Everything New.

Everyone is feeling much more comfortable on the missions trip.
We are feeling much more comfortable at our work sites, where we continue to make more friends with the kids at the VBS and Boys and Girls Camps.
We are also feeling much more comfortable within our youth group. The past couple youth group devotions have been amazing. I am so overjoyed at the willingness to share within our group. It's a pleasure to see the natural leaders within our group stand up and open themselves up. The students that are looked up to are now willing to show their feelings and share with the group, which makes others more comfortable to share, too. We have really seen God working in the youth this week.
Our theme verse for the week is Revelation 21:5 "Look, I am making everything new." Tonight we really focused on being made new. We took time to really think about the amazing sacrifice that Jesus made for us. We are all so grateful that Jesus literally took our sins on himself. "By his wounds, we are healed." we talked about how Jesus didn't just take away our sins and sorrows, he took them onto himself. He hurt, because of us. After the session we took a long time of prayer together. During prayer many kids professed out loud their thankfulness for what Jesus has done in their lives. Jesus is making things new within each one of us. Whether that be a new commitment to him, a new perspective on what it means to be Christian, or a renewed passion for living for Him. Jesus makes everything new!

Last night we had the opportunity to go out as a youth group and have fun at Greatimes Family Fun Park. We went Putt-Putt golfing, GoKarting and played arcade games. It was a great break from the work we have been doing all week.
A few more photos: