Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Tonight Jena and I will be taking Thor to a party sponsored by our local church. Afterwards we may stop by a few homes in the neighborhood. Of course, the fun part is dumping all the candy on the floor and sorting it out. There are just some items, my kids never eat; they include Dots, Almond Joy, Heath bar, black jelly beans and others. More for me, I guess? I will feel much safer having one of the Avengers with me, complete with super power hammer!

Enjoy your evening, whether it be trick-or-treating with your kid, handing out candy or turning off the lights and hiding (and hoping you are not egged) !!!

Fall 2011 Beyond

This week was our semi-annual Beyond Shelterwood event. The school week was cut short following Tuesday to focus on building community; together and beyond campus. On Wednesday and Thursday we divided into groups and ventured out for various service projects. On Wednesday, I worked with 4 kids and 1 other staff raking leaves. We stopped by the homes of two different Doulos staff and bagged about 30 trash bags full of leaves, making multiple trips back to property to empty the leaf bags.

On Wednesday, I worked with a different group of folks going downtown Kansas City to Hope City. Hope City is Christ-centered soup kitchen with a prayer room. Hope is an extension of the International House of Prayer which provides continuous worship during the hours the mission is open. Our task at Hope was simple but rewarding. We cleaned up the kitchen for the staff following the community lunch serving.

We concluded the week on Friday by dividing into teams for some fun competition. Relay races, hot dog eating competition, and even a food fight (I conveniently avoided the food fight).

Fall Chapel season

The Fall 2011 chapel season started in September. We meet each Thursday morning at 8:30 for our weekly service. First period for the high school students is Bible class and on Thursdays, class is replaced with chapel. The service usually involves a few worship songs followed by a message from one of our staff. Occasionally I might start the morning off with a crazy game and possible prizes. It usually wakes the kids up and the prizes normally involve food which is an attraction with the teens. The music is provided by the Killer B's. The Killer's B's started 3 years ago with original members Brian, Brooke, Ben, Brad and Brian. The members have changed over the years but the spirit of the band lives on. During the month of October, chapel is meeting in the girls lodge providing the ladies with a chance to use their musical talents. We will switch back over to the guys lodge in November giving the boys a chance to get involved. The venue will switch every other month. I am working with new big brother, Andrew, to get the boys ready for the November worship experience. Big Sister, Lindsay, is pictured here and she is doing an excellent job leading the young ladies in worship each week.

Parent Weekend

This past weekend, the semi-annual Family Weekend came through the Shelterwood campus. The busy schedule concluded this morning with the worship service and share time. It is always encouraging to hear all the testimonies of changed lives and restored families. Parents and residents stand and tell the stories of brokenness, healing, forgiveness, and ultimately restoration. Last spring we made the decision to split the guys and girls into two separate weekends. The girls event is wrapping up today and the parents of the boys will be in town November 3-6. Our new CEO and ministry leader, Jim Subers, arrived on campus Wednesday and has done an excellent job greeting the families and representing Doulos. The ministry is still searching for a new Shelterwood Director who will oversee the operations of the residential care program and report to Jim. As a prayer request, please remember the search committee and process of finding the right individual.