Fail

Today I leaned back too far in my chair and fell. I'm so glad Sam was here to capture the moment.

Improvements!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, Jay and I went down to Peabody to look at the bathrooms and how everything's coming along getting together for the Spring! We are tearing out the existing bathrooms and adding a new bathroom "wing" to Peabody. Most of you probably know that but for you that don't know... well that's what's up.

It's so cool to be on the mountain while we are making all of these additions to expand the ministry that happens on the mountain. We have already marked out where a new girls' cabin will be and have started deconstruction on the back porch of Friends to build a new and improved back porch for the AIM programs.

After this past weekend, talking to a bunch of new people and getting the word out about Mountain TOP and our many different ministries it is nice to be a part of the ever-expanding ministry of our Lord.

Speaking of this weekend, I know you all want to see the video of Sam doing a cart-wheel at Warmth in Winter. Just so you all know... She wins, and I can accept that.

Warmth In Winter 2011

This past weekend Sam and I went to a youth conference put on by the Tennessee Conference called Warmth in Winter. We set up a table and told people all about Mountain T.O.P. It was a great weekend! We saw many people that we already know and we met some people that have been to MTOP in the past and some that have never even heard of us before.

While at WNW we were able to go to two worship sessions. The music was led by Pocket Full of Rocks. The main speaker was Marko Oestreicher. The first worship session of the weekend Marko asked the youth at the event to invite Jesus into their hearts.
I've been to a few of these kinds of events before and have heard that whole thing so nothing new. Then, he told them to do it for the weekend. He said now is not the time to commit for your life, right now it's just for this weekend, while you're here at Warmth in Winter. That was something very new that I have never heard before. It reminded me of how we need to invite Jesus in more often. Yes most of us have a time when we made a conscious decision to follow Christ.

What we seem to forget sometimes is that we need to take it a step at a time. That was one of the things that I took away from the weekend. So many times we seem to get ahead of ourselves and even God that we just need to relax, focus on what He has called us to at this moment and when it's time for something else He'll let us know.

It was also really cool to be able to be around so many youth for the weekend. It was great to be able to be in a room with almost 2,000 youth all joined together worshiping the Lord. Seeing the way that they interacted with each other and the way they show Christ's love to one another was a very good thing to see. I was reminded of one of the main objectives that we have here at MTOP. It's to help instill leadership skills and discipleship in youth.

Being around so many young people brought out the child in me and Sam (like that's really hard to do...) But we joined in the fun and even did some tricks in the hallway. Hope y'all enjoy the video!

SUMMER STAFF INTERVIEWS!!!

This weekend starts the month long (and sometimes longer) process of interviewing all of the applicants that have applied for MTOP's 2011 Summer Staff. So far six people have been interviewed. So that leaves 37 to go.

Please be in prayer for these individuals as they undergo the interview process. And also for the full-time support staff as we begin making decisions about our 2011 Summer Staff.

2011 Calendar from Whippany Presbyterian Church

This week the staff at Mountain T.O.P. received a gift from the Whippany Presbyterian Church. The Whippany Mission Team made a calendar of their time at Mountain T.O.P. during the 2010 summer. It's a blessing to see all of these pictures in a calendar. Every month has a different theme. February has the campfire and pictures of the skits that the Whippany Mission Team performed. May is about the community that was formed during the week. July is the month of adventures and their trip from New Jersey to Tennessee. August is all about construction and the work (and fun) done by the YRGs. November is titled "Holy Time Out" and has pictures of their youth spending alone time with God.



Thank you Whippany Mission Team for the calendar. It hangs proudly in our office!

Resurrection 2011

No, the resurrection didn't happen in 2011... well, I guess technically we die to ourselves and are given new life daily, right? ...

Resurrection 2011 is a Holston Conference Youth Event for youth groups and their leaders.  These Youth gather in Gatlinburg, TN for a weekend of spiritual renewal full of speakers, music and exhibitors like Mountain T.O.P.

