The Well

Summer 2011

2011-05-25T10:22:00.001-04:00

JUNE

6th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study This will be led by Rachel Ryan
at Edge.

7th 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study This will be led by David Borton, our

   summer intern at Edge.

12th 9:00 am SUMMER KICK OFF PICNIC/FUNDRAISER: Teens... this is your
   opportunity to raise money for camp this summer. In the past teens
   have raised anywhere from $30 - $50 toward camp. It’s possible to
   earn more if you sell tickets to friends and family. There will be no
   Buzz on this morning as we will be setting up for the event. If you
   want to help out you will need to see Kendahl or Steve to sign up.

Picnic: Includes Hamburger or Hot Dog, chips, drink and dessert.

($5 per person & $25 max per family)

   Pastor Sundae: As a special surprise, people will be able to buy
   condiments for a sundae, But it’s not the usual Sundae... It’s a
   pastors Sundae! That’s right you will be able to buy syrup, ice
   cream, whip cream, ice cream, and sprinkles to make our pastors
   into sundaes.

   Cornhole Tournament: We will host our first ever cornhole
   tournament to see who has the maddest skills at church. The cost
   is $10 per person to enter. Competition will start right after church on
   the 12th.

13th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

14th 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

19th 10:45 am Buzz (For Junjor High Students)

NO Evening activities FATHERS DAY!

20th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

21st 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

26th 10:45am BAPTISM CELEBRATION: About 6 of our teens will be baptized!
Come celebrate with us!

6:00 pm Summer Kickoff event at Monroe park

27th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

28th 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

JULY

3rd 10:45 BUZZ

NO EVENING ACTIVITIES

4th 6:00 NO High School Girls Bible Study

5th 6:00 NO High School Guys Bible Study

10th10:45 BUZZ
6:00 pm Capture the Flag and Ice Cream Sundaes at Monroe Park

11th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

12th 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

17th 10:45 BUZZ

NO EVENING YOUTH

July 18-23 Kentucky Heartland

July 18-23 YOUTHFRONT

24th NO YOUTH ACTIVITIES

25th 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

26th 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

31st 10:45 BUZZ

1:00 REDS Game (We will leave immediately after church)

AUGUST

1st 6:00 pm High School Girls Bible Study

2nd 6:00 pm High School Guys Bible Study

7th 10:45 BUZZ

14th 10:45 BUZZ

Sept - Oct 2010 Activities

2010-09-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

SEPTEMBER
18 8:30 Car Care day
19 9:00 Deeper (High School)
19 10:45 BUZZ: GJBCP Jesus
19 6:00 IGNITION: Dirt - Shallow
25 8:00 Middletown Food Pantry
26 9:00 Deeper (High School)
26 10:45 BUZZ: GJBCP - Bible
26 6:00 IGNITION: Dirt - Weedy

OCTOBER
3 9:00 Deeper (High School)
3 10:45 BUZZ: GJBCP - Church
3 6:00 IGNITION: Dirt - The Good Stuff
10 9:00 Deeper (High School)
10 10:45 BUZZ: GJBCP - Prayer
10 12:00 Baptism Celebration!
10 6:00 IGNITION: Untouchables - Anger
17 9:00 Deeper (High School)
17 10:45 BUZZ: Plunge
17 1:00 Fall Frenzy Corn Maze
17 NO IGNITION
24 9:00 Deeper (High School)
24 10:45 BUZZ: Plunge
24 6:00 IGNITION: Untouchables - Loneliness
30 6:00 Trick or Feeding
30 8:00 Middletown Food Pantry
31 9:00 Deeper (High School)
31 10:45 BUZZ: Plunge
31 NO IGNITION

Summer 2010

2010-06-09T12:58:00.002-04:00

The all new summer flyer is available in the column to the right! Just click on the link and it will take you to the document. It's gonna be a sweet summertime!

High School Students

2009-10-28T13:45:00.003-04:00

I'm back among the living! H1N1 and pneumonia kicked my tail, but I'm back and feeling goooooodd, I missed you guys. I wanted to make a few minutes and make you aware of what is going on this Sunday at Edge for High School students.

FRIDAY:
After the game is a burrito eating contest and live bands sponsored by Qdoba, after the East/West game from 10 -12. Cover charge is $2

SATURDAY:
8-12 HALLOWEEN DANCE featuring DJ Vestal! COVR CHARGE IS $5!!

SUNDAY:
9:00 am: Yeah I know it's early for most of you but we have been covering a great series on how to read, interpret and just use the Bible. We'll continue again this Sunday. Hope you can make it.

6:00: IGNITION: This week we start a series that I've been wanting to start for the past two weeks but have not ben able too! This week we start this new series called, "Welcome To The Planet!" I realize the teenage years are often times confusing and trying as you try to figure out your reason for existence. During this 4-part series I will be challenging you to answer the question, "What on earth am I here for?" Who knows... I might even give you some clarity. Hope to see you on Sunday!!

2009-10-13T10:57:00.002-04:00

This Sunday at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm our we are starting a new series at Ignition(High School Only) called:

WELCOME TO THE PLANET!

A poet wrote the following several years ago:
"Welcome to the planet, welcome to existence. Everyone's here, Everybody's watching you now, Everybody waits for you now,
What happens next?

Well... what happens next? Are you just existing? Have you ever asked your self the following questions: What on Earth Am I Here For? What is my purpose? Is God really real? Why do I have so much fun hanging with my friends? In our news series Welcome to the Planet we will tackle these questions and hopefully by the time we are done you will have a good idea of what happens next!!

This WeeKEND (October 2-4)

2009-10-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

Saturday night at 6pm. Glen Garvin needs about 4 or 5 of you guys for about 45 minutes to help him take down the set for FX. FX is our family experience we do on the first Saturday of the month. If you can help Glen Garvin respond or txt me.

Sunday Morning @ 9am Small group for High School students at Edge. Last week we learned how we could trust the Bible, this week we learn how more than 50 writers wrote the Bible in a 1600 year span on 3 continents and in 3 languages, with a cast of 2930 characters in 1189 chapters, 31,173 verses, 774,746 words, by princes, priests, fisherman, kings, shepherds, poets, musicians, farmers , teachers and government officials yet the Bible is still consistent in it’s message.

Sunday Evening @ 6pm Ignition for High school students we’ll continue our kickball tournament (the seniors and Junior won last week!), hang out together, worship and continue our series called Backpack. It's about the stuff we carry around inside of us. This week we will talk about reputation.

ODDS AND ENDS

FALL FRENZY
On Sunday, October 11th (NEXT SUNDAY), 1:00 - 6:00 we will be going to Neiderman Farm for an awesome time of paintball, corn maze, hanging out, Ultimate Frisbee, food and bon-fire. The cost of the event is a follows: $15 for cornmaze, Ultimate Frisbee, bonfire, food and petting zoo etc... To do paintball the cost will be an extra $30. It ‘s gonna be an awesome day! Sign up on Sunday or text me.

FLUSH AWAY CANCER: Liz Lothrop was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) on October 25th, 2008. Liz had just finished up her volleyball season for Mason Middle School, when her back started hurting. She was being treated for a fracture in her spine when things took a turn for the worse. Liz went to Children's where she was correctly diagnosed. Liz was very active in sports, playing basketball for Mason since the 4th grade, running track, and playing volleyball for Mason and Sports Express. She looks forward to the day she can return to the courts. Liz has a wonderful outlook on life and is always wanting to help others and lift their spirits.
THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO SUPPORT LIZ: We will be decorating a toilet this Sunday night at Ignition and then place posters on it that explains Lizzies situation. There will be the following instructions:
If you would like this toilet removed from your house you may call (It will be Sean Sargents number) and ask that for it to be removed. One of our youth will gladly come remove it for a cost: $10 to remove it, $20 to remove and place in someone else's lawn, $30 to remove, place in another yard and pay for insurance for it to never return. A few of you have signed up but we need more! If u to help sign up on Sunday night or text me and I will put you on the delivery crew list.

THIS WEEKEND (September 25 -27)

2009-09-25T15:02:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning @ 9:00 you can come and help us do some fall cleaning and repairs around the church. Please check in with Greg Sargent if you show up, he's the man in charge tomorrow! Who knows we may even give you some community service hours!

Sunday Morning @ 9am We'll continue our small groups for High School students at Edge. We'll continue our series on if the Bible valid? Is it true? Where did we get it? How are we supposed to use it etc...

Sunday Morning @ 10:45am BUZZ @ Edge (Junior High program) will continue their series on "Getting Disced!" A series on some of Jesus' disciples.

Sunday Evening @ 6pm Ignition for High school students @ EDge We'll play some kickball, hang out together, worship and continue our series called Backpack. It's about the stuff we carry around inside of us. This week we will talk about relationships.

This Weekend (September 18-20)

2009-09-16T06:07:00.002-04:00

This week at Overdrive Student Ministries:

THURSDAY: At Mason Sports Park (3400 Mason Morrow Milgrove Road) at 7:00. The event is called Light Up the Night and is an event that will support our very own Liz Lothrop. Elizabeth was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) on October 25th, 2008. Liz had just finished up her volleyball season for Mason Middle School, when her back started hurting. She was being treated for a fracture in her spine when things took a turn for the worse. Liz went to Children's where she was correctly diagnosed. Liz was very active in sports, playing basketball for Mason since the 4th grade, running track, and playing volleyball for Mason and Sports Express. She looks forward to the day she can return to the courts. Elizabeth has an older sister, Catherine, who is finishing up her freshman year at UC and is trying to get into the Nursing Program. She also has an older brother, Jim, who is going into his senior year at Mason High School. Liz's older siblings truly are best friends and this experience has been tough on them. They would do anything for her, including taking her place. Liz has a wonderful outlook on life and is always wanting to help others and lift their spirits. THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO SUPPORT LIZ! Please come this Thursday to Light Up the Night, it's a walk that will take about an hour. When you get to the church look for a sign that say's Wellspring Church, that Greg Sargent is holding.

SATURDAY: 8 am-12pm High School Student will be going to Middletown Choice Food Pantry. The pantry allows theunderserved in our community with food. The pantry is run like a grocery store where they can come in and get a weeks worth of groceries for free. We will be going to assist in stocking of shelves and taking the kids through the pantry. It's a great opportunity for you.

SUNDAY:

9am: 7th - 8th Grade Buzz Band Practice and prep for Buzz at 10:45
10:45am: BUZZ:If you are in 7th or 8th grade, come join us at Edge (you are the ONLY junior high students who are allowed to use the high school teen center!) for tasty treats, wild games, incredible music and a message that helps to apply the Bible and your faith to your everyday life. We top it all off with guys’ and gals’ small groups led by our amazing volunteers! Come this Sunday as Kendahl continues the series on Jesus’ disciples called “You Got Disced”

6pm Our second week of Ignition for High School Students! We had an awesome time of kickball, worship and a the start of a new series called: BACKPACK: In this series we are asking you to take a look inside yourself and see what you’re carrying around in your backpack. What weighs you down? What holds you back from becoming all God intends you to be. We continue our KickBall tourney this Sunday! Make sure you show up to represent your class! Freshmen will be playing the Seniors and Sophomores will be playing the Juniors. We'll continue this competition all through the fall to see which class is the best! So don"t let down your class mates!!

Youth Calendar Fall/Winter 2009

2009-09-10T22:40:00.001-04:00

September 13th
9 am Parent Meeting for Junior High and High School Parents
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

September 19th
8 am High School to Middletown Choice Pantry

September 20th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
1 pm Volunteer Meeting @ Teen Center
6 pm IGNITION

September 27th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

October 4th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

October 11th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
1 pm Fall Frenzy at Neiderman Farm

October 17th
8 am High School Middletown Choice Pantry

October 18th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
1 pm Volunteer Meeting @ Teen Center
6 pm IGNITION

October 25th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

November 1st
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

November 8th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

November 15th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
1 pm Volunteer Meeting @ Teen Center
6 pm IGNITION

November 21st
8 am High School Middletown Choice Pantry

November 22nd
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ
6 pm IGNITION

November 26th
9 am 1st Annual Turkey Day Football Game.
No talent necessary!

November 29th NO YOUTH ACTIVITIES

December 4-6 SoulFuel

December 12th Volunteer Christmas Party

December 13th
9 am High School Bible Study
9 am BUZZ Band Rehearsal
10:45 am BUZZ

December 19th
8am High School Middletown Choice Pantry

December 20th
10:45 am BUZZ Christmas Partay

December 27th NO YOUTH ACTIVITIES

2009-08-30T17:53:00.003-04:00

I hope all of you are kinda liking your first week of school! Maybe the second week for some of you... We just wanted to let you know when we will kick things in high gear again!

Buzz for Junior High is already taking place on Sunday mornings and will do so from now until the end of the year with some Sundays where we will take off due to holidays.

