Menokin youth

Feed the homeless

2009-10-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

Beginning on Sunday, October 25 the youth will be venturing regularly to Richmond's downtown to help with a ministry via Mechanicsville Christian Center. The group will return in plenty of time to participate in the church's harvest fest/scary trail even that evening at the France house.
The teens and any adults able to help drive will need to meet at Menokin at 7 a.m. on these Sundays to participate:
Oct. 25, Dec. 27, Feb. 28, March 25, August 22 (2010.)
Don't miss this chance to reach out to others in example of Christ's love for them and us. And, don't forget, it's likely to be fun for those who go as well.

Other upcoming events include:
Oct. 18 (TODAY!) 4-6 p.m. WII and other game tourney
Nov. 8 4-6 p.m. youth meeting OCC
Nov. 15 TREASURE HUNT coordinated by Dr. Patrick and Hutt.
Nov. 29 Praise Sunday (youth lead praise sections of service at church) followed by Rappahannock Baptist Association skate night event in Montross/
Dec. 6 4-6 p.m. Youth Meeting (also tree of love ceremony in Warsaw courthouse.)
Dec. 20 attend Miracle on 34th Street matinee as a group, followed by caroling with Menokin family.
Dec. 27 FEED THE HOMELESS
New Year's Eve LOCKIN at the church.
Jan. 15-18 Ski trip in Wintergreen (SIGN UP BY NOV. 1) Sign up requires $50 deposit to save your spot. Entire trip to cost no more than $100 per skiing youth (including the $50 deposit.) Cost is less for youth attending who won't be skiing, but we are encouraging the entire group to go sledding together and hope many will ski as well. We are looking to rent a house again this year and need to know how many are coming so we can make appropriate arrangements.

Fall 2009 events

2009-09-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the upcoming events the Menokin Youth should plan on attending.
The youth got together with Hutt and Teresa Williams on Aug. 23 to go over upcoming events and a new calendar of events will soon be available here and at the church. In the meantime:

Regional Baptist youth encouneter event "NO Compromise"
September 20, 4-7 p.m. in Waterview featuring Chad Norris as speaker and John Ivins Band as praise and worship leaders. The group will leave from Menokin at 2:30 p.m. that afternoon. For more details, go to this website. There is a sign up sheet on the church bulletin board for this so we can arrange proper transportation.

The RBA skate night is Nov 29th at Stan's 5:30-9:30. $5.00 for skates, pizzas, and drinks. The band will be One Day Remains.

See You at the Pole (SYATP - www.syatp.org) is coming up: Sept 23. Two local radio stations are running public service announcements to spread the word.

If you have any questions about these or can help drive during any or all of these events, contact Hutt at huttwms@gmail.com.

Welcome summer

2009-05-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

The youth will be attending an event at Totuskey Baptist Church on May 31 in Haynesville.
We'd like to meet at Menokin at 5:30 p.m. so we can arrive by the time the event begins at 6 p.m.
There will be snacks, praise music and speakers from the Richmond County Sheriff's Department, addressing issues faced by many of our youth today, such as underage drinking.
For more information or to let us know you're coming (so we can arrange for proper transportation) call Maggie or Galon at 493-0265 and leave us a message if need be.
We're excited to attend this community and Christ centered event together!

Summer camp?

2009-03-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

A brief update on something we're planning now for later.
Last summer, we participated in IMPACT virginia in Culpeper, which was largely mission based.
This summer, we're tentativley planning a summer camp at Skycroft along with up to 250 other youth. The event is called Centrifuge and includes mini-mission projects at the site along with praise and worship, small group time and other fun, camp stuff.
you can check out the camp site at www.skycroft.org and they had a link to last year's Centrifuge plans.
However, in order to secure spots at the week we're aiming for (July 5-10) we have to go ahead and sign up now.
This week, I plan on reserving 6-8 (Galon says 6, I say 8) spots for youth and chaperones from Menokin.
Please call me or e-mail maggieghall@yahoo.com with questions or concerns you have as a parent or youth or any feedback on Centrifuge overall or Skycroft.
This should be an exciting and fun time for the youth and adults who attend- more details forthcoming!
Maggie

Ski trip AKA wii trip

2009-01-25T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the tubing run Sunday morning. Notice the snow makers going full force behind us- it was very cold!

