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Following up on Kurt’s 5 Super Cheap Summer Ideas, I figured I would share the little bit of ingenuity we have come up with this summer @ Gayton.

Starting after school gets out, we will roll out $10 Tuesdays with our middle schoolers. Mondays are when our middle school Bible studies (guys and girls) will be meeting; Wednesdays are swim meet days; Thursdays are, well, Thursdays; and Fridays are almost the weekend. So Tuesdays won.

What are $10 Tuesdays? A great time to hang out with the middle schoolers: sometimes a meal, sometimes a game, sometimes a mission project. Always fun and never more than $10.

I’m excited!

June 1 brought a new day, an exciting day. It was the first permanent step toward Gayton Youth Ministry 2.0, an effort to broaden the reach of youth ministry @ GBC. I’m not “interim” anymore, and I’m not the only youth pastor on staff anymore. John Mark (check him out on the blogroll: jm skammer) is now on staff as Associate Pastor of Students with the 8th-12th graders, and I get to focus on 6th-7th graders.

Over the coming months, we’ll be implementing Gayton Youth 2.0, a move toward an intentionally relational ministry with youth. We’ll start a small group ministry in the fall and move through this new model of youth ministry at Gayton. As we work on this, I’ll blog about the highs, the lows, the trials and the tribulations. JM talked to someone who said this relational-style ministry is rare, if not non-existent. Whether it is or not, it is certainly not prevalent in our friends’ churches, so our hope is to share what we learn along the way.

In June 2003, I spent a week with a youth construction mission camp in Bristol, VA, working to provide safer, dryer, warmer housing for homeowners in Southwest Virginia. Two different crews combined efforts on this home, with the labor of two crew chiefs (construction leaders) and at least 25 teenagers.

The location was picturesque: the road followed along the creek, and the driveway of the house stopped at the creek. To get to the front door, you had to cross the creek on the footbridge. If memory serves me correctly, this story was told in the Religious Herald in the fall of 2003, with this picture.

The house needed a lot of work: a new roof, a fresh paint job, and more than that large crew could possibly have done in a week. They labored with love and tried to take care of that family as best they could.

I rarely travel that stretch of I-81 into Southwest Virginia, but when I have, Exit 22 (Enterprise Road) has called my name. I worked for that camp for 4 years, and have slowly forgotten the locations of many worksites throughout Virginia. But this one I have never forgotten.

A few weeks ago, Kim and I were driving down I-81 on a weekend getaway. As we approached Enterprise Road, I asked if she was up for a short detour, and we pulled off Exit 22. As I drove down the street, my mind doubted, “Do I really remember this?” When we got to the end of the street and turned around, having passed where I thought the house had stood, I doubted even more, and we headed back to the Interstate.

But as we rounded the bend, I slowed down at where I thought the house would have been, and my heart sank. The creek still flowed and the bridge still stood, but the only thing left of the house was the chimney.

What happened the house? Where is the family living now? How long has it been since this occurred? All of these questions go unanswered. Even without the house, I’ll still remember Exit 22: Enterprise Road.

Google Maps leads me to believe it has been a few years, but you never know how long it’s been since they updated their satelitte images.

My ultimate goal is to hang this picture on the wall of my office, but since I’m moving offices before the end of the summer, I’ll “hang” it here instead. Camden Yards is one of the greatest places to watch baseball in America (my humble opinion), and without baseball in Richmond this season, I am excited to see the young Birds play a couple times this season. I took this a few weeks back, when they beat the Rays. Next up: Braves vs. O’s for 2 games next weekend!

Our pastor, Phil, is currently in the middle of the Jesus Ultimatum series. It’s a 42-week series (I know, 42 sounds like a long time. I forget to exact number, but it is greater than 40 and less than 52. 42 sounded good for today. The exact number is largely irrelevant, except to Phil’s sermon preparation). Every week or two, we move from one sub-theme to the next, and each sub-theme has its own piece of artwork, commissioned and created within the church. Each piece of displayed at the front of the Worship Center through a portion of the series, and becomes the focal point for a week or two.

At some point within the past few weeks, somewhere around Palm Sunday and Easter, the sub-theme was “sacrifice.” [due to an unfortunate oversight, we missed the artwork during these few weeks. My ignorance is due to this oversight, not my lack of interest or attention to the sermons]. When I volunteered to participate in this art experience, this was my word. Thus, my piece of artwork:

Although it was not highlighted during the series, it was included in the art gallery during the 20th Anniversary Celebration last weekend. I’ve never had work in a gallery before!

Warren had called and texted his realtor counterpart at the third house, but never received a response. He tried again, and after a few minutes the realtor called back: he had spoken with the homeowner and we were cleared for a visit.

We pulled into the driveway, and headed for the front door. Warren pulled out the fascinating gadget that lets realtors into any house they want, and then knocked on the door as he put the key in the lock. Just as he opened the door, the homeowner walked to the door. Weird.

Apparently realtor friend had informed the wrong homeowner. Or he just said he had told the homeowner. We gave her ten minutes and she took Skipper for a walk (her dog. Name changed to protect the innocent).

Right inside the front door was a very large fish tank. The house was warm, musty and messy. Not a good start for Kim!

We traipsed through the downstairs, and I peeked in the garage. I thought it was strange that a light was on, and then I noticed it was an animal cage. I took the few steps down into the garage and rounded the corner of the cage to see its inhabitants: two iguanas. Honestly, I was expecting frogs or turtles.

We finished the rest of the house, looking through room after room piled high with stuff. Rule #1 when you’re selling a house: clean it up! And take your pet iguanas to the iguana sitter.

We finished off the day with one more visit. As we pulled away, Warren told us that many people will see 20 houses before they find one they like. We have to see 16 more?

Day one, complete. It’s serious now, though. No more funny business: we’re here to buy a house, not run into the West End crazies. Be back soon…