WinterFest-2009

 

Click here for the Pictures!! 

Ok, I am starting the post now.  Last year I tried every night after each Winterfest service to post pics and comments about the days events so parents could keep up with what we were up to.  I figure I will start the post now.  I will try to post information here leading upto our trip.  Parents, Students, you too can post items here such as questions, what you are looking forward to, memories of past WinterFest trips or anything else.  When we actually get to WinterFest, I will use this page to keep you up to date on what we are up to.  Below you will find the 2009 WinterFest Promo!  here are some links to official WinterFest websites:

• http://www.mywinterfest.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/winterfest09
• Watch WinterFest LIVE!  right here!!!

Also, be sure to check out the Fund Raiser page for fundraising info here: http://lifestudentoutreach.wordpress.com/fund-raisers/

 

 

1/25/2009:  It is getting close!!  Less than 2 months to go.  I know I am getting excited, and I know the students are as well.  I was thinking just the other day how good the past years have been at WinterFest, and wondering, “man, how are they going to top what they did last year?”  Whew!  glad that is not my job, trying to make something that is awesome even better!  We should have information like where exactly we will be staying in the near future.  When I get that info, I will post it here.  Good news is, we are taking a charter bus this year (means we won’t have to wait for Brother James to keep up with us!  HaHa, sorry James, I had to!–Jeff made me do it!).  Once we find out where we are staying we are also going to try and do something about having some food already set up and waiting for us after each service.   This way we shouldn’t have to deal with lines, and places being closed.  Well that is all for now!  God Bless!

2/23/2009:  HaHa!  It has been around a month since my last post.  You say “so, what does that mean?”  It means we are a month closer to going to WinterFest!!  Hello Captain Obvious!  Seriously though, it is getting close, and the Lord is doing his “thing” with our kids already during Wednesday services.  Don’t get me wrong, he is always there, but here lately he has been beating some kids down!  I mean that in a good way!  He has been working on these kids hearts like I have never seen before in our services.  We have been having on average 50+ kids at each service and I would say at LEAST 1/2 of them are coming to the alter for various reasons.  Praise the Lord!  Chains are being broken and kids are being set free.  I am getting chills just thinking about it and typing this.  We had our Chaperones meeting last night and we have a great group of Chaperones who Love these kids.  I have been fortunate enough not to have to chaperone this year, but I still get to go.  This means updates, updates, updates to this post.  What I am planning on doing with the power of modern technology is to update this post as well as pictures through out each day, not just in the early morning hours when things start to “settle-down” at the hotel.  So make sure when we are there that you check it through out the day…your boss won’t mind (note to Boss: your employee needs a raise!) .  If he does, make him sit down and read it with you!  Until next time, God Bless you all for letting us take your kids to WinterFest!!

2/26/2009:  Hotel Details are IN!  We will be staying at the Econolodge-Riverside.  Check them out here:  http://www.econolodge-pigeonforge.com/ .  Looks like a pretty nice place, although we won’t be there too often, it is still nice to know that it looks pretty decent.  Praise the Lord!!  If you want to see a video tour of it, click here:  http://www.econolodge-pigeonforge.com/econolodge_pigeon_forge_video.php 

 

For those of you who like maps, here is where it is.  If I remember correctly, it is just before the place we stayed at last year.

 

Thurs, March 12th:  WINTERFEST IS HERE!!!

        Ok, we leave in 5 hours and the kids are excited! (me too!!)  We had a great praise and worship service last night to kick it all off.  We will be leaving sometime around 4:30, make a stop for some dinner up the road and check into the hotel hopefully around 9:00.  I pray that the Lord provides us with safety during our travels, stress free days, and spirit filled services.  I cannot say enough about this group of kids and their willingness, and openess in worshipping the Lord.  They blew my mind last night at service.  There was a point when the praise band was singing Amazing Grace that the students in the congregation actually drowned out the praise band during the song.  I had to look at Rene and ask him if he had a back up singers cd playing!  (don’t worry Rene, I won’t tell anyone your allergies were bothering you and making your eyes water!)  They sounded like Angels!  Ok, so my next post will be some time tonight from the hotel and I will tell you about our journey.  Don’t forget to use the link at the top of this page to watch WinterFest Live!  Please keep us in your prayers and ask the Lord to touch hearts this weekend, to change lives, to break chains of bondage, and to bring these kids into a closer, loving relationship with him!!  Talk to you tonight!!

 

3/12/2009 – 10:45pm:  Well we finally made it!  Actually we have been here since around 9:30.  Two vehicles went ahead of the bus and got our rooms situated so when the bus got here it would be a pretty smooth transition.  We also have made it to the WinterFest checkin in time to check in and get our passes.  One of the workers at checkin told us that we have one of, if not the biggest group here to attend Winterfest.  A lot of the youth are in the pool right now.  This hotel has an indoor pool but unfortunately, they do not seem to have any big common areas to accomodate us for a devotional, or for a place for us to sit  and eat after each service, but I know the Lord will provide something.  They also say quiet time begins around 11:00, which is kind of funny.  Funny because, we will do good to even get back here by 11:00, not to mention when we get back we will be feeding 80+ hungry people!!  Once again, the Lord will provide something.  We have taken some pictures and some video but I am not sure if I will get a chance to post any of it or not tonight.  If not, I will post some during the day tomorrow.  Remember, to access the pictures, there is a link to them on the bottom right of the main page.  More to come tomorrow!!

