Building Our Lives on Jesus

7/14/13

Testimonies of the summer

Our first two weeks of club are over, and boy did we have some funny kids!

One teacher asked for a review question, "What did the Messiah come to do?" He spread out his arms as a clue. One little boy exclaimed, "Fly??"

Another teacher asked, "What did they [the Romans] do to Jesus?" One boy got really excited and said "Ooh! Ooh! I saw the movie!" He then proceeded to list everything that had happened to Jesus when he died.

A teacher was telling the story of Hudson Taylor on Thursday (the end of the story that had been going on all week), when a girl suddenly asked, "was he real?" The teacher assured her that Hudson was real, and she frowned. "Is he dead?"

(This from the girl who had asked earlier in the week if one of the summer missionaries had met Hudson Taylor. I guess that works. :)

The Western Wisconsin team: 2013

This year, eleven teens from our area will attend training camp in June and teach 5-day clubs throughout the summer!

Bethel is excited!

This is kind of a big deal you guys, since right before the application deadline, we were expecting seven at most, which was fewer than last year.

All of a sudden, we have two guys and nine girls gearing up for CYIA training!

Every one of them are hard workers and eager to see what God has in store for them this summer.

One of our girls is going to work as an assistant team leader while taking classes at training. I (Bethel) know how those dual roles can complicate things; it's going to be a significant stretch for her, but rewarding and useful as she begins her college career in the fall.

Another of our young people is a classmate of mine from college. He considered getting involved with Christian Youth in Action in the past, but is finally taking the leap this year: he's volunteered for as many weeks as we need him, which is quite a commitment! Does he know what he's getting into? Stay tuned for updates.

One of our team leaders this year, Kyla, was a student the last two years and is very excited to help her team at camp this year. She's been working with a small group of middle-schoolers at her church this spring, which has given her some experience, and of course she's familiar with camp and the training the teens will receive this year.

An old addition to our team: but with an upgrade to team leader :)

Kyla attended Good News Across America last year, which gave her experience with the new model for 5-day clubs that our area will be using this summer: 4 days in the neighborhood (backyards or parks), and one day at the sponsoring church. This model bridges the gap between kids and families in the community and their neighborhood church that they've never attended.

Kyla at a climbing wall; Good News Across America in Minneapolis.

There's a few of our updates! We'd love for you to pray for us as we go into this summer of work and training.

thank God for the youth leaders he's raised up this year.
pray for their focus at training in June (many of them requested prayer for that in their support letters).
ask God to give us cohesion as a team; we're from many different backgrounds and levels of familiarity with CEF, so we'll have to work hard to keep our views from causing conflict.

Remember to stay tuned this year for updates!

Western Wisconsin for the win!

9/12/10

It's the end of summer :)

Talyn here :) WOW! What an amazing summer. I feel so blessed to have been able to share the gospel with SOO many children this year. SO if you don't mind me sharing, I thought I would share a little bit about my summer in the Western Wisconsin area.

I taught with Rachel and Sam this summer. They were amazing beyond words. Also, MANY other people took hours out of their weeks to help make these clubs possible. I am grateful for everyone's effort to make the 5-day clubs the best they could be.

We had one club in a Youth Center, downtown of our area. It was a challenge to say the least. God pulled us through and I know that there were many seeds planted. It was amazing to serve in the downtown area. Because some of those kids don't know what real love is. And we as teachers had such a privilege to share God's amazing love to those kids.

I can't wait to start up again next year as a summer missionary for CEF. Its been such an amazing experience. This being my 4th year I am still amazed at how God works through teens to share the gospel of Christ. My hope and prayer is that everyone can experience that same feeling. If you know a teen who is passionate about the Lord and loves children..GET INVOLVED in CEF.

But as for now, I'm going to sign out. I hope that you all consider the amazing possibilities of being a part in this ministry. You will be blessed for it.

Be blessed,

Talyn

8/26/10

The End of Summer

The team has arrived at the end of this summer! While statistics for the summer haven't been compiled yet, the teens of Western Wisconsin have been privileged to lead several children to Christ over the last six weeks! They've also had opportunities to grow in their faith and to make close friends they'll keep for the rest of their lives. Many of the missionaries have said during training camp, "I wish all the teens I knew were like this!"

Maybe you know a teenager who would make a good student leader. They're just not sure how to lead children in learning about Christ.

Consider telling them about Christian Youth in Action or show them some of these links -

Maybe you've already supported a teen in CYIA - we want to say thank you!

You've been a part of something big that will last for eternity.

It's never too late - or too early - to teach others about Jesus!

Who will God raise up for the Western Wisconsin team next? Will it be you?