On September 13th we really get everything started:

9 am PARENT MEETING: We will host a parent meeting at Edge to give you full info on fall plans for youth ministry and
answer any questions you have.
9 am BUZZ: Youth Band and leadership prep for BIG Kick-Off
10:45 Breakfast, worship, fun games, and overview of fall at the BUZZ.
6 pm IGNITION: Cook Out and worship and Fall preview for High School

September 20th

9am We will kick off our high school small groups again.

This website and a fall flyer will be finished by mid-week next week so be looking in your inbox for the flyer and check back to this site for updates it. We will also be delivering some invitation gifts to you guys late next week and the week of Sept. 7-12 so please tell your parents that there will be suspicious package on your door step, so don't call the bomb squad or police because there is a strange package on your door step!

Update for August 2nd - 23rd

2009-07-30T12:53:00.002-04:00

I'll be going out of town for a couple of weeks to see Wendy's parents in Ruidoso, New Mexico. So I wanted to make sure you guys have all the details of upcoming events while I'm gone. So for the next few weeks check back here for upcoming event details.

THIS SUNDAY:
9AM High School Book Club: We continue our discussion on Rob Bells book, "Jesus Wants to save Christians." Come on get out of bed and come join us!

10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge cranks up again. Kendahl ha some great things in store for you so have your parents drop you off at Edge on Sunday morning!

6pm-8pm Party in The Park (7th-12th) Come hang out with all of us and play a little Ultimate frisbee with us! It's gona be a blast!

SUNDAY AUGUST 9:

9AM High School Book Club
10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge

SUNDAY AUGUST 16

No High School Book Club
10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge

SUNDAY AUGUST 23rd
10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge

6:00 UNIGHT: Back To School Bash: A gathering hundreds of students at Lakota East High School for an evening of food & games, worship & teaching, and prayer for the 2009-2010 school year. Imagine hundreds of students in the auditorium at Lakota East High School hearing powerful teaching about living boldly as Christ followers as we begin the new school year. Imagine students lifting up their classmates, teachers, and Jesus while doing a prayer walk down the hallways, and around the perimeter of the school. For more details go to: http://unightevent.com/. The cost is $10 per person and we need to know ASAP if you are going. If so text or email Steve!

2009-07-24T12:29:00.003-04:00

Last day of camp today! We'll be hitting the road at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Hopefully we can make it back to Cincinnati by 9:00 pm. Depends on pottie breaks. Yesterday was a great day! We hit the blob again, Scott, Myself and Doodle canoed our way around the lake. We had a slight collision with Audrey and Tiara on the water tricycle. Now worries on a slight bump, We outraced Gracie and Tanner in their paddle boat. We spent most of the day at the blob.

Last night we had a renaissance festival, you know a celebration of the prodigal coming home. We then walked about 10 minutes out the the altar field for a fun time of play, celebration and worship. It was amazing to worship under the stars, the crickets chirping and the coyotes howling!

Our small groups went well and our teens are starting to find themselves in the story of the Prodigal son which is awesome. Not sure if I will get a chance to update tomorrow. So I will try to update with my phone throughout today as to how things are going. There are more pictures at our photo-bucket site, the link is to the right.

2009-07-23T11:42:00.004-04:00

That's right... we represented the great state of O H I O last night at the Powder puff game! Girls lost on last play of game! But boys won the cheer off! It was an amazing site to see and unless Annette got pictures you'll just have to imagine all out guys doing the cheer and the girls all buffed up t play some football! Can I just say that Tiara forgot that this was flag football not tackle!

For free time we went paint-balling can you say that Steve was apparently the moving target all day. See the new pictures at our photo-bucket site to the right. We then cooled off at the water slide and I launched a few kids on the bob. It's amazing how far I can launch some of our kids! Scott and I also helped launched some teens down the water slide. I'll get Annette's camera at sometime today and upload pics.

On a more spiritual note: Wednesday's relationship focus was on the relationship with one's self. The Experience for the evening involved three different mirrors. One regular mirror, one broken, and one with the image of Christ. Each mirror probed the campers with a question such as how do I view myself? Is the way that I view myself distorted? How does God view me? Is the way that God views me in line with how I view myself? Afterward, campers were able to respond in an open mic time to share how they were affected and what they learned. It opened up some great conversations among our two groups!

2009-07-22T19:40:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the late update today!

On Tuesday the day started bright and early. The weather was mostly cloudy and in the upper 70's, low 80's.

Throughout the week, each cabin will have the opportunity to participate in the high ropes course. Many campers enjoy this challenge of the ropes. Each camper is encouraged to try the course at least once, and many of them do. Some face fears for the first time. It is awesome to see the students encourage each other during this time.

During open time, campers were able to take part in ATV's, paintball, the Snack Shack, Sports Center, Pool, and Lakefront/ Blob.

At some point during the week, our youth will use their cabin time to package meals through a new Youthfront initiative called Feed the Hunger. Through a partnership with an organization called Outreach International headquartered out of Union, Iowa. Students will package soy, rice, vitamin, and veggies to send to starving children in Tanzania. Our students are participating in the mission of God throughout the world and seem to really be enjoying it!

Last night's emphasis was on the Father who runs. This highlighted the Father's self-shaming act of running toward the lost son who rightly deserved to be cast out of the family. To grasp the lostness of the son, cabin leaders led their cabins into a "searching" for the Snack Shack coupons they had "lost" earlier in the day. After finding the coupons and partaking in some ice cream and conversation about lost things in their lives, they headed to the Chapel to reflect on some images with a recording of the Luke 15 parables of the lost coin, sheep, and son. Afterward in the Chapel, students had another opportunity to share their response to the whole group about the story and the day.

The students got to enjoy the camp favorite game of Night Strike last night. They really got into the night, dressing in black and camouflage, throwing on some face paint, and gaining points for their teams. There was a Points Ceremony which directly followed the game and many students participated in fun dances like the Electric Slide and the Cuban Shuffle.

We are having a great day! Sean, Tanner, Jason and myself received our care packages! Thanks for that package Stubelts. Tonight the girls participate in powder puff football game and the guys get to be the cheerleaders. Don;t worry we will be prodly representing the great state of OH IO!!! Should be a lot's of fun... Then will be followed by a worship experience that have been incredible! You guys that were not able to go... You really need to come next year! More tomorrow!

YouthFront Camp Day One

2009-07-21T10:33:00.002-04:00

Like I said yesterday we arrived at youth camp from St Louis where we stayed in a church there. What great hospitality. We then arrived at camp about 2:30, we were a little late bu the camp was waiting for us since we came from so far away.

We arrived got settled in our cabins, met our wonderful Cabin Leaders for the first time, along with those they will be living with this week. The campers went through a small orientation of "do's and don'ts" of the week, then had the great opportunity to get to know the other campers in the cabin.

Monday's weather was mainly warm and wet. There were light showers until late afternoon, and then it rained heavily for the remainder of the night.

During open time, we took advantage of the outdoors and enjoyed the waterslide, the pool, and the blob. Others took part in ATV rides, the Sports Center, or hung out with their friends at the Snack Shack.

Did I mention that at one point it was lightening and we went inside and had a huge game of steal the bacon. The winning point... I lost! I got schooled by a girl! I'm so ashamed!!

We had an exciting night with the Sport Event. Because it was raining, the "Pac Man Fever" event turned into a Dodgeball Tournament in the Chapel. Our teens thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Throughout this week we will be focusing on the story of the prodigal son as told from Luke 15:11-32 . Youthfront is presenting this through what they call "storytellers." The storyteller each day gets up and tells the narrative of the prodigal son through the voice of a different character in the story. The first night this week's storyteller, Mike King, introduced the parable. Mike is a great guy and one of the reason I wanted our youth to attend this camp. You can check out his blog at http://king.typepad.com/mike_king/

Last night our youth had the opportunity to break a flower pot. As they broke the pot they reflected on broken relationships, specifically the broken relationship with the father from the parable. During this time many cabins talked about the wholeness of God the Father, and discussed the brokenness in our own lives. As the week continues all the campers will be putting the pot back together to show the restoration that God brings.

Monday was a fantastic start to the week!

2009-07-20T17:20:00.001-04:00

We have arrived at youthfront camp. Looks like its gonna be a great week. Ill post some pics and video soon!

2009-07-19T23:13:00.001-04:00

We have arrived at South County Baptist church in St Louis Mo. Heading to sleep in 15 minutes. Up at 7am!

2009-07-19T18:37:00.001-04:00

We are on our way to Youthfront! Stopping on St. Louis tonight. We just passed through Terra Haute!

Update for July 17th - 26th

2009-07-18T07:38:00.001-04:00

PRAYER: We have a coupe of things for you to pray about this week:

#1 Pray for dave and Kendahl, Dave has had to go back to the hospital. For more info go to http://daveheckel.blogspot.com/ Take a minute to read the blog, then pray for Dave and Kendahl. After that send her a text that you are praying. Finally take Kendahls challenge at the end of the post!

#2 Nineteen of our high school, students, myself, Annette Sargent, Greg Sargent and Scott Ficorilli will be leaving on Sunday morning for YouthFront camp in Shawnee Kansas. We are so stoked about it... should be a blast and a time for God to move in all of our lives. You can check out our Facebook site and youtube site for daily updates, not sure where our youtube site is? Check out link to the right! I'll try to keep this site filled with info also.

EVENTS

SUNDAY NIGHT: We were scheduled to have an event in the park Sunday night but due to the situation with Kendahl and Steve being out of town, as well as many adult volunteers we are having to cancel the Party in the Park this coming Sunday. We will be back in full swing August 2nd with Buzz, High School Book Club and Ultimate Frisbee that night.

Have a great week and...

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Parenting in the Real World Update for July 18, 2009

2009-07-18T07:36:00.000-04:00

Parent Newsletter

Tools for Parenting Teens

Learn Their Lingo

Movie Reviews

Links to Learn From

A Little Encouragement...And Humor

1. Tools for Parenting Teens

From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/

Talking About Sex

What’s the big deal? Isn’t it just a normal, physical act? Haven’t we been freed from the Law? Why not just do what comes naturally? Why would God care what I do with my own body? Paul seems to be…

Read More:

http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/article/talking_about_sex/

Featured Resource: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis

Fights at school, sexual abuse, eating disorders, school crises … the list goes on and on. Hardly a day passes without a local crisis at involving junior highers or high schoolers. This practical resource covers the whole continuum of private and public crisis, equipping parents to work with their kids to deal with any crisis in a way that helps the individual and helps the family stay intact.

Receive 20% off A Parent’s Guide to Helping Teenagers in Crisis using coupon code RWPN106 by July 31st, 2009.

http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/a_parents_guide_to_helping_teenagers_in_crisis/

2. Learn Their Lingo

N4SCD = means now for something completely different.

skate foot = Shoes (most of the time skateboard shoes) with torn laces, blown out toe, holes in the soles, fraying stich lines and perhaps Shoe Goo.

3. Movie Reviews for Parents

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Almost nobody is recommending this unfunny film for teens (or anyone else). And with a barrage of teen sexual content, it’s another example of how…

Read Review:

http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/i_love_you_beth_cooper/

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

This strangely titled addition to the “Ice Age” saga is getting less love from critics than the first two films, but the franchise continues to…

Read Review:

http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/ice_age_dawn_of_the_dinosaurs/

4. Links to Learn From

Teen sexual health info on Web is often wrong, says researcher at Packard/Stanford.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvuFiag5y-M&feature=channel_page

Texting Teen Falls Down Open NYC Manhole
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,531684,00.html?test=latestnews

More Sit Down Meals = Better Behaved Kids?
http://www.realworldparents.com/blog/article/more_sit_down_meals_better_behaved_kids/

5. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years."

- Mark Twain

Update for July 10th - 12th Weekend

2009-07-08T08:24:00.003-04:00

KENDAHL AND DAVE: Pray for Kendahl and Dave, Dave went into surgery about 8 am this morning. I will keep you updated later today as to how it went!

THURSDAY: If you have a season pass or even if you don't come hang out with us at Kings Island. We'll be there all day. If your gonna hang out with us shoot me a text or facebook me!

FRIDAY: 7-11 at Edge: Friday Night Live: A gamer's utopia with energy drinks, music, and many different games and gaming systems.

SATURDAY:
8:30 am Our church will be changing oil this Saturday in Middletown from 8:30 to 12:30. We will be washing cars and need lots of teens to help. Pizza lunch will be provided at 12:30. Text me if you can go?
7-11pm Love bands at Edge Teen Center!! Come hang out!

SUNDAY:
9am High School Book Club... if you have missed the last two weeks you need to be there!
9am and 11am It will be an absolute blast this Sunday in worship! Word has it that Carl put Steve and Scott Hanbury in charge of the services. Should be an absolute blast!! Come check it out! No activities Sunday night!
BUZZ: No Buzz for the month of July! Check out the awesome worship services with your parents!

