Italy Beach Break High School Edition

It's hard to put into words what God does through the Holy Spirit. Live's Change in His presence. A response is required by that kind of love. As I look back on this great adventure, I know that He was, and is, and is to come.

Roll Out: We packed a bus full of students from Heidelberg & Turkey and rolled through the first night south through Switzerland and into Italia. It was a grey morning driving into Tuscany but you could see the beauty just ready to burst forth.

Day 1 : Straight off the bus we are met by the work staff and ushered into tent city where an unsuspecting leader immediately gets pied in the face and Beach Break has begun. Our guys group was signed up for Paintball on Day One so we had a quick breakfast and geared up for an 8-on-8 Woodsball match. I have never played Paintball so it was fun for me to get a taste of the that adrenaline rush. After paintball we loaded on to the shuttle that took us to the beach, we spent the afternoon playing volleyball in the sand and body surfing the shin high peelers. I loved the moments, I could feel the walls tearing down through leisure activities and relaxation I was looking forward to hearing from Jesus that night. Our first club was all about Christ and His power. We read about how Jesus has so much authority and power that even the winds and the waves obey Him. I loved the talk and felt the rushing wind in my heart that night. -We were all running on only a few hours of (bus sleep) and continued into a foundation laying small group and a good end to the first night. At least thats what we thought. There were about 400 students and close to 200 leaders/work staff in tent city and nearby areas. Well that night, we felt the authority and power of God in a real way, just like the Bible story we read. Lightning came through the area with a bright sky and thunderous shockwaves through our tents. At 3am we had to evacuate the campground and move hundreds of people into the gym at Camp Darby. It was a crazy moment but an awesome adventure to recall.

Day 2 : The leaders rose up in the gym with all the students still at rest, the leaders met to worship Christ together in a raquetball court. This was my favorite worship moment... Evacuated haggard leaders meeting in a room with crazy acoustics to present our lives before God. If I only had a recording of that moment, those voices in Spirit and in Truth. We were supposed to take everyone to a waterpark that day but the plans had changed so we moved on to the beach and the Lord had a special blessing for me and my students there... WAVES. They were almost two feet high and I got crazy on them lefts, boogien the curl, sharing what I love with students that had never even ridin waves before. We also had some good pizza and gelato to eat.

Day 3 : Elba... We take buses and drive to the port and cruise the Med waters to Elba, an island off the coast of Italy where Napolean was once exiled. I looked in my Surfers guide to Europe and I knew that there was a reef break on the south west corner of the island, I really wanted to get there but it wasnt feasible. I ate gelato and chilled on the pebbled beach. Skipping stones with students and enjoying the sunshine. That night we talked about Christ as a personal God. He's not only all powerful, but personal as well.

Day 4 : I was really stoked off my rocker Day 4 to visit Cinque Terre on the west coast of Italy. We took a train into the 5 cities and enjoyed some pesto pizza, snorkelled in the lagoon/harbor and many students leaped at the opportunity to jump off some cliffs into the water. I wanted so bad to jump off the rock but I'm still letting my collar bone heal and I didnt want to risk any injury at this point. That morning before Cinque Terre, we talked about sin. How we've all missed the mark. How sin creates a wall between us and God. Everyone needs forgiveness... We've all sinned and fall short of His glory.

Day 5 : It was another beach day for us and the waves were less organized, there was a choppy on shore wind and not much pulse in the water but we made the most of it and boogied our way to shore. We ate more and more gelato and basked under the Tuscan sun. Many students had their first chance to ride waves on Day 5 and it was just great to relax and catch the fetch. It's the inbetween moments that matter most in ministry I think. The silent moments of relection, the bites to eat with fellowship and bonding moments that happen when our guard is let down. These are the moment when the Gospel is preached by the way we live. I was thankful for each and every word and truth shared this awesome trip. That night we talked about the cross, we talked about the fact that Jesus has destroyed the wall of sin that seperates us from God. There was a 15 minute quiet time for everyone on the beach and we all had the opportunity to watch the sunset in silence and pray for God's movement on our behalf, we used the silence to just absorb the G3 sunset that saturated the sky. Hundreds of people in silence before the sun sets is an epic moment in my walk with God. I am so thankful for all the people who have given and sacrificed so that I could be a part of God's plan in these students lives. I'll end with some advice that I shared with one of the students. We were talking about life and I said that if I could give him any advice it would be this: Trust in Christ that He died for you, Trust that He can and will forgive your sin, Trust that He rose again, Trust that we will be with Him.