I left Friday to spend the weekend promoting Mountain T.O.P. and on Saturday morning they made the mistake of giving me a microphone ... see the Holston Conference collects money for their Youth Service Fund and then gives that money through grants to organizations in and out of their conference.  (Mountain T.O.P. is affiliated with the Tennessee Conference on the United Methodist Church.)  They asked us to share with everyone about how the grant money was used in 2010, which was primarily used in Day Camp for backpacks and transportation.  It was a big stage with lots of lights and IT WAS AWESOME!!!  I  got to tell everyone about who we are and what we do!  I started by throwing out t-shirts and water bottles!!  Seriously, you would have thought I was throwing out one hundred dollar bills.. kids go crazy over this stuff!  With all the screaming, I figured we should keep screaming, so I asked kids to yell if they a) loved summer camp, b) loved helping others, and c) loved God.  Then I went on to say that we're God-loving, crazy campers who love to help people!  As a recruiter, it was a glorious moment.  Thousands, and I mean THOUSANDS of people heard about camp and all the things we're doing in Appalachia (7,300 total!).  As a result, I talked to multiple people about Mountain T.O.P. ... they gave me a spot on the first floor right next to the Resurrection t-shirt booth (YESSS!), so I was in a huge traffic area and it was FANTASTIC!!  I played music and showed a slide show on my laptop and passed out tons of brochures! This is by far the best year we've had at Resurrection (we've been going for 3 years now) and I am so excited that people are learning about the ministry!!!

There were also a few people I met that already knew all about Mountain T.O.P.!! Becky and Herb Piercy came to Mountain T.O.P. for 10 years in the 80's.  They told me that between all the members in their family, they have over 50 fishhooks!!!  Every day they shared stories from their camp weeks with me.. like how they got to swim in the river at Glancy and how Reed Bradford had to sleep in his truck one week because he was snoring so loud (hehe Reed)!  They were so excited to see that Mountain T.O.P. was still around!  Becky told me that she hoped our foundational objectives were still the same.  She strongly believes in our efforts to empower youth and really focus on developing them as leaders.

I also talked to David Johnston who was on staff in the 80's and a former camper who wants to get her church involved in Mountain T.O.P.!  Like I said before, Mountain T.O.P. has been changing lives for a long time and it's uplifting to hear from people who've loved this ministry for a long time!!!

Of the new people I met, I was mostly impressed with the youth.  Three young teenage girls walked up to me and said, "How do we sign-up for camp!?"  Another young girl asked me about AIM (woo Quest!!!) .. and an 18 year old guy inquired about working on summer staff!!!

So, as you can tell, I'm a little excited about the weekend.  Praise God for His blessings, for the connections we're making and for the new ways we're spreading the word!  This weekend (and really these past two weeks) have made me so thankful.  I'm taken back to the 35th hour of prayer for new beginnings... May we be blessed with new beginnings, new people, new programs, new energy and new passion for Mountain T.O.P.  Praise God, praise God, praise God!

Framing Hope - Gifts In Kind

Two local Home Depot stores have partnered with Gifts In Kind International with the Framing Hope campaign to give donations to local non-profits. Since July 2009 Mountain T.O.P. has been a recipient of these donations. Today the box truck brought back a donation of flower pots, rakes, track lighting and so much more. We're blessed to have these donations every week or so.

The View from the Office Window

Today was like Christmas all over again in our office. There were four new office chairs and 6 new floor mats delivered via an 18-wheeler. The truck driver helped us unload the chairs and mats and then decided he'd like to try to turn around instead of drive through camp and leave via the back gate. The 10+inches of snow from last week is still hanging around. Things are a little slushy outside now.



In the process of turning around the truck lost traction in front of Peg's Cabin. Ronnie was called and of course he had a plan. All who know Ronnie, know that he can fix about any problem and he did just that today. Ronnie pulled the 18-wheeler out with his bare hands (okay, not really) but he did get the truck out of camp using his brains and brawn and 4-wheel drive truck.





We love Ronnie! What would we do without him!