Update for July 4th Weekend

2009-07-03T10:40:00.002-04:00

TONIGHT: Edge Teen Center is having a 3rd of July before 4th Party. Featuring Jeremy Myint's band Belfry.

SUNDAY: There will be no HIgh School or Junior HIgh activities due to the holiday weekend. We are starting a new series in adult worship for the entire family. Should be an awesome experience.

Next Thursday is Spirit Song at Kings Island. Even if your teen is not going to Spirit Song, if they have a season pass I'd love to hang out with them all day!

EDGE: Don't forget that there is always events going on at Edge! Check it out at edgeteencenter.com

Finally next Wednesday Kendahl's Dave is having a major surgery and hopefully final one, send them and email and definitely pray for them!

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Steve

Real World Parent Newsletter

2009-06-26T12:16:00.000-04:00

Parent Newsletter

Tools for Parenting Teens

Learn Their Lingo

Movie Reviews

Links to Learn From

A Little Encouragement...And Humor

1. Tools for Parenting Teens

From http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/

Redefining Success

It’s possible to unintentionally communicate to kids that Christianity is a great tool for solving problems or becoming personally successful. These talking points are intended to build on the idea that knowing Jesus is the goal of life, not the…

Read More:

http://www.realworldparents.com/starters/article/redefining_success/

Featured Resource: Wisdom On Music, Movies and Television

This book won’t tell your kid what they should not listen to or watch. Instead, this book is filled with principles to help them gain the wisdom needed to help make wise choices about what they choose to be entertained by.

*Save 20% off the retail price of “Wisdom On Music, Movies and Television” when you use Coupon Code RWPN105 and order by 6/30/09.

http://www.realworldparents.com/store/item/wisdom_on_music_movies_and_television/

2. Learn Their Lingo

Drop a Dime = To snitch on someone in an effort to keep yourself out of trouble.

SUL = Snooze You Lose

3. Movie Reviews for Parents

The Proposal

Students who are fans of Sandra Bullock or Ryan Reynolds might be drawn to this otherwise “grown up” and predictable romantic comedy. Panned by critics,…

Read Review:

http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/the_proposal/

Year One

Writer/director Harold Ramis and his team attempt to generate comedy from a surprising amount of crude and sexual humor, along with openly mocking several key…

Read Review:

http://www.realworldparents.com/movies/review/year_one/

4. Links to Learn From

Gardasil: To Vaccinate Your Teenage Daughter or Not?
http://www.examiner.com/x-11056-Philadelphia-Parenting-Teens-Examiner~y2009m6d22-Gardasil--to-vaccinate-your-teenage-daughter-or-not

PHYSICIAN’S CORNER: The growing danger of childhood obesity
http://timesbulletin.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=152630&TM=20998.55

Can better parenting reduce risk of unsafe teen sex? - - Modern Medicine
http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Obstetrics%2FGynecology+&+Women's+Health/Can-better-parenting-reduce-risk-of-unsafe-teen-se/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/602125?contextCategoryId=40157

5. A Little Encouragement...And Humor

The way a donkey expresses gratitude is by giving someone a bunch of kicks.

- African Proverb

Week of June 24

2009-06-24T12:22:00.000-04:00

PRAY:
Pray for our a few of our Junior High Students and Kendahl. They have been at camp Lebanon for Junior High Camp all week.
Pray for our youth band, Dave and Beth Gaines have been leading them on a week long camp to write music and record at the Underground! They will also be performing all month on Sunday mornings and I'm so excited for them!

EVENTS:

TODAY:
Edge: There is dodgeball and kick boxing lessons to night from 7-11!!! Come show Rachel your dodgeball skills!

TOMORROW:
EDGE: Come hang out with Steve, Wendy and Rachel. Play some card games, play some video games, or just hang out! It's FREE! We only charge for what you buy at the snack bar!!

FRIDAY:
Transformers the movie. Meet Steve at the Rave movies theatres. It's gonna be around the 1:30 showing. It is not listed yet. When it's listed I'll shoot all of you a text!

SUNDAY:

June 28 9AM High School Book Club (Studying Jesus Wants to save Christians by Rob Bell)
June 28 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge (PROMOTION & PANCAKE BREAKFAST!)
June 28 6 - 8 SUMMER KickOff (7th-12th): Party in the Park: Inner Tube Games in The Park

YOUTHFRONT CAMP: Please be looking for an email from me on Friday giving you more info on the camp we will be attending on July 19-25th!

See ya sometime this week!

Steve

This Weekend (July 19-21)

2009-06-16T08:38:00.003-04:00

For more summer activities scroll down to the summer calendar below!!

June 21 9am High School Book Club: High Schoolers! Come on now crawl out of bed a little earlier this Sunday. Rachel and Glen are leading a book club on the summer reading that the rest of the church is reading. It's called Jesus Wants To Save Christians!! What do we need to eb saved from? I don't know either so come find out!

INCOMING 9TH GRADERS: YOU DON'T ACTUALLY PROMOTE TILL JUNE 28TH BUT YOU ARE STILL WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR THIS BOOK CLUB UNTIL THEN!

10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge. Yes you have BUZZ this summer. You're finishing up your series on PRAYER! Really it's easy to talk to God... Come find out how!!

Dad's Day this Sunday... so try to hang out with him!!!

Summertime at Overdrive

2009-06-10T21:28:00.002-04:00

As you know lot’s of things happen during summer time at Wellspring Student Ministries. Mostly all of you and your parents go on vacation, so numbers vary from week to week. So during the summer we combine High school and Junior High students for fun activities, mostly Sunday Parties in the park. The calendar below is marked accordingly if it’s combined, Junior High or High School. As the summer roles on check back for more details, costs and deadlines! You can also pick up a summer flyer this Sunday at the youth booth. Sign up forms will be available this Sunday at the youth booth.

SUMMER 2009

2009-06-10T21:18:00.005-04:00

June 21 Father’s Day! Hang out with your dad today!!
9AM High School Book Club
10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge
June 26 TBD Transformers (9th-12th)
June 22-25 Junior High Camp at Camp Lebanon
June 28 9AM High School Book Club
June 28 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge (PROMOTION & PANCAKE BREAKFAST!)
June 28 6PM SUMMER KickOff (7th-12th): Party in the Park: Inner Tube Games in The Park
July 5 NO Junior High BUZZ for month of July
July 5 NO High School Bible Study
July 5 NO EVENING ACTIVITIES
Jul 9 or 10 Spirit Song
July 12 9AM High School Book Club
July 12 NO EVENING ACTIVITIES
July 19 NO HIGH SCHOOL BIBLE STUDY
July 19 6PM Party in The Park (7th - 12th Grade) Capture the Flag Night
July 19-25 YouthFront Camp
Aug 2 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge
9AM High School Book Club
Party in The Park (7th-12th) ULTIMATE FRISBEE
Aug 9 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge
9AM High School Book Club
Aug 16 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge
Aug 23 10:45 Junior High BUZZ at Edge
Aug 23 UNIGHT: Back To School Bash
Aug 26 FIRST DAY OFF SCHOOL
Sep 13 THE BIG FALL KICK-OFF!

Dave Heckel Update #44

2008-07-02T14:20:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned very early on in Dave's recovery, this blog is actually a part of the youth ministry website at WellSpring Community Church where I work with the middle school students. We began posting here in order to keep the students informed about Dave's progress so they would not have to call or text me to check in.

As Dave continues to heal, and in order to save you from wading through posts about water skiing trips and Reds games for our students this summer, we have created a brand new blog for Dave. Same format, same ability to comment, just a new address. Check out the newest update on Dave at http://daveheckel.blogspot.com.

Dave Heckel Update #43

2008-07-01T13:14:00.002-04:00

Just a quick update today so you know we haven't abandoned the blog...

Dave's nurses and doctors continue to be impressed with his progress. He is completely off of all antibiotics - yeah! - and there is no sign of any new infections. The nurses finally seem to have the drainage from his skin graft under control so they don't have to change his dressings as often, which is good as the changing is probably the most stressful and painful part of Dave's day.

Dave's color is getting better (less jaundice), and his eyes are starting to clear (he can actually close them all the way when he sleeps), which are both signs of improved liver function. He continues lung PT every day and had been breathing for four hours when we left visiting hours at 11:30 a.m. He's still getting some pressure support from the vent, but all of the breaths are his own.

I finally got to talk to him when I got back from Cinci last night, and although he was not as talkative as he had been over the weekend, he did tell me that he was thirsty and that he wanted me to push up his glasses (which he wasn't wearing and turned out to be just him feeling the tape holding the feeding tube in his nose). His voice is still pretty scratchy, but it was good to hear it just the same.

Dave started both sleeping meds and antidepressants to help him get back on a more normal day-night rhythm, and they seem to be helping. Between the meds, the lack of sleep and the extra work of breathing on his own, he seems pretty tired but still relaxed.

That's the news for today! Keep up the prayers!
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #42

2008-06-29T08:04:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I promise I'll make the wait worth your while...

I'm back in Cincy for the weekend, so I call Dave's dad last night to see how the rest of the day was with Dave after I left yesterday afternoon. His dad says, "Oh, we're with Dave now..." and as I'm about to offer to let him go, he continues, "...and he's TALKING!"

No joke - Dave was moving his mouth quite a bit during 9:00 p.m. visiting hours, so for whatever reason, his current night nurse Pam decided to try taking the ventilator off of his trach to see if he could talk for a bit. She turned off the vent, and nothing happened for a few minutes. Finally, Pam said, "Dave, you can talk," and off he went. From what I understand from his dad and his roommate Chris, he was a little hard to hear because he hasn't used his vocal chords in three weeks, but the first thing he said (so completely Dave) was, "I have a project due on Monday that I need to finish." :-) Once Chris reassured him that work would be fine without him for a little while, he talked about the pressure in his chest, being worried when the alarms go off on the machines in his room, some camping trip that he wants to go on with Chris, Jenna (Chris's girlfriend) and me, and how confused he is about the accident. His dad said he was pretty all over the place with his topic choices, but I suppose if I had been lying awake for a week without being able to talk, I'd be pretty random too.

I asked his dad if it was straining Dave much to have him completely off the vent, especially after he had been breathing pretty much on his own with only a little bit of help from the vent all day (the lung PT I mentioned in an earlier post - he only went 30 minutes Friday but had been going for six and a half hours when I left yesterday), and his dad said, "I don't know, but he won't stop talking, so I don't think we'll be able to put it back on for a while." He even held up the phone to Dave so I could say hi and hear him too - couldn't understand the whispers, but it was definitely Dave's voice. Needless to say, I was a little teary (okay, a lot). :-)

Dave talked for 15 minutes or so, and when he decided he had said what he needed to say, said, "Okay, I'm going to sleep now. Good night." And that was that.

Sorry if the post is a little jumbled, but I'm pretty excited (and counting down the hours till I can head back to Knoxville) and am having a hard time focusing. Reports from the doctors on rounds yesterday were good - no fever and white blood cell count is down again, which means no new infections. Grafts are looking good, drainage (at least from some areas) is starting to slow - overall, lots of positive stuff.

Obviously, there is still so much work for Dave to do to continue to heal, and prayers against infection, sepsis, etc. are still very necessary. But since last night, I've been having a hard time doing anything but thanking God for giving Dave his voice back.

More coming when I talk to his parents later today.

His Spirit, His will, His peace, His glory,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #41

2008-06-26T14:15:00.002-04:00

Today has been a good day so far. Dave was wide awake at 5:30 this morning when I went in, and his nurse Kathy was VERY sweet and let me stay with him for over an hour. He actually "asked" me to help him do PT on his arms (grabbed my hand and lifted it off the bed with his, then nodded when I asked if he wanted to work on his arms a bit), so we worked out for 20 minutes, then spent the rest of the time talking (okay, I talked and he listened) and watching TV. Although we missed the 9:00 a.m. visiting hours because Dave's nurse was changing his dressings, his dad, Jen, and her husband Chris got to see him awake during rounds, and his mom got to spend some quality, interactive time with him at 11:00 a.m.

Dr. Saresh, Dave's kidney doctor, checked him for the last time around 11:00 this morning, then completely signed off on him and his kidney function - yeah! Dr. Chun, his plastic surgeon, also stopped by to check in and said that if the graft were NOT going to take, we would have seen some sign of it by now. It will still take weeks to heal, but he sounded much more optimistic than he did after the surgery the other day.

The drainage tube that they inserted yesterday is doing its job as the chest X-ray came back clear this morning. He is taking every breath on his own, with the venitilator helping him only to get the full inhale and exhale that he needs.