Last Day & Ride Home: The trip ended with a talk on the resurrection. God has conquered the penelty and the power of sin. We packed up and said goodbye. The workstaff shared their testimonies and we headed north with a bus full of kids on pop zing, north for Deutschland. It was a long road but through the entire trip the Lord provided us with safety and blessings both known and unseen. I love these students. I love Christ. Remember: There are no gaps in the trinity... God is control, Jesus has finished His work on the cross, and the Holy Spirit compells us and guides us to turn toward God and walk with Him. We do not love Him under our own power but He fills us with His power and His love.

Italy Beach Break 2009

The last few registrations for Beach Break are coming in and the work crew is in place, setting up camp for 600 middle and high school students to experience the love and grace of Christ. Beach Break 2009 starts this Friday! We will be camping in tents over the next two weeks at Camp Darby in Livorno, Italy. Beach Break will include day trips to Elba, Cecina, Pisa, Lucca & Cinque Terre. I'm seriously stoked for the boat trip to Elba next week. I always love being near the water.

There's still an element of mystery regarding the program and what we will be doing all week but one thing is for sure. Students will be introduced to Christ through truth, love and grace.

Pray it up for this time together. Lives will be changed this week. You can be a part of this week with us through prayer & supplication.

POP ZING AWE YEAH!

Schools Out For Summer

Yesturday was the last day of school and to usher in summer with a bang Club Beyond teamed up with Youth Services to host an event called, "Splash into Summer." We had over 150 kids show up to a day of Water Wars, extreme obastacle courses, BBQ, a chance to dunk their leaders and a great story from the Bible.

I think that of all the events we've been a part of this year I may have had the most fun at this one. I enjoyed being dunked in the tank, even though it was a cold windy afternoon. It was awesome to work with the YS and to see all the different faces.

There were over 1,000 water balloons filled with a host of super soakers and buckets of water for our Capture The Flag/Water War. It was an all out water assault. I enjoyed every minute of the day!

it's PCS Season...

...it's PCS Season and that means many people are moving away. Some are headed back to the States or to a different post in Europe. This is my first experience actually seeing people's lives being shifted at this level. Our staff is being moved and shifted as well. I've never had to say goodbye to this many students, coworkers and friends. I'm in prayer right now knowing that as people move out of this area, new faces will move in. There wiill be new students to reach with the truth of Christ, new staff that come this way with a burden to share God's love and new soldiers that come here to serve their country. As the tables turn, doors open and close... Please pray for those who still need to meet Jesus. There are students who need to know Christ personally, staff that need His guidance and soldiers that need His protection. Just a few thoughts and something to pray for.

-Rob

10-13

In the police force, there's a code called 10-13. If a man is down and needs help, backup or rescue he calls out 10-13 on his radio. Police officers take 10-13 very seriously and if a fallen officer crys out 10-13 over the radio, the nearest officers drop everything they are doing to come to the rescue of the officer in need.

Are you in need of a rescue?

Romans 10:13 says, "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Christ waits for you to call on His love and mercy. He draws you to him and will rescue you by grace through faith. We all are sinful and fall short of the great glory of Christ. We all need rescue from sin, we all need to be cleasened of unrighteousness. He is our salvation.

I just want to encourage you through this blog to cry out to the one who forgives and mends. Develop a real relationship with Jesus through faith in His death, burial and resurrection, through faith in His Word. The tomb is empty, He wants to hear your cry and respond in love.