Looks like I need to catch up. Four weeks ago I was able to take two of my students out to lunch that I don't get to spend much time with. They are an odd pair of students (just like me), but they are really good kids and I am really glad that they have become part of the youth group. We went and ate pizza for lunch and just talked about life. About their school starting up, new games that they had been playing on their XBOX, and about how they love pizza and could eat it every day for lunch with ease.
The funny thing was that we all ordered two slices of New York style pizza and could not finish the second... It was a great opportunity for me to connect with them and engage in conversation that rarely happens within our Converge setting. And this is why I love my "liveon25" project and the $25 that is given to me to hang out with students, because otherwise I wouldn't have AS MANY opportunities to connect that I currently do. These students need that extra connection point with someone in ministry because otherwise, and this is my fear, they will get mixed up in the world of their classrooms and students just like many other Ashburn students have been. Falling victim to the suffocation of the "no-Jesus" policy of schools and environments outside of youth group and home is why I have a job - to help prevent that. So, two thumbs up for "the man" for providing me the opportunity to do this.

 Three weeks ago, thirteen students and four sponsors embarked on a trip that was like no other, called the Great Escape. I will communicate more about this trip in a later post, but for know i Just wanted you to know that this was an awesome trip! We had a blast and really connected as a youth group. Unite. Unite students in God's Love. That was what we were doing out in the middle of Nowhere, PA. Since I was out of town that week, I wasn't able to spend my $25 until the following week. At the last Futon before school (which is my high school students hang out time) we all went out to Logan's roadhouse - spending my entire $50 for two weeks - and celebrated the fact that the youth group was grounded finally. That the youth group had finally become Converge Students. That what I traded jobs to do was finally becoming a success (that is, I was finally seeing some of the seeds I had planted come to fruition). And this confirmation of our identity was truly a confirmation for me. A confirmation that God blesses those that serve Him. A confirmation that this is where I belong. Just like it says in Joshua 1:5, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.", I know that God is on my side for the long haul and that He is taking care of our group of students. Thanks again for the $25 opportunities and thanks to God for the awesome conversations and relationships made this summer at Converge Students. More soon. Later!

-That Guy