Although he does not have a fever, Dave's white blood cell count was slightly elevated again this morning, which could be a sign of another infection. The nurses sent out a culture, the initial results of which should be back tomorrow.

More exciting than anything else, Sandy, the Patient Care Specialist who will help with transitioning Dave from the ICU to wherever he will go next, stopped by again today and is beginning to talk very specifically about where Dave's parents would like for him to go next. According to Dr. Hecht, the Rehab Specialist (anybody confused with all of the names yet?), Dave's next step will not be on the normal hospital floor but instead in a special rehab center where he will continue to get more direct nursing care than he would in the normal hospital unit but will also be able to work on PT and rehab at the same time that he is being monitored. This will allow him to build strength in his muscles and joints while his internal injuries continue to heal. One of these specialized rehab centers is in Pontiac, Michigan, not too far from where Dave's parents live, and it is possible to transfer him there, but there are also two centers here in Knoxville that the doctors recommend if Dave's parents choose to stay in the area. No talk on timing yet, but the conversations have made it much easier to begin to look beyond life in the ICU.

Please continue to be praying against infection in Dave's body and for continued healing of his internal injuries, skin graft, and femur, hip and back fractures. Also be praying for Jen and her family as they travel back to Michigan and for the numerous visitors who will be heading back and forth, primarily from Cincinnati, this weekend.

His Spirit, His will, His peace, His glory,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #40

2008-06-25T18:00:00.003-04:00

The procedure (I guess technically surgury #9) went well. Dave's still sleeping/groggy from the "conscious sedative" that they put him on in order to insert the drainage tube, but that should wear off fairly quickly. The volume level on his ventilator is up, which means that he is capable of taking deeper breaths. Hopefully, he'll be a little bit more awake and interactive when we go up at 9:00 p.m., but for now, he looks very peaceful, and his nurses are smiling, so we're happy. :-)

Dave Heckel Update #39

2008-06-25T15:10:00.001-04:00

Dave is on his way in to get the drainage tube inserted to relieve the pressure around his lungs. Hopefully, this will help him to breathe better. It's a fairly minor procedure but still a procedure, so keep praying!

Dave Heckel Update #38

2008-06-25T14:08:00.003-04:00

This update will be pretty quick, but I didn't want to leave you hanging for too long...

Dave is doing well today - sleeping a lot, very relaxed, which is good. The last infection seems to be under control (considering the fact that he is now on four antibiotics...). They will put a new drainage tube in his side this afternoon as he has some fluid building up outside of his lungs in his chest. I got to see his skin graft this morning, and it looks really good (almost can't tell where the original injury was aside from the drains around it). Infection and sepsis are both still the biggest issues, and making it past the three week mark (this coming Friday night/Saturday morning) will be a HUGE step, so keep praying! He's not out of the woods yet, but his progress continues to amaze everyone.

Although nothing is certain, the doctor doing rounds this week, Dr. Langdon, told us that Dave will probably be in the ICU for two more weeks and in the hospital for at least another month. We spoke to his doctor, Dr. Taylor, not too long after rounds, and she reminded us that it still could be much longer than that, even up to six months in the hospital and, as I mentioned before, up to two years with the drainage tubes still in his body. We did get to meet with the rehab doctor this morning, and small mentions of getting him out of Knoxville and probably up closer to his parents' house in Michigan are starting to float around, so that is definitely a good sign.

That's the news for now, from back in Knoxville (yeah!). More as we get it.
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #37

2008-06-23T16:53:00.002-04:00

Got an update from Jen this morning and wanted to pass it along:

Dave seems to be very peaceful and sleeping a lot today. His respiratory rate is down to 12 breaths per minute (at times it has been near 40 on the ventilator), and he is initiating all of those breaths on his own. The doctors will start giving him a sedative and some antidepressants to help him redevelop a normal sleeping schedule tonight, so hopefully he will start getting into a rhythm that will help him to recover more quickly.

His blood pressure was down today, so his doctors have increased his Levophed to help raise it again, which seems to be working. He is also on Roxycodone for his pain. The bronchial scope from yesterday did show some mucus in his lungs, and a culture was sent out for The doctors have also gotten the specific culture on his most recent bacterial infection and changed one of his antibiotics to treat it more effectively.

In addition to infection (or, more accurately, as a result of it), the doctors are concerned about sepsis, which is the body's way of reacting to infection (for more information on sepsis, check http://www.survivingsepsis.org/sepsis/what_you_should_know), and which may be starting to show itself in Dave's body. As precautionary measures, Dave is now on steroids and a blood thinner. The doctors have also restarted his arterial line and changed his central line to prevent infection at the current line.

The physical therapist came by today to teach Dave's family how to help increase strength in his joints and muscles during visiting hours. The respiratory therapist also wants to begin "PT for his lungs" as soon his this most recent infection is completely under control, trying to work him off the ventilator completely by the end of the week.

Although this post may sound negative, Dave continues to make progress and do well, and his doctors and nurses are continually amazed at their miracle patient. Continue to pray - if you haven't read the comments, we now have all 50 states!

While you are praying, we just found out that one of the other ICU families just got word that their father/husband, who was hit by a drunk driver and has been at UT almost as long as Dave, is in a vegetative state. Please be praying for Tony (the dad), Darlene (his wife) and their kids during this difficult time.

Love from Cinci,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #36

2008-06-22T17:14:00.002-04:00

Sunday, 5:15 p.m. - Sorry for the lack of posts - I know many of you check the blog daily. Please know that any amount of time between posts only mean that we are so wrapped up in positive time with Dave that we forget to create updates. No news is always good news - hopefully that is reassuring to you.

I have to say, it is very strange posting this from back in Cincinnati as I know visiting hours are going on right now and I cannot be with him. For anyone who has come to visit, been in the midst of Dave's recovery, and then was forced to rely on phone calls, texts and this website for updates afterwards, I feel your pain. Driving away from the hospital last night after more than two weeks by his side was almost more difficult than driving down there in the first place. Not being there for every doctor update, every step forward - the past 24 hours back home have been bittersweet. It has been wonderful seeing my church family who has been praying for him, hanging out with my BUZZ kids (love you guys), and even "sleeping" (which has become a relative term in the past two weeks) in my own bed, but I miss him and his family terribly. Luckily, less than 48 to go before I can head back down.

Dave is doing "very good" in the words of one of his most cautious doctors. Yesterday, he really began communicating and moving around. He can lift his hands up off the bed, put pressure against our hands with his feet and even move his mouth, although he cannot speak yet because of the trach, which redirects the air out of the hole in his neck and away from his vocal chords (speaking with the trach is possible, but it would require disconnecting the hose the helps him breathe and covering the hole where it connects, which he is not quite strong enough for yet). The doctors are shooting to have him off of the ventilator by the end of this week, and they were planning to use a bronchial scope to examine his lungs this afternoon to see how they are doing.

Dave is eating again, very slowly and through a tube in his nose, but at least he is getting nourishment. The doctors hope to increase his feeding level from 10 cc's, where they started it, back up to 60 cc's, the level he needs to get his 2,000 calorie diet, over the next few days. Also, because of his increased movement, a physical therapist is scheduled to stop by tomorrow to begin working to increase his strength in his arms and legs and to show us how to work with him to do the same while we are visiting.

Because of the large amount of drainage that is coming out of the graft area in his abdomen, the doctors inserted another drainage tube into his side. It is still uncertain whether the graft will take, especially with the amount of drainage coming from that area of his body, but Dr. Chun, his plastic surgeon, said it could be weeks before we have a definitive answer.

Based on a raise in his white blood cell count, it seems that Dave has another infection, but the doctors are treating it very aggressively and started another round of antibiotics before he even got a fever. They will target the specific bacteria as soon as they get the culture back from the lab. The other infection disappeared quite quickly, so please continue to be praying against them - obviously, the prayers are working.

The other major prayer request right now is for patience, for Dave and for the rest of us. As I mentioned, Dave is beginning to communicate, and already, we have seen him get frustrated when we cannot read his lips or when his arms are too weak to point to letters or hold a pen to write. It is also frustrating for his parents, his sister and me as we watch him try to communicate knowing that most of the time, we cannot interpret what he is trying to say. So far, Dave has had an amazingly positive attitude, making faces and smiling at silly things that we say. Be praying that he keeps that attitude as he continues to move toward recovery.

One more thing - we have so enjoyed reading the stories that you have all passed along about Dave, and they certainly have helped us through some stressful times. If anyone else has a story to share, please feel free to post it as a comment. It has been incredible to see just how many lives one person can touch and just how many people Dave has impacted. I know he will enjoy reading your stories very soon as well.

Until next time, love from Cinci,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #35

2008-06-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

Dave is out of surgery. They ended up doing the tracheotomy first (which yes, will eventually allow Dave to talk as he becomes more and more awake and his vocal chords heal from the original ventilator tube that was down his throat), then moved to the skin grafts. The trach went very well and should make Dave more comfortable. We spent about 15 minutes talking to the plastic surgeon after the skin grafts, and although he explained a lot about where the skin came from and what is happening with it, the long and the short of it is that he was able to cover the entire area that Dave's original injuries created, but it will take weeks to know if the grafts will take or not.

Be praying continually against infection, as that is by far his greatest risk right now.

Sorry for the short post, but my laptop is about to die. More later.

Love you all,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #34

2008-06-20T14:56:00.002-04:00

1:15 pm - I just spoke with Kendahl. Dave is in surgery right now. The surgery will take a while. The doctors are working on a skin graf and performing a tracheotomy.

Dave is doing well today. In fact, he is doing more today than when we were down to see him yesterday. His body is slowly waking-up. He was squeezing more hands today and was able to wiggle his toes a little bit. He continues to communicate by moving his head. Praise God!!

Please pray for a successful surgery. I will keep you updated once the surgery is completed.

Keep the prayers and comments coming!

Dave Heckel Update # 33

2008-06-19T15:43:00.002-04:00

Thursday, 3:45 pm

This update is coming from the waiting room in Knoxville. What a different perspective to be sitting here with Kendahl on these not too comfy chairs. With that said, please pray for Kendahl and Dave's parents for endurance, strength, patience and good health. It can be so tiring setting their schedule by the times they can visit Dave. In case you weren't aware, there are only 4 or 5 times a day that they can see him for a duration of 30 minutes. Take heart, they are all doing really well and are holding up fine.

It has been another quiet day. Dave continues to respond well to Kendahl, his family and his doctors. He can track them around the room and respond to questions about his climate comfort and whether or not he wants to listen to music.

Dave is scheduled for a surgery tomorrow to graft skin to his abdomen and to perform the trach. Again, continue to pray about his infection which is currently being treated.

Dave does have a condition called DAI. This is a nurological condition caused by the accident. The thing about this is that everyone responds to and recovers from it in a different way and on a different timeline. So, it is something that we just have to wait and see what happens. However, he is doing so well responding to stimmulus that it isn't too much of a concern right now. One of the Dr.'s was just here and said that Dave slightly squeezed his hand just a minute ago. Praise God! How exciting to witness the improvements that are happening everyday.

As wonderful as this development is, we need to continue to be diligent in our prayers. Dave has a long road ahead of him and we must not give up hoping and praying.

Should be a quiet night. When there is more news, we will give you another update. Thanks again to all of you who continue to keep up with this blog. There is a huge map of the United States in Dave's room and all but 7 states are highlighted. So, if you know anyone in Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and Hawaii, pass along our requests and let us know so we can fill their states in. Again, it is so comforting to know so many people are keeping Dave in prayer.

Dave Heckel Update # 32

2008-06-18T14:56:00.002-04:00

Wednesday, 3:00pm

What a great community of people we have checking this blog. It is so incredible to know that so many are checking in and continuing to pray for Dave, Kendahl and his family.

Here is what we have heard from Kendahl this afternoon. Everyone is feeling really good and is having a somewhat relaxed and upbeat day. Dave is a lot more alert and aware today. This is an improvement even from Kendahl's last update. He is responding to requests to move his head or move his eyes and blink. This is so encouraging. We all know how powerful and healing music can be and Dave has been listening to his favorites throughout this process. Today, the Dr. was asking him to move his head and was getting frustrated at Dave's lack of response. He then realized that Dave had his earbuds in. After removing them and asking him again to move his head, Dave responded immediately. I think that is what most parents refer to as selective listening. :) It is fun to have things that make you smile in the midst of all the daily happenings.

Dave had an MRI at 1:00 this morning. (who works those hours?) Kendahl and Dave's parents still do not have the results of that. They expect them sometime this afternoon and Kendahl will update you all with them when she can.

Dr.'s are wanting to change his diet a little due to the fact that he is starting to vomit a little bit again. This is not cause for concern. They also are anxious to move him to a tracheotomy as soon as possible. This will be much more comfortable for Dave and will help aide in his progress. It will also likely help with the feeding issues. They are hoping to make this transition today or tomorrow. Please pray this happens soon.

