I Miss Our Students

Well our summer trips have come to an end, and I am so ready for weekly programming to start back up for our high schoolers in the fall. I am ready for the room to be full on Sunday nights, ready for them to hang with us again on a weekly basis, and ready to see them worship together in a safe environment. I know our students could probably wait for school to start back, but we're ready to open our doors back up for consistent ministry!

Great Clips vs. Cool Cuts

It's been way too long since the Penuel boys got haircuts. Tonight, I went to "Great Çlips" and Chapman went to "Cool Cuts". I think Chapman's haircut wins this round. There's really no point to this post other than to show off how cool my son is.

Teaser

In the midst of all the sadness my family is going through, there is one thing that I'm really looking forward to. I can't really talk about it but I will pose these questions: Who is the man pictured above and why am I meeting with him on Saturday to discuss appearing in a motion picture that will likely open in the top 3 and bring in upwards of $20 million at the box office in it's first weekend alone?

I'll let you know next week.

The Longest Days Ever

Friday July 11:
Get news that my aunt has been taken to the hospital in Bartlesville, OK with intestinal issues.

Tuesday July 15:
Get news that my aunt is moved to the ICU with serious pneumonia.

Wednesday July 16:
Load up in Dallas with wife, son, and mom to drive to Bartlesville. Alli, Chapman, and I move in to the Microtel Inn & Suites and my mom moves in with my grandparents. Visit my aunt at hospital. Have a short, encouraging conversation with her.

Thursday July 17:
At the hospital all day. Lung function rapidly deteriorating. Family meets and makes the difficult decision to put my aunt on a ventilator (tube in mouth, down trachea - attached to a machine that breathes for her). Once on the ventilator, aunt is sedated and no longer able to effectively communicate with us.

Friday July 18:
Signs of kidney failure manifest. Body swelling begins and quickly worsens. Family begins 3 hour shifts of visitation.

Me 9am-12pm
Grandparents 12-3pm
My Mom 3-6pm
All 9-10:30pm

Intermittently working remotely to prepare other staff and volunteers for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday and our junior high mission (Connection) starting on Tuesday in case they have to run them without me.

Saturday July 19:
Continue visitation shifts. My sister flies from Dallas into Tulsa. Alli, Chapman, and I drive to pick her up and bring her to Bartlesville between shifts.

Sunday July 20:
Continue visitation shifts. I drive Alli & Chapman to Tulsa so they can fly out back to Dallas. They head to Wichita Falls to be with Alli's family. I check out of hotel and move in with grandparents. I'm out of clothes so I stay up until 1:00am doing laundry while watching the ESPY Awards.

Monday July 21:
Aunt moved to Tulsa hospital ICU. Sister rides in ambulance, I follow. Family begins new shifts with me and my sister sleeping in hospital guest room and my mom driving grandparents back and forth from Bartlesville each day.

Me & Sister 9-11am
Grandparents & My Mom 11am-2pm
Me & Sister 2-4pm
Grandparents & My Mom 4-6pm
Me & Sister 8-10pm

Around midnight and alone in waiting room, I make the difficult decision to authorize emergency abdominal surgery. I was told she had 0% chance of surviving until morning without the surgery and less than 50% with the surgery. Very intimidating moment. Sister joins me in surgical waiting room until 4:00am. After lots of prayer and a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air marathon, the surgeon comes out and tells us that the surgery was successful. We got about 3 hours sleep.

Tuesday July 22:
Continue visitation shifts. I catch a late afternoon flight back to Dallas for our junior high "Connection" mission experience. A friend of my sister flies to Tulsa to be with her on our shifts. Doctors determine that lungs are now affected by ARDS, a condition more severe than pneumonia.

Wednesday July 23:
After getting things rolling on "Connection", I fly back to Tulsa. Sister and friend go to Bartlesville for a break. I stay alone overnight at hospital and get a 4:00am phone call from the nurse authorizing blood transfusion.

Thursday July 24:
Continue visitation shifts. Aunt's kidneys finally bad enough to put her on dialysis treatment. Sister returns from Bartlesville to join me for late shift.

Friday July 25:
Dialysis helps decrease the swelling and helps make my Aunt more alert. She opens her eyes some and communicates with hand squeezes and a few nods and head shakes.

Saturday July 26:
Aunt's condition remains life threatening but relatively stable. I take a flight back to Dallas to see wife and son for the first time in almost a week to prepare for our junior high service (Wake) on Sunday morning. Plan on staying in Dallas until something changes...

More from Colorado...

Our friends the Oakes are here now, and we are all having a blast.  Yesterday we took the kids to the Buffalo Trading Post.  They loved petting the horses and the owners are very cool people.  We'll be going back in the next couple days to do a little horseback riding, that I think my 2 year old will be fired up about. 

And then there was golf, Trevor and I played 9 holes yesterday at the Pagosa Golf Club for $25.00 with a cart.  Pretty good price in a resort town.  And then here's another great view from our condo balcony I took last night.  