Here is a Video:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lifestudentoutreach/3350887184/

3/13/09- Friday 1:20pm:  

                     We are at the Outlet shops and NASCAR speedpark.  Thankfully the Lord has kept the rain away so far today and we have been able to walk the shops and drive some Go-Karts.  I have posted some pictures (Thanks Rene!) but not all from yesterday.  I actually posted them using my blackberry as a modem for my laptop so it was some what slow going.  It got 44 % of what I was trying to post and I cancelled it.  Hopefully I will have better luck tonight from the Hotel.  We will be leaving here around 3:00 to go back to the hotel and change, then head to the service.  That’s all for now, next post should be sometime when you all are asleep!!–Must be nice!!  God Bless.

3/14/09-9:10am:

Service was GREAT!!!  Sorry not to post last night so you would have an update this morning when you woke up but it was late when we got back.  A special thanks to Bellacino’s who closed at 11:00 but stayed open for us even though the bus did not get there until 11:45.  Ok, now for the service.  One of the highlights of the night was Joe Castillo who does some amazing sandart. (www.sandstory.com)  I will put a video of some of his stuff below this post.  Jentzen Franklin was the speaker last night and spoke about in a sense about a lot of common, for some reason acceptable sins and traps of this world.  About how Satan deceives us into thinking things are ok to do, but how it traps us and takes over us and pulls us away from the Lord.  He presented it in such a way that the kids could relate to by showing us numerous well known celebrities and athletes in skits and how they have fallen from their worldy status.  Fallen either personally, or completely fallen been killed or killed themself.  Unfortunately I am not as eloquent at posting his message as he was at giving it.  I will tell you this though, the Holy Spirit was EVERYWHERE!!!  After the altar call we did not have a seat that still had one of our students in it.  The Lord was working on each and everyone one of us.  There was not a dry eye in the entire arena.  Tonight is sure to be even better.  from years past I seem to remember Friday nights service as being a servic that the kids maybe felt like a warm up, or they maybe used it as a way to feel out how they felt and didn’t completely open up until the Saturday service.  Judging by how they opened up last night they blew right past the “warm up” and are wide open for the Lord.  This no doubt is due to the last couple of months of amazing services we have been having on Wednesdays, as well as all of you who have been praying.  I cannot wait for tonight!! I encourage you to watch it on-line tonight.  There are a few people back home who watched last night and messages from them say they too were blessed.  Look for the link at the top of this page to watch.  I will try to get some pictures put up at some point today so check back often.

Joe Castillo (www.sandstory.com)

 

Sat 3/4/09 – 12:40 pm:

Amazing service!  I don’t know how else to describe it.  We had numerous kids who were baptised in the Spirit.  The service from the very start to the very end and beyond was simply POWERFUL.  There was demons cast out of lives, there was lives given over to the Lord, I cannot even figure out what to write about it.  I can’t think of the words that would be sufficient to describe it.  We had kids who were annointed and laid there hands on their peers and the Holy Spirit worked through them.  It was hot in the arena and I had Goose Bumps and Chills.  There were tears, smiles, and every emotion that could possibly be felt was felt.  The Holy Spirit was everywhere.  Our kids, YOUR kids had an experience that they will not soon foget, if ever.  I can’t wait to put together a presentation for all to see.  I would put some pictures up now but I am truely beat tired, and I am not tired because of lack of sleep believe it or not as I got around 7 hours of sleep last night because we got a late start to the day today because of weather.  I am, as well as everyone else, tired because of nothing more than tonights experience.  Tomorrow is sure to be a blessing as well.  As we wrap up the WinterFest weekend I ask that you keep our Youth in your prayer daily.  I ask that you pray they will continue to be fired up for the Lord and that this is not just something in passing.  That the Lord continues to be the first thought, the last thought, and the most important thought in their lives everyday.  It seems like everyday our world just get’s worse and worse.  What we need in this country is  a revival, a wave of Godliness to spread, and these kids can start it.  The Lord is truely working in their lives and I pray that they only get closer to him, that they love Him more and more with each passing day, and that they become, and exhibit in their everyday lives what their lost friends need.  I thank the Lord for allowing me to be a part of something like this.  And I thank you for allowng your kids to be a part of something like this as well.  When we arrive home, ask your kids what it was like, I don’t mean make small talk with them, I mean ask them, ask them what they felt, what they experienced, what they thought, and just listen to them, look into their eyes, you will surely see a new person!  Praise God!  God bless you all!

 

PS:  sorry for any rambling, I am typing this through one eye as the other is just about asleep, yet,  I feel like laughing, I feel like crying and I feel like going into the parking lot and running around through the puddles!  Good night morning!

 

Sunday, 3/15 – 8:10pm:

Well, we finally made it home sometime around 5:00.   Our weekend was amazing, and we are all very tired.  I actually just woke up from a power nap, and I am now ready to go to bed!!  Anyhow, tomorrow I am going to try and get all of the pictures posted to the web for all to see so check back Tuesday and see what we’ve got.  A special thanks needs to go out to Rene, our very own “Johnny on the Spot” photographer for most of the pictures!  Rene was all over the place, including back stage, and leaning on center stage!  He walked up and down the stairs so many times he probably “Stair Mastered” a marathon.  I will also be posting Karens yearly WinterFest poem when she finishes it and you will want to be sure to read it as it is lways a treat!

STUDENTS!!  (and anyone else too!):

You may now be asking yourself, or thinking, ok, this weekend was amazing, but now what do I do?  Well here is some help:

Matthew 28: 18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Go here for more!!  http://www.ycenowwhat.org/ 

~ by Jim on October 14, 2008.