MVC Students

After combing through over 1,100 pictures we made this slideshow to highlight different aspects of the trip.

From our point of view.

On the first and last day the Mountain View team was told, “Relational ministry is among the hardest.  It’s much easier to clean a lot, build something, or paint a wall.  You stand back and know exactly what you accomplished.  When you pour into a life, it has a blurry “finish” line.   You may never know the impact you had.   Yet, relationship was the essence of Christ’s ministry.”  It may be difficult for the team to tell you exactly what they “did” during their week in New Jersey, at Aslan Youth Ministries.  It may even sound oversimplified.  They helped run a day camp and pour into the lives of at-risk students.  It was so much more than that though.

95% of the students of Aslan are African American growing up at or below the poverty line, in single parent households in urban areas that are fighting to survive.  Monmouth County, NJ is one of the richest and poorest counties at the same time.   “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12 tells us and this is often the best way to describe the lives we touch, your team touched this past week.

The Mountain View team gave their whole selves in their time with us.  It was evident as they walked with the Lord they came to offer His love to each life.  There was a lot expected of them to help not only run the camp, and teach the Bible, but to truly be “on” at all times while here.  In short they were asked to not only talk or teach about Jesus, but to walk hand in hand with another for the week. The effects are already in play.  The leadership and selflessness of the Mountain View students inspired many of our own Aslan teens that had come to serve.  I had one tell me just today, “I really understand how to be a counselor at day camp now.”  As a matter of fact walking into day camp today, another small child asked, “Why couldn’t they have stayed for two weeks.”  They are each missed.  It was sad today as some of our most boisterous students were quiet, missing those who had given so much in just a week.

Our families are constantly in need of others who will keep showing them what “hope” looks like.  They need a caring touch, in addition to what we regularly offer,  and that is what this team provided.  It isn’t often that we have enough volunteers that Aslan kids can have small groups of 2-3 with one who is there for the sole purpose of offering them their full attention.  Compassion is an action word.  We should be moved to “do” something, as our hearts are broken for the least, the lost and the last. Each day the group built momentum in giving all they could.

At Aslan our expectation of every staff person and volunteer is to “spend themselves on behalf of the Gospel” for the sake of urban families.  Mountain View did nothing less than above and beyond all that was asked.  On a selfish note, it was amazing to see the way the team connected with my own family.  I have three children (6,7 & 8 grade) at home who have been invested in this ministry literally since birth.  They serve year round, and live in an inner city neighborhood so we can all literally love “our neighbors” as ourselves.  This past week they made some good friends that were much needed.  They can’t wait to get to Colorado to visit you someday!

Thank you so much for sending this wonderful team to us.  We can only hope we will be able to serve together again in the future!

Today is our final day in New Jersey as well as our last day of Day Camp. Our students have bonded with the campers in more ways than they ever thought they would. They have already admitted that there will be tears when the campers leave and there is nothing we can do to stop it. I wouldn’t want to.

Yesterday we spent the day at a working farm that limits the technology to the 1890’s. As we were walking around the farm I had the opportunity to tell the young man I got to hang out with what that meant and he asked me if that is why he could not get wifi by the house. Yes, that is why.

We got to take students to see cows, a huge (ugly) pig, chickens, horses, corn fields, and tools from the past. The best part was how much fun they had together while looking at everything. This group has really bonded and grown together.

Please pray for Aslan Youth Ministries to have a continued and growing impact on the students they serve. As we leave Saturday morning to return home we are praying for the relationships that have been formed. We know God can work miracles and want to see him work in their lives. Also, please pray for our team to have the energy we need to finish well. We have not had much rest and are all very tired. God has been faithful to give us what we need and right now we simply want to finish strong and love one other well.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.

Jared Coe

We are in the middle of our mission trip today, Wednesday. A great day! More smiles and fun! The kids were happy to see their student teachers, and we had about double the amount of students compared to the first two days. The most challenging kids we worked with these last two days were smiling, following rules, enjoying activities and it felt like they were exited to be at the camp. Especially with their awesome Colorado leaders, who are fun, exited to run programs and are great when interacting with these kids at the camp. It is so amazing to me how these eight kids interact with each other and get along so well with students, adults and each other. They are growing with faith. I love listening to their thoughts about God. They are a group of thoughtful, loving, giving and respectful kids! I am so blessed to be on this mission, as are the kids that come to camp. Jared put together a wonderful youth group for these New Jersey kids who need encouragement and Jesus in their lives! Lord keep encouraging us!!

Myka

Day camp is happening RIGHT NOW! Our students are leading groups in arts and crafts, soccer, volleyball, and percussion. They’re doing a wonderful job and here is a glimpse of what it looks like.

Today at the beach, we had a great time with all the kids. Each of us counselors were assigned one or two kids. Today the kids warmed up to everyone and the results were obvious. Mason had Andre who is 7 years old and was new to camp for the day. Mosses had Tyreke who was also 7 years and was at camp both days. Will had Lorenzo who is 12 years old and has also been at camp both days. All three of them where cousins and obviously enjoyed being around each other. In the morning they were scared of the ocean and didn’t want to go in too deep because of the waves. But also, they thought the water was too cold, which we could not believe because it was some of the warmest ocean water any of us had ever been in. After awile everyone got to know each other better and trusted us to take them in the water on our backs and play in the waves. By the end of the day everyone was in the water by themselves having a great time together. We ate lunch and went back to church and said goodbye to the kids for the day. It’s awesome the relationships we built in just one day and we can’t wait for the rest of the camp to continue. After the kids left all of us went to the beach together and had a great time going out very deep and playing in the waves. One of the funniest parks of the trip was when Jared got yelled at by the lifeguard for punting a 4 ounce ball. 

Please continue to pray for all of us here in New Jersey as we progress through the week. Pray that we grow relationships with the kids and between all of us that came out on the trip. Also pray that the camp goes smoothly the rest of the week and we can all improve our relationships with The Lord.

Thanks so much, 
Mason, Mosses, and Will.
 
PS. Everyone is badly sunburnt so you can pray for that as well (mostly Jared’s and Wills).

After a great day at the beach with the students from day camp our students had the option of returning to the beach for more fun together. They instantly opted for more beach time. In New Jersey this is what they call “bonding.”

We have a great team! The way the Aslan day camp runs our students are broken up into four teams and are teaching different groups of teenagers who are led by local counselors. One of the benefits of this is our teens getting to share and teach things they are passionate about. Will and Mason are teaching soccer, Abbie and Megan are teaching volleyball, Mosses and Sophie are teaching percussion, and Lindsey and Maddy are in charge of arts and crafts. They have planned out activities and lessons around each of these areas and have done a great job!

Any time you do something for the first time you always learn a lot. Our student’s experience is no different. We had a great debriefing time today to talk about what they learned as well as what went really well. They each had suggestions and were able to learn from the things that did not work as well as the hoped.

As a leader, it is great to see them coming together as a whole team and all encouraging one another. They are learning about one another quickly and we have seen how much they genuinely care for other. This team is a blessing.

Tomorrow we will take a field trip to the Shore (they don’t call it the “beach” here). Each of us will be responsible for 2-3 students for the entirety of the day. It is going to be a great day together of relational ministry and we are really looking forward to it.

Please continue to pray for our team to have the energy we need to love these students well. It is a,ways harder to be patient when you’re tired and patience is important. Pray for Aslan to continue reaching families and for the other volunteers who come to engage 100% with the students as well.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

-JC