Radio Silence

I've been out of pocket the last few days and just wanted to post an explanation/update here on the old blog. On Wednesday I dropped everything to drive 5 hours north to my hometown of Bartlesville, OK. This trip has been filled with both warm nostalgia and deep sadness. My Aunt Vizsh (nickname) has been in the critical care unit at the local hospital with a combination of ailments that have left her highly sedated and on a ventilator. We are still hoping that recovery is coming soon.

I come from a very small family (my sister and I are the only grandkids - that's right, no cousins = lots of attention and Christmas presents!) and Vizsh is my mom's only sister. She is a very loved, significant, and special part of our lives and her ordeal has made for some extremely long and trying days. People in Dallas have been so supportive by covering my Sunday morning responsibilities and also working to prepare to host our second 3-day "Connection" event coming up this week.

God has been faithful to provide each of us with the wisdom, courage, and strength that we need each day. I am confident that he will continue to do so. Thanks for praying with us.

Vacation in Colorado Part 1

I took this picture with my iphone this morning around 6:30 a.m. from my balcony in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We (my wife and 2 kids) arrived last night around midnight, so we had no idea what to expect when we woke up. Pagosa is in the Southwest part of the state near Durango. This may sound crazy, but I actually like it better than the rockies up in Estes Park. There's a lot more color here. And I can promise you this, after living in Dallas for a year I was ready for some color (anything other than concrete). That's not a bash on Dallas, but bragging on God's handiwork here in Colorado. It truly is beautiful here. I've only been here for about 18 hours, and I can already say this is going to be a place I'd like to come back to every year. One of the reasons is there's not a lot of people here. You can truly have sabbath here, and practice the presence of God a lot easier than our busy lives in whatever city we live in. Most of our blog readers should appreciate this since most of you are in decent sized cities (yes, I am watching you :) This morning we went to Centerpoint Church in Pagosa and worshiped with the folks there. It was pretty similar the church I worked at in seminary, so it gave my wife and I some fun flashbacks to our days in North Carolina. I actually contacted the youth pastor there ahead of time and asked him if he had any good babysitters. Is that weird if I'd never met him? David will probably think so.

Our friends the Oakes are going to be coming in tonight to stay with us for the week, and we are so pumped to see them and get to spend our vacation with them. I'll update more, and I must say to the readers I am a bit disappointed that I didn't get any love (comments) after my last post on Hopkins? Am I that bad? Help me here!

I Love This Show!

Tonight I watched a really cool show. It's called Hopkins, and follows doctors at John Hopkin's Hospital. I have to say there was a moment on the show tonight that really made me think through some things. During the end of the show, they did a heart transplant with a 3 year old boy (pictured below).

Leading up to the transplant they're showing the chopper that's flying in the heart (the doctors get the heart in a cardboard box that says "Caution, Heart" on it. I guess I was expecting something a little more high tech) , They're also filming the family of the boy; waiting, crying, and praying. And then comes the transplant. I don't think I've ever seen a heart transplant that uncut, and that uncensored on T.V. And then comes the relief of the family. Wow. I can't imagine going through anything like that. And then it shows the doctor getting ready to head home for the night. It's 2:00 a.m. The qoute that stuck with me went something like this..."It's 2:00 a.m. and it's been an incredible day's work. Even though there's a lot of pain involved in my job, it's moments like this that make it all worth it. I wouldn't trade my job for anything else in the world. Did you see the look on the families face? They have a toddler with a healthy heart now. It doesn't get any better than that." And he gets in his car and heads home.

If you're still tracking with me, I'm teaching this Saturday at Training Day at our church on the heart of the teenager. Training Day is a day of teaching on various topics, theology classes, etc...The actual title is "Shepherding your Teen's Heart; Moving from Behavior Modification to Heart Transformation." I have loved getting ready for this because the scriptures have so much to say about the heart. It's also been a huge reminder of what we're called to do in student's lives. Because we can't visibly see our student's spiritual hearts, it's hard work to lead them spiritually. But, like the doctor, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I also thought through the hard times over the years that I've seen students go through, and how they will always be overshadowed by the times in ministry I've seen a kid fall head over heels in love with Jesus, and their heart is transformed! Be encouraged, and let's work harder than ever before on leading the hearts of those who God has put around us!

"It's a Bad Night to be an Atheist"

Last night Josh Hamilton set a record during the Home Run Derby. He hit 28 home runs in the first round of the competition. After all the greats that have ever played; Ruth, Mantle, Sosa, etc..., Hamilton beat all of them. I just kept saying one word last night; "unbelievable." The greatest thing about Josh is his story. If you haven't heard it, you can read a great blog post by Peter Gammons here. He was addicted to Heroine, was a bad husband, father, and God completely turned his life around. The commentators last night couldn't stop talking about his story, and how he had found God, and then one of the guys made a pretty interesting comment; "it's a bad night to be an atheist." Josh chalks everything up in his life to God. His story is God's story. Josh is just happy to be a part of God's story, and He's doing something very unique with him. While experience (stories) is never the first thing we would use to argue for the existence of God, it's hard to deny the turn that Josh has made and who the author is behind it all. On a personal note, the last church we worked at is the church that Josh attends when he is home in Raleigh, North Carolina. He got baptized there, and is very close with many people in the church. I got to meet him a little over a year ago, and I can say that he is completely changed, transformed, and his story is legit. He is an amazing guy, and a big congrats to Josh and his family.

