Harlan and I were talking a few days ago and we were trying to figure out how to get more people involved. Then we got onto the track of a project that I took over on Mission Trip:

 On Tuesday, we went to a church that needed help picking up the city of Rockford, Illinois and our group went behind the church to fill a huge pothole. It wasn't just a normal pothole; this was at least a seven foot by seven foot pothole and about two feet deep. (Harlan told me later that including him and the other sponsors...) Everyone was moaning and complaining about 'how hot it was' or that 'this is never going to work' and 'we're never going to fill this pothole'. But I just had a feeling that this was going to work and that we will fill this pothole. I had faith in this. I took the shovel and started scooping up gravel and throwing it into the wheelbarrows (while others were lazily throwing rocks into the hole). I took the wheelbarrows to the pothole and started dumping them in. It slowly started to fill up but I couldn't do this by myself. I somehow recruited people to help me scoop and dump, scoop and dump until we could walk all over the pothole without falling in. At the end of the day I realized that I felt wonderful to have taken lead and gotten involved in something important that now won't pop peoples tires.

Now, are you going to moan about the pothole, or are you going to get involved? There are many opportunities in the youth ministry that any of you can get into and I suggest you do because it's fun and you feel great after you have done something.

 :)