Well, we all returned from Wintergreen without injury and with some serious sleep deprivation. Although there were no all-nighters (that we know of) there was a ton of stuff crammed into just one and two half days. (that's Friday night, Saturday and Sunday til 2 p.m.)
Only half of us skied this year, which was kind of a bummer for us skiing types. But kudos especially go to Lindsey and Vanessa who tore up the slopes all day Saturday and for Vanessa (with G and M) into the night skiing hours. She didn't fall once that night! First time skiier- whoo hooo!
And Zach and Chris did give ye-olde-snowboard their best attempts but quickly tired of watching the hill pass them by from their backsides. Being as neither G or M have tried snowboaring, we were of little assistance besides encouraging both guys to give it another try someday.
The rest of the crew chilled at the homme- or something- being entertained by hours of Guitar Something on the dubbuya two, occassional games of BS and SkipBo and being sustained by tons of cheese balls and cookies.
Thanks to the help of our two chaperones, Aimee and Beth, we were all well fed and well cared for.
During devotional time, we learned about controlling our tongues by choosing wise words, treating others with compassion and not just sympathy and considering those with whom we spend the most time with (who our friends are.)
It made for a good retreat for the 12 of us (13 if you count Susannah)and, as always, leaves G and M craving more time on skis.

About the Ski Trip

2009-01-11T17:13:00.000-08:00

Menokin Baptist Church Youth
Ski trip parental unit information sheet

If you have any questions about this or other information about the ski trip, call us (313-5005 or 493-0265). Fill out and turn in the permission forms before we leave on Jan. 23. Without one, your child cannot join us. We’ll be staying at a house which you can check out at www.vrbo.com/26222.

Communication: Cell phones will be kept by a chaperone during the trip. If youth need to use their phones, they can see a chaperone who will take it back up after the conversation is over. The cell phone to use in case of emergency is 804-313-5005. (the Halls’)

Food: We will prepare meals at the home where we will be staying using food teams like last year so each youth gets a chance to help out. The kids will be responsible for buying their own dinner on the way to Wintergreen Friday and Sunday on the way home (probably at a fast food restaurant.) The house we will be staying in is “ski-in/ski-out” so they can get to it instead of the lodge for breaks, lunch and snacks. If you want to send money to account for your child to buy souvenirs or food at the ski lodge, that’s fine too.

Money: The base cost is $50 per student. That will cover a share of the food and board. Because last year there were some students who wanted to attend but didn’t want to ski the whole time, we are asking parents to discuss this with the kids BEFORE WE LEAVE and send the appropriate amount extra for whatever their child has expressed an interest in doing. The adults on the trip will be happy to keep up with the youth’s money if the parents ask us to. There is money in the youth fun to help offset the costs of skiing/rentals/tubing in the case of someone who wants to do it all but may not be able to afford it all.

Lift tickets:
Saturday from 9 a.m. -10 p.m. $75
Saturday from 12:30 p.m. -10 p.m. $65

Renting equipment:
$28 for skiing
$35 for snowboarding

Tubing (we will be doing Sunday as a group)
$25 for two hours

Packing:

The kids need to bring:
Bible and small notebook or journal
Warm clothing for skiing and shoes or boots (we will bring some extra hats/gloves/scarves just in case)
Toiletries
Sleeping bag
Pillow
Watch
~$10 for lunches (see above)

The kids DON’T need to bring:
Access to vulgar music (we don’t want to have to take up Ipods)
Excess cash or expensive stuff
Vulgar books, magazines or language
Gameboys or other distracting electronics

House Rules: The youth who have attended Bible studies and other MBCY functions know these already. Review this list with your child before sending them with us.
Act like a Christian ( mini-Christ), which includes:
No swearing, fighting, stealing
No one-on-one alone time with someone of the opposite sex
No disrespecting others or their things
No tardiness for meals or meeting times

Youth that don’t behave accordingly will be immediately rewarded with a call to their parents and less freedom in the future at youth activities.

Ski Trip Schedule

Friday, Jan. 23:
~2 p.m. leave the church (dinner en route)
6 p.m. arrive at the house, unpack
7:30 p.m. Buy lift tickets for Saturday/get fitted for rental equipment @Ski Barn
9-10:30 p.m. snacks, free time, games
11 p.m. devotion and lights out

Saturday, Jan. 24:
7 a.m. wake up/breakfast
9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. skiing/snowboarding
(lunch and dinner at the house mid-session)
10 p.m. meet back at house
11 p.m. devotion and lights out

Sunday, Jan. 25:
7 a.m. wake up/breakfast
10-noon tubing
Noon lunch and devotion
1 p.m. clean up and pack up
By 2 p.m. leave house (eat lunch on the road)
Arrive at the church around 6 p.m.

New Year's Eve

2008-12-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

Update regarding New Year's Eve:
Instead of an all night lock in that leaves everyone feeling drained and out of touch, we'll be holding a New Year's Eve Party from 9-12:30 a.m. at Cindy and Frankie Schools' home on Menokin Road. The event will include pizza and other food along with a movie showing and games. (We may even hold a WII boxing tourney...) By holding this event at a home instead of the church we will ensure the kids' security and even get to watch the ball drop at Midnight (we are supplying sparkling cider for toasts.)
If you have questions about this event, contact Maggie or Galon at 493-0265.

