What Happened at the Elevate Fall Retreat?
September 21, 2010
Tracy Hagler recounts her experience of leading some Buya girls at this weekend’s student Fall Retreat. This is “why” we do things like this, and it speaks HUGELY to the deep needs our teens have. During the worship night, each student was given 30 minutes of solitude to draw an outline of themselves on paper and fill the outline with words, phrases, and pictures that represented who they felt they really were inside their hearts. Tracy gives her perspective on watching these girls truly open up in a safe, loving environment:
“I loved the time I got to spend with my girls saturday night! I was surprised on how deep they all went. When we 1st started they were all really nervous to show the group their pictures. Finally one brave sole went first and then another and then another. At first it was just me exploring and asking questions about their drawing but very quickly the other girls joined in and were asking each other questions. Somebody’s answer to a question would make somebody else go back and go deeper on their own things. It was truly amazing! My girl who went last didn’t want to show her paper but in the end did. She was crying the whole time. It broke my heart to hear what a “bad” person she thought she was and how much anger and pain she kept inside. She expressed how deeply she wanted to change and how badly she wanted to know Gods love.
Two girls who used to be friends back in 1st grade and were not friends anymore talked about that. One of the girls had a lot of hurt feelings over it all and it was cool to see them both open up and share their feelings and bring God into it.
A lot of them fear the “unknown” or “what will come tomorrow” They wern’t really sure why they worried about it so much but they did. One had a huge fear of her family dying. Every single one of my girls put their parents and friends down for their biggest influence. I was surprised about the need they all expressed for their parents. If they got along with them or not. They all looked towards their parents for love, acceptance, security, and God.
When we moved on and talked about being in the image of God all my girls thought that ment like memorizing the Bible or wearing christian t-shirts. So I rephrased it to a child of God. It really hurt their hearts to have to look at some of the things they do away from God. When I had them turn their papers over and write on each others papers it was so inspiring! They wrote whole paragraphs to each other! And for some of the girls this was the 1st time they met!! They even made a paper for me. When they read their papers they were all in tears and giving each other hugs but it was really powerful for my girl who went last. It was hard for her to read those words and see herself thru others eyes. She had to walk away a moment. In the end she threw her paper away because she said her parents could never see the things she wrote down. I am glad she had a safe place to share. On sunday morning I watched as she signed up to volunteer for something at Shoal Creek. I hope thats a good sign!!”
Did anything you read touch your heart? Did you find yourself wishing you had something like this when you were a teenager? You CAN do something about it! We desperately need more adult leaders to create safe relationships and environments for the teens at Shoal Creek and the Northland, so email justin.talley@shoalcreek.org to find out how you can be a part of a movement for teens.
Elevate Family Update
August 23, 2010
1. Family Day at the Lake this coming Saturday, 2pm-6ish at Seba’s Property in Lathrop, MO (223 NE Mule Barn Road). As of now, there’s NOT a group meeting at the building ahead of time. If you would want to be someone to help lead others from the building up to the Lake, please let me know ASAP! Cost = $5/person or $15/family. Bring your own lawnchair and swimgear. This is going to be a laid back, grill out and hang out afternoon, no “programming” or real activities scheduled. Just having fun in low gear! RSVP to me if you haven’t already!
2. Student Fall Retreat Sept 18th/19th (Sat-Overnight) at Shoal Creek. Open to all 6th-12th graders, a day of serving at the Fall Fest in Pleasant Valley, then spending the night at the church building for some hanging out and growing closer to God through, music, message, and group time. RSVP SOON! Cost = $10 (to supply food, drinks, and retreat supplies). Adult help needed, please think about using this as a weekend to serve the teenage community we have at Shoal Creek.
3. Like Soccer? Or want to help out Mission Adelante? How bout both! Go see the KC Wizards play the Houston Dynamo and a portion of every ticket sold will go to Mission Adelante. Here’s your link to buy tickets: http://www.kcwizards.com/schedule
Buya Students Video – Why should you Vamos?
April 27, 2010
Just ask Amber, Karli, Hannah, and Phil.
Parents – Sunday Buya Discussion Guide
March 21, 2010
(Below is the lesson plan we used this past Sunday)
Announcements – Be at Shoal Creek in 2 Wednesdays for an amazing Easter Experience Service (Mar 31st 6:30-8:00)
Sign up if you’re interested in going on a Mission Adelante Service Trip next month. (email justin.talley@shoalcreek.org to RSVP)
Video – Skit Guys “Don’t Let The Rabbit Get In The Way Of Easter”
Extra Materials Needed: Butcher paper and markers
Discussion Questions:
- Take the sheet of butcher paper and some markers and write out everything you can think of that is associated with Easter. It can be things related to church, or things not related to church at all. Just write down anything that you think of when you think about Easter.
- Now, out of all the different things you’ve written out on that paper, about what percentage of those things are directly related to Jesus? There’s no right or wrong here, we’re just trying to observe.
- Is there anybody in the group, or can a leader, sum up what the Easter story is about? Doesn’t have to be in detail at all. What is the “resurrection” of Jesus and what does it mean?
- Can anyone hear give a definition of another bigger word – commercialism? (definition from Webster-merriam’s online dictionary: “excessive emphasis on profit”)
- In your opinion how has commercialism-an excessive emphasis on profit-affected holidays like Easter and Christmas? Is there both good and bad to be found in the commercialization of spiritual holidays?
- Read the scripture below about Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem. What you need to know is that the Temple was not just any temple, but a specific Temple that God told his people to build directly for Him. The Temple was the holiest place that God’s people could visit. God had this temple built so that the people of that time could have a healthy relationship with God. People would visit the Temple, offer sacrifices (like doves) or give money to the temple to worship God and ask for forgiveness, and grow closer to God through that ritual. At least that was the way God planned it to be. But listen to what Jesus found when he visited the Temple in the week before he died on the Cross.
Matthew 21:12-14 – Jesus Visits The Temple
12-14Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text:
“ My house was designated a house of prayer”;
You have made it a hangout for thieves.
Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them.
- When Jesus got to the temple, he was outraged because he found that people were trying to make money off of other people’s relationship with God. The sellers were selling things not to help others become closer to God, but to make a personal profit. Has Easter, today, become more about a personal profit, or about celebrating Jesus’ death for our sins?
- As your family begins to get ready to celebrate Easter, what are going to be the ways that the Rabbit gets in the way of the Resurrection? Is there anything you think your family can try to do to make Jesus’ death the center of attention, and not the Easter Bunny?
Taking It Home: Tell your family that this Easter you want to make sure that as a family you give Jesus as much attention as you do the Easter Bunny, dyed eggs, fake plastic grass, and those gross little peeps. Ask you parents “what’s one thing we can do to make sure we celebrate Jesus, not the Rabbit?”
Weekly Parent Update
March 8, 2010
Hey Families, here’s what you need to know:
1. Charlie Hall Concert This Wed – Doors open at 6:30, concert starts at 7:30. It’s not just Charlie Hall, it’s also the Robbie Seay Band and Audrey Assad. So $15 a ticket is well worth your money! Here’s a link that can give you a better description of what will be going on.
2. Mission Adelante Serve Day Saturday April 17th – Just wanting to make sure you know this ahead of time, cause we only have 3-4 opportunities a year to interact with Mission Adelante (visit their website here), and we REALLY like partnering with Mission Adelante. They have an extremely compassionate heart for Hispanic immigrant families here locally in Kansas City. So if your students haven’t gotten any exposure to our partnership with Mission Adelante yet, jump on the bus!
3. Buya Discussion Guide From Sunday – Here’s the link to the Buya Discussion Guide our middle school students went through this past Sunday.