Omega Blog
Spring Break Service Trip Responses
As the weeks begin to push the memories of our Spring Break Service Trip (March 24-27) further back, we've been steadily receiving more and more great feedback from those we were able to serve.Enjoy these letters and emails that were sent back to us here in the office, and know that they express gratitude to all of you students who had the willings hearts to serve our Lord and those in His work!
Hosanna Homes Orphanage and Ranch:
Dear Omegans,
Thank you very much for coming to the Ranch last week to volunteer you time working at Hosanna. Your jobs were will done and really appreciated. Thanks for cleaning the barn, the swimming pool dressing rooms, the livestock trailer and last but not least, raking all those leaves—wow! 100 acres of raking—you must have brought Superman! The effort you put forth has made a great difference and even the animals are grateful! Your good works have not gone unnoticed by our Lord, as mentioned in Hebrews 6:10: “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love youy have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.”
Thank you and God bless each one of you.
Verne and Judy Teyler
Executive Director
Open Heart Kitchen:
Thank YOU and your team of volunteers. I hope they had a very good experience and we were so fortunate to have them help out. It was a tremendous gesture of good will. I hope we can have them come out again next year!
Geneal Williams
Open Heart Kitchen
Volunteer Coordinator
925-580-1619
East Bay Rescue Mission:
Thank you for your involvement. The reports that I received were wonderful. Some of the projects were not as ready for you as they should have been and yet each of you demonstrated flexibility and patience. You did a great job in setting this up Kerry. You let me know when you and the Omega team would like to come by again and I will be thrilled to look at a calendar with you. May God bless you with a super week in His Kingdom work.
Sincerely,
David S. Kachurka
Director of Volunteer Services
Moving all the costumes/props backstage (at church):
I was going to send a thank you note to you and all the great kids who helped move stuff for us. The task for us was overwhelming by ourselves. You guys came at a perfect time and were such a blessing to me. Everyone worked so hard and with a smile and a good sense of humor. They were excellent examples of Christ and being a servant to others. It was very humbling to have such freely offered hard labor. Many hands do make the work light. I know these kids and their counselors gave up their spring break for others. I will remember their sacrifice every time I go into the new costume rooms. Thanks again.
Helen Cavallero
You have no idea how wonderful that was for Helen and I. We were not sure how we were going to do it. But once again it just goes to prove, I am not in charge, God is, and He provided you guys!
So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
Penny Lapum
Cleaning Canyon Middle School:
I was so blessed by the work the students did. The campus looked fantastic after the break. Please express my deepest appreciation to the students for their servants hearts. If you took any pictures I would love to see them God Bless you and the students.
Mark Croghan
Principal, Canyon Middle School
Representing the Almighty
So many times I have to remind myself that no one said Christianity was easy. I think that the plethora of people in our society honestly believe that placing a pasty smile on every Sunday and carefully fashioning a facade of spiritual bliss fulfills the purpose God has for their lives. By accepting Christ as Savior and choosing Him to be the sole authority of our lives, we've set ourselves apart and we've made a commitment. A commitment that I think many people often forget is binding, and often overlook to travel the wider and broader road of life without God. By choosing to follow the Lord, we have agreed to be an ambassador of Christ.So, what exactly does it truly mean to be an ambassador? It's simple really, we are representing the Big JC... Jesus Christ that is. We were placed on the earth to bring him glory and one of the ways we can do this is by bringing others to him. We've been given so many different opportunities and all we have to do is take advantage of them. Omega is a prime example. As ambassador's for Christ, we're required to draw people to God, and inviting our friends to omega is an easy way.
NOW- don't get too excited yet...there's a lot you'll need to know before stepping into the position of an ambassador. I don't have all the answers or anywhere near the spiritual maturity, but I believe these are some requirements that are vital (I picked up these topics from discussions in my Christian Ministries class).
Before we get to the requirements, there's one thing you need to know: Scripture is the key and foundation to being an ambassador for Christ.
Okay: here they are...
1) Knowledge: we'll call it an accurately formed mind
- We need to know the Bible. It is imperative that we have the courage and determination to study the Scriptures.
- By knowing the word of God, you have the ability to "combat" false ideas and worldly fallacies concerning the Christian walk. 2 Corinthians 10:35 tells us that, " We have the divine power of the Holy Spirit to defeat false ideas."
- This is the way we go about things when being an ambassador.
- As silly as it sounds, when presenting Christ to non believers, we must perform with tact and diplomacy.
- If we are simply condemning the person they will most likely want nothing to do with us. Which brings us to our third point.
- This is extremely important because, whatever judgments a person will make about God will be based on you, for after all, you're God's representation. Whatever a person sees in you ultimately affects their view of God.
- Character is ultimately dependant on your integrity as an individual. hypocrisy is rampant and many use this to tear down your willingness to serve God. YES, you will mess up. YES you will make mistakes, we're human, but the best we can do is strive for righteousness so that our Lord can be glorified through what we do as human beings.
fin.
Merry Christmas, Omega!
Merry Christmas, everyone, and a Happy New Year! I hope you had an amazing morning opening gifts and spending time with your family. Relax today, and remember the true meaning of Christmas! I wanted to write to say, "Merry Christmas," and also to give you a few important announcements.First, remember that we are taking the next two weeks off in Omega! We'll reconvene on Sunday, January 6th, for our 2008 kickoff week! Join us on Sunday morning (1/6) as we start a new topic: "A Year of Prayer" in our Small Groups. Come on Wednesday night (1/9) for a HUGE night of fun, games, and a 2008 kickoff message! We'll be spending the next two weeks remodeling the Youth Room, so make sure to come back in 2008!
Second, sign up for Winter Camp! Winter camp is coming quicker than you think, so make sure you jump onto our website and sign up ASAP! The cost is $180, but if money's an issue for you, just let me know, and we'll figure it out. There is NO reason that you should miss this amazing weekend of fun, friends, and Spiritual Growth!
Third, check out our new website! We launched an awesome new website last week that you need to check out. You can download podcasts, look at pictures, and get information and sign up for trips. Check it out right now!
Fourth and finally, help us tear down the skate park! Tomorrow is the day we take that old skate park down and begin to remodel that area. If you're around and able to help us, we'd LOVE to have you there. We'll be working from 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM or so, and we'll feed you lunch. :) If you can help us, just reply to this email and let me know, and then show up at the Youth Room tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00 AM. See you there!!
I can't wait to dive back into Omega with you all in 2008! Please, don't miss Omega the first week of January. It will change your life! See you then!
Have a GREAT Christmas!
Danny
PS. If you want to receive E-Mails like this every week, go to our website and sign up for our E-Weekly!
The NEW Omega T-Shirt
The new Omega T-Shirts are here, but are in limited quantity! They are awesome, comfortable (American Apparel), and a great price! Buy one now for $15, and either pick it up at the church or have it shipped to you ($5).
Omega Blog
The blog of Omega High School Ministry at Neighborhood Church.