Final Reflections & Photos

We have returned, showered in something other than a tent shower, slept in our own beds, and had a bit of comfort food. Life is taking on a sense of normalcy for our team who served in Greeley, CO last week. For this final blog post we have two reflections from our last two adult leaders and a sampling of photos from the trip. 

Reflections come from Garrett & Morgan. 

After the close of Week of Hope some R&R was in order. There was no better way to escape and enjoy than beauty in the mountains. From Greeley we all loaded into the bus and ventured out west spending the afternoon supply shopping in Walden, CO.  Once back into the camp site located at the base of Bull Mountain we set up camp in two Yurts. The Yurt gave the feeling of both staying in a teepee and a cabin. After a late lunch consisting of hotdogs and Leigh’s magical mac and cheese we all enjoyed a hike through the local nature trials and many fun card games inside. The baked potato dinner was enjoyed inside while staying dry out of the rain. Getting ready for bed everyone was able to lie down and peer at the brilliant stars through the Yurt skylight. With a busy week it was very nice to spend such a great evening before the long car trip returning to Denver. This was the perfect way to complete a God given experience with great people and amazing memories.

-Garrett-

In a week of service where all of our group was divided among the various Service Crews it was great to hear everyone's highs, lows, and shout outs when we did youth group devotions at night. It was my chance to check-in with the full group and learn what they were getting from their experience with Week of Hope. My favorite part of this time together was never having to volun-told someone to share, the students were eager to share about their day. The students were able to think about what stood out to them during their time of service, free time with the other churches, and morning/evening programming and share how their day impacted them. The personal pieces of pride for me happened in hearing the students' highs of the day be based around spending time with their fellow Calvary youth group members and seeing glimpses of the Spirit moving within their service activities. They were getting wonderful nuggets of truth throughout their days and bringing them to share with the group. No matter how much you hope students get why service, faith, cross cultural interactions are important and how each of those aspects of life impact our understanding of God, self, and other you cannot force them to get it. The fact that each night during our devotion time they were naturally offering up how they were making these connections gave me a piece of hope. A hope that our students were expanding their understanding of faith and communal responsibility. It was an honor to share this week of service with our wonderful students and leaders. 

- Morgan

Thank you for taking time out of your day to share our week with us by reading the blog. It was a great week of service and connecting with one another. To close out this blog we leave you with photos from this past week. 

   

From Work Camp to Yurt

Friday morning we woke up to clean what had been our home for the past week: Celebration Point Church. Each church had their various tasks to collectively contribute to the up keep of our home site for the week. The students completed their work and we loaded the bus for the handoff of two of our students who had to go home early. We gathered for a bit of caffeine and the annual work camp awards for our students. Awards included "The Eric Clapton", "Schlond Poofa", "Mario Andretti", "Epic Reader", and so on. We said our goodbye to the students leaving early and began our journey to Walden, CO where we would stay in Yurts for the night and do trails in the State Park. Little did we know we were in for such a unique experience when we began the drive. Tim did an amazing job driving us through the mountains! Upon our arrival in Walden we learned their grocery store closed down on Thursday of the week before and realized our resourcefulness would be taking on a new level with this trip. We found our way to a Dollar General for a few basics but they did not have meat, dairy, bread, or vegetables - this meant we would be heading to the local meat market for the remaining items. Thankfully this meat market allowed for us to get enough items for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. After we finished our grocery adventure in the main city of Walden we traveled about 23 miles out to the Yurts. The crew unloaded and began to settle in our digs to eat lunch before the students, Garrett, and Morgan went to the State Park for a trail walk while the Bessey's kindly cooked dinner for everyone. The evening consisted of laughter, heavy rain, and card games. It was a day filled with stories and memories, that is for sure. We all also learned how to be resourceful when the plan is given a curveball and the Yurt life takes on new meaning. Everyone did a great job rolling with the punches and the students had a great time on the trail - not to mention the endless fun the found in multiple games of Spoons.

The reflections come from Thurbil, Gaawar, Leigh, and Tim.

