St Jude's In The Mountains Anglican Church - Tehachapi CA
Let's see...last time I wrote an article for the newsletter, it was about touring with the Young Continentals. This time, it's about a San Diego experience. Our first stop: Spirit West Coast. I came. I saw. I had fun.
And there was much rejoicing!! You know, it's not very often that I go to one of these youth convention things and can honestly say I enjoyed it. Usually I go with high hopes, adrenaline coursing through my veins, eagerly expecting to have fun and fellowship with God and my Christian brothers and sisters...and it falls flat. I crave fellowship, yet rarely find it at these events. But God is good, and He was kind enough to make things different for me at Spirit West Coast. (Thank you, God!)
At first I wasn't sure. The drive to San Diego was - interesting. It began with five of us crammed into a tiny car, almost all of us with luggage in our laps. Space freed up later when the boys eventually took a different car, and things smoothed out. The trip ended with me spilling extremely hot coffee on my lap (ouch!), reaching our destination, unloading all our stuff, watching an awful movie ("Nacho Libre." Ugh.) and collapsing on leaky air mattresses that night at 12:00 am. Not my idea of a good time.
But somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue...and the next day was abundant with promises of enjoyment fulfilled. I wasn't an outsider this time, which was so refreshing. Awesome bands, great music, crazy mosh pit, tons of ice cream, a hilarious pastor with an outrageous Aussie accent , and catching one of those free stuffed monkeys they were tossing to the crowd...I didn't think it would get any better than that.
But it did. The grand finale was a TobyMac concert - and it rocked. Toby performed several songs that I'd done on my Young Continental tours, so of course I was singing and dancing along to my heart's content half the time. J And not only was Toby a great performer; he was a great witness. Even from far away, you could see his love for God shining like a beacon from that stage. His humility, his passion for Jesus and his sense of humor spoke volumes to me. Toby's music has always been an encouragement to me in my walk with Jesus, and his concert was a great reminder to me that no matter how big or small the stage is...all the glory is God's.
I went to bed that night utterly exhausted, and utterly happy. Not only did I have fun with my friends at Spirit West Coast - I had fun with my Friend.
The next day was a good winding down for all of us. We packed our things again and spent the morning worshiping God and hanging out there at Church of the Resurrection. I even got to twiddle on the church's amazing keyboard. Dad wasn't finished with us yet, though. As soon as our stuff was loaded up, he took us all to an in-depth tour of the USS Midway aircraft carrier and showed off his knowledge of fighter jets and snazzy airplanes. The best part was when Dad bumped into a fellow "wizzo" (aircraft navigator) and they started talking. That guy was pretty much a younger version of Dad! (Scary!) He was a wonderful guy and somehow managed to get all eleven of us into the flight simulator game for free. We all got to shoot at each other's airplanes; it was great. J
So home again, home again, jiggety-jig...and here I am, summing up my random thoughts about San Diego in a nutshell. A BIG thank you goes out to our church and the diocese for supporting this adventure, because without your financial help, we couldn't have gone. Overall, it was great and I'm glad I persevered through the initial bumps...so when's the next trip, Dad?
Submitted by Stephanie Clare
And there was much rejoicing!! You know, it's not very often that I go to one of these youth convention things and can honestly say I enjoyed it. Usually I go with high hopes, adrenaline coursing through my veins, eagerly expecting to have fun and fellowship with God and my Christian brothers and sisters...and it falls flat. I crave fellowship, yet rarely find it at these events. But God is good, and He was kind enough to make things different for me at Spirit West Coast. (Thank you, God!)
At first I wasn't sure. The drive to San Diego was - interesting. It began with five of us crammed into a tiny car, almost all of us with luggage in our laps. Space freed up later when the boys eventually took a different car, and things smoothed out. The trip ended with me spilling extremely hot coffee on my lap (ouch!), reaching our destination, unloading all our stuff, watching an awful movie ("Nacho Libre." Ugh.) and collapsing on leaky air mattresses that night at 12:00 am. Not my idea of a good time.
But somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue...and the next day was abundant with promises of enjoyment fulfilled. I wasn't an outsider this time, which was so refreshing. Awesome bands, great music, crazy mosh pit, tons of ice cream, a hilarious pastor with an outrageous Aussie accent , and catching one of those free stuffed monkeys they were tossing to the crowd...I didn't think it would get any better than that.
But it did. The grand finale was a TobyMac concert - and it rocked. Toby performed several songs that I'd done on my Young Continental tours, so of course I was singing and dancing along to my heart's content half the time. J And not only was Toby a great performer; he was a great witness. Even from far away, you could see his love for God shining like a beacon from that stage. His humility, his passion for Jesus and his sense of humor spoke volumes to me. Toby's music has always been an encouragement to me in my walk with Jesus, and his concert was a great reminder to me that no matter how big or small the stage is...all the glory is God's.
I went to bed that night utterly exhausted, and utterly happy. Not only did I have fun with my friends at Spirit West Coast - I had fun with my Friend.
The next day was a good winding down for all of us. We packed our things again and spent the morning worshiping God and hanging out there at Church of the Resurrection. I even got to twiddle on the church's amazing keyboard. Dad wasn't finished with us yet, though. As soon as our stuff was loaded up, he took us all to an in-depth tour of the USS Midway aircraft carrier and showed off his knowledge of fighter jets and snazzy airplanes. The best part was when Dad bumped into a fellow "wizzo" (aircraft navigator) and they started talking. That guy was pretty much a younger version of Dad! (Scary!) He was a wonderful guy and somehow managed to get all eleven of us into the flight simulator game for free. We all got to shoot at each other's airplanes; it was great. J
So home again, home again, jiggety-jig...and here I am, summing up my random thoughts about San Diego in a nutshell. A BIG thank you goes out to our church and the diocese for supporting this adventure, because without your financial help, we couldn't have gone. Overall, it was great and I'm glad I persevered through the initial bumps...so when's the next trip, Dad?
Submitted by Stephanie Clare
1) Vicor's Corner
2) Lady Jane Gray
3) Let Us Pray
4) Prayer Chain
5) Camp H20 Is Coming
6) Women of St Jude's
7) Sunshine Committee
8) Caring Clusters
9) From the Junior Warden
10) Congratulations!!
11) Camp San Joaquin
13) Please Save the Following
14) Library Report
15) Summer Reading Challenge
16) San Diego Experience
17) July Newletter Articles
18) Newsletter News
19) Directory and Mailing
List Updates
2) Lady Jane Gray
3) Let Us Pray
4) Prayer Chain
5) Camp H20 Is Coming
6) Women of St Jude's
7) Sunshine Committee
8) Caring Clusters
9) From the Junior Warden
10) Congratulations!!
11) Camp San Joaquin
13) Please Save the Following
14) Library Report
15) Summer Reading Challenge
16) San Diego Experience
17) July Newletter Articles
18) Newsletter News
19) Directory and Mailing
List Updates
