tournaments or go with their family on a mini vacation.

Also, we are going to be celebrating Andrew and Stephanie's baby boy named "Daniel" (just kidding about the name---this is the name that their baby should be named but I guess I will have to let them decide since Stephanie is doing all the hard work for him). This is an opportunity to show our love for Andrew, Stephanie, and the little ankle-biter/poop factory that should be here in March.

I am very excited for this little guy to come. Not only because Stephanie is going to get to the point where she will do anything to see her feet again but also because Andrew is going to make a great Dad...Andrew will you be my daddy?

It's traditional to bring a gift for the baby or their parents. The baby is registered on Target's gift registry and there might be something that you can go in on with others.  If you can buy a gift that would be great, but if your strapped for cash don't worry about it...Calm will pay for the gift for you :) No seriously don't worry about it...just come and celebrate.
More information to follow.

Thought questions for the movie we watched in youth group.

“Blue Like Jazz”

In the movie Don experiences many hurtful events that causes him to question and reject his beliefs. What do you do when experiences don’t fit what you believe about God? Example: How can you believe in a loving God when a classmate gets cancer, when the person that you like does not like you back, or when there is a mass shooting in an elementary school?

In the movie Don’s mother, church, and youth pastor hurt him. How do you forgive people that claim to love God but inflict pain on you?

Someday you might live in a place where Christian’s are a minority or even a place where people ridiculed you for your beliefs. How are you going to respond so that you can represent Christ accurately to the world?

Sometimes when Christians get asked to defend their faith they get really defensive and even get angry at the person that is debating with him or her. Why might this not be the best approach?  What would be a better way of defending your faith?

Because Christian’s aren’t perfect sometimes they can hurt others and sometimes they do it in the name of God. How would you defend Christ to these people? 

Tonight: Wednesday January 23rd

Tonight's youth group will start at 7:30 in the church basement. We hope to see you there.

Dan

News, news, news

We found a deal on another cabin so we have a guy's cabin and a girl's cabin (there are more girls so they get the bigger one). It's going to be fun. See you later. 

Dan

• PARENT AND HOST HOMES HELP NEEDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH:

We love food at High School youth group and there are several reasons why: 1) As teenagers, we are always hungry. 2) Food is social and we are social people, so food helps us bond. 3) Did we mention that we are teenagers with appetite as big as the Grand Canyon? Parents – we are looking for some of you willing to host a family meal at your house and/or supply a snack for a youth group night. Please sign up in the back of church or contact Dan Houston if you are willing to help. Thanks for your support! 

CALL DAN IF YOU CAN HELP WITH ONE OF THESE

JANUARY 30TH--FAMILY DINNER

FEBRUARY 6TH---SNACKS

FEBRUARY 13TH--SNACKS

FEBRUARY 20TH--FAMILY DINNER---Celebrating the Chinese New Year---We will have this dinner at church and we ask our international students to make dinner and share their culture with us. 

MARCH 6TH--SNACKS

MARCH 20TH--SNACKS

MARCH 27TH--FAMILY DINNER

APRIL 10TH--SNACK

APRIL 24TH--SNACK

MAY 8TH--SNACK

Description of family dinners: The last Wednesday of the month.  We will be having a family dinner together hosted by a family in our youth group (last semester each of the leaders took turns). On these nights you can meet at the leaders home or be picked up at church at 6:45 pm. 


Contact Dan if you can help!   

Wednesday, January 16th

Join us for a study break...come and go when you please. We are meeting from 7:30 to 9:00 for board and card games. Bring your favorite snack and a game that you like to play. If you're busy studying and can't take a break, No Worries we will see you next week.

~The Youth Leaders

Ski trip Roster

Tanisha, Sophia, Molly, Mindy, Kristen, Yumi, Abby, Megan, Anna, Julia, Flora, Ria, Jill, Stephanie
John (Abby's brother), Nathan, Johnny, Zach, Marshal, Calm, Jesse, Andrew, Dan

Here is the non-private document...Sorry I am learning

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwXtJBB1kJvmbU1keHJ4d2h1eFE/edit


This is the flyer for the ski trip so you know what to bring and what not to bring.

Dan

Emergency Form

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwXtJBB1kJvmblVrVDVrb0JJVGs/edit

Ski Trip January 18-20

If this is your first time skiing I suggest you go with 

Lesson, Rental & Beginner Lift Ticket	$49.00
Lesson & Beginner Lift Ticket	$30.00

I don't suggest borrowing because with this package is cheap and for your first time you might need adjustments. 

