Mission trip to tennessee day 1

Be flexible…but that could change!
Thats our new motto this week as we begin our mission trip. Lots of flexibility and changes to the schedule and arrangements, but everyone is being patient and doing well. Joe has started calling me jay “flex” ban.
Work is off to a good start, but it is hot hot hot!
The internet is not available where we are staying, so i will only be able to make posts when we go into to town during the workdays. I hope to have some gooth write up some stories today and get them posted tomorrow…so check back tomorrow!

GOOTH Mission Trip to SC, Arrival

we arrived in andrews, sc, tonight about 6:30…right on time! we had a great trip down, ate a wonderful meal, and have gotten settled. not much else to say, because lights out is in a few minutes. i just discovered the wireless, so we will be able to post updates during the week! woohoo!

jay

The GOOTH Days of Christmas

At GOOTH tonight, we sand a new version of the 12 Days of Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the second day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the THURS-day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
Five hundred miles!
Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH made me eat,
8 freebie hotdogs,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
9 David’s drumming,
8 freebie hotdogs,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
10 bags of chips,
9 David’s drumming,
8 freebie hotdogs,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
11 FISH Sticks,
10 bags of chips,
9 David’s drumming,
8 freebie hotdogs,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
the GOOTH gave to me,
12 Diet Cheerwine,
11 FISH Sticks,
10 bags of chips,
9 David’s drumming,
8 freebie hotdogs,
7 colored noodles,
6 GOOTH green shirts,
Five hundred miles! Ya-da-da-ta!
4 boxes of popcorn,
3 biscuit combos,
2 flip-flops,
and a Mission Trip RSVP.

“I Saw God Today” Middle School Retreat

The Middle School GOOTH attended the Salem Presbytery Middle School Fall Retreat on November 1 and 2, 2008, at Camp Hanes in King, NC. 14 youth and 4 adults attended the event and had a great time. Here are some words from two of our youth who attended:

Sara, 8th grade:

The Camp Hanes Middle School Retreat was really fun. We did energizers and sang songs. Then we had our keynote speaker-Dianna Wright. I really enjoyed her sermons. She had a very unique way of preaching. The theme of the weekend was, “I saw God today.” We had small group time and got to walk all around Camp Hanes and look for places where we saw God. This was fun, because the leaves on the trees at Camp Hanes were at their peak so they were all different colors. It was such a pretty weekend, it was easy to see God. Later that night we had a talent show. From our church, Janeth read a really cool poem and Olivia, Carter, and Meghan sang a song. Then we had the Darty.-(dance/Party) Overall, the Camp Hanes retreat was soooo much fun!

Sammie, 8th grade:

Camp Hanes this year was really fun. I made so many new friends. I learned a lot about how you can see God in other people and things. When we left the retreat I looked at everyone differently not because I had gotten to know them better, but because I noticed some of their wonderful qualities. Even though it was my last middle school retreat I really enjoyed it. And I know everyone else did too.

Singing for THEIR Supper

Here is a reflection about the Singing for Their Supper event sponsored by Salem Presbytery, in the words of a newly-turned 14-year old girl from our middle school group…

Last Sunday the GOOTH attended an event called “Singing for Their Supper” at a Korean church in Greensboro. This event raised awareness for hunger and money for people who live on little income. The evening started with a small meal of rice and beans to show us what it was like only having that as a meal. Then the entertainment started. The first act was a Korean men’s chorus and the songs they sang were in Korean. Then the woman’s chorus joined in creating a choral group. The coolest part about them singing is I learned that in every language there is a word that is pronounced the same way, and that is Amen. Then the next act was an interpretive dance group. After that, a pianist and violinist played a song each. Then played a duet together. Then Bryan McFarland played his guitar and sang. He had created a theme song for this event and that was a highlight of the night for me. Because it was a cool song. Also, another cool thing about Sunday was it was my birthday. There is no other way to celebrate a birthday than with GOOTH. All in all the night was an awesome experience. I learned many things about hunger that I did not know.

Peace out!

Great start to GOOTH!

GOOTH is off to a great start this fall. After a fabulous Kick-Off Event, we had quite the time at our Parent-Youth Event the following week and at Kick-Off Part Deux last Sunday. The Parent-Youth Event was not the typical fill-out-the-forms meeting. We did mixers, energizers, sang songs, and had a great time of fellowship, before getting down to business – an hour or more’s worth in close to 30 minutes! woohoo!

Last week at K-O Part Deux, we continued playing some of the games and activities that we didn’t have time for at the first Kick-Off. Again – fun times.

This weekend, we have TWO lockins. Middle School tomorrow night, and High School Saturday night. I think i’m insane for trying it, but i figure this way, my sleep pattern is only disrupted for ONE weekend, rather than TWO! I’ll let you know how it went on Monday!

We are also excited about Sunday night, because we are going to Greensboro to see David LaMotte in concert! It will be my 5th time in the last year, I think. I’m pumped. The youth are, too, since we had him in concert in April.

Can’t wait to see the GOOTH again!

