Don’t Give Up!!!
Last night I talked with the kids here about not giving up when things get tough in life. I also talked about how we often make decisions that lead us away from a place of God’s presence in our lives. It went very well and kids responded well to the challenge I gave them at the end. I am going to post the lesson/talk here so you can check it out if you want.
Please pray for our trip next week. Things are coming together very well. I have been getting all the necessary supplies and camping stuff we need. Because of your generous scholarship support I am able to have several kids come that were not able to afford the full price. THANKS!!!! It is truly a blessing to have you all behind me.
Also, pray for Maggie and the new baby. Pray that the baby will not come until AFTER I get back from the trip. I will be in sub-par cell phone service areas while camping so if things happen to progress quickly I may not be able to answer my phone right away and find out what’s going on. I am planning on driving my own car up there so I can have the flexibility to leave right away if I get “the call”.
Thanks again for all your prayers, scholarships, and support. I would not be here without you all. “Fight the fight. Keep the faith. Finish the race.”
Dan
Word Doc. for Don’t Give Up!!!
“Time is ticking away… tick, tick, tickin’ away.”
Everything is shaping up GREAT for the middle school camping trip!!! I was able to spend a lot of time in April and May planning, calling, and preparing for the trip. That prep is coming in handy now because it allows me to still spend a lot of time pursuing kids for one on one’s and even going after kids I want to come on the trip. So far we have 6 kids that want to go and are planning on attending. That is awesome because most kids have a hard time committing to anything 2 weeks in advance.
Our teaching topic for the trip is “Child of the King”. We are going to talk about how how people view us, how we view ourselves, who people think we are, and what a child of God looks like. On the last night I am going to give a short salvation message and give the kids an opportunity to become an Child of the King or to recommit their lives to Him.
Part of that evening involves giving them something they can tangibly take home with them. I have ordered 21 rubber bracelets with “Child of the King” printed on the outside to help them remember who they TRULY are in Christ. The cost for the bracelets is $51.45. I am putting this here because I want to give you an opportunity to step alongside these kids and give them this gift by paying for the bracelets. I don’t want it to sound like I am always asking for money from you all because I am SOOOO thankful for all you have done to support me, TreeHouse, and sponsor kids this summer. Chaska TreeHouse has had more scholarship money come in this summer than in any past summer!! Thank you SOOO much for that blessing.
Having said that, I know there is someone who has a heart for kids who is willing to step forward and donate these bracelets to the 12-15 of us going on the trip. I could use the money from my scholarship fund to pay for them but I want to be able to use that money to scholarship as many kids as possible. If this is something you are interested in doing just let me by posting a comment to this update. I’ll be in contact with you via email after that to work it all out.
On another note, please pray for Maggie and the new baby. We are getting closer to the due date (Aug. 13th) and it’s getting more uncomfortable. To make things even more fun our central air conditioning has broken! Last weekend it hit 98 degrees here which is pretty hot for Minnesota. The forecast for next week is upper 80′s and a couple days in the 90′s again. We do not have the money to fix the central air now so we bought a window unit to help take the edge off when it gets really hot. Pray that Maggie stays cool over the next few weeks as we get closer and it gets hotter! Thanks! We love our house and having a pool this summer has been a lifesaver.
Have a great weekend and I’ll update you again with specific prayer requests as we get closer to the trip. Just leave a comment here if you are willing to give the bracelets to the kids on our trip (and yes, you will get a bracelet too). Thanks!!!
What is that smell!!!?
I am posting my notes for my talk tonight titled “What is that smell?”. I am talking about how we “smell” to those around us. No, it’s not a hygiene talk (even though that may not be the worst thing to talk about!) it focus’ on what people see in us as we live. What do people notice about you? Are you different? Are you imitating Jesus? Do you “smell” like Jesus?
I am now posting everything as a PDF so it is easier to view and use. If you want the Word document I can email it to you because PDF does not allow you to edit or change the text.
Headed in the right direction
Today I am hanging out with Mark (name changed to keep anonymity). He is going into 8th grade and lives with his Dad. His Mom died in a car accident 2 years ago and he has since changed schools, moved to a new town, and been forced to spend a lot of time alone at home (his Dad works long hours so Mark is home by himself for a lot of the day).
Recently Mark told with me that he was watching a TV preacher on Sunday, When he told me I smiled because most teens don’t watch TV evangelists! 
. He said the preacher talked about how Christians often tell OTHERS how they should live but then go and do the exact opposite. That idea really hit home for him (I would say Mark is “Christian” but not necessarily a “Christ follower”). He has been telling his friends to do certain things or not to do certain things, yet, when he has had an opportunity he does those same things himself. As a result of his conviction, Mark told me that he decided to recommit his life to Jesus and start doing the things he has told others to do.
I think Mark is has truly accepted Christ into his heart now but I don’t think he fully grasps what it means to have Christ at the center of his life. He wants to go to church but his Dad does not take him. He is interested in spiritual things but I don’t think he knows what to do next.
Today when we hang out I want to get Mark a Bible and a devotional book to encourage him to continue to pursue God. Pray that we are able to find something that interests him and continues to bring him back each day. Pray that he will be sensitive to God’s still small voice in his life. Saying you want to change is a lot easier than actually changing so pray that he’ll have the courage to make wise choices this summer. With so much “down time” it can be easy to get involved in things that are not positive or beneficial (especially since his Dad is not home much).
Thank you for all your prayers and support. This summer has been going by so fast! I can’t believe it’s almost July!! My June calender has been SUPER full and July is beginning to look pretty scary too! I am so blessed and encouraged by all of you who have supported me and my ministry at TreeHouse on a monthly bases, one time bases, or as a summer scholarship sponsor. You have no idea how excited I am to see how God has brought you all around me to help reach kids who are struggling to stay afloat in life. I hope I can represent you all well. Pray that I’ll be able to continue to have the energy and patience I need to reach the kids I see each day.
Thanks again and I hope you all have a great day!
Dan
CrAzY sUmMeR!!!!
Summer is now here and things are going to be crazy busy!! We have events planned for the next three months. They range from simple (coffee house and games at TreeHouse) to complex (Missions trip to Arkansas; JR High camping trip to the North Shore, etc…). Last week we had our Summer Kick-Off (aka “Bringing Velcro Backâ€) and it was my first activity/event to plan and coordinate. Our goal was around 40 kids. I had planned to have a Velcro Wall set up for everyone to use, hotdogs, chips, basketball, lawn bowling, music, and other group games. In order to help promote the evening we went to the a few of the schools we serve during lunch periods to give out info about the event and talk the event up so they’d be excited about coming.
We must be good at marketing or something! Let’s just say we overpassed the 40 youth mark. In fact, we almost doubled it! We had over 70 kids and staff there! It was crazy, crazy, crazy! I thought it was pretty busy and hectic when we’d have just 40-45 kid show up for a program or activity, but that was TAME compared to this night! Thankfully we had 2 extra adults there to help volunteer and see what TreeHouse was all about.
The night went really well for having so many kids. It was supposed to thunderstorm and rain during the hours our event was taking place but God held the bad weather off and gave us a perfect evening. The Velcro Wall was a hit, the hotdogs were eaten up immediately, and we were able to connect with a bunch of the new kids. In fact, I was able to hang out with one of the new guys today. He is going into 8th grade and was born in Yemen before coming to the USA 4 years ago. He is a great kid and hopefully will learn a lot at TreeHouse over the next few years. This young boy’s parents both work but his Dad is not working now because of a broken foot. That said, expenses are a little tight at his household. I hope he is able to attend more TreeHouse events because he adds so much to the group and has fit in very well for being so new.
Many of you will be receiving a letter from me in the mail soon. It is my updated Summer 2007 newsletter. It also has a small sheet of paper in it that I would like you to read. It is a yellow slip of paper with scholarship info on it. As most of you know, the kids at TreeHouse do not have the ability to pay for some of the larger activities. To help with that we send out a letter with this yellow scholarship info sheet at the beginning of the summer. If you feel like God is leading you to give above and beyond what you already give or have given than I would encourage you to send in an extra donation with that yellow sheet. That money will go directly in to my scholarship account and I will be able to use that to help kids pay for an event that they would otherwise not be able to attend.
Example: This July I am taking a group of Jr. High students on a camping trip. The cost for the trip is $110. Sounds pretty steep, huh!? Well, it includes a week of food, Kayak rental for a day on a lake, transportation, campground fees, and state park parking fees. Overall, that’s a pretty good deal. BUT, when I’ve talked to kids about going on the trip they’ve all said the same thing. “I really want to go but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get all of the money together for the trip.†Some kids have jobs and are able to save and pay for most of their trips. Others have no resources other than their parents for trip money. I would love to have every kid come and grow on this awesome trip.
That is where you all come in. If I have the scholarships available, I would like to tell each kid that if they really want to come money will not be an obstacle. Obviously they will have to try their best to work and do things to make it happen from their side but that doesn’t always meet the needs. Just pray about what you think God would have you do and take it from there.
If you do not receive my quarterly newsletter and would like to begin receiving it just let me know and I’ll add you to my list. If you want to be off my list and not receive any annoying letters or emails just let me know and I’ll take you off both lists.
I hope you’re all having a great day! If you want to see what is going on here at Chaska TH go to “TreeHouse Youth Outreach” on my Blogroll and click on “About Usâ€- “Chaska†to view our summer events calender. Also, if anyone is interested in attending one of our program nights or events to see what it’s like just let me know and we’ll see what we can work out.
