Youth Worksite

Here are a few pictures of the work the youth group has been doing this summer.  So far they have built, primed, and painted 9 picnic tables, built a shed, helped paint and roof a house in the community,  and helped roof the church building.

Warm Springs to Here

Last Sumer I spent the very last team week in on the Rez in Warm Springs, Oregon.  I worked most of the week cleaning the community center.  I washed graffiti off the walls and scraped gum off the floor. A lot of the same kids hung around the community center all week.   One of the hard things about going to Warm Springs is that I didn't know any of the kids.  Up here in Yakima most of the kids know my name and I know theirs.  I kept expecting  to see a kid that I knew come around the corner, but I didn't. However,  I did befriend two girls while I worked.  The first day I met Hazel and Raelynn, they followed me around the center so curious about what I was doing.  The next day as I was scraping gum off the floor I heard my name "Heather!", being called down the hall way.  It was Raelynn calling my name.  She wanted to help me so I handed my tool for scraping gum off the floor to her and we worked side by side for an afternoon until the floors in the community center were shiny and clean.

On Monday was our first day of the summer with teams at Totus Park.  I had been at Totus for about two minutes when I engaged a group of middle school girls.  I was going around the circle asking for names and two of the girls said Hazel and Raelynn.  I asked if they were from Warm Springs and they said no, that they had lived their whole life around White Swan.  As I questioned them more I discovered that they  had spent one week with relatives in Warm Springs last summer.  It just so happened to be the very same week that I spent in Warm Springs.  They said they kind of remembered me.  Again they were so curious about what in the world we, Sacred Road and the teams, were doing.

It is amazing to me that I was able to start a relationship in Warm Springs with some girls I never thought I would see again and then to pick it up again a year later up here in Yakama.  I pray that the girls will stick around and want to be involved with youth group.

Spring Pictures

Here are a bunch of pictures from the last couple of weeks of youth group.  

Judy, Lynisha, and Alexa celebrating Lynisha's 12th birthday

Getting the birthday girl with frosting

Lynisha opening her presents

During White Swan's spring break we took the Youth group to Meadowbrook family fun center.  Here is a picture of Alexa at the batting cages.  

Tianna at the batting cages

Latisha at the batting cages 

Madison, Judy, Alexa, Tianna, and Latisha after our go cart race.  Latisha won!

All of the d-group girls made Easter baskets for another d-group girl.  This is a picture of my d-group girls making the cards for the girl they were making a basket for.

Lynisha working on her basket.

Here are the D-group girls after they exchanges their baskets for each other.  

Another picture of all the girls that made it that night.

On Friday we had our annual Easter egg hunt at eh church building.  We played games until everyone arrived.  Here is a group playing Mancala.  They have knowing that this game is so old that Jesus probably played it when he was a boy.  

 Jade, Tionna, and Justine playing a game called "spot it"

 Uno is a youth group favorite.

 This is a picture of the hunt underway.  They had 40 acres to run around on to find the eggs.

Alexa pauses to pose.  She probably lost a couple of eggs while I made her pose.  

God is Good

Sometimes I feel like I have to have all my thoughts tied up in a neat little bow to be able to write a good blog entry.  I sat down to compose this entry thinking that because so many exciting thing have been happening in the ministry surely I would have something good to say.  But I can't seem to pull all of my thoughts into a comprehensive paragraph.  Here are a few of the thoughts that have been running through my head and updates of what has been going on.

• On Saturday we said "see ya later" to our third and final spring break team.  It was an intense three weeks. I woke up Monday morning wondering what we did before the teams arrived.  
• A couple of times we had to do kids club in the rain.  We still had happy kids.  On the last day we had about 75 kids.  It was beautiful and warm.  It made we wonder how many kids we will have during the summer.
• At kids club there were kids in pain and hurting physically and emotionally. But those kids smiled big as they rode piggy back style on team members backs.  They leaned their heads on loving shoulders.  
• With the start of teams we begun having youth group meetings in the church building in our new youth room.  I can't get the picture out of my head of girls giggling as they tried to learn how to play ping pong for the first time.  We ended up using our hands because paddles were too hard.
• One of the girls in our youth group is expecting a baby next month.  Even though we didn't know she was pregnant and she didn't know she was pregnant, the Lord knew.  He has been protecting that baby and helping him to grow healthy and strong.  It is a comfort to know God knows all things and as Colossians 1 tells us, He is holding all things together.  
• Last week one of the girls in my d-group asked me to help her learn to read.  She is 14 and in the eighth grade.  Today we started learning letter sounds.  She told me how best to teach her, and she was right.  She is so smart.  
• On Easter Sunday we are having our first official Sunday service as a church plant in White Swan.  Over the last couple of months we have been meeting with our core group on Sunday mornings to prepare for this service.  Last week the elders of the long house called and asked if we would please have our worship service in the long house.  Wow! 

