Hey Mariners MV!

As of today, we are four days away from taking almost 300 high school students to Williams, AZ for an incredible week of summer camp! Hallelujah! If you have ever been to summer camp or if you have students who have gone, you’ve been able to experience or witness the awesome amount of transformation that takes place over those five days.

I know from my own story – I was raised in a Christian family, going to church every week, and attending a Christian school, but it was at my church’s summer camp going into my freshman year of high school where I got to truly experience Jesus’ transformational power in my life. I remember coming home after that week and being so overwhelmed with my freedom in Him, that I got on my knees and prayed a prayer of recommitting my life to His Kingdom and making my faith my own. It was shortly after that, that I decided to be baptized. Although my life was far from perfect after that point, it continues to be an important milestone in my story that impacts me today.

Whether you have a student joining us next week, or you are simply an excited member of our church family who wants to be a part of God’s work in these 300 students’ lives, I want to invite you to again join us in praying for HUGE things to happen next week.

Here are some specific things you can pray for:
-For students to hear what God is saying to them individually.
-For students to take what they hear/experience and to continue to be transformed by Jesus even after coming home.
-For leaders to feel refreshed/rested, and to have a supernatural sense of energy and ability to keep up with students.
-For healthy friendships to be developed that will continue beyond camp.
-That memories will be made, fun will be had, and that it will all point students to Jesus.
-Also, pray through John 17:20-24, specifically highlighting the students who will be at camp

We are excited and expectant of the great things that are about to take place. We can’t wait to come back and share stories with you; thank you for joining us in prayer. It is so great getting to do ministry together as a church family!

Shalom,
Jordan Maslyn
High School Pastor, Mariners MV

Join us for a time of rest, reflection and worship in a quiet setting. Through a guided experience, you will have space to listen to God’s voice and prepare yourself for the coming calendar year.

Find out more and register.

September 19-21
Prince of Peace Abbey, Oceanside
$170, includes all accommodations and six meals

Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders! – PSALM 98:1 [MSG]

This week, my family and I made our annual pilgrimage to Texas to visit Amanda’s family.

A visit to Texas in the summer means I learn to endure humidity. While the outside temperature would read: 93º, the “feels like” temperature, according to the local news, would be no less than 114º.

In Texas, I swat bugs of all sizes – some so large they threaten to carry away young children, others so small they’re referred to as “no-see-ums” (biting insects so tiny that they can’t be seen). Consequently, any little skin prickle or blade of grass that brushes against me, I have learned to attack with an angry paranoia.

Each year, I discover new ways “y’all” can be effectively utilized. I am reminded of oft-forgotten phrase of younger Texans: “Man, that’s awesome!” If anything is worthy of admiration or awe, it receives this highest accolade, as in: “See ‘at truck? The four-by-four with the gun rack? Man, that’s awesome!”

I eat from two major food groups: barbecue (that’s a type of food, not a tool used to prepare food) and not-barbecue. I am presently still paying the price for indulging in the former.

Texas is also a chance to change the scenery (not just the humidity). It gives my kids something new to talk about. This year, my father-in-law and I installed a zip line over the backyard pool.Man, that’s awesome!Last night, at dinner, I asked my kids about their favorite memory of being in Texas. Across the board, in completely unanimity, the answer was: the zip line.I can’t tell you how much joy that gave me. In all honesty, I did install the zip line in hopes that it would also sustain my weight. It didn’t. Not at all. After leaving the platform, with dreams of skimming over the water in a display of that he’s-still-got-it-athleticism, the wire sagged pitifully, and my legs flopped unceremoniously into the pool amid a torrent of laughter from my kids. Nevertheless, watching them enjoy what I worked to create made my trip.

I think the Bible paints a similar picture of God observing us – enjoying what has been thoroughly planned and meticulously designed. It gives God glory when we enjoy what He has created. We get to house-sit in God’s house. Every once in a while, and in spite of all the complaining about what I feel like I deserve (or don’t), perhaps I might take a page out of the young Texan’s handbook and say in simple gratitude to God, in view of the world He made: “Man, that’s awesome.”

I’m looking forward to being back at MV this Sunday. We’ll touch on a subject with which everyone, regardless of their familiarity with Jesus, can connect. Bring people you’ve been thinking about and praying for.

See you Sunday,

Jeff