They think Dave may have an infection. He is running a fever and his white blood cell count is up. They are going to treat it as such and try to get the fever down. This is an enormous prayer request. Pray the infection gets taken care of quickly and that his body is guarded from any further infection.

That is it for now. Have a beautiful day and continue praying for our dear friends.

OVERDRIVE Summer Calendar

2008-06-18T12:31:00.004-04:00

Sorry folks... I know you have been keeping up with Dave but I needed to keep our teen up to date on activities. Sorry for the commercial interuption!

6/22 Overdrive: Bigger and Better (Meet in the Church parking Lot @ 6:00)
6/28 Volunteer Meeting
6/28 Middletown Food pantry for 7-8 graders
6/29 Baptism: Come celebrate this special event with your fellow Overdrivers!
6/29 Overdrive @ The Holiday Drive-in $10
7/2 Water Ski Trip $25
7/11-12 Spirit Song
7/13 NO OVERDRIVE
7/13-18 HS Mission Trip
7/20 Movie Night Under the Stars and Cookout @ Kendahl’s
7/26 Middletown Food pantry for 7-8 graders
7/27 Overdrive @ Great American Ball park $10
8/3 Overdrive @ The Park: Tube Mound Madness: Steal The Tube
8/7-10 MS Mission Retreat
8/9 HS Hope House
8/24 Volunteer All Day Retreat

Dave Heckel Update #31

2008-06-17T21:42:00.002-04:00

Tuesday, 9:45 p.m. - Sorry for the shortage of updates today. It was kind of nice not to have surgeries to think about, so I think we were enjoying the day relaxing. Still lots of good stuff to share, though, so I thought I'd take a few minutes before visiting hours at 11:00 p.m.

First, Dave had what was hopefully his last dialysis treatment this morning! Kidneys are doing great, and Dr. Saresh, his nephrologist (kidney doctor) said that he may not need anymore. Yeah! Because of all of the fluid they have pulled, as well as what is leaking from pretty much everywhere it can, Dave's weight is now somewhere around 232 pounds - more than 100 pounds down from when he first arrived, but still 50 (or 60, if we want to help him get off that ten pounds he was trying to lose) to go before he's completely back to his old weight.

His digestive tract is functioning fine (no more throwing up), and his nurse is hoping to have his feeding level up from 20 cc's to 60 cc's (which will give him the 2,000 calorie diet he needs) by 4:00 a.m. tomorrow.

According to Superman (the orthopedic surgeon - Dr. McDowell - who informed us this morning that people have been telling him he looks like Clark Kent since he was six), his leg is doing great and should heal fine. Lots of fluid seeping from the three incisions where they inserted the rod, but that was expected.

The really fun stuff - Dave is moving his head to follow the sound of our voices! Normally, his head lays with his face tipped to one side or the other, almost as if he is resting his face on his shoulder. Today, every time we visited, he would lift his head so it was straight and often turned it toward whoever was speaking to him. He has also responded multiple times to people asking him to blink, and both of his pupils are reacting well to light stimulation. All good signs!

The prayer stuff - obviously praises for continued healing. It is nothing short of amazing to see the progress that he continues to make, and it gives me shivers to see him blink his eyes, move his jaw, or tip his head toward us. :-) Beyond that...

Dave is going for an MRI sometime tonight between midnight and 6:00 a.m. As we mentioned before, the CT scan that they did earlier was inconclusive on any issues with his brain, which was definitely a positive sign. Now that he is much more stable, off of the oscillatory ventilator and finished with most of his surgeries, the doctors feel that he is able to undergo an MRI, which will give a much clearer picture of his brain and any injuries he may or may not (praying for the latter) have sustained. The responses that he has been giving in the past day or two are all positive, but there is still a possibility of some injury. Be praying for the procedure itself (I've heard MRIs are ridiculously scary when you are completely aware of what is going on, nevermind when you are still trying to wake up from sedative and unable to move most of your body) and for the results. We should know sometime tomorrow morning what they see.

Also, continue to pray against infection. He has a slight fever tonight (101), which they are treating with a small dose of meds, but fever can be an indication of infection inside the area of his abdomen that the surgeons sealed yesterday. Infections are easily treatable but still scary considering all that he has been through already.

One good way to help guard against bacteria is to get the ventilator tube out of his throat and in through a tracheotomy, so please be praying that that will happen soon. His lungs are almost strong enough to endure the transition, but the doctors are being cautious, which we appreciate.

Finally, although not having surgeries is a blessing, the surgeries have allowed for very clear and markable steps toward recovery for Dave (and for us to see). Please be praying for patience for his parents, for Jen, for me and for all of you as well as the steps are becoming smaller and farther between. He has made so much progress in the past ten days, so the "wait and see" of the next few days may be difficult.

I think that's it for tonight. Things really are going well, and today has been an amazing day (he's doing so well, in fact, that I'm finally moving out of the hospital waiting room and into a hotel - might want to throw up a prayer that I survive my first night not within walking distance of his room too). We are so proud of Dave, and so thankful to the God who is creating miracles through him every day.

Love you all so much (those I have met, and those I will meet when we celebrate Dave's recovery together),
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update # 30

2008-06-16T17:44:00.003-04:00

5:45 pm - I just spoke with Kendahl. Dave is out of surgery # 6.

He did very well! The surgeon said if Dave was able to he could walk today with the rod in his leg. Since this surgery is complete, it will help with everything else that Dave is dealing with since he will be able to apply pressure with the leg.

Kendahl said that fighting off infection is the most important issue right now since the wound is now sealed. The doctors can't clean him out like they did before.

I would also add that Dave's parents and Kendahl need to get some rest. Let's pray for a resful and peaceful night. It has to be very physically and emotionally exhausting to be in anticpation of each surgery.

Thank you for praying for Dave!

Dave Heckel Update #29

2008-06-16T17:06:00.000-04:00

Monday, 5:10 p.m. - This is going to be really quick - Dave is just starting surgery #6 to fix his femur, and I'm looking for creative ways to waste time to survive hour five of surgery time today. Surgery #5 went well early this afternoon. They put mesh over the hole in his abdomen and actually opted to use real human flesh mesh from a body/organ donor as opposed to the synthetic mesh because his body is less likely to reject it. The two pieces of mesh that they used alone cost $20,000! They also moved his feeding tube from his nose/sinuses to directly into his stomach. Overall, the procedure went well, so they went directly into prepping him for his femur surgery, which started around 4:00 p.m. Could take between 2 and 4 hours, so don't worry if you don't hear anything for a while. Keep praying!

Dave Heckel Update # 28

2008-06-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

12:55 pm - I received an update from the hospital.

Since Kendahl did such a great job last night of informing us about Dave's current condition and upcoming surgeries there isn't too much to post.

Dave is in surgery right now to close his wound. The doctors will be placing "mesh" over this area. This is not the final covering over this area. It will take future surgeries to properly cover it. This surgery will take less than one hour.

Shortly after this first surgery, the doctors will perform surgery on Dave's broken femur. A rod will be placed in his leg. This will last 2 - 4 hours. Apparently, this time frame is typical for orthopedic surgery.

Prayer requests:

Two successful surgeries with no complications.

Dave's breathing improves so that Doctors may take him off the current ventilator and perform a tracheotomy. This will be much less invasive.

Prayer against infection!

I know that we have all witnessed some miraculous victories this past week, but the fight is not over. We all need to continue to pray!

Dave Heckel Update #27

2008-06-15T21:43:00.001-04:00

Sunday, 10:30 p.m. - So we got to meet Dave's heroes yesterday. Bill and Matt from Kentucky, the first responders on the scene of Dave's accident, stopped by the hospital with their whole family and the friends that they were on vacation in Florida with to meet us and check on Dave. Words cannot express how incredible it felt to hug them and thank them for what they did for Dave. They managed to fill us in on the whole story of Dave's accident and rescue, which did, in fact, include the two of them (not paramedics, just First Aid and CPR-trained sanitation workers), plus a family doctor and another nurse, all on scene before the ambulance arrived. Bill told us that they had actually attempted to pull off at the exit before the one where Dave was injured, but that exit was closed, so they continued on. Just one more instance where the hand of God is so incredibly evident in everything that Dave is experiencing. We spent over an hour getting to know each other, sharing stories and making plans for us to visit them in Ludlow/Covington as soon as Dave has recovered. Bill and Matt, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you again for saving our Dave. You are his angels, and we can't wait until the day when he can shake your hands (actually, probably hug you - I think we're WAY past shaking hands) and thank you himself for your sacrifice that Friday night.

Dave has had a good day and a half since the last post. He is initiating every breath on his own now (still actually breathing with the assistance of the ventilator, but he is starting each breath with his own energy), which started when our friends from Bible study went up to visit him late last night. His heart rate and blood pressure have been up a bit, but the doctors assure us that as he is waking up more and more, his body is working harder and harder to function on its own. He moves his head now (yeah!), and his nurse told us tonight that he blinked his eyes in response to her asking if he could hear her. We also found out earlier today that he pulled his hand away from the nurse when she was trying to put in an arterial line this morning. His eyes are starting to clear, and he seems to be following us with them as we move about the room, at least some of the time.

Because things have been going so well, his surgery that is scheduled for tomorrow (afternoon sometime) will now include repairing his femur, which Dr. McDowell (the orthopedic surgeon who looks astoundingly like Superman) has been waiting impatiently to do since last week. As far as we have heard, the surgeons will also still be working to begin fixing the hole on the right side of his body, and they may be able to insert a trach tube (and get the ventilator tube out of his mouth) as well.

One very specific prayer request - Dave has had a lot of bile coming out of his mouth since Saturday morning. Although the doctors have not been overly concerned about it, there is a possibility that there is at least a partial blockage in his intestines that is causing a back up of the "vanilla milkshake" that the doctors have been feeding him. An initial test does not show a blockage, but hopefully, they will be able to see something tomorrow during surgery.

In the grand scheme of things - the many leaps and bounds that Dave has made and the miraculous steps he has taken in the past eight days - it may not seem important, but the most incredible part of the past few days for me has been seeing Dave begin to look like Dave again. The swelling all over his body continues to go down, and his hands feel like his hands again. His face looks amazing, and his eyes are beginning to focus to the point that you can almost see that incredible Dave glint that they have always had in the past. For so long, I found myself looking at the pictures on the bulletin board in his hospital room to remind myself that the 330 pound man on the bed with a fixed gaze and a hole in his stomach was still our Dave. It is so good to have that Dave back, continuing to fight, determined to see you all again soon.

This website started as a way to keep my middle school students and the families at the church where I work up to date on someone who has become such an important part of my life. It has evolved into a worldwide community of love and support, a constant reminder of the impact that one person can have on so many others. I continue to hear stories from all of you about refreshing this blog every five minutes, praying during church services and beyond, supporting Dave and us however you can... We have received e-cards and Hallmark cards and gift cards, magazines and books and enough snacks to last until next summer. Your blog comments, phone calls and texts... Someday, I hope we can find a way to thank you all appropriately for just how much you love Dave and for the impact that you have each had on his life and on ours. For now, know that your acts of love and service have not been lost on us, and we feel so blessed to have you in Dave's life and in ours.

More news tomorrow,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update # 26

2008-06-14T14:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday, 2:30 pm

Just heard from Knoxville and Dave is out of surgery and everything went well. They were able to remove the gall bladder with no problems. He continues to remain stable and gets to take the day off tomorrow. There will be no dialysis tomorrow. Let's pray that everyone down there gets a day of rest. The doctors were also able to repair a previous incision.

The plan moving forward is to have another surgery on Monday that will begin the process of repairing the initial injury to Dave's side and abdomen. We are also hopeful that they will continue to reduce the ventilator tomorrow. The less he uses the ventilator, the more alert he will become which will aide in further surgeries including the one to repair his femur. Please continue to pray against any infection.

It has been a huge blessing to both Kendahl and Dave's family to have friends from Dave's Bible Study group visiting. Having friends there helps to give Dave's parents and Kendahl a break and also lifts their spirits with the fellowship and the sharing of burdens with people who love them and love the God we all serve.

Thanks again to all you who are being faithful to pray and to check these updates. It sometimes seems that as time goes on, we forget to be diligent in praying. Don't give up, don't let up. He hears us and is faithful to answer.

Dave Heckel Update #25

2008-06-13T23:34:00.001-04:00

11:40 p.m. - Dave's brain should be fine! The neurologist came into Dave's room just before the last visiting hours for the night, checked on him and his CT scan and said he isn't worried about his brain at all. Said that his non-responsiveness up until this point is probably a result of his kidney failure and that as his kidneys continue to heal, he will continue to wake up. He took quite a few breaths in a row on his own when we were just up there, and he definitely blinked a his friend Lindsey when I told him that she was there to visit him. Still reeling from the good news and at a loss for words at how great God is.

One week and forty minutes ago, I received the call about Dave's accident. Through seven overwhelming days, Dave has overcome every hurdle placed in front of him to go from "He may not make it until his parents get here" to being the greatest miracle in the hospital. There will still be surgeries and therapy and so many other steps. But the progress that Dave has made in the past week is a living, breathing testimony of a God who is "able to do immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine."

Thank you again to all of you for praying, for supporting, for loving Dave, and for including his parents, his sister and me in that love. More updates tomorrow.

His Spirit, His will, His peace, His glory,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #24

2008-06-13T21:49:00.002-04:00

Friday, 9:50 pm

(A lot of this is a repeat from Kendahl's update #23 - we didn't realize we were updating at the same time). The news for tonight is that Dave is still stable which is great news. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow around 12:00. Since it is Saturday, the time is not exact. The surgery is to remove his gall bladder. He will also undergo another round of dialysis at some point tomorrow. The timing on that really just depends on when the surgery takes place and on his recovery time following surgery.

Please continue covering Dave in prayer as he faces another surgery. He is also being slowly taken off some of the pain medications he is on. Please pray that his body handles this well and that he remains stable through that process.

We will update everyone after surgery is over. Thanks for continuing in prayer.

Dave Heckel Update #23

2008-06-13T21:49:00.001-04:00

Quiet day the rest of the day. Dave is completely off of all pain meds and sedatives (don't worry, the meds are still deep enough in his system that he isn't feeling any pain...phew), and he is definitely seeming more interactive - lots of eye movement (I'm pretty sure he's winking at me) and he is taking breaths on his own quite often. He ventilator PEEP level (how often he takes a breath) is currently at 12 (it was at 14 yesterday). When it gets below 10, they will put a in a tracheotomy, which will be much less invasive than the tube that is currently down his throat. When it gets to 8, they will be able to do surgery on his femur. Progress...

Surgery is scheduled for "noonish" tomorrow, which is even less certain than the "noonish" of Thursday, so all we really know is that the surgery will be tomorrow afternoon. He will also have another round of dialysis sometime either in the morning or after his surgery.

Keep praying...both for Dave as he continues to improve and for his parents, sister and me as we are dealing with the continuous ups and downs of a very long week. Also, please send up a special prayer for his sister Jen who will be heading home to her husband and kids in Michigan and is struggling with the idea of being away from Dave.

We continue to be amazed at God's power and Dave's progress, and my prayer continues to be "Your Spirit, Your will, Your peace, Your glory."

Love you all,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update # 22

2008-06-13T13:43:00.000-04:00

1:45 pm - I spoke with Kendahl about an hour ago and received an update on Dave. There isn't too much to report since today is for resting.

In my last post I mentioned that Dave was going to have a CT Scan performed on his brain today. The procedure actually took place last night. Basically, the results came back inconclusive. There wasn't enough information for the doctors to make a diagnoses. Everyone remains hopeful!

They also discovered that Dave has two fractured vertebrae in his lower back. It is not critical for them to perform surgery. In fact, the doctors are hopeful that they will heal on their own.

Prayer requests:

What an amazing joy it is to say that today marks one week since Dave's accident. However, this also marks a week of very little sleep and a roller coaster of emotions. It's an understatement to say that Dave's parents, sister Jen and Kendahl are exhausted both mentally and physically. This family needs to rest and they need our continued words of encouragement. Please pray that everyone involved will get some much needed rest. I also strongly encourage anyone to post a story or comment on this blog. They are reading everyone's comments and it does boost their spirits.

Also, please pray for the success of Dave's 4th surgery which will be performed tomorrow. The doctor's will go in and remove his gall bladder.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Dave & Kendahl

2008-06-13T10:47:00.000-04:00

Most people who view this blog have never met Dave and Kendahl. Some may know one and not the other. This beautiful couple are now pictured to the right of the blog. For those of us who know them both it has been a blessing to watch two people grow in their love and respect for each other.

Dave Heckel Update # 21

2008-06-12T14:25:00.000-04:00

2:26 pm - I just received an update from the Hospital:

The surgery went well!

Here are the details:

The doctors cleaned and removed any foreign matter from Dave's open wound. They also wrapped Dave's liver with netting to stop the bleeding. The bleeding has stopped.

Future procedures:

Friday - The doctor's will be doing a brain scan to check for any neurological problems. This is a standard procedure. They had to wait to perform this due to Dave's unstable condition.

Saturday - Dave will undergo his 4th surgery to remove his gall bladder.

Monday - Dave's 5th surgery will take place to begin working on closing his very large wound.

Although there are many things to be praying for...these are perhaps the two most pressing prayer requests:

1. Dave's body would be protected from infection.
2. Dave's body would not form any blood clots.

THANK YOU for your prayers!

Dave Heckel Update # 20

2008-06-12T08:44:00.000-04:00

8:46 am - Good Morning! Dave had another good and stable night. He is now on a standard ventilator and is off the paralysis medication. His kidneys are now functioning on their own. The swelling in Dave's bodies continues to go down.

Everyday is HUGE for Dave...but today is without exception since he will undergo his third surgery. As Kendahl mentioned this will begin at 12:00 pm. The Doctors will continue to clean out his body from the left over gravel and dirt. They will also look at the laceration in Dave's liver and diaphragm.

I know I don't need to tell you all this, but keep praying. We continue to witness miracles. May God receive all the glory!!

Dave Heckel Update #19

2008-06-11T21:02:00.001-04:00

9:02 p.m. - Just really quick before I head up to see him... It really was a stable day, with two more big steps forward. First, Dave came off the dialysis at 5:30 this afternoon. Second, his doctor decided that it was time to start feeding him! So heathier kidneys and liquid nourishment all in one day. :-) Dave got to spend most of the day relaxing peacefully, so he should be well prepared for tomorrow's surgery. The surgery begins at "noonish" depending on the availablity of an Operating Room, and right now, it sounds as if they will not be working on his liver but instead will simply be cleaning him out of all remaining gravel and sand from the road (guess the liver can wait a little longer). They'll also look more in depth into how to begin closing up the hole in his chest/abdomen.

Dave's parents and sister, my mom and I, got to go out to dinner together tonight, knowing that he was safe, stable and well cared-for at the hospital. We are all planning to head to bed very soon to prepare for another stressful but hopefully miraculous day.

I will do my best to drop a post tomorrow morning as soon as we have talked to his surgeon in more detail about the surgery. Until then, thank you again for all of your prayers, ecards and posts to this site. His parents, sister and I have read every single one, and although they have caused a few (happy) tears, your words have truly given us strength and hope as we continue forward with Dave.

Love you all,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #18

2008-06-11T20:07:00.000-04:00

8:23 pm

As Kendahl predicted it was a day of rest with few posts.

Dave is still stable and had a good day.

The best news is that they had to "paralyze" Dave because he started to try to breathe on his own! For him to do this would mess up all the blood gases, etc. We don't know what they will do going forward about this but hopefully they will start to take him off the oscillating respirator.

Surgery is scheduled for 12:00 pm tomorrow. Currently, all we know is that the Doctors are going in to figure out why Dave's liver is still bleeding.

He will continue dialysis until Friday. The doctor's believe his kidneys
will start to function again since he is producing urine.

Although Dave continues to show some improvements, he is still in critical condition. We must keep praying! Share this request with everyone that you know. Right now there are hundreds of people praying for Dave. Please know that your prayers, stories of Dave and words of encouragement are a huge blessing to Dave's family and Kendahl.

Dave Heckel Update #17

2008-06-10T20:21:00.000-04:00

One of Dave's friends figured out how to send ecards through the hospital (thanks Jason!). If you get a chance, go to http://www.utmedicalcenter.org/ecards/ecard_gallery.asp and send him a note. Dave is in the Surgical Critical Care Unit, Bed #15. It looks like the nurses will be printing them out and posting them on the bulletin board in his room. We'll spend some time reading them to Dave while we are visiting during the day.

Dave Heckel Update #16

2008-06-10T18:20:00.000-04:00

6:35 p.m. - First, thank you all so much to everyone for the comments, prayers and fun stories about Dave. It has been absoutely incredible to see the outpouring of support from all over the world, and we even have a map posted in Dave's room that is tracking the states where people are praying for him (almost the entire map is covered). I have enjoyed reading the stories in between visits with Dave, and I know his family has loved learning more and more about how wonderful their son is (as if they didn't already know). :-)

Just finished another visit. His vitals are all stable, the blood flow coming from his liver is steady but not alarming, and he has been resting well all afternoon. Assuming he continues as he is, his next surgery is scheduled for Thursday and will focus on finding and repairing whatever is causing the bleeding in his liver. From there, other surgeries will work to figure out how to begin to close his abdomen, including some sort of internal protection to replace the ribs that he lost. In the next few days, the doctors and nurses will also be working to get him off of the oscillatory ventilator and onto a regular ventilator, a process that is slow-going but is going just the same. The dialysis is working well to restore his kidneys, and he will likely be off of that machine as soon is the current filter is filled (probably Thursday or Friday). The doctors continually remind us that he is still in a very fragile state, but there seems to be a consensus that today was a turning point for Dave. The surgeons were very worried about the surgery and are very happy with how well he handled it.

Tonight and tomorrow should be very quiet as Dave rests and prepares for more surgery on Thursday, so please don't worry if there are not many posts. Hopefully, Dave's family and I will get some solid rest in that time as well so we are ready to support him through the next of many miraculous steps.

Continue to be praying and know that we love and appreciate all of you and your support.

Love from Knoxville,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update #15

2008-06-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

4:19 pm... Just went in and saw Dave... he looks great compared to this morning. They are doing some tests on his foot to see why they can"t get a pulse in it. But... they are not to alarmed and think it may be from the swelling. His swelling continues to go down, he still is bleeding from his liver but not as severe as it has been the previous two days. He is not out of the woods, still in critical condition but it has been a good day so far. Next surgery is scheduled for Thursday, tomorrow should be a quiet day. So if you don't see any updates do not be alarmed! We will update if their are changes.

Stories

2008-06-10T11:59:00.000-04:00

If you have an inspirational story about Dave or even the smallest story about Dave I'm sure his parents, sister and Kendahl would love to hear them and find strength and inspiration from them. So comment away and we will share them with the family!

Dave Heckel Update #14

2008-06-10T11:54:00.000-04:00

Dave's parents (Dennis and Cheryl), sister (Jen) and Kendahl just wanted to say "PRAISE THE LORD!" Thank you for the prayers and keep them coming!

Dave Heckel Update #13

2008-06-10T11:45:00.000-04:00

Dave headed to surgery about 9:55 and the surgery was done by 11:15. They were able to reattach his diaphragm, removed some gravel and dirt out of his abdomen that was caused by the accident, able to sew up some of his intestines they were not perforated or tore just needed to be placed where they were supposed to be. Now the concerning news... his liver has begun to bleed again and his body will have to fight to heal it. They are now taking him back to his room and getting the ventilator going again. Once again the next 24 hours are critical so continue to pray. Doc did not want to give any false hope she says he is still very critical, yet the bright side is he made it through this surgery. More updates once we get in to see him.

Dave Heckel Update #12

2008-06-10T10:20:00.000-04:00

10:43... They started taking Dave to surgery about 40 minutes ago... It will take an hour to get him to surgery, and hour of operation time and then an hour of back to recovery. Will update again around 1:00 or we have info. Start the prayers if you have not already!

Dave Heckel Update #11

2008-06-10T06:15:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone... Just saw Dave and he is still stable. The nurse said he had another good night. Kendahl and Sarah when we arrived last night said that his swelling had gone down in his face. Which means he is starting to get rid of some of the fluids in his body. This morning it has gone down a little more. The breathing machine has been lowered a little, he actually had some urine output this morning which is a good thing. They also lowered one of his blood pressure meds and stopped another one so that is another good thing. This is a big day for Dave here is how you can pray for him:

His heart usually increases and blood pressure drops between 7-8 pray that it remains constant today so that surgery can go as scheduled.

Surgery is between 10:00 - 12:00 please diligently pray during that time. We'll update everyone as soon as he comes out of surgery and we have an update from the docs.

Dave Heckel Update #10

2008-06-09T15:50:00.000-04:00

Another upswing - Dave's heart rate is back down to 75, which is where they want it. His blood pressure and all of his vitals are also good and have been stable since lunchtime. His oxygen level is good, so they reduced the ventilator to 50% of where they started. His day nurse is cautiously attempting to reduce the fluids in his body (he's pretty swollen all over - he looks like he weighs 300 pounds) by draining extra fluids with his dialysis, and he is tolerating the very small attempts, so they may start draining more of that fluid this evening. One of his eyes is barely open (so good to see it!), and his pupil seems to be responding well to stimulation, which is a good sign of brain activity.