Renting equipment options: There are two great options for renting. The first is to rent your equipment in Bellingham (the cheapest is Yeager’s 360-733-1080 in Bellingham). The benefit with this option is that you don’t have to go through the process of renting on Saturday, turning in the gear on Saturday night, and then re-renting on Sunday. The other option is to rent at Mt. Baker it’s a little more costlier but if you have a problem that needs to be repaired you can get it done right there.

Friday, January 18^th

Meet Dan and Jill at church we will leave church at around 2:30 p.m. If you have school on Friday you can ride up with Andrew and Stephanie or Ria. Space is limited so check with them as soon as you can.

Gear---we may not be able to fit all of your gear in the church van and in Jill’s vehicle, we can leave some of it in the education building and Andrew and bring it up later.

Arriving at the rental Dan will determine the guys and girls room based on the number of students attending (bigger group, bigger room). Most of us will be sleeping on the floor so be prepared.

Schedule

-Arrive at rental—unload stuff…it does not matter whose stuff it is just bring it in.

-Hang out/relax bring games to play and a bathing suit for the hot tub.

-Dinner will be around 6:30 pm

-Devotions will be when everyone makes it up to the cabin

-For those who want to make a packed lunch (to save money) you need to make it before you go to bed

Saturday, January 19^th

-7:45 am breakfast will be available (hot breakfast served until 9:00)

-8:20am vehicles leave to get to the mountain. Bring money for lift, rental, and food or your packed lunch.

-There might be a second vehicle going up later for people sledding

-4:30 meet outside of the ski lodge ready to go back to the cabin

-5-6 dinner

-Devotions after dinner

-Games, hot tub, and movies

Sunday, January 20^th

-7:30 breakfast for those who want to hit the slopes

-8:00 Devotions (please eat before or after devotions so you will not be distracting to others)

-8:45am vehicles leave for the mountain

-4:30pm meet outside of the ski lodges ready to go back to the cabin

-5:00pm dinner

-6:00 clean up and head back to Lynden.

-Call parents on the way back to pick students up at church

Flyer for ski trip

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwXtJBB1kJvmbU1keHJ4d2h1eFE/edit

Ski Trip Info.

Dear High School Parents and Students,

I, and the other youth leaders, are looking forward to this year’s ski trip to Mt. Baker with your student. In this pamphlet you will find the information and how to sign up for the trip. What you will not find are the forms for renting equipment, lessons, and permission slip.

I have emailed the Mt. Baker forms to you already. If you have not received them please check your junk email box or email me at danh@firstcrclynden.org for a copy. Several of you have filled out the Emergency Release form (permission slip) but some have not, which we need in order for your student to attend this trip. If you are receiving the Emergency Release form with this note it means that we have not received this form from your family.  Please include a completed Emergency and Release form with the other required forms.

This year we are renting one big cabin instead of two smaller cabins so space is limited to the first 15 students.  Also, Jill and Stephanie will not be on the slopes this time. Because of the limited sleeping space, Jill and Stephanie will be preparing our meals this year. This also means that if students want to come and hang out at the cabin with is possible too. We love having parents along but this year we have to do it this way because of lack of space.

We are very excited for this weekend and think that this year will be similar to all the rest…filled with fun, friendship, challenge, and growth.

Sincerely,

Dan Houston and fellow youth leaders

Happy New Year!

We have a couple of prayer concerns to pray for. 

1. Please pray for Brad and Lorna TeVelde who lost their barn this morning in a fire. This is their main milking facility and some animals died including Jeff and Renee's horse and other horses have burns over their bodies. 

2. Pray for Lee Sue as she continues to get chemotherapy that God would give her health and strength and that she will be rid of cancer soon. Pray for their health insurance company that they would start paying for her care. The insurance company is dragging their feet and trying not to pay anything. Here is a message from Lee Sue..

Hello
I very thankful for you and the scarf you sent, it is beautiful.
January 10 I have chemotherapy,I hate chemotherapy.
I miss youth group ,yumi said she want me go to youth group with her.
Thank you very much.

LiZhu

To read about how things are going visit her caring bridge page: www.caringbridge.org/visit/leesuedeng

Tonight we are meeting in the church basement at 7:30 pm. It will be a normal youth group with discussion, activities, and food but we will be giving you additional information about the ski trip. If you have not turned in your skit trip stuff and money please bring it tonight. If you can't bring it to me tonight then sometime this week (Up until Sunday).  If you need another form there are more by the church office door. 

OK, were'r done...see you tonight.