Would love for you to come over here and check this out!
Grace,
Brian
Author Brian Aaby
To My Prayer List
First, if you would like to be on our prayer list (via email) shoot me an email and I’ll add you to the list (I send stuff out about every 6 weeks or so).
Just because I am so jazzed about this prayer opportunity I am copying and pasting the entire letter I just sent here:
Youthmark Prayer Partners!
It is with great anticipation I write this email. In about five hours we’ll begin our “Launch” of our first Youthmark Mission Venture team.
As I type from Starbucks in Ritzville, WA (about an hour from Spokane) I have been praying for the people of Simms, MT and surrounding towns (the recipient area of this trip). I have prayed for the students and leaders from First Baptist Church of Chehalis (the first group heading out). Now, I would like to challenge all of you to become “prayer partners extraordinaire!”
How exciting would it be for every group this summer to have scores of people they don’t even know praying for them, commenting them (on the blog) and waiting with them to see the Lord answer their specific requests? I challenge each of us to do just that.
It is simple too!
Go to this site: http://youthmark.com/blogs.php
This first week you’ll want to scroll down to First Baptist Church of Chehalis and click on their blog. At the bottom of each post you can see there is a place to add/view comments. Feel free to do just that!
Having been on many of these I have NEVER seen the Lord answer specific prayers in quite the same way. I’m going to try to get the dates listed for each of the churches on the website as well so you know which ones are out on that given week as well. But for this week, it’s First Baptist Chehalis.
I encourage you to read through all the blogs, but specifically check out the blogs of each of the following as they’ll head out next week:
Avondale Bible
Calvary Chapel South
RiverRidge Cov’t
Lake Sawyer Christian
Snohomish Free Methodist
NW Bible
Last, you’ll see on the blog that we have released the HomeBase Guided Study to others outside of the Mission, don’t hesitate to pick one up for yourself! You can study the same things the Mission teams are studying and like the parents of these missionaries, you can live out your mission at home! (And you can pick up MERGE at the same time, a 112 page Guided Study of James I just completed).
Now, head to the blogs and start praying specifically for FBC (and all the other teams)!
Grace,
Brian
This is News?
Wow, we have reached a new height (or depth) in our society.
Seriously? Check this out…
Where does PETA stand on ethical treatment of humans before they are born?
Grace,
Brian
Bob and Pete Update
For those who enjoyed my little rant against Bob a few days back, I have an update…
No Pete!
Our bedtime routine got a little more interesting last night as Audrey joined the “my future” game and the two of them put me to sleep and woke me up every 2-4 years to give me updates on their lives.
As you may remember, Halle married Bob, well, it turns out that Audrey marries a character named Pete (when she was 28).
So here were the highlights from the two of them:
- Audrey too lives with her in-law, Pete’s parents (like Bob’s) apparently are rich as well (side note: interesting how early our culture ingrains the idea of “rich/poor” into our kids). Pete is some sort of Pastor as well. He preaches Sundays, works for Starbucks on Monday, has days off on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday Audrey doesn’t remember what Pete does (I’ll have to hire a private eye), Friday he sells cherries too and on Saturday he sells Plastic Paper.
- Both Halle and Audrey have twins, oh, a few years later Will and his wife do too (side note: we have never had twins in either of our families, so this was a pretty cool feat to have all three of our kids have sets of twins).
- Audrey’s new last name is Gibson.
- Halle’s new last name is Roberts. So this means that she married Bob Roberts, aka “Robert Roberts” (side note: What were Bob’s rich parents thinking naming him Robert?).
My newest website: http://www.ihatebobandpete.com
Tonight we go back to reading stories that have already been written rather than making up these nightmares! Ha!
Grace,
Brian
Final Club and the Seekers
Last night marked the end of our year at Kentridge Young Life. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to serve this year with a group of teens who are hungry for life. So many of them remind me of me when I was their age. They are seekers, only many don’t know what they are seeking.
They come seeking any (or all) of the following: fame, fortune, popularity, belonging, escape, religion, love, laughter, outlet, understanding, stability, something different, friendship, comfort, him, her, help, and God.
Though the list is not complete, because they do come seeking more than what I had listed, many come with a heart that is being worked on by the Holy Spirit. This is what is so exciting to me. Every-single student who walks through the doors of Young Life is going to be presented the opportunity to hear about Jesus. We need to be faithful in building the relationship and share the Good News, but He is the one who is faithful in preparing the heart for His message!
Please pray for me as I prepare to go with 50 (most of whom do NOT know Jesus) high school students to camp this summer. And while you’re at it, praise God for this opportunity He has given me as well. Being involved with YL this year is going to have direct influence on the writing and training materials I write for Christian students as we prepare them for future lifestyle evangelism opportunities!