Thanks so much for all the comments, emails and especially prayers. Dave is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 10:00 to remove the gauze in his body and fix his diaphragm, so PLEASE pray tons from 9:00 a.m. to noon or so. The surgery itself will only take an hour, but it will take an hour to transport him each way to make sure he stays stable during the trip. Hopefully no more updates till after surgery tomorrow (that will mean that he is stable through the night).

Love you all so much, and Dave's family and I (and Dave, of course) are so thankful for all the support. Keep praying!

His Spirit, His will, His peace, His glory (thanks to Cheryl Weaver for that fourth part),
Kendahl

PS BUZZ youth, I am so proud of you for how well you are all dealing with this. Thank you for listening to Steve and checking in with him and with the website. You know I would love to be talking to each of you individually if I could, but I want to spend as much time with Dave as possible as well. I love you guys and can't wait to see you again. Keep praying! God is working to calm the storm, and your prayers are a huge part of that. Love you!

Dave Heckel Update #9

2008-06-09T11:18:00.000-04:00

11:18 AM: Wendy just called and said that Dave's heart rate is at 175 and his blood pressure is low. They believe he is in shock again and his pressure is fighting his heart and his heart is fighting the pressure. They can give him no more fluids because he is at his max and they can"t give him any meds. he has to fight this one on his own.

They still plan on doing surgery tomorrow... his colon was damaged and they need to make sure they removed it all. They also need to fix his diaphragm... it is intact but not where it should be. They believe if they fix it he will be able to breathe better.

More info as I get it.

Dave Heckel Update #8

2008-06-09T10:48:00.000-04:00

Just received this text: Dave's heart rate has increased and is running at a high rate again like yesterday they can't give him anything for this he has to fight this one himself. Pray for him! His first surgery is still scheduled for tomorrow.

Dave Heckel Update #7

2008-06-09T06:27:00.000-04:00

6:00 am Monday June 9th: Talked with Wendy just now who went in to see Dave. He made it through the night with no changes. So he is still holding steady. More late today.

Dave Heckel Update 6

2008-06-08T22:46:00.000-04:00

Just got off the phone with Wendy and it seems that Dave has stabilized. He is responding to the dialysis and will continue that until Tuesday when they will have to take him off to do surgery. They have concluded that he did NOT have a heart attack but his heart just went into cardiac arrest possibly due that his kidneys were failing. His liver that has a drain in it has stopped having blood come out and is now clear. So he is holding his own and we continue to prayer. Kendahl is being strong... yet stubborn (Kendal when you read this don;t be hat'n! Just go get some rest and EAT!! He's in God's hands girl! You know that...

Now for a great story. Apparently when Dave had his accident there were two EMS guys on their way to Florida for vacation at a nearby gas station and when they heard the screech of the tires responded immediately. They literally held him together until the ambulance and local paramedics arrived to the scene. They actually called today to see how he was doing and will stop by on Thursday to visit. Just thought I'd share this cools story. We pray that Dave makes it... because this would just be another way that God works in mysterious ways!

Go another story but ill save it for the next post... If things change durig the night I'll keep you posted.

Dave Heckel Update 5

2008-06-08T22:08:00.000-04:00

Kendahl's latest text to me was this: "Dave seems to be responding to the dialysis and has stabilized. His nurses are smiling and teasing me about how cute he is which shows how relaxed they are." Wendy, Cheryl and Sarah have arrived safely and are going to take the night shift. Wendy will be calling me later to let me know of any other news. if there is I will post it here. That's all I know right now... please keep praying! Just want to remind all of you to not call Kendahl... call me or text me and I will give you an update. Trying to keep this as updated as best I can.

Dave Heckel Update 4

2008-06-08T14:23:00.000-04:00

Kendahl has called me several times this morning and then again early this afternoon. Dave had a heart attack this morning and has recovered form it... even though it will leave damage to his heart. This afternoon call was that Dave is being out on dialysis because his kidneys are failing. I'll be honest... it does not look good for him, but keep praying. Wendy Holt, Cheryl Weaver and Sarah Yoder are on their way down to be with Kendahl and Daves family. Pray for their travel.

Dave Update 3

2008-06-07T22:20:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to get out an update while I have a few minutes. Before I say anything else, thank you all SO, SO, SO much for your prayers. You have no idea how much you are touching Dave, me and his family as you continute to remember us. I can feel the strength that you prayers bring, and I am sure that Dave can as well.

We just had a meeting with Dave's nighttime doctor. This doctor told us when we arrived in Knoxville at 4:00 this morning (Saturday) that he was only hoping Dave would last long enough for his parents to see him. This same doctor just told us that he is "almost hopeful," obviously a huge step for him in 18 hours. The nurses have reduced the rate that the ventilator is pumping oxygen into his lungs, meaning he is closer to being moved to a less serious ventilator. In the first two hours that he was here, Dave expelled five liters of blood from the wounds in his stomach. He has expelled less than that throughout the entire rest of the day. His right leg is in traction, the first of many proactive steps to start moving Dave toward recovery instead of simply moving him away from death. The steps seem so small, and yet there has almost been a collective sigh of relief breathed around his room in the ICU. He still has so far left to go, but the progress that he has made in less than 24 hours is nothing less than a miracle.

I cannot describe the emotions that I have experienced since I got the call about the accident at 11:00 last night. Since that time, I have tried to figure out what I can pray that reflects my heart but also my desire for God to work in this situation however He sees fit. All of my ramblings, my tears, my questions - they have all boiled down to a simple, three-phrase prayer that I cannot seem to stop myself from repeating over and over in my head - Your Spirit (here with us), Your will (be done, no matter what the cost), Your peace (covering us, in every outcome). Your Spirit, Your will, Your peace.

God is working. Dave is fighting. Please keep praying. I'll keep you posted as soon as I have more news. I love you all so much, and can't wait to share even more good news with you very soon.

Love from a Knoxville hospital room,
Kendahl

Dave Heckel Update 2

2008-06-07T18:56:00.001-04:00

Heard from Kendahl about 5:40 and they said that Dave continues to improve. So much so that they got to xray his whole body. Which is a good sign... Kendahl said the staff were just doing things to keep him alive but now that he is fighting and improving they are now treating him so that he continues to heal what is injured. Keep praying... the prayers are working! He is still not out of danger but improving a little at a time, pray that he continues to take steps forward and not backward.

Steve

Dave Heckel Update

2008-06-07T17:57:00.000-04:00

I'm sure many of you may know this already but I wanted to inform of what has happened to Dave (Kendahl's boyfriend). Last night (Friday June 6th) while driving to North Carolina with some friends he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a guard rail. He is currently in ICU in a Knoxville hospital and is in serious condition. At last update from Kendahl his vital signs continue to improve but he still has a long battle left and is not out of danger yet. This next 24 hours are critical and will tell how he does. The Sargents, Emily McCoy and Sarah Yoder are down there with him and her. We ask you to pray for a miracle for Dave that he can pull through this, pray for comfort for his mom, dad and Kendahl. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and for what they need to do for Dave. You can make comments to Kendahl here and I will let her know you guys are praying and giving her and Dave well wishes here. I know many of you love Kendahl but we ask that you refrain from callig or texting her at this time, she will feel your prayers. If you need someone to chat with call me, text me or email me or call one of our volunteers and they can update you.

Steve

2008-03-20T16:02:00.000-04:00

2008-01-24T23:58:00.000-05:00

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2007-11-17T07:51:00.000-05:00

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2007-11-08T20:03:00.000-05:00

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2007-10-17T23:45:00.000-04:00

Fall Series for High School Students

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

In case you have not realized it... OVERDRIVE Fall ‘07 is here! The series we've been going through is called: “Pursuit!” We don’t know where you're at on your journey with God… Maybe your on the journey but lack the discipline to find the life with God you desire. Maybe you are growing spiritually but you keep bumping into the same walls that seem to be in the dark. This new series will not only illuminate your journey, it will provide the tools you need to break into the space that God has created for you. Together we will learn how to develop disciplines and lifestyles that will deepen your spiritual life and gain meaning by pursuing the things that really matter.

THIS WEEK: PLUGGED: Find out how a community of teens can help you on your PURSUIT!

2007-09-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

UPCOMING THIS FALL
9/29 Middletown Pantry: 6th and 7th Grade—Guys and Girls
9/30 Session #4 Plugged: Connecting to a spiritual community (Communion)
10/7 Session #5 Open: Giving to God
10/13 Churchwide Baptism
10/14 Session #6 Time trial: Spending your time
10/21 Session #7 Game On: Living in the Power of the Spirit
10/21 Volunteer Staff Meeting
10/27 Middletown Pantry: 7th and 8th Grade—Guys and Girls
10/27 Trick or Feeting
10/28 Session #8 Header: How do you study that thing?
11/4 Session #9 Word: Applying God’s Word to My Life Meditating Memorizing
11/11 Church Wide Anniversary Celebration… NO OVERDRIVE!!
11/17 Volunteer Staff Meeting
11/17 Middletown Pantry: All Grades—Guys
11/18 Session #10 Decision Time: Serving God with My Life
12/7 –12/9 SoulFuel
12/15 Volunteer Staff Xmas Party
12/22 Middletown Pantry: All Grades—Girls

BUZZ Update for Sunday, September 23rd

2007-09-20T11:18:00.000-04:00

This Sunday morning at the BUZZ - now that we know a little bit more about talking to God, let's come up with some practical ways to bring prayer into our daily lives. Steve writes a reminder on the wall of his shower. Kendahl has the names of the most important people in her life (including all of you!) on lists on the inside of her Bible. Both of us use them as ways to remember to talk to God throughout the day. What's your reminder? How can you make a conversation with God a little more normal for you? Let's talk about it on Sunday morning during both services!

Then, at Overdrive - are you ready to get Dunked? Okay, so you may not actually get wet this week, but we will be talking about this thing they call baptism. Who knows? Maybe by the time we finish this week's Scratch, you'll decide that you want to be baptized at the Church-Wide Baptism Service on October 13th! See you Sunday night at 6:00!

BUZZ Website Challenge for Sunday, September 23rd

2007-09-20T10:59:00.000-04:00

Remember the aliens trying to communicate with the telephone? Sometimes, we really do look like that when we are trying to talk to God. What do I say and how do I say it? It can be so hard! This week, we need some verses to help us SCRATCH even deeper through the surface of prayer. So, for every verse in which someone is praying - actually communicating with God - that you email me or bring to the BUZZ on Sunday, your team will get 100,000 points! We have all new teams and an all new chance to win an amazing prize at the end of the Fall! And don't forget about the other ways to earn points! The values have changed, but the rules are the same!

Showing up for the BUZZ or Overdrive - 25,000
Bringing your Bible - 25,000
Bringing a friend - 25,000
Bringing 3 cans for the Food Pantry - 25,000
Giving a dollar for offering - 10,000
Random points for recreation
Random points for wearing your team color (you'll find our your colors this Sunday)
Random points for the website challenge

And BRAND NEW - 200,000 points for every verse you memorize that has to do with the topic of the week! That means if you memorize the praying verses this week, you get 100,000 points for finding each one PLUS 200,000 points for memorizing it!

SCRATCH

2007-09-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hey all! This Fall at the BUZZ, we are starting a whole new series called SCRATCH! Are you ready to go beyond the surface of your faith? For the next few months, we are pushing you to go deeper, to scratch through the surface of Christianity to figure out why - and how - we do this thing called church. Ever confused about why people raise their hands when they sing? Afraid to pray but you don't know what to say? Think that it might be cool to get baptized but not really sure what it means? We've watched you let church become a part of your life - not get ready to let Christ get under your skin! Listed below are the topics we will cover.

September 9th - Adore (Worshipping God)
September 16h - Converse (Communicating with God)
September 23rd - Dunk (Being Baptized)
September 30th - Connect (Communing with God & Others)
October 7th - Give (Using Your Money)
October 14th - Spend (Spending Your Time)
October 21st - Breathe (Living in the Power of the Spirit)
October 28th - Study (Understanding the Bible)
November 4th - Apply (Applying God's Word)
November 11th - Focus (Meditating & Memorizing)
November 18th - Serve (Serving God & Serving Others)

Sunday nights, on the dates listed above, we'll be starting a discussion of the topic in large group and small groups. Then, the following Sunday morning, we'll scratch even deeper in our small groups during both services. And, to get even farther below the surface, we have some amazing events planned over the next few months! Be sure to pick up a program at the youth booth!

2007-09-07T08:30:00.000-04:00

OVERDRIVE Fall ‘07 is here! The series this fall for High School will be called: “Pursuit!” We don’t know where you are at on your journey with God… Maybe your on the journey but lack the discipline to find the life with God you desire. Or. Maybe you are growing spiritually but you keep bumping into the same walls that seem to be in the dark. This new series will not only illuminate your journey, it will provide the tools you need to break into the space that God has created for you. Together we will learn how to develop disciplines and lifestyles that will deepen your spiritual life and gain meaning by pursuing the things that really matter. Below is a look at each of the topics in the series...