GOOTH Kick-Off 2008

GOOTH had our annual kick-off tonight and had a fabulous time! we had 46 youth and about a dozen adults! that’s a record high number of youth for clemmons presbyterian! we had a great time with an odd assortment of food: finger-food rolled mini-wrap sandwiches, watermelon, and cake. yum! we sang several songs, including bebo norman’s “I AM” that we learned and fell in love with at montreat. then did three energizers: sparkle, istanbul, and run around. that took most of our time. we rounded out our time with some fun noodle games outside and a nice rousing chorus of “bambera”!! (jarrett you’d be proud!)

we missed those youth who couldn’t be there tonight, for whatever reason. some had games, some were out of town, some were sick. we had a lot of visitors and we hope they come back! it was great to have some new faces in the group. i’m looking forward to next week and continuing this year with this great group of youth!

montreat pictures

here are a couple of my facebook albums with pics from montreat. GOOTH, feel free to post your public links as comments to this post for others to see.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=367&l=00c39&id=305700031

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=366&l=954eb&id=305700031

Click on the “comments” below to see more albums from other GOOTH.

the one about the name GOOTH

*this is me recollection of the birth of the word GOOTH, while some of the details may be wrong or backwards, this is the general story. i apologize if its long, it takes time for such an amazing name to take root*

gooth. what a crazy word right? well we are a crazy group of youth, but where did this name come from and why is it such a big deal? it all started a long time ago ( about a year and a half ago) in a land far away (the high school room)….

In the fall of 2006 Jay, our newly installed associate pastor, threw out the idea of naming our fabulous youth group and so we took a Sunday evening to brainstorm among our separate middle and high school groups for possible names with the goal of coming together at the end and discussing our favorites. I personally thought that this was just a filler activity, something to keep us busy, little did I know how this fun brainstorming session would change our youth group forever (or at least the next few years). The high school room was particularly full that night and so there were a lot of side convorsations and very few serious ideas being mentioned…things like “cupcakes” and “frogs” i think made it on the board and I was starting to get frustrated when a few of the boys in the back started to talk about combining some of our favorites into one word. group of youth i think was already on the board and so they started playing with that…grouth….groyth….gyouth….and then gouth…wait no it’d be funnier to spell it gooth. I remember discussing the spelling of our newly invented word for a good 10 minutes. but there it was…GOOTH.

I’m not sure what it was about this word but the high school youth quickly became obsessed with it. Jay had told us that the name could not become official until everyone had a chance to discuss it and come to a consensus (jay later informed me that “it was an exercise of using consensus as much as it was a way to choose a new name”), but the high schoolers didn’t care. We had decided that this was going to be the unofficial name whether or not anyone liked it. When it came time for the actual “consensus session” we were able to convince everyone that gooth was the best choice for a name and it became official on january 14th 2007.

after that the name took off. Gooth became this wierd word that instantaneously bonded anyone associated with it. jay, who might have missed his calling into marketing director, ran with it and had gooth tshirts made, gooth magnets, business cards, postcards, even this nifty blog.

I truely believe that God cares about things even this small and so I think that God had a hand in the naming of our group because without some kind of divine intervention i’m not sure that a) our youth could have agreed on one name and b)it could have had this effect because honestly….GOOTH? its crazy word…but then again, we are a crazy group.

much love

Chelsey McElwee

the fifth one about montreat (part3): week in review

Last Sunday evening, after spending the afternoon in a sweat soaked T-shirt and realizing that a shower wasn’t really much help in this humidity….I was thinking I would celebrate Friday (today) and be ticking off the minutes to go home. Wrong again! I feel sad today that this week is drawing to a close. I have a list of new favorite things, even though the “singing youth” are still high on my list. Sharing scripture with teenagers, watching them share scripture with each other, listening to their challenging questions and very passionate discussions.

From the beginning of this year, Jay has guided these young people in the direction of discovering their own spirituality. I have watched with growing interest thinking that it would be a long process. During our week in New York and this week at Montreat, this discovery journey has come to a point of realization. They get it……I mean they REALLY get it! They certainly have scores of things to learn, (I know I certainly do), but they have a sincere desire to grow in their faith. And they absolutely love doing that together….what a bonus! … Learning about the love of Jesus with some of your best friends. They have commented on other Youth who don’t have good experiences with their Youth Group. They realize how unique their relationships are within “Gooth”, but some of their experiences this week have confirmed those feelings. They think everyone should have a “Gooth”.

During this week in Montreat, as an adult chaperone, I’ve had much contact with other young people from different churches from quite a range of geographical locations. I’m sure there are a number of youth that are as excited about their faith and being part of their Youth Group as ours. However, it seems there is a far greater number that are just not. I feel privileged to have been witness to this experience, but more importantly to have been so deeply affected on a personal note. I am proud to be in the midst of these teenagers, they represent themselves (and you) very well.

I have to go; I understand from my young “advisors” that this worship service tonight is powerful. They are on their way, and I certainly don’t want to miss it.

Peace…….Ronda

(Sometime Later…..)

PS…Okay, now, I have another especially favorite memory….the Candlelight Service around Lake Susan. The beauty of that service would almost be an entirely separate BlOG.