"Today was the last day for the week of hope. We were able to come up to the yurts and have a great time hiking.It sucked to say goodbye to everyone at the church but i was missing calvary. I can’t wait to be in my own bed.When all the youth were sitting messing around 4 of our youth leaders ambushed us with silly string. This week was one of the best weeks of summer and I can’t wait till next year."
-Thurbil 

"Today day was the last day of the week of hope. It was a great week serving and helping people in need. Luckily we went up to the Estes park area where we are staying at yurts. We went hiking up on a trail close by. After the hike this happened out of nowhere, we were ambushed by four of the youth leaders. They sprayed us with silly string. Great week and I can’t wait to go back home with my family."
-Gaawar

"What a remarkable week we have had at Week of Hope.  I have had the privilege of watching our Calvary Youth grow in their faith.  As a church we are blessed to have youth that care for those that are less fortunate.  They walked away wanting to do more to help disabled adults, feed hungry children and maybe become the next horse whisperer. For my part as a Youth Leader I had the opportunity to meet students from all across the country who are committed to their faith.  I  spent my week with many of these children filling 30 thousand water balloons so that underprivileged children could be apart of the largest balloon fight in Colorado.  What a great week!"
-Leigh   

"This week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a group of young adults through the “Week of Hope".  One representative from Iowa, two from South Dakota and one from Texas.  Many times when people are put together to perform a task, they go through a process that is referred to as "Forming, Storming, and Norming."  Essentially, the team comes together (forming), works through differences in ideologies, and personality  (storming) and then hopefully arrive at a harmonious way of working together (norming).  Many times that process takes a great deal of time.  This week the team/crew I was a part of was assigned to work at the Orchard apartment complex in Loveland, Colorado.  Orchard is an apartment complex for low income, under privileged people.   Once we arrived at Orchard and began to meet the folks that live there, all thoughts of ourselves melted away and there was no need for us to work through the norming process. We first met a little boy named Curtis through his second floor window.  Curtis challenged us about working in his yard.  Quickly, we were able to gain his trust and assure him that we were “Ok folks” and meant no harm.  In about an hour Curtis came  out of his apartment to meet us.  Once that happened, many more children came out to meet us. Through the rest of the week we worked to trim bushes, pickup trash, and most importantly play with the kids at the complex. By the end of the week, the crew that I worked with and the children at Orchard were all fast friends. We may have made some improvements to the appearance of Orchard, but most assuredly the children of Orchard improved and enriched the lives of the crew."
- Tim

It was a great week with a wonderful group of students and leaders. We safely returned home earlier this afternoon. There will be one more blog reflection to come in the next few days that will cover Saturday and reflections from Garrett and Morgan. That post will also include photos from the trip, so be sure to keep an eye out for it.

We are thankful for all of you who journeyed with us through this blog! We hope your week was as good for you as ours was for us.

Goodnight from Denver!

Week of Hope comes to a close

There were tears from some, sadness from many as we all said goodbye to those at our Service Sites. Tonight in youth group devotion we heard about what the students are afraid of in leaving this week where their time was spent serving, focusing on faith, and surrounded by those who support them. Each of us shared our concerns and then were challenged to think of ways we could tangibly apply the skills and experiences we had this week when we return to our day-to-day routines. As a group the students stepped out of their comfort zones and in doing so grew closer to one another in shared experiences. It was a week filled with high’s, low’s, and average’s - all contributing to the realities of serving with others in a setting such as this. We will finish our evening here and then load up in the morning and head for a day of debriefing, but for tonight our students head to bed tired but joyful after a week of serving those here in Greeley. 

Tonight’s reflection comes from Dheenu:
"Today was a hot and sweaty day with many surprises. Most of us were filling water gallons again but some of us got to go give out food. It is partially sad though because we will never get to see them again. After we came back, we had our service and devotions. One of the best parts of the day was the dance party. We all synchronized to the dance moves and had a blast."
- Dheenu Bachu

As we begin to transition from this place please keep our students in your thoughts and prayers. We pray this will not be an experience solely felt here but that they find small but realistic ways of taking the lessons learned here and applying them at home, growing further in their journeys as disciples. 

Goodnight from Greeley!

Over the hump and still moving forward!

Today was a where several of us felt we found our rhythm - some through ease of work and others through monotony of the day. A highlight for our students is that their is a family of 5 here who is also from Denver and they have built good friendships. After dinner tonight their family and our youth group went for ice cream and the students have really begun to click. It has been exciting for the leaders to see our students reach out to this family who don’t have a church home and share with them about their experiences at Calvary as a way of inviting them to church. As the day wrapped up our evening programming discussed the cost each of us are willing to offer in order to in a healthy relationship with God. During our youth group devotion time we heard how our students realized they have been contributing in tangible ways to bring about glimpses of heaven here on earth. It has been encouraging to hear their stories of how they see their gifts and abilities being used for the bigger picture. 

Tonight’s reflections come from Natalie and Michael.  

"I feel like today was one of the most powerful days I’ve had at camp. The sermon spoke to me in ways I cannot describe and I am so thankful for the amazing worship crew we have at the church that we are staying at. After my group and I got done working for the day, I was hanging out in the “basement” of the church where there is a ping pong table and a couch where we can all go to hang out, talk, and become closer with each other. Someone I had only one conversation with invited me to get ice cream with them. Today was a great experience for me to grow closer to the people in my youth group, and the many people at the church. I’m so happy for the awesome people here with me."
- Natalie

"Today I loved the night time sermon.  It really spoke to me.  I think that they did a really great job.  I have really enjoyed listening to what they are saying.  I love to listen to what the leaders have to say.  I can not wait for tomorrow. A brand new day, and a new start."
- Michael

Tomorrow is our last day of serving with Week of Hope and we are thankful for the opportunity to have served this week and look forward to ending on a strong note. We are thankful you all are with us, even from afar. 

Good night from Greeley!

Half way and Free night.

Day two has come and gone, filled with countless laughter and deeper friendships. The students woke up around 6:45am to head to breakfast then attended morning program in their Work Crews. Today in devotions the student discussed sorrow to healing and ways in their lives that have been examples of the Spirit moving to bring peace to the situation. Then the work began as each of the Service Crews made their way back to their Work Sites to continue their projects. Most of our students are serving with New Hope and have a goal for filling 50,000 water balloons for a record breaking water fight for children in low income neighborhoods - they also make 100's of lunches then deliver them to public housing sites. The rest of the youth group are split between a therapy facility that uses horses for those who are disabled, a ranch where they are fixing chicken coops, and grounds maintenance at an apartment complex. Once the students returned from their projects we gathered as a youth group for free night. There was basketball and mini golf played at FunPlex Greeley, dinner at Pizza Ranch in Loveland, and the ever exciting trip to Walmart. We were thankful to celebrate Gaarwar's birthday today with multiple renditions of "Happy Birthday" and a chocolate cupcake. It was another packed day but the students are doing well and serving without complaint. 

Today's reflection comes from Jada. 

"Today we worked at new hope filling up water balloons and passing out breakfast and lunch. The kids and adults we gave the lunches to could not afford them for themselves. It was sad and heart braking to think about being in their position, but it was very fun playing with all the kids. I had lots of fun and saw lots of god moments and hope to help pass out food or help them in any other way again."

We are thankful to know you are praying for this week and in particular our youth group. We hope each of you are doing well. 

Good night from Greeley!

Serving in the community & Believing the words of God

Today we each went out to our Service Sites and began learning about the people who live, work, and serve there. As each of us went out our tasks varied from making meals, tending to horses, mending fences, making water balloons, cleaning grounds at public housing. Our youth group gathered after our day of service as we shared dinner together and stories from the day. As the evening went on our group served those here for the Week of Hope by completing our hospitality tasks of cleaning the bathrooms, commons, and outside - our students did this with a joyful spirit and great willingness. We reconvened with our Service Crews for evening programming where the theme was From Hearing to Healing - the story of Jesus healing Legion. Each of us were asked to write down all the words that have been harmful or negative then we listened to the truthful words spoken to us by God - that we are loved, the Beloved, more than enough, gifted, filled with purpose. We gathered once more as a youth group to process the day and what our experiences were during evening programming. It was a full day with ups and downs and our students and leaders moved throughout it with a caring hearts and a spirit of hospitality. 

For tonight's youth reflections we will hear from Miciah & Taylor. Here are a few of their thoughts from today. 

"When we woke up this morning I felt that we could feel God’s energy being shared by the camp staff. We all would come down and eat a great breakfast that some students and staff prepared before we were even awake. After breakfast we enjoyed a fabulous service. We then went to different worksites and had fun meeting special people with great personalities. We all had lots of fun at our worksites. We came back to the church we are using as base camp. We had some free time before we ate dinner and enjoyed a great service. These services are great and tonight’s was simply moving. At the end of the service, everyone just sat and thought for about five minutes. We had lots of time allotted where we could just think and get closer to God. Today has been a greatly changing day!"

