White Water Adventure Sept. 15, 2007

The Natahala River is a challenging river for first time rafters. As our group took on the first set of rapids, Alex Gomez and Kyle Kinser took a spill out of the raft! The water is so cold it can take your breath away! The current is so swift that you have to yeild to it's flow and slowly make your way to the edge. We waited by the bank while our two dare devils with blue lips and frozen bones made their way back into the boat.

This was just the beginning of a day of fun! At one point in the day just about everyone made it into the RIVER! I think some got pushed in! Whoops!

Melinda Garner & Donna served us a picnic at the half-way point, where we pulled over and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation. It was an amazing day! The sun was beaming down on us with it's warmth. Leaves were starting to change and laughter filled our journey!

The challenge of the Natahala is the last set of rapids. We stopped to plot and plan how we would survive the massive undertow and what was the plan of action if someone fell out!

The undertown at Natahala Falls is like a grizzle bear. When it grabs your boat you will feel like you are being sucked under! No matter how big the boat is. The current down stream is matched by an upstream flow of equil force. Thus it is called a 'suck hole'. If someone falls out at that point, they are almost quarenteed to get pushed to the bottom of the river. Our strategy therefore is to make sure everyone stays in the boat.

With our pulse rate up and our paddles in the water, we took on the mighty Natahala Falls and I am glad to report that no one fell out! Thanks to the great guiding skills of Steve Gardner, Elliot Graves, Megan Gardner, Maria Renea Altuzar, Katie Kerfoot, and Luke Davis we survived!

Jr. - Sr. Beach Retreat

Campus Student Ministry's Labor Day Weekend - Jr/Sr Retreat was wonderful!

Each year we travel to Panama City's Laguna Beach Retreat Center with our 11th & 12th graders. This special weekend is designed to create a connection between them and their God. This year's focus was on Joseph and how "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree!" Psalms 92:12.

Students share how God has given them a vision for their life, a passion for being His, an amazing story about their walk with Him and they have experienced God through dynamic, supportive relationships. On our last night together we huddled on the beach for about an hour and a-half singing praises to our God! This was a life-changing, connecting event for all of us!

Special thanks to Chi Le, Neail Thomas, Greg Long, June Tietsort and Andy Tietsort - the cook! You were such a blessing to this group as servant-leaders. Kin & Donna

Summer 2007

On Wednesday, August 1, 2007 we closed out our summer by throwing a going away party for four wonderful interns. I am always amazed at how God works through the love and life of interns. Each one this summer brought their own special 'touch' to our hearts.

Jenny Threet
Mickey McCloud
Conard Peacock
Trey Taylor

We remember the (1) Mystery Trip to Forida, (2) Family Bible Week, (3) AIM Day Camp, (4) Stone Mountain with the Gateway Youth Group, (5) Feeding the Homeless at a 7 AM Soup Kitchen, (6) The Magic of Uplift, (7) students sharing about their Mission Trips to Haiti, Honduras, Russia & Cozumel, (8) Campus Camp with the dynamics of a Team Building Ropes Course, (9) Feeding 120 Kids for a week during 'Project Kids Eat', (10) Devotional during 'Saturday Night Fever', (11) Six Flag Adventures, (12) Guys Night Out, (13) Girls Night Out, (14) Many Soccer Games - One lasted till midnight, (15) Atlanta Aquarium, (16) Bob Smiley, (17) The Talent Show, (18) Organizing Food at Norcross Cooperative Ministry, (19) Awesome Sunday Morning Classes, (20) Air-Soft Capture the Flag Nights, (21) Linking four X-Box games so 16 player could play together (22) Four Square Competition in the Teen Center and many other spontaneous events.

Our lives will never be the same because of the investment four college student made in this ministry and mainly because God has given us the promise that 'where ever two or three gather in my name, there I will be also!' We were drawn together by His love and grace. We have seen His face and His delight in us because we are His!

Special thanks to the Mitchells for hosting the interns farewell party! We had a blast watching 'Pirates of the Caribbean' while we attempted to throw each other into the pool! From Lou Ann's delitious meat balls & fruit salad, to Domino's pizza we enjoyed some serious eating. The cake and ice-cream finished everyone off! We were floating in the pool without any floats - full past satisfaction!

We closed out our evening by listening to student share how much they appreciated each intern and spending time by praying for them! Our God Is An Awesome God! Kin

Six Flags with 30 Teenagers

Upon arrival to the Campus Church, 4 youth interns prepare for a day of thrill and excitement. The mission for the day: take 9 adults and 30 teens to six flags and get back with that same number of people excited that they spent the day on an adventure with us...we choose to accept it with open arms! At our first check in time, all were present and accounted for and to our surprise it was in record time. Hours later at our second check in, we heard stories of Superman, Deja Vu, Goliath, Batman, and the log ride. Some were wringing out their shorts from their time spent at Skulls Island. This water park was just the right touch to a day spent in the hot sun. We headed back to the bus with our bellies full of funnel cakes, fountain drinks, and cheese sticks. We ended up with all of the people that we started with and their prizes from their adventure! Hooray for Six Flags!!

Family Bible Week - Jesus Focused

What happens when you meet for five consecutive time to concentrate on Jesus. Randy Harris challenged us during Family Bible Week with a single question: Who Is This Jesus? (1) Living Out the Story of Jesus, (2) Getting Our Story Straight, (3) Radical Hospitality, (4) Food! (5) YES! As we focused on Jesus we were changed! Amazing how that works!

Warren Spahn, is reported to have been pitching in one the World Series, when the pitching coach came out and told him, "whatever you do don't throw the ball low and inside!" After the batter got a hit off his "low and inside" pitch he thought to himself, "why would anyone try to motivate one with a negative focus!" Why didn't the pitching coach tell him where he wanted it. We do move towards what we focus on!

Thanks to Randy we were a part of a positive, Jesus focus! YES!

What a blessing! Kin

Mystery Trip

" How happy are those who are....poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry, merciful, pure, peacemakers, persisitent.. for they are light in the midst of darkness."

We piled into the Campus bus and travel together for over fourteen hours to say we had experienced the beach and observed the fourth largest light house in the United States. Why? Why is there 'joy' in a journey? Moving out of our comfort zone requires that we stretch beyond our normal daily routine and taste the salty air of the beach! There we experience salt and know what non-salt infested areas are like. Bland food without any flavor doesn't attract anyone to it, not even flies!

God has called us as a community of believers to impact our world in the same way that salt flavors food and a light house penetrates the darkness to rescue travelors from danger! The summer 2007 is all about making memories, discovering the power of the beatitudes and spending time contemplating Jesus! Silently God is moving us to spiritual maturity and enpowering us to make a difference! God is the light of life and His love fills us and radiates out of us into the lives of the people we meet.

At the beach we got to hang out with students from the Gateway congregation and we were also able to host Gateway on Saturday when they went with us to Stone Mountain and got up at 5 AM to go to downtown Atlanta to feed about 400 homeless! Campus students came back from the beach with stronger relationships with God, each other, and some new Florida friends.

Our resolve to be Jesus to people is stronger than ever! WhoRaaaaaaa! Kin