POLAND 2009 - Final Day of Kid's Club

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland

Saturday, January 31, 2009

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Final Day of Kid’s Club
Well, after a long week, we had our last day of Kid’s Club today. Every day we had between 50 and 70 kids, which I think was a bit more than expected. We let them pick their favorite songs from the week to sing, topping the list was, “Big, Big House.” I put together a video that the kids got to watch (which I hope to have up on our blog here in the next couple of weeks). The older kids made up skits that were performed for the younger kids. Then, at the end, the kids got to choose some gifts to bring with them back to their homes (or to the orphanages). It was a great week. I am sure that many seeds were planted. I still think back to earlier in the week when I was teaching the older kids’ class. They were being a little restless until I said one thing, “You will probably hear God say this to you when you die: ‘What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?’” At that moment you could have heard a pin drop. I know that these young people have been listening. May the seeds that have been planted bear much fruit that remains. And may they hang on to the love of Christ we’ve been able to display to them in so many ways.

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We also had the help this last week of another American missionary named Elissa. She was a tremendous help during Kid’s Club and was great for us to get to know her this last week. She has been on many short-term trips to Poland. Her and her husband live and minister in Iowa. Thanks for everything, Elissa.

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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Winter Kid's Club DAY #5

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland

Friday, January 30, 2009

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Winter Kid’s Club DAY #5
Woke up this morning to some light snow fall. Very peaceful. This was the last regular day of Kid’s Club. Tomorrow we will have a final day that won’t have all of the normal weekday Kid’s Club activities. Today’s focus was on glorifying God with your feet. I had the responsibility of teaching the older group of kids again. The message was on Jonah, how he tried to run away from God (using his feet) after God had told him to go to Nineveh (using his feet). I showed a FacePlant skateboarding video this morning as an example of how we can use our feet for God to do really cool things. After the story of Jonah I shared with the older kids about one of my favorite skateboarding tricks, the 180. I talked about what it means to be going down a path in one direction, but then making a complete turn around, 180 degrees in the other direction. I told the story about the prodigal son…how the son had walked away from his father and squandered his inheritance, but when he had decided to turn back to the father in repentance, the father ran to him and embraced him. Such a lovely picture of us and our Heavenly Father. Also played a game called, “plant you feet,” and used it as an example of how when we turn from the path of disobedience back toward God, that we need to plant our feet in the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.

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Every morning, Kid’s Club starts with kids filtering into the chapel and watching a video. Then we have a time of singing. They translated the Indiana Jones type skits into Polish and the young people from the church have been doing a phenomenal job acting them out. The kids are then split into a younger and older group and dismissed to their Bible lessons. After the lesson, there is a snack. Then they alternate between crafts and games. Then there is “obiad,” which they call supper, and it consists of a bowl of soup with some pieces of buttered bread and meat or cheese.

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Overall, it’s been a great week. Again the theme was glorifying God with your body. The day ended with a fresh blanket of snow falling as we went over to Mark and Naomi’s house, along with some new friends, Alissa and Damian, to enjoy hamburgers and a movie. God is so good.

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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Winter Kid's Club DAY #2

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
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Winter Kid’s Club DAY #2
Earlier this week it was given to me to teach the older kids’ Bible lessons for today and for Friday. Today’s lesson was on the story of Absalom and had to do with how we can use our mouths for bad and how our words can hurt others. Friday’s lesson will be on the story of Jonah and how our feet can be used wrongly to run from God.

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I really spent a lot of time praying last night about how to give this lesson. I strayed a bit from the curriculum, which I was told that I can do. I talked to the young people about how external rules and trying as hard as we can to not talk badly will never bring change, but that what comes out of our mouths is a good determination of what is going on inside of us. I talked about the empty space inside of each of us that we have from birth that only Jesus can fill…like the missing puzzle piece. I talked about how our mouths can be used to ask Jesus to forgive us, and that Jesus used His mouth on the cross to say, “It is finished.” I talked about how our lives will only change from the inside out, including what comes out of our mouths…only through a personal, hand-holding relationship with Christ. Not only this, but that when we ask Jesus, the missing puzzle piece, to fill that empty space, it is only then we will truly be complete…and it is only then that we can enter heaven once we die.

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It was a very evangelistic message, one I know that many of the children contemplated. We even had a time of prayer at the end where the children were allowed to make that decision, if they felt inclined to do so, or if they felt that God was tugging at their hearts. I asked that they would come to us on staff at some point during the week if they did pray, in their own way, with their own mouths, to ask Jesus to fill that empty space. I believe that seeds were truly planted and some children there today may have given their lives to Christ. It is a very sensitive and personal thing here in Poland. I pray that many of the children did make that decision.

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Took a group of the children to the ice skating rink where the youth group had gone the other night…I can tell that the children were having a blast. I have seen and talked to some of the children who were at Summer Kid’s Club 2007 when our team from Whipple Creek had come to assist. I have also made some new friends. It seems as though the most wild kids are the ones drawn to me. Not sure why exactly. Just glad that there is a connection. Thank you, Lord, for using me today.
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Christian Young

POLAND 2009 - Our Arrival

Piotrków-Trybunalski, Poland

Saturday, January 24, 2009

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It seems a bit surreal sitting here typing this in Poland. God is so good. Last night we went over to the Krystoń’s house for dinner and fellowship. Pastor Daniel and his family are some of the most lovely people I have ever met. They really feel like family to us. Łukasz, one of Daniel’s sons, played two games of chess. He pretty much whooped me. Jonas showed Daniel around on our HP laptop, as he is purchasing a similar one from the U.S. Our girls, Ania and Marta all hung out and played games. We had a blast.