Mother Buzzard & Christian Wrestling

If you want advice about how to run a top-notch junior high summer camp, I now know who you should call. The guys hosting Breakaway camp thought of everything and went to great lengths to make their camp an experience kids would never forget. Here are some bullet points.

Cool Stuff They Thought Of:
Golf carts were rented for all staff so everyone was mobile. Walkie Talkies complete with "secret service" earpieces were rented for all staff so everyone was connected. They spent a day and a half before kids arrived blacking out all of the windows of the dining hall with tarps and duct tape so as to create the optimal environment for their programs. Normal concessions were set up during free time and an hour at night. Plus catering was offered by both Marble Slab and Braum's. The Iceberg is awesome. They rented one for the lake. They had 6 Nintendo Wii's and other indoor games set up during freetime with tons of games...great option in the Texas heat! There is such a thing as the Christian Wrestling Federation. They brought them in and one of the camp's skit characters was incorporated into the wrestling drama producing an unforgettable camp moment. Junior high talent shows are amazing...especially when they are well-produced as an American Idol parody.

Professional Personnel They Hired:
Chris Turner is a really good worship leader and a really great guy. I'm going to look for an opportunity to utilize his gifts at a Watermark event. Lucas Kitchen offers a great service when it comes to producing camp videos & devotionals. Clint Reiber can produce a great program. Technically flawless with lots of bells & whistles. Another church's high school group were brought in for the week just to focus on the morning recreation. They were over-the-top excellent ("Mother Buzzard" might be the most fun game ever).

Overall, I had a fantastic week and would definitely join them again if given the chance. I connected with tons of kids and had lots of good conversations...especially about community and evangelism. Hope you like the picture accompanying this post. My wife only took 3 during the entire time that we were there and I picked the one with my shirt off. Lucky you.

Highlights from Camp Barnabas (Finally)

I apologize for just now getting a post up from Camp Barnabas. Most of you have probably never been, so let me just say on the front end that this was the most life changing trip I've ever taken students on in student ministry.

The first thing I would say is that this trip took our students by surprise. If you would talk to some of our students, they would say that they never thought that they would become so close to one person in 7 days. On the last day, the parent of this boy told Jake (pictured below with him) that he had never been so attached to anyone other than his mom.

Wow. After 7 days? One of the reasons they grow so close is that many of the campers do not get a lot of attention during the year. Many of them are mistreated verbally at school, and so to have one person come to spend 7 days of their summer is the highlight not just of their year, but their life! The last thing I'll say about this is that many of my students want to go back next summer, the same term, and are begging for the same camper. Some of them have made threats if I do not listen.

Another thing that our students took away from this trip is a spirit of gratitude. In the picture below you'll see a cross, and if you look closely it has little plaques on it with names.

The names are campers that have come to Camp Barnabas and have passed away since being a camper. The last day of camp they do what they call the Cross Carry. This is one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen. Each cabin holds the cross, prays for the camper's families who have lost a child, prays for the current campers who are terminal, and walks it a few yards to the next cabin. Teary eyed yet?

Pictured below is one of my students Carson hugging his camper who just finished carrying the cross, and is weeping because he knew of the campers name's on the cross.

His camper hugged his counselor, crying, and didn't let go for about 20 mintues. So our students walked away with how good they have it. A brain that works, a body that works, and they live with incredible families. How often do we forget about all of those things and complain about little petty things that don't really have any real weight in life? Remember how blessed you are today!

One other thing I would add is how our kids saw joy like they've never seen before. These campers are more happy because of their relationship with Jesus than we usually are. Look at the picture below and just let that soak in.

These campers love life, and many of them love Jesus, and love to worship Him in the midst of their problems. They are just like you and me, they just have different struggles/issues that they have to deal with. I've never thought of the disabled in that light. I am walking away from this week absolutely committed to making more of a difference in the disabled community, and to going back to Camp Barnabas every summer. If you want to learn more about Camp Barnabas by watching their promo video, click here to watch it.

-MIKE

Breakaway!

This coming week I'll be heading out to the Collin County Adventure Camp to speak at the junior high Breakaway Camp for five different East Texas churches (around 400 kids!). When I get the opportunity to share four messages in a row with groups that I don't have strong relational ties to, I typically over prepare. I love hearing what other people are teaching on, learning how they prepare, and seeing the outlines that they put together. The theme I've been given for the camp is "Decide" and you can click here to see the detailed outlines I put together for the week.