The video that I am linking to is an example of a video that my new camcorder is able to take(once it arrives).  Please note that you may need ffdshow to play the videos(http://sourceforge.net/search/?type_of_search=soft&type_of_search=soft&words=ffdshow)

Can’t wait.

http://media.randomizedharmony.com/movies/newcam.wmv

And this is how good a quality it is after being converted to WMV.  Imagine full quality! 

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Its an oldie but a goodie.  Just thought I would post it. It starts out black for a few seconds, don’t worry, nothing is wrong with the video……or is there?

Categories: Front Page Videos
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You get out of bed and quickly rush to take a shower.  Everyone else in the camp is rushing to do the same, as they don’t want to be late themselves to the mess hall.  It doesn’t take you long to shower and get dressed.  You soon find yourself walking up the hill to the mess hall.  As you approach, someone from the militia opens the door as you walk to it.

"Find a table and sit down!" your informed.  You quickly scan the tables and find an empty seat.  One of the other militia is wandering the mess hall.  "Put your head on your plate" you hear him yell.  It takes a second, but then you realize he’s yelling/talking to you. 

"What part of head on plate don’t you understand?" 

You comply with your captors request, and your forehead is now on your plate.  Everyone finishes entering the mess hall…and the noise has only just begun.

"I understand…" one of the militia starts to say "that some of you were out of your cabin last night.  You attended a church service.  Who here left their cabin last night?"

The question echoes in the air.  Slowly, as if a wave crossing the room, people stand up from their chairs.  No other noise is heard other than that of the chairs moving everyone stands up.  You find yourself unsure what to do at first, but find solace in the fact that together, you all are standing.  Either you will live together, or die together.  That has yet to be seen.

"Well, well.  Can’t even follow directions" you hear echo in the room

"Guess your only getting cold cereal then…."

You watch as the militia talks to the kitchen staff.  You don’t hear everything, but you know that they are instructing the staff to prepare cereal for everyone and hot food for them.

"The youngest person at your table….you come up and get the cereal.  The lower even number….you come up and get the milk"

You watch as people around you start to compare ages and numbers and as they slowly walk up to the front to collect the cereal and milk for the morning meal.  There is a hushed silence in the cafeteria as people begin to eat their cereal.  Breakfast lasts only a few minutes altogether.  After cleaning up, you are all lined up against the wall, youngest to oldest, in two lines.  One for the males, one for the females.  As you stand in line, the militia number you off.  "your number 5" they say pointing to you.  You look at the tables in the center and find your number.  Sitting down, others slowly join you.  You don’t know what’s happening, you just know that if the militia are dividing you, it can’t be good.  After your in your groups, you are then ushered into the "court room".  In the "court room" there is one judge who is acting like a referee.  There is also the militia who are acting as both prosecutors and jury in the room.  One by one, the militia present an argument against Christianity to each group.  Each group is then tasked with pleading either guilty, or not guilty to each charge and then answering for each of their "crimes" that they are being charged with.  To one group, the militia gives the argument that there is no God, that God is just a made up character created by man(#) to satisfy something.  But God, does not exist.  Another argument is that man is not sinful by nature(#) and that sin was created by man to make people feel guilty and therefore believe in God.  Anotherargument presented was that the bible is full of mistakes and that Evolution(#) is the tried, true, and proven method. Another argument presented by the militia is that there is no right or wrong, and that everyone, in the end, is good and right(#).

One by one the groups presented their cases to the militia.  One by one, the groups arguments were challenged.  Finally its your groups turn.  As your representatives stand up and present their arguments, you begin to have a sinking feeling.  You are really, for the first time, having to defend you faith for your(in as real as it can get) life.  With each case presented, the group is allowed to answer the charges presented by the militia as a group witness type of setup.  After all the cases have been presented, the groups are then given new charges.  As you hear them read off, you understand that these are more personal now. 

The previous charges were against the religion of Christianity as a religion.  These new charges, however, are against the people of Christianity.  Most of them were the typical charges that people will use to argue against people.  One, however, stood out.  The one was this.  Christian leaders are falling by what seems likes hundreds to sexual sin.  How can they, as Christians, do this and what does this mean for the leadership of the church as a whole(#).  At least, that’s how the question sounded.

Again the groups are brought up one at a time to defend their case and the militia is allowed to question them over this.

It is now time for lunch.  Your mouth waters for lunch as you sit with your group.

The man in the orange vest stands up in the middle of the room.  After showing which side he has chosen and favored during the trials, it is now time for him to switch sides and play the role of the impartial neutral character again.

"For lunch, we are going to do what a lot of Christians around the world do.  Find it."

Your heart sinks.  Find lunch in a snow covered camp?  What?  Bark?

………….to be continued……..

Categories: Youth Group
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This is how you open up the posts now…just an fyi

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EDIT: The design of the webpage has changed. I know, it someone eles’s design, but I had to test it. Photos to change soon!

I found these two videos on facebook, and after a little poking around……got them. If you want them down Jarod, let me know, and I’ll comply, no problem.