Covering the Mountain

I love to be in nature. I love taking walks, hikes, being adventurous, just relaxing. You name it - if you can do it in nature i want to try it (or at least watch others trying it). This past Friday I went on a hike in the 8+ inches of snow that blanketed the Mountain. The Savage Gulf State Park trail head has become one of my favorite hikes on the Mountain. From different trails you can see Savage Falls from afar and also from on top. It's a good 2 miles to get to the falls. I love the feeling I get every time I hike to these falls. The closer I get, the louder the falls get. I can tell if I'm getting off course because the falls get quieter. I see God this way in my life too. The closer I get to Him, the more I can hear His voice. If I stray then His voice is harder to hear. I have to stop and pay attention to where I am and see which direction I have to go to be able to hear Him again. Then just as when I turn the last corner and see the waterfall right in front of me, I can also get close enough to God that I can see Him everywhere in every part of my life


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As Simple as a Phone Call

Lately, I've been getting tons of calls from people interested in Mountain T.O.P. ... Spring Breakout, YSM, AIM, retreats ... woo!  Thanks, God!  Please keep 'em coming!

Just in one day I received two calls worth talking about ..

1. A man who came to an AIM week 15 years ago called!  He participated in Major Home Repair and stayed out at Beersheba.  He said, "Y'all always said to take it from the Mountain T.O.P.!"  He shared that he loved his experience and wants another one.. oddly enough his current residence is Mountain Home!

2.  Another man called to inquire about YSM.  He said he came for 5 summers as a youth camper and was now a pastor at a church in Louisiana.  He wants the youth at his new church to experience Mountain T.O.P.  Before we hung up, he said, "I just want you to know that I credit Mountain T.O.P. for the start of spiritual journey and the reason I'm in ministry now."

Every day... EVERY DAY .. God is revealing how He has worked and will continue to work in the lives of others through the ministry of Mountain T.O.P.

The Gathering 2011

When you work year-round for Mountain T.O.P., it's easy to get lost in the menial tasks, sometimes leading to fast-paced days with little or no time for reflection.  I found Saturday night to be just that.  A time to reflect on 35 years of ministry.  A time to share, laugh, sing, pray, and maybe even tear up a little, with the people who love this ministry.  Like Ed said, the 60 people in that room Saturday night were just the tip of the iceburg.  Meaning, so many others all around the country (and even a few outside of it!), share a heart for the people of Appalachia, the service of Mountain T.O.P., and a love for God.

It was special to have George Bass, founder of Mountain T.O.P., begin worship with his thoughts on 35 years of ministry.  His main point was this: keep your eye on the ball.  Keep your eye on the ball and you'll be just fine... What is this ministry about?  What is our mission?  ...

With that thought, I was reminded of an e-mail Ed shared with us earlier this year.  It simply asked, "Do you love your mission more than you love Jesus?"  ...  In other words, "Do you love Mountain T.O.P. more than you love Jesus?" .. (insert your mission here) ... and maybe that's when we have a problem.. when lose focus, when the ball bounces out of bounds, when we lose sight of WHO exactly we are working for ...

Keep your eyes on Jesus and you'll be just fine.

Other thoughts:

• The music was absolutely incredible!  Big shout out to Triple J Showdown (Jay Koelbl on the stand-up bass, Jen Whitson on the guitar, and John Robinson on the banjo/drums)  Check-out the inspiration behind the Love Offering song ... Live at the Banks House ... (we're hoping it spreads like WILDFIRE this summer!!!)
• We concluded worship by ushering in the 35th hour of prayer "for new beginnings" .. thanks for your support and participation! 
• We had a huge cake from The Cake Lady (a local vendor ... she's real summer staff!)
• Mary Margaret made a beautiful ambiance with mirrors and spray-painted centerpieces.
• Kim made an outstanding reflection space full of pictures, banners and memorabilia from years past.

... AND thanks to you we received $445 as a love offering for the night!!!

Check-out the pictures ... Gathering Pictures