Grace,
Brian
By faith, we are trusting God to provide the way for me to go to camp with these students (about $500), if God has placed it on your heart to give to YL for this cause, please comment or email me and I’ll let you know how you can help (brian@youthmark.com). Thanks for your prayers!
Are you on Facebook?
If you’re a facebooker (one who does facebook), I have just added a Youthmark page to Facebook and think you should become a “Fan.” I mentioned on my latest “tweet” (what you call a post on Twitter) that now that I have accounts on twitter and Facebook and have a Youthmark page, I can now have “friends” (fb) “followers” (twitter) and “fans” (fb). I think we should get one of these sites to create a new category, “enemies,” that would make things VERY interesting!
So, come be a fan of Youthmark on facebook, just sign in and then search “youthmark” and you’ll find us!
Grace,
Brian
Dreaming With Halle
Stay away "Bob"
We have developed quite a few different games and activities for bed time. One of these little games we like to play involves me acting like I am asleep and Halle waking me and telling me about her life. Each time she “puts me to sleep” and “wakes me up” it is about 5 years in the future. So Sunday night the dialogue went a little like this:
Age 22: “Daddy, I’m 22, you’ve been sleeping for 15 years. I am in love with Bob and we’re going to get married.”
Me: “No way, Bob hasn’t spoken to me yet, he was supposed to talk to me before he even asked you out on a date, let alone get married… what does Bob do for a job? Where are you going to live?”
Halle: “Bob’s parents are Rich, we’ll live with them (then she taps my nose, which “puts me to sleep”).”
Age 30: “Daddy, it’s 8 years later, Bob and I are married, I’m pregnant too, with a girl, we’ll name her either Grace or Julia”
Me: “Wow, I missed your wedding! Where are you living? What does Bob do?”
Halle: “Bob’s parents are rich, we live with them.”
Me: “How did Bob’s parents get so rich?”
Halle (THIS IS WHERE I LOVE THE MIND OF A 7 YEAR OLD): “Bob tells me that his Dad has a lot of jobs, he preaches at his church on Sunday, then on Monday he helps out at Target, on Tuesday he has his own cherry stand and sells cherries, Wednesday is his day off, Thursday he preaches at night to a small group at the church, Friday he plays the guitar at the school and Saturday is his other day off.”
The story went on (until she was 35), but I was amazed that Bob’s Dad could get rich doing what he did. I think I must have been working at the wrong churches and certainly shouldn’t have done Youthmark, cherries would have been the better option!
Last, the very idea of Bob makes me weary.
Grace,
Brian
Special Guest Star
About three weeks ago today (Sunday), I was thinking (finally, Brian was thinking), and for whatever reason, I was thinking about the Love of God and his relentless pursuit of us! I am sure some of these thoughts were coming to mind because of Crazy Love, the book I wrote about a few weeks ago. So anyway, back to God’s love and my thoughts…
For the first 8-10 weeks of the 2009 calendar year I had been speaking for Kentridge Young Life. But for the previous 5-6 it had been Rob, the main guy over the entire area. I normally wouldn’t do this, but I texted Rob on Monday and asked him if he needed a week off and let him know that I had a talk ready to go if he was open! He was game…
So, strike up the band, we had a guest star appear at KR Young Life! Welcome William Aaby!
The gist of the talk was how God loves us enough to give us freedom of choice (aka “free will”), while at the same time He relentlessly pursues us. Will became a living illustration. A few minutes into my talk I sat him down, he desired to crawl and choose his own direction (he’s getting into this whole independence thing). The floor of the gymnasium was very slick, and he kept slipping and got very confused as to why he wasn’t making progress. Amidst the “oohs and aahs” of the high school students, he began to well-up and though many a teen age girl would have loved to have helped, he wanted only his Daddy’s help.
Hmmm, sounds a lot like us?… May we be quick to walk the path the Father has set out for us. May we be mindful of His pursuit of us and make choices (free will) that are consistent with what He’d desire. And last, may we rest in His arms of grace knowing He loves us not because of what we do, but simply because we are His!
Grace,
Brian
Ready to Adopt?
I firmly believe in the power of prayer. In my 19 years of being a Christian the places I have seen the power at work the most has been in and through short term mission trips. At Youthmark we have believed in it enough to invest in creating blog-software on our site so that each YMV team could have their own blog to get people praying for the specifics of their training, mission and follow-thru.
Here’s where you come in! Would you be willing to adopt a team or two (or more). Don’t hesitate to comment on this blog with the teams you’ll be praying for. I have encouraged all of the Youth Pastors to keep up with their blog, though this is not a requirement, so some of you prayer saints will be praying with more detail than others. Thank you for your faithfulness. To access the blogs of each of the teams go to this site. I have my Youthmark blog there as well.
Here are the teams and a few of the details. Let the adoptions begin! (Don’t hesitate from picking teams that others have already picked, we want as many as possible praying… sit back, pray and you’ll be amazed at how detailed His answers are)! Spread the word!