God is good all the time.  All the time God is good.  

February 9th, 2012

    I woke up to the smell of my favorite muffins fresh out of the oven.  Lemon poppyseed! Veronica remembered.  In the afternoon I watch Latisha retrieve rebounds like nobodies business in the middle school basketball game.  After the game we pick up some pizza and the other girls and head back to my house.
    The Box of half eaten pizza is on the table.  Alexis is lounging on the couch.  Tianna is sitting cross legged on the floor with her legs tucked under the coffee table in front of her.  Latisha is sprawled out on the floor in front of the fire.  Her beads are in a rainbow around her.  All are bent over their work; their eyes squinting to make sure they can get the beads stacked onto the earring posts.  "Can you show me again how to bend the wire to make a loop for the earrings?" Latisha asks.  "Sure," I say.  She sits up next to me and we both do the steps together.  "Can you pass me that wire cutter?" asks Tianna.  The three stay very calm as we make earrings together.  The conversation bounces back and forth between silly and serious as we talk about middle school life.  Time slips away and soon we are cleaning up the beads and pliers.  It is time to take everyone home.  We get in the car and they ask for the millionth time if we can listen to 92.9 "The Bull".  They all love country music.  I remind them that my radio is still broken.  So, instead, we listen to songs from Bible study, and they sing along.
    As I crawl into bed that night I think I would not have wanted to celebrate my third anniversary of my arrival on the Rez any other way.

How do we know God loves us?

I was reminded the other day of how the Lord loves us through the 6th grade girls who is in a discipleship group with me.  I was reading the group a story by Patricia St. John about how a father loves his children.  At the end of the story I asked the question, “How do we know that God loves us?”  I was unsure of how they would answer, becasue they all live in situations where most of their physical and emotional needs are not being met.  Without hesitating they started to rattle of a number of ways God shows His love for us.  “He created us.  He wakes us up each day.  He died for us.”  They have tasted the Love of God and He has reassured them in their hearts that it is true.  I am so glad to see first hand that the Lord is choosing to build His kingdom in White Swan through 6th grade girls.  The Sacred Road team here on the reservation would not have the opportunity to see the kingdom moving in like a wave over White Swan without your faithful prayer and financial support.  

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Phil 1:3-5

They love inventing games.  This one had to do with guessing the flavor of the
gummy bear in your mouth while playing gummy bear dominos.  

New Discipleship Group Space

Some of my favorite d-droup moments have happened in the peaceful and calm environment of my home.  The girls have come to trust my home as a safe place.  They are familiar with the space and do not get distracted by a changing environment like they do when we go out somewhere.  We are able to have more real and honest conversations about their lives and the Lord.  But with Veronica's d-group wanting to use our house too, I am not always able to use it.  To solve this problem I am setting up a d-group space in the youth area at our new church building.  This space will not only be available for my d-groups but for others as well.  Would you like to help my set up a homey and comfortable area for d-groups to meet.  You can contribute through funds or through donating materials.

Here is a wish list:

• Rug ( It has cement floor)
• Couch
• Chairs
• Tall lamp
• Small table
• Shelf
• Cabinent
• Small refrigerator
• Heater (we will be in the cold basement)
• Games/ craft supplies 

~You can donate on our website through paypal: sacredroadministries.com

~You can mail funds to: 22116 SE 51st Place - Issaquah, WA 98029 


~You can call me (509-930-5903) or email me (hmgerman@gmail.com) with any questions.