-Miciah

"Hey everyone! Today I woke up and had breakfast with good friends from my youth group, and I had a pretty good feeling about today. The morning service was a lot of fun, as well. I enjoyed the music and the interaction. My work crew is very diverse, coming from North Dakota, Iowa, Texas, Colorado, etc. We are all very quiet, but very hardworking, and even though it was hard for us to open up, we still made a great team. Most of our day was spent shoveling horse crap in a huge pasture, which, while it wasn’t exactly my idea of a good time, was pretty cool because I got to hang out near the horses and explore the field, which was filled with little toads, grasshoppers, garden snakes, and bugs. Today worked me hard, but I felt a lot better knowing Jesus was working through me, and I can’t wait till tomorrow!"

-Taylor

So from all of us here, we send you are love and wish you well. Thanks for sharing in this experience with us by reading about it here. 

Good night from Greeley!

Day 1: New Place, New People, New Experiences

With the expert driving of Tim Bessey our group arrived safely to Celebration Point Church of the Nazarene in Greeley, CO! Our group unloaded the van, settled into the Purple Room (girls) and Green Room (guys), then found their ways to making new friendships with the other students who come from five churches across the States. After dinner we experienced our first evening programming, learned what Service Crew we'd be in, and what our Service Site would be. The half day that kicked off our Week of Hope service camp was full and energy consuming - all in good ways. Our students are ready for bed and thankful for lights out, believe it or not. The team has been their remarkable selves, setting a good energy for the week. We begin our Service Sites tomorrow and will have reflections from a few students about their day for the next blog post. As you think of us during the hours of 9am and 3:30pm, in particular, keep our Service Crews and Work Sites in your prayers.

Good night from Greeley,
M.S. Work Team!

3......2......1......GO!

Only 2 short days until Calvary middle school youth and adult leaders head out for their mission experience with Group Missions in Ft. Collins, CO!
I am sure that the youth and adults are getting very excited about their upcoming adventures and are looking forward to the experience, the growth, the worship, etc! I am also sure that because all of these youth are new to the Group Missions experience that they are not totally aware of what is in store for them, including our new youth pastor, Morgan Caruthers who is fearlessly and lovingly leading the middle school crew for this amazing experience.
The anticipation of the unknown can be very exciting as well as a little nerve wracking. Questions like, "where will we be sleeping?"....."what will the food be like?" (this one is more important to some than the first question!) ....."who will we be working with?" ....."what exactly are we doing again?"...."when do I get to take a shower?"...."wait, where are we going again?" ....."when do I have to be at worship?" ....these and many other questions are milling through their thoughts and emotions. No fear my friends! The answer to all of these questions and more will be answered soon.
From here on out, Morgan will be updating blog entries, so keep your eyes open for updates, new blog entries and photos of their adventures, work projects, how they are serving and the worship experiences they will have this upcoming week!
Please keep this group in your prayers this week for safe travels, meaningful and purposeful service and worship.
Leaders are
Morgan Caruthers, Leigh Bessey, Tim Bessey, Garrett Pelton
Youth mission participants are
Deehvena Bachu, Thurbil Bile, Miciah Davis, Taylor Goodman, Christopher Jonell, Michael Jonell, Natalie Michel, Gaawar Tuom, Jada Walker

Thank you for you ongoing support of youth missions at Calvary Baptist Church of Denver!

Middle School Countdown begins!

The time for our journey is almost here! 

We hope you will follow along as middle school youth embark on our journey to Ft. Collins, Colorado to be the Hands and Feet of Christ this summer! 

We are so excited that our new Pastor of Youth, Morgan Caruthers will be a part of our journey of service!

We are excited to share this journey with you in this blog!
We will leave on Sunday, July 20th and return Saturday July 26th.

“REPAIR: BE A STORY OF TRANSFORMATION”

Jesus is always on the job. He never stops repairing us, never tires of transforming us into the people he wants us to become. And he’s always eager to work through us, transforming those whose lives we touch.

This summer, our youth group will experience “Repair” in unforgettable ways. We’ll look at stories of transformation. Some of these stories come right from the pages of the Gospels. No one who encountered Jesus came away unchanged. That was true then—and it’s true now. You’ll see our kids welcome the Jesus who walks into pain and fear to bring healing and hope. You’ll see them open themselves in new ways to Jesus’ desire to repair what’s broken, as only he can.

Another story our youth will dig into is their own. Each of us is right in the middle of our own story with Jesus. During this incredible week of service and spiritual growth, students will experience Jesus at work in their own lives—repairing them, right now.

Our teenagers will also become stories of transformation, as they literally change lives of those they serve. And they’ll be challenged to think beyond the mission week—to dream big about being a story of transformation for the long haul, back at home and everywhere they go.