(you can actually click on any of these churches and it will take you directly to their blog)
Avondale Bible Church Woodinville, WA (headed to Plains, MT, June 26 to July 5)
Burien Free Methodist Burien, WA (headed to Bridge City, TX, July 10-19)
Calvary Chapel South Kent, WA (headed to Crouch, ID, June 26 to July 5)
Edgewood Baptist Church Edmonds, WA (headed to Shasta, CA, July 17 to 26)
Faith Baptist Church Kent, WA (headed to Scott Valley, Lewiston and French Gulch, CA July 17-26)
First Baptist Church Chehalis, WA (headed to Simms, MT, June 19-28)
Grace Church West Seattle, WA (headed to Vinton, LA, July 10-19)
Living Hope Christian Fellowship Bothell, WA (headed to Anahola, HI, July 24 to Aug. 3)
Living Hope Christian Fellowship Renton, WA (headed to Lincoln, MT, Aug. 14-23)
Mountain View Church Glenwood Springs, CO (headed to Kittredge, CO, Aug 1-8)
Northwest Bible Church Spring, TX (headed to Riggins, ID, June 26 to July 5)
Pulpit Rock Church Colorado Springs, CO (headed to Kinder, LA, July 9-19)
River Ridge Covenant Church Lacey, WA (headed to Council, ID, June 26 to July 5)
Rose Hill Presbyterian Church Kirkland, WA (headed to Lolo, MT, Aug. 14-23)
Snohomish Free Methodist Church Snohomish, WA (headed to Superior, MT, June 26 to July 5)
Sound Life Church Tacoma, WA (headed to Thompson Falls, MT, Aug. 14-23)
Tabernacle Baptist Church Shoreline, WA (headed to Lincoln, MT, Aug. 14-23)
Taproot Church Des Moines, WA (headed to Lakehead, CA, July 17-26)
The Gathering Colorado Springs, CO (headed to Deweysville, TX, July 9-19)
Let me know the team(s) you want to adopt in the comment thread or via email (brian@youthmark.com) so we know if/when we have every team covered!
Grace,
Brian
You Want To Participate?
One of the strengths of the Youthmark Mission Venture is that it is so much more than a mission trip. Besides the training materials (mission prep workbook, leaders guide, retreat, etc.) the participants and their families get blessed with additional publications.
Now you can too! (more on this in a second)
As I have posted before and now you can see for your own eyes, the books are done and about to be used.
RoadGrip is the Guided Study for the YMV participants while on their Mission Trip! The students and staff and any “adopted” student in the community will be guided in His Word during their mission week.
HomeBase is the Guided Study for the Families of the YMV participants. While the students/staff are out on the field, we’re asking the families to study the same Scriptures but are specifically challenged to live it out at home! This book is now also available to you!
Merge, which was originally entitled, 14 Ways for 14 Days has emerged as a brand-new way to come home. For years, I believe, Youth Pastors have missed the mark at bringing the teams home well. Merge contains 18 study sessions through the book of James! Rather than relying on the “Mission Trip High,” we’d like to see everyone continue their striving hard after the Lord after the trip is done–this includes the participants, families and now you! This book, especially geared for the adolescent believer, will challenge the reader to live out His instructions to us very practical ways!
Each YMV participant will receive his or her own free copy (all three publications), however, Youthmark is making the latter two books available to you, our prayer support team. In addition, Youth Pastors are encouraged to purchase Merge for the remainder of their Youth Group so the two groups (mission team and the students back home) can “merge” together to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission together at home!
If you (the “at home reader”) would like to purchase your own copy of Merge and/or HomeBase our Publisher (Spire) has given us permission to sell these to you at a very low $5 cost per book (plus shipping if you can’t arrange for a pick up from me). The book has a list price of $9.99, you’d you’re getting it at 1/2 price!
Email us at missions@youthmark.com and let us know what you’d like and your address, then we’ll send it to you with a simple invoice at $5 (plus minor shipping cost) for each book you order. UPDATE: This half price offer is only available to Youth Pastors and the Blog Readers through the beginning the of actual mission trips (June 19, 2009), after the YMV’s begin we will only be able to offer a different discounted rate to the Youth Pastors for their team orders only.
If you are the praying type, and we know you are, I’d especially encourage you to order a copy of HomeBase and do this study along with the team you are praying for and reading about on their blog (http://youthmark.com/blogs.php).
My prayer is that the Youth Group and Church would be united in their attempt to live out the Great Commandment and Great Commission together (whether they were on the mission trip or not).
I can’t wait to see the way the Lord uses these publications in the lives of all who read; I am already looking forward to writing the 2010 editions of RoadGrip, HomeBase and Merge!
Grace,
Brian
BRIANAABY.COM 