A few years ago a group of us were on a bus coming home from a summer camp...have you ever had one of those moments where you're just sitting with others, talking, and all of a sudden you realize that you're doing more than just sitting with others, talking? David wrote that "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it". Simply put: God is everywhere. Sometimes we just forget to notice. As we sat on that bus driving through rainstorms, the Spirit began to move and walls started falling--fast. People were getting real with each other; there were great tears and there was great laughter. We couldn't explain any of it yet we just had this sense like something was being birthed. We haven't been the same since.
So we're learning to live deeply with one another, caring about the things that God cares about. We value God's fingerprints in each other and above all hold love as our banner. This is the kind of place where guys and girls honor and teach each other, making a game out of serving and blessing each other more and more (we call these "love wars"). We place great value in being together (when the family shows up, everybody has to be there or it's not the same). We've experienced great pain (in 2008 we buried one of our very own--Addison Toole) and somehow in the midst of that our capacity to experience great joy has grown. We get excited about going and serving God in the hardest places, where nobody else wants to go. If we won't go, who will? This has lead us into strong ties with the Ivey Lane Community of SW Orlando and the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. And when people we serve ask us the question: "are you coming forever?" our answer will be "yes; yes we are." We value the abiities of teenagers to be more than just teenagers, doing bigger things for God than most would ever give them credit for (Jesus told Peter in his teens to go and feed 5,000 people with a couple rolls and some fish sticks). ...And so there is room for you; we would love to have you join us on at youth group or any other gathering or event that we do. ...and you are welcome, regardless of age, race, status, style; our desire is that this place would be a home. We're starting a love war and you're next.