9/9 Session #1 Tapped: Worshipping God
9/16 Session #2 Converse: Communicating with God
9/23 Session #3 Dunk: Baptism
9/30 Session #4 Plugged: Connecting to a spiritual community (Communion)
10/7 Session #5 Open: Giving to God
10/14 Session #6 Time trial: Spending your time
10/21 Session #7 Game On: Living in the Power of the Spirit
10/28 Session #8 Header: How do you study that thing?
11/4 Session #9 Word: Applying God’s Word to My Life
11/11 Session #10 Fill Up: Meditating and Memorizing
11/18 Session #11 Decision Time: Serving God with My Life

BUZZ Weekly Website Challenge for Sunday, August 26th

2007-08-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

Are you ready for the Battle? The Battle of the Sexes, that is. This week, we are talking about guys and girls - the things that we don't understand and why differences exist. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring in as many serious questions about the opposite sex as you can think of to submit to our panel of "experts." 100,000 points for every question you bring! See you Sunday morning!

BUZZ Weekly Website Challenge for Sunday, August 12th

2007-08-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

This week at the BUZZ, we're talking about gifts! So your Challenge: For every present you bring Kendahl...okay, I'm teasing. :) This Sunday, bring in a Bible passage about spiritual gifts (everyone who was on the retreat has a slight advantage) and get 200,000 points for your team for every passage (not verse) that you find...

Overdrive Update - 8.9.07

2007-08-09T10:33:00.000-04:00

6th - 8th Grade: After two weeks off, the BUZZ is back! This week, we're talking gifts. Not Christmas gifts or birthday gifts but SPIRITUAL GIFTS. What are yours? And what are you supposed to do with them? Come find out this Sunday at 9:30 and 11:00!

ALL Youth: Our last Overdrive of the summer is tonight at 6:00! Come finish out the summer with a bang! Then we're off for a few weeks until our FALL KICKOFF on September 9th! More information coming soon, but start talking to your friends now - 100 youth through the door that night means Kendahl will do something that she swore she never would!

Also, don't forget about the water skiing trip to Brookville Lake this Wednesday! Sign up with Steve or Kendahl and meet us in the WellSpring parking lot this Wednesday at 9:30. Be praying for sunshine!

Weekly Website Challenge - 7.25.07

2007-07-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

This week's Challenge is a little sticky! The Food Pantry is running low on protein, and we want to help them out. Want to know a great source of protein? Your favorite and mine - PEANUT BUTTER! This week and next, earn 200,000 points for every jar of peanut butter that you bring. No BUZZ this week, so drop them off at the youth booth and be sure to let Kendahl know it came from you so your team gets points!

Upcoming Events

2007-07-23T19:51:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to be praying this week for the 10 youth and 4 adults who went on the high school Mission Trip to Camp Tapawingo in Tennessee!

This Thursday, July 26th, we're headed out to the ballgame! For everyone going to the Reds game, meet at the church at 11:30 a.m. - make sure to bring the $7 for your ticket as well as some extra money for peanuts and cracker jacks...or whatever you feel like eating. :) One car will be back in the WellSpring parking lot by 5:00 p.m. - everyone else will be back when the game is over. We may have an extra ticket or two, so call Kendahl if you are interested!

Then, this Saturday, July 28th, the BUZZ is headed back to the Middletown Food Pantry! Meet at the church at 8:00 a.m. with closed toed shoes and money for lunch. We'll be back in the parking lot by 1:00 p.m.

Next weekend, August 3rd to August 5th, the middle schoolers are headed to King's Domain for our annual Missions Retreat! Lots of work, a little blood...and yes, there will be messy games. From noon on Friday to noon on Sunday, we'll be learning about serving, sacrifice and slime of some sort (it wouldn't be a BUZZ event if we didn't find some way to get dirty!). If you haven't signed up but are still interested in coming, we may be able to fit you in if you let us know this week!

August 8th, junior high and high school are both headed to the Drive Ins! Movies will be announced soon...

On Sunday, August 12th, we'll have our last Overdrive of the summer before our big Fall Kick-Off in September!

And finally...for anyone who didn't hear, our Water Ski Trip this past week was replaced by the First (But Hopefully Not Annual) "It's Raining So We Can't Go Water Skiing" Picnic. We had a blast stealing bacon, making mayo and mustard sandwiches and "eating" Cheetos and peanut butter. AND...we still get to go water skiing too! The trip has been rescheduled for Wednesday, August 15th! More details later, but put it on your calendars!

Weekly Website Challenge - 7.16.07

2007-07-18T17:46:00.000-04:00

So do you think you can do it? Stump your small group leader, that is. This week's TUFF KWESCHUNS are for the adults, provided by you! This Sunday, come with your best kweschun about life, love and other mysteries, or whatever happens to be on your mind, and earn 100,000 points for your team. If you can stump us with a SERIOUS kweschun (which may not be very hard), you'll get extra points too! The competition is getting more and more intense, and so are the kweschuns. See you Sunday!

OVERDRIVE STUDENT E-ZINE #298

2007-07-16T12:28:00.000-04:00

July 16, 2007

Contents
1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Parting Shot

===========our|sponsor===========

LEARN HOW TO SHARE YOUR FAITH
Conversations with Jesus is a 60-day devotional that consists of daily letters from Jesus. You'll learn how to connect your story to God's story through the daily readings and journaling opportunities—you will also discover how to really abide in Christ.

http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/273462

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

=================================

1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

Topic:
Jesus doesn't just love you—he actually likes you!

Main Scripture:
"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV)

Other Scriptures:
John 15:13-16; Romans 8:31-39

What Jesus Might Say to You:
Let me ask you this: What do you think my reaction is when I hear your name? What is the expression on my face? Is it a look of disappointment? Am I rolling my eyes? Am I shaking my head? Am I thinking, "What a pain that one is!"?

How do I really feel about you? You may be thinking, "Obviously he loves me; it's his job to love me, but I would bet he's not very thrilled with me much of the time." You may be thinking this because you often feel that way about others. You probably love quite a few people in your own life because you feel like you should. But you don't necessarily like them all the time.

As hard as it may be to believe...I actually like you. It's true. When I hear your name, I get excited...so excited that my heart leaps, and I sing songs about you. Crazy, right? Well, it's true.

When I look at you, I feel blessed. Not only that, but there's nothing you could ever do to make me love you or like you any less. Nothing. No matter where you've been, no matter what you've done, no matter what you're going to do...my opinion of you will not change.

So the next time you imagine my reaction upon hearing your name...know that there's a giant smile on my face, a song on my lips, and joy in my heart. I like you...a lot!

Love,
Jesus

Summary Challenge:
Jesus thinks you're amazing; you can't do anything to change that!

Take some time to journal about this truth.

**

Taken from "Conversations with Jesus" by Youth For Christ, copyright 2006, Zondervan/Youth Specialties. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/273462

2. SURF REPORT

~ Youth Stories, Youth for Christ/USA
http://www.yfc.net/Brix?pageID=21110

~ Internet Evangelism Day
http://ied.gospelcom.net

3. FORGETTABLE FACT

The king of hearts is the only king without a moustache on a standard playing card

4. POTENT QUOTABLES

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
- Matthew 10: 29-31

"God cares about the big things and the little things in our lives. No matter what."
- John Hull

5. PARTING SHOT

A day without sunshine is like.. well, night.

*All "surf report" internet links and "potent quotables" are provided for informational purposes, and do not imply endorsement by Youth Specialties.

copyright 2007 :: Youth Specialties
300 S. Pierce St. // El Cajon, CA 92020
888.346.4179

Weekly Website Challenge - 7.9.07

2007-07-10T17:36:00.000-04:00

Are you ready for this week's Challenge? Anybody who was at the BUZZ this past Sunday morning has already heard it. Because our KWESCHUN involves money, this Sunday, get 25,000 points for your team for every dollar of offering that you bring in. Not only that, but you can also get 50,000 points for every Bible verse you find that has to do with money PLUS an extra 100,000 points for any verse about money that you memorize! Tons of point to be had - don't miss out!

Deadlines are Approaching

2007-07-03T08:49:00.000-04:00

Sunday July 8th is the deadline for signing up for the following summer events:

Middle School Summer Retreat (August 3-5) Our middle school Mission Retreat was such a success in 2006 that we are taking it to a whole new level! From noon on Friday until noon on Sunday, we will be working our tails off with a lot of sweat and a little blood (we'll provide the Band Aids) as we put into practice what true service looks like! Don't worry - there will still be time for fun at King's Domain, including swimming, a campfire, messy games (Cheetos and PB?) and maybe even some of Pat's Famous Cobbler! $100 for the whole weekend.

Water Ski Trip (July 18) An awesome day of sand and ski! We’ll be going to Brookville Lake in Indiana about 45 minutes from Cincy. We’ll be hanging out at the beach all day, swimming, playing volleyball, eating, hanging out. Throughout the day, you can jump on one of the 3 boats we will have available for skiing and tubing! Cost: $5

Red’s game (July 26) There ain't nothin' like the view from the cheap seats! So for only $7, you can join us for a trip to Great American Ballpark as we watch the Reds take on the Milwaukee Brewers! All Overdrive youth are welcome (including high schoolers who are not going to Tennessee). Meet in the Wellspring parking lot at 11:30 a.m. We'll be back when the game ends.

Almost Happy July 4th Update!

2007-06-29T15:18:00.000-04:00

THIS WEEKEND

Saturday @ 8:00
This Saturday, we are headed back to the Food Pantry. Meet in the WellSpring parking lot at 8:00 a.m. with closed toed shoes and money for lunch. We'll be back by 1:00! Please email Steve at sholt@wellspringonline.com if you can make it.
Sunday @ 11:00 a.m.
BUZZ: This week's KWESCHUN - is it possible to do a selfless good deed? Some people say that Christians should only serve others because it is the right thing to do, not because of the feeling or the benefit that we might get out of serving. Is this true? Does the reason behind our service matter, or is the act itself (and not the motivation behind it) what is really important? Talk about TUFF! Let's discuss at 9:30 and 11:00.
OVERDRIVE: This Sunday, is our first official Overdrive of the summer! 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the church - you won't want to miss it! It’s bigger and baderer than ever! Ok… So “baderer” is not a word but it’s still gonna be baderer than ever! Come find out how much a penny is worth in our community and join our discussion about Linkin Park’s New Video: What I’ve Done! Nope… there is no turning back this month! IT WILL HAPPEN!

Next BIG event

SPIRIT SONG : Come by the youth info booth and sign up for one or all the days of this music festival! Thursday: Kutless, Barlow Girl, Jeremy Camp, Friday: Thousand Foot Krutch, Hawk Nelson, David Crowder, Newsboys Saturday: Stellar Kart, Falling Up, Disciple, Toby Mac, Building 429, Casting Crowns. Buy a day ticket for $45 or a 3-day ticket for $75. If you have a season pass, your cost is $30 for a day or $50 for 3 days. Tickets include entrance into entire park and concert. You pick the day, show up, and we will have volunteers there to meet you. In order to get tickets the deadline is this Sunday!

Summer Opportunities

High School Students: Throughout out the Summer Steve will be giving you a call to hang out, so be looking for a call or text message! Next Thursday we will be meeting at the church to start to pimp the van out… ok at least to clean it out and add a new stereo system!
High Schools Guys: Steve Proctor is working with an organization in downtown Cincy called Courage to Change homes. This is a home for young woman that gives them a second chance in life. The yards where they live are really a mess and need a lot of work to help clean them up. Steve and Tony Wilkins are going every Saturday for the next 3 to 4 weeks. If you’d like to go and help contact Steve Proctor

Website Challenge for July 1st

2007-06-24T18:08:00.000-04:00

Hey BUZZ!

Every month (including this coming Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.), we head to the Food Pantry to serve. But service isn't something that should only happen once a month! This week, earn 200,000 points for your team by doing someting to serve someone in your family. Offer to load the dishwasher for your parents. Clean your sister's room. Play soccer with your little brother. Anything that requires some of your time and energy to benefit someone you love. Be prepared with your stories on Sunday morning!

Website Challenge

2007-06-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

Hey BUZZ!

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our trip to the Food Pantry for this Saturday, but we will be going again in just two weeks, on June 30th! This week, for every empty and clean water bottle you bring to the BUZZ on Sunday, your team will receive 10,000 points. The Food Pantry fills the water bottles with laundry detergent, shampoo and other items to distribute to the shoppers. The more we bring in, the more shoppers they can reach!

Make sure to show your bottles to Steve or one of the volunteers when you arrive on Sunday so they can mark down your points!