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Here are some interviews of girls that have been impacted through the ministry of Youth Dynamics in the small town of Arlington, WA.

In interviewed some of our students about their experiences with our ministry here at Arlington Youth Dynamics.  Here’s the video I put together for our banquet. Youtube dropped a bit of the quality, but you’ll get the idea…

I’m off for Big Shindig weekend on a spiritual retreat. This is something that’s direly needed. So I’m driving with a van full of folks.  I’m taking my Bible, an Erwin McManus book, and a tired soul. I’m excited to get out of town and spend some time with the Lord.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
-John Lubbock

It’s done.

The 2008 Arlington Youth Dynamics banquet is done.

Last night was such a good time for fellowship and exposing this ministry to the community. We had over 180 folks show up! The preliminary totals are in and we’re just under $25,000. Praise God! We should also see more come in the next week or so. Many folks were going to pray about what to give – so keep praying for open and giving hearts!

Thanks for your prayers!

[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWUioqbh1Eg]

There’s many that read my blog, but don’t really know much about the ministry I work for (or what exactly I do).

I work for a ministry based out of the Northwest called Youth Dynamics (or YD). I serve as director over the Arlington (Washington) community. It is our vision to see Northwest youth transformed by the power of Christ, integrated into the local church and impacting their world for Him. We are about reaching today’s youth through dynamic relationships and challenging experiences.

Simply put: we journey with kids and to show them the love of Christ.

For more about Youth Dynamics visit our website www.yd.org

Any question? Feel free to email me : sdelony@yd.org

[Continued from 1.3]

After the sleepless night we really needed something good to go our ways. It was a fresh day and we were miles down the trail. To keep moving past the mosquito haven, we ate breakfast on the trail. It was a quiet hike. Most were either sleepy, tired or itchy. But before we knew it (after about 2 hours of hiking) we dropped down into Merritt Lake. It was sweet relief. The shoes came off and we all waded around in the lake.

Half of us found shady spots and took naps, the rest vegged with their feet in the lake. Soon we were (those of us who were sleeping) awoken by the sound of visitors. Our guide had called for back up. Some of our adventure staff guides (YD Adventures) hiked in a different trail to bring us needed supplies. The calvary had arrived bearing tents and more. The tents were so we’d have relief when we slept. They also came bearing ice cream. I’ve never experienced eating ice cream in the backcountry, but it is truly amazing. We all broke out our spoons passed around the cartons of strawberry and mint. It was straight up majesty.

We slept well that night. [to be continued...]

[continued from 1.2] So we made it past the first hurdle. Then we hiked on to our destination point. We were all relieved that we were done for the day. To pack light, we weren’t using any tents. We were just camping under tarps. Camp was set up and then dinner was prepped. We all ate at a pretty sweet view point watching the sun go down. Everything was perfect.

Then we got back to camp. The sun went down and the mosquitoes came out. And these weren’t normal skeeters, you could saddle these bad boys. So quickly, everyone got ready for bed, put on bug nets and then got in the sleeping bags. We were safe or so we thought.

I soon learned that mosquito nets only work if they’re a few inches in front of your face. When you lay down, the net lays next to your face and they bite you through it. We also learned that the sound of them swarming around your ears can keep you up all night. To make matters worse, it was a hot night. So we had either two options. Roast in your sleeping bag and get bit lets or venture out of the bag and get bit more. We all opted for a combination of the two. It was a sleepless night.

In the morning, I realized that I had been feasted up and one of my eyes was about swollen shut. Another boy had (and he counted) over 200 bites from his wrists down on both hands. So needless to say, once the sun came up we were packed and running down the trail. And yes, I mean literally running down the trail trying to shake off mosquitoes… [to be continued]