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Doing Handstands on Glass 1,353 feet (412 meters) Above Chicago!









Last week while in Chicago for the Simply Youth Ministry Conference we had the chance to visit the Skydeck on the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower – glass enclosures that protrude from the side of the building 1,352 feet above the ground. I was so proud of my family – especially my daughters and my dad for demonstrating great bravery, overcoming their fears and getting out there. lol!

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Praise for The Complete New Testament Resource for Youth Workers

We recently received this feedback from a youth pastor who is using our book:

“I am a youth pastor in New Brunswick, Canada and you just need to know that this first volume that you edited (of The Complete New Testament Resource for Youth Workers) is by far the most useful, well organized, and clear resource that I have ever used. The ideas/questions/games are all easily transferable into my ministry setting and the teens really do learn from them. Thanks to you and your team for helping me help students dig into the Scriptures.”

Volume 2 is done and in the editing phase. It should be out by summer.
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Little Boy @ Funeral

This evening I attended two funerals for folks from our church. At one of them, my friend Maryann told me the following which had just occurred with her young nephew – perhaps 5 or 6 years old.

He was being a little loud, so his aunt told him, “Listen, people are coming in now and you need to be respectful.” The little boy turned to his 9-year old cousin and asked, “What’s respectful mean?”
He then walked into the viewing room and upon seeing his grandfather in an open casket asked, “What’s he doing here? I thought he was in heaven!?”
What a beautiful, innocent, light moment in the midst of loss and sadness.
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Let’s Ride Road Trip Days 6 & 7 – Thursday & Friday

Thursday:

This morning we showered at the YMCA in downtown Wilmington. As a way of saying “Thank you” the team donated $100 to the club for their food drive. We then packed up, ate breakfast, and drove about 30 minutes to Philadelphia where we visited Liberty Center. We also ate Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner. Our theme today was Freedom, and we spent a lot of time talking about the freedom we have in Christ. After that we drove to Delran, New Jersey where we stayed at Calvary Temple where Giovanni did his internship for college. In the evening we had a personal concert by the band Dinner & A Suit and then ate a wonderful Italian dinner.
Friday:
We got up at 7:30 a.m. today, loaded the trailer, cleaned up, and then had an hour of sharing as a team. In an attempt to keep the blog somewhat short, I have been simply recounting our travel times. What I have not said a lot of is what has been happening in the vans during all of the driving hours. There has been some intense discipleship happening, and that’s really the meat of this whole thing. Each day we had a theme. The students read and memorized Scripture verses each day and engaged in conversations pertaining to each day’s topic. The places we have visited have been carefully selected to give the students [and leaders] a visual experience designed that will reinforce their spiritual learnings. It has been an incredible time! Our theme today is Rest, so rather than doing something else, we simply drove home, reading and learning about the biblical idea of rest along the way.
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Let’s Ride Road Trip Days 4 & 5 – Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday:

This morning the boys woke up 6:00 a.m. and we headed to the YMCA for showers. When we returned we loaded the trailer and were off the CBN to watch a live taping of the 700 Club. After the show Pat Robertson and Terry came over and took a picture with our group. After that I picked up information packets from Regent University for everyone. Regent is where I obtained my Master’s degree and is a fine Christian University. We then drove to downtown Norfolk, VA where we visited the Life Enrichment Center which is a tremendous ministry started by Pastor Kevin Turpin who is one of the pastors at New Life Providence Church. Yep, we had two PK’s on staff! lol! After a tour and a Q&A time we walked down and visited the USS Wisconsin which is retired at Nauticus. Next we drove to two of the schools that Pastor Kevin does community programs in. We were able to donate all of our canned goods to help the families of the children, 70% of whom fall below the poverty line. We also gave the LEC a large bag of children’s books. Following our visit to Norfolk we drove the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel and stopped along the side and enjoyed lunch and a gorgeous view. We then drove to Hampton, VA where we got settled in at New Covenant Church. My uncle Mark Johansson is the pastor of the church and we had a wonderful evening of singing, playing in the gym, and eating John Long food. We also had a wonderful conversation for about two hours with my awesome grandparents Bob and Maxine Mahaffy. Our theme for tomorrow is Legacy, and I wanted the students to be able to glean from one of the most significant couples in my life. It was a real treat for us to interact with the previous generation and to recognize that we too can leave a great legacy for those who come after us.

Wednesday:

This morning we went to an aquatic club and enjoyed an hour of swimming before getting our showers. After loading up the trailer and cleaning up the church, we presented a gift of $400 collected from the team to the church to assist them in their community outreach initiatives. They were very grateful, and we were proud of our team for pulling together and leaving a great seed for evangelism that will happen long after we are gone. Next we drove to Williamsburg, VA and spent about 4 hours touring one of the greatest historical restoration projects in the nation. It was really fascinating, and having John Long along as our tour guide was awesome! We then drove to Wilmington, DE, arriving at 10:30 pm. The team is getting settled in and John is making us dinner. Midnight supper! Sounds good! We have also donated 80 blankets and 100 Bibles to the church for their street ministry.

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Let’s Ride Road Trip Day 3 – Monday

This morning we were on the road at 9 a.m. and drove to Kill Devil Hills, NC where we visited the Wright Brothers Memorial. Our theme today was: Vision. We had a fantastic time learning about these great dreamers who were the first people to fly. It was a beautiful day with weather probably in the 50’s. After our visit we drove to my favorite Carolina BBQ restaurant Southland on the North Carolina/Virginia border. We then drove to New Life @ Providence Church in Virginia Beach which is the church that Adriana and I used to serve as youth pastors. It was great to see several of my former students all grown up and have the opportunity to introduce them to my new students. This evening the girls all went to the YMCA and got showers. The boys get to go in the morning at 6:30! lol! We then prepared lunches for tomorrow and had a good time of sharing as a team. It’s 1 a.m. right now. I’m doing some laundry for the team. Their smells were getting to me! Just kidding! lol!