This first video gives you a quick overview of how the weekend for the youth group ended up.

This second video is a video of the youth group tubing down the hill at camp. This is their fun time.

Categories: Front Page Videos
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Things will start up again soon, I promise. I just had to post this though….

Categories: Front Page Videos
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If you ….

1. Were not at snow camp
2. Have not read parts I or II

Please go back and read parts one and two, otherwise the following will not make sense.  With that said…lets continue…

As you lay there in your bed, the militia yelling outside you start to be able to distinguish the words that they are yelling.  “Number 17, oh Number 17″  They continued yelling this until you see some movement in the cabin.  One of your fellow cabin mates walks to the door and stands in the doorway.  “I’m right here” he yells to the militia.  The cold flowing into the dark cabin as one of your own sits there proclaiming where they are to the militia.  Wondering why they were calling for him, you start to look around at him standing in the doorway.  Then  you see it.  In his hand, holding it while proclaiming to the militia where he was was his Bible.  Well one of the of them anyway….

Earlier that night after the bibles had been taken away and the command to return to the cabins were given as you were sitting down in the cabin, another one of your cabin mates pulls out a small bible.  He starts to read from it as the cabin starts to settle down for the evening.  As he finishes reading you don’t know that his big bible is still in his possession, but he does.  And he knew, somehow, what was happening and what was to come.  He did, however, have the hope that the small bible would not be known about and taken away.  Due to this, and the fact that all bibles were now banned, he decide to give the small book his own nickname.  That way, if anyone in the cabin wanted to read/borrow the bible they would just ask if they could grab the “glow ball.”  Glow ball.  What an interesting name for a small bible, but it stuck.

As the militia came up to the cabin, the large bible was taken away and he returned to his own bed.  For whatever reason, they didn’t shoot him.  If they, however, knew of or discovered the small “glow ball”, it would be all over for him.  As he returned to his bed, the cabin started to settle down.  Usually on a typical snow camp trip, there would be a lights out, but the noise and celebration in the cabin would continue late into the night and early the next morning resulting in a tired bunch of campers.  This evening though, as soon as the one deemed number 17 returned to bed, there was a quietness and stillness that swept across the cabin.  The race was on to try and get some sleep.  Only about a half hour you were informed that there was a meeting organized for later that night at 2am.  As it was already after eleven in the evening, that meant less than three hours until we were to meet.  You lay there in your bed, fully clothed so you can jump out of bed and get to the location as soon as possible.  You know that you need to be quite when going to the location, as you never know if the militia is there or not.  You lay down and slowly fall into a deep slumber.

In what seems what like a few seconds after finally getting to sleep, you are awoken.  The cabin is stirring as everyone is getting up and finishing getting dressed and getting ready to go to the meeting.  Everyone, while getting ready, is quite and the lights are off.  You pull as much on you as you can.  Making sure to wear your gloves and boots as you have been informed that the meeting will be held in an unheated barn.  You exit the cabin and you meet others who are traveling to the same location as you from the other cabins.  There is an understood silence between all of you as you walk together to the location that you have been instructed to go to.  Across the camp you walk to an unite and unheated barn. 

You walk to the barn and up the steps.  The steps are covered in deep snow and with some ice and the door, as a result of the snow, barely opens.  You squeeze into the barn and see others in there sitting around on chairs.  There is one light in the barn as you take a seat.  Adrian(the speaker for the week) stands up and, although cold, begins to ask questions for you to think about.  Questions to reflect on, and think about during the course of the weekend.  After what seems like a long time, one worn and old bible is produced.  They take a knife to the bible and kneel down in front of the bible as they take the knife to it and cut sections out.  As the sections are cut out they are then passed out among those who are sitting in the barn.  Each of you receiving about two to three pages of the Bible.  This is what you have for the weekend to read from and commit to memory.  Because these are only a few pages, you never know how long they will last because of the lack of thickness of each of the pages.  You fold the pages up and put them in your pocket as you are warned by the speaker that the militia can not find the pages as this would be a problem if they found the pages.  Carry them with you, but don’t let the militia see them.  With that, the speaker sits down as after a few seconds, all of the voices of all those in the cabin combine in a chorus of music.  No instruments, just voices as there is a time of worship. 

After a few songs, everyone is dismissed and walks quietly back to the cabins.  Down the snowy/icy steps and across the camp.  The cabins are still warm as you return and lay down in bed.  Finally you are able to sleep.  Your head hits the pillow.  A few hours later, you hear yelling outside.  Its the militia.  As they walk by they hit the sides of the cabin.  “Time to wake up!  Be at the mess hall in a half hour” is what you hear.  You turn on your side.  Another day has begun.  Another chance to learn, and another opportunity to stand for what you know is right.  The question is though, will you return to the cabin that night or will you be the third one to loose their life for standing up for what they believe.  Its only 8:00am, and there is a lot of day left to see what is going to occur.

…..continued tomorrow………..

Categories: General, Youth Group
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