Bells and Skiing

2008-12-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Just an update for those keeping up with this blog- I'll be sure to print out a version and mail to parents too sometime this week.
We are tentativley scheduled to "Ring the Bells" with Salvation Army on Sat., Dec. 13 ALL DAY.
Unfortunately, Galon and I already had plans to be out of town that weekend but someone else picked the day for us and it's easiest for the Salvation Army side of things-
SO
The plan now is to open the sign up sheet to the entire church.
Rules:
At least one adult supervisor when shifts consist of kids under 16 years old.
Two people on each shift, minimum.
Dress warmly.
Smile broadly!

More on this to be announced Sunday, Dec. 3- but because of the weekend we're signed up for, we only have two Sunday's between now and then to fill up the entire sheet. Not filling up all the slots is not an option because then it just gets really complicated with organization of money picking up and dropping off and then there's potential earnings for the Salvation Army lost-

On the skiing front:
The dates are still Jan. 23-25 (week after exams, accdg. to Principal Jack Cooley.)
The location is up in the air as of yet.
We are considering:
Boone, NC (six hours, 19 min. away)
Snowshoe, WV (five hours, 16 min. away)
Wintergreen, VA (where we went last year- two hours, 49 min. away)
Sugar Mountain, NC (seven hours away)
and a few others in locations near the ones listed above.
Because we have had no fund raiser participation or events yet, there will be less funds available to kids who wanted to work off some of the costs.
Sign up for the ski trip was orginally due Dec. 1. That has been extended- but not by much.
We will have to know what size group we are having to be able to book places to stay/things to do and travel arrangements accordingly.
Hope this makes sense and everyone had a happy thanksgiving!
A special congratulations to Lindsey Martin and Morgan Vanlandingham- both made the JV cheerleading squad and Morgan was named captain.

christmas boxed

2008-10-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Reminder:

Saturday, Nov. 8
5 p.m. until...
@Menokin
meet to collect, shop, stuff and wrap boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
the goal is to have each kid do their own box.

NEEDED: Shoe boxes for stuffing.

Here are some suggestions from the Operation Christmas Child site about what we are looking for...
(Depending on age/sex of child the youth decide to send their box to)

GIFT IDEAS
TOYS
small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES
pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS
toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER
Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries)

A PERSONAL NOTE
In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. (If you include your name and address, the child may write back.)

DO NOT INCLUDE:
Used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers; aerosol cans

More information can be found at this site, run by Samaritan's Purse.

strikes and spares

2008-10-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Shown above is Zach G after a solid bowl (I think that's the terminology.) The girls commented that he looked like he was casting a spell on the ball in this shot, but I think it's that good form that led him to multiple stikes and spares.

Well.
Bowling night was a fun adventure. We met at the church around 5:30 p.m. and headed off in three cars, a virtual Menokin Youth caravan.
Beth V was driving the "girl power" van with me, Lindsey and Morgan. Jason drove with Chris, Zach, Taylor and Zach Elliott. Galon led the way with Aaron V, Jesse and Kyle- crammed into the very efficient Saturn.
Things were uneventful until Mechanicsville- kids texting back and forth and talking.
We got to the lights of M-ville and the caravan got broken up a bit, resulting in some calls among cars and speedball Galon waiting on Beth and then Jason's car. Turns out we were going to a different alley than before- one on Parham Road and not the one near the m-ville Target.
In the girl van, we had a mapquest map and the phone number to the place. We had to call only once and thanks to Beth's familiarity with Richmond, found the place seemingly on our own after peeling off after the boys cars had kept straight on the loop.
The girls were wondering where we were and if we would find it on our own- and we did. We pulled in and realized the guys came too, just from the opposite direction. The place looked fine from the outside, and inside was as nice as can be expected at a bowling alley. We had two lanes and got our shoes, popcorn and cokes.
We got more to eat as the night wore on.
Top bowlers included Zach G, Aaron V and Galon (Mr. I took bowling in college)
Turns out, Beth V. took a bowling class too and was very good. Unfortunately, she pulled a muscle mid way and the kids were happy to bowl for her during the remainder of the evening.
All in all, it was a good night.
We got home later than expected, and the girls in the van were trying to find a way to sleep in to recover. Neither of them took a nap on the way home, however, so I don't believe they were very tired.
Special thanks to the parents who helped, including Beth V, and of course Jason, who turned out to be a very talented bowler as well.

Ignition

2008-10-16T11:36:00.001-07:00

Here is the group after doing some hair art.
They had toothpicks and pantyhose to work with and had to explain the inspiration for their designs.

Welcome

2008-10-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Well. If you're reading this you're likely part or or connected to Menokin Youth in some way. We're hoping to use this blog as a way to keep up with scheduling, prayer requests and studies.
To get us started, we'll upload some photos from past youth events. If you like the photos, you can click on them directly and they'll go to a bigger version you can save to your desktop if you wanna print them out or save your own copies.
See you Wednesday!

And, don't forget;
Bowling night
Wed. Oct. 22
5:30 at the church
~ 9:30 back at the church
Questions? Call Maggie or Galon.