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Our home is very nice. We have two rooms at the church. The children have the bigger room partitioned into a sleeping area and a play area. The accommodations are just great and we already feel right at home. The church members have been so kind in making sure that we have everything we need. They even stocked the fridge for us and had a home-cooked meal waiting for us to warm up when we arrived from the airport. We are working on getting a higher speed internet up at the church. Until then, I can only use wi-fi which I can get if I go to the old town square or the train station, but it has been cold and wet since we arrived, so we haven’t wanted to walk there yet. Until then, we have very limited access. Naomi took us shopping yesterday, so we stoked up on plenty of food. It was so nice of her to take us. I am leaving here in a few minutes to purchase a SIM card that will work in our Blackberry for three months of service and plenty of minutes for only 50 Polish złotys (currently $15 U.S.). That way I can communicate with Daniel, the Hales and others.

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This afternoon, Jonas and I will practice with the worship team. Then we will hang out with their youth group and work on a poster for Kid’s Club. After that, we will go ice skating, though I think Jonas and I will just watch. Not sure yet. Tomorrow is church. After church we will go to the Hale’s home and hang out with their family. Mark and a couple of their children came over yesterday to hang out with our kids for a bit.

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I am reading through Łukasz (the gospel of Luke) in my personal devotions in a parallel Bible with both English and Polish. After I woke up this morning, I read the account of when Zechariah saw the angel and was told about his future son, John (the Baptist) in chapter 1. As I read the passage, I sensed the Lord showing us that we will have a similar calling as John while here in Poland. Specifically I was drawn to verse 16 where it reads, “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God,” and to verse 17 where it reads, “And he will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah,” and, “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” I had a beautiful time of prayer after this, asking the Lord to truly use us mightily here in Poland for however long He has us here. I continue to listen to the Spirit of God on specifics as to what this looks like and have begun the process of warfare prayer, but am counting on you guys back home, as well as our Polish brothers and sisters here at the church to join us in asking the Lord to prepare the soil of people’s hearts for what He wants to do among the people of Poland. Because I know that God’s heart is that ALL of the people of Poland fall in love with the One who loved us so much to give up His Son for us.

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Christian Young

UNITED STATES 2009 - Taking the Mantle

God has done some pretty amazing things in my life in this last year. I quit the music touring lifestyle, right as things started to take off, because I felt God had a different direction for my life even though I wasn't sure what that was yet.  

On my off time of touring, I would hold a sort of "band church" at my house on wednesday afternoons. It was just for people involved in the music industry of the NorthWest to be able to connect with other believers in the scene because it seemed hard to be encouraged in your faith in this industry. That is when my good friend Andrew Young (youth pastor at Whipple Creek) started telling me about Chris Chin Chung and the help that was needed at Whipple with worship and skate church. I checked it out, loved it, instantly felt connected and instantly started getting involved. Skate Church in Portland was such a huge part of bringing me up in my young faith, I was super excited to get involved with FacePlant. 

The kids are awesome, the church is in full support and I couldn't be happier that I trusted God to take this new direction with my life. I also feel super blessed to have met Chris Chin and his family because they are amazing people. Simply being around Chris Chin can make you feel uplifted, humbled and want to be a better person. Being around his heart in the last 6 months has really done a work in my life. This is one of the many things that he is doing in and through me and I am feeling super blessed to be a part of his work and this ministry. We love you Chris Chin, we will miss you terribly! 

- Aiden Franklin

UNITED STATES 2009 - Passing the Mantle

Passing The Mantle.

In the Old Testament we read about some pretty cool people. Two of those people were Elijah and Elisha. Both of them were prophets of God. Elijah was a man of God who performed many miracles and shared God's message with people. When Elijah's time was up, it was time to find someone to take his place in ministry. His replacement's name was Elisha. Elisha asked for a double portion of the anointing that God had upon Elijah's life that empowered him to do many miracles and tell many people God's message. Elijah was actually taken up to heaven without dying. When he was taken up, Elijah's mantle fell off of him. Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle and received a double portion of the anointing that was on Elijah's life.

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I have been blessed to be the person who happened to be in the right place at the right time to spearhead FacePlant Ministries. I have been the SkateChurch Pastor for the last three years. We have seen God do many miraculous things at FacePlant Ministries. We've seen over 200 young people give their lives to Jesus Christ and ask Him into their lives. We have seen miraculous healings when we have prayed for the sick. We have seen many skaters even receive gifts of the Holy Spirit. More recently, we have seen our sponsored skaters leading their peers in prayer to receive Jesus Christ. We've been on many road trips to many skateparks in Ol' Bessy. We've seen many Taco Bell hot sauce on car handle incidents, along with other crazy practical jokes I won't mention. We've had good times and not so good times. But overall, we've had the time of our life.

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I am passing on the mantle to my good friend, Aiden Franklin, as my family and I are leaving to be full-time missionaries in Poland and then in Africa. I pray for a double portion of what God has done at FacePlant Ministries over the past few years to be upon Aiden. I pray that our sponsored skaters and other skaters from SkateChurch will blaze new trails in the Kingdom of God. I pray that someday, we will be able to meet up again, when we return to visit after a few years. If not, I look forward to meeting around the throne of God someday in heaven. I feel so blessed and so unworthy to have been a part of something so great. I love you guys and will never forget you. My last Sunday will be this Sunday, January 18th. I would love for you guys to come to our church service at Whipple Creek Church this Sunday from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm to say goodbye. We are going to have cake, too. Plus you will get to see my cry like a baby as I say goodbye to you. If you have ever been a part of FacePlant Ministries in any way, we would love to have you out. I know that the message of Jesus Christ has impacted many of your lives and I know that what He has done in your lives is going to be a great foundation for which you will build the rest of your lives upon.

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Your friend forever,

Christian Young