Location: Anderson University, Indiana
Participants: (Guys) Jeff, Ron, Bowden, Zach, Chris, Pat D., Hank, Lee, and myself. (Gals) Mindy, Aisa, Shelby, Kristen, Anna & Emily, Ash & Ams, Angie, and Megan.
Monday. At the YMCA parking lot where 412 met before heading out, Pat D. said he had to stay with Chris & Hank. Don't dare separate F.M.N.! He admits that F.M.N. is going nowhere. I was slated to get shotgun with Ron, but Aisa snagged it: no biggie. We played Texas Hold 'Em and Euker during the drive. I stink at both games. C.I.Y. is being held at Anderson University this year. Boys and girls were all over the walkways, playing kickball, huddling in groups, laughing. We have nice rooms. Bowden knocked over furniture trying to set up the room. Chris & Pat D. took pics of me pooping as I listened to The Black Crows. They tried to hide in the cabinets of my room to prank me, but I heard them. Pat D. tried to shove me into the shower, but he got wet instead. We went to the cafeteria for dinner and I had a salad, and then we worshiped in a big building and separated to have a 412-wide D-Group. We talked about why we came, what we expect, and we all gave something important that we took from the day. I said I came for the jokes and to grow closer to God, that I expect to grow closer to God and to discover more "stories" for my journals. Chris & Pat D. said their highlights of the day were failed attempts at pranking me. We had some small worship and went back to ours rooms, and Chris gave me a wedgie, and he and Pat D. filmed me taking a shower.
Participants: (Guys) Jeff, Ron, Bowden, Zach, Chris, Pat D., Hank, Lee, and myself. (Gals) Mindy, Aisa, Shelby, Kristen, Anna & Emily, Ash & Ams, Angie, and Megan.
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| The Valley at Anderson University |
Tuesday. Pat D. and Hank crept into my room while I was sleeping and dumped chip crumbs and toothpaste all over my sheets, so I waited until they thought all was peaceful, took my belt, and thrashed them so hard their backs and arms are littered with welts. Chris just sat on the bed and watched all of it while eating Twizzlers. The door then burst open and Lee ran in with a bunch of hot water and doused my bed. I went after him and Pat D. and Hank screamed for truce so I conceded. I sat by Ash & Ams during morning chapel. Today we talked about how Jesus is King. New insights: (a) Jesus holds the world in animation; (b) Jesus' name before Jesus was Word, and Word came to earth and took on a new name; (c) the Universe was created by God as a gift to Jesus; (d) Jesus came to save us because of his father's love; (e) Jesus "suffered under the sins of Anthony Barnhart", a new take on the Nicene Creed; and (f) all of us have a king, but the true king is Jesus. During D-Group I sat with Shelby and Anna, and we nailed our sins to the cross (a wooden plank), and then all of us split ways and I went with a couple guys to a cool class on masturbation, jacking off, whatever. I tried to nap during free time but everyone kept waking me up. Lee and Hank tried to scare me from beneath my bed, but the bed was flimsy and fell onto them, nearly crushed them into the floor. Zach took a picture. Chris & Bowden got into a fight, were all sullen during worship. Sunset came and went, and we gathered outside and talked about all the things we're learning at C.I.Y., and there was humility, and there were tears, convictions. It was powerful. I prayed with Chris and Pat D. Chris apologized to Bowden for their argument, and Bowden apologized, too. All eyes fell on me, and I said, "Maybe the belt wasn't the best idea." Laughter exploded around the group.
Wednesday. Chris pooped on a piece of paper and slid it under Jeff's door. Jeff went on a rampage, 'murdering' Hank and Pat D. Today we talked a lot about citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. Ron led D-Group. Chris is driving me insane with all his dumb, immature jokes: he slaps me, makes fun of me, pours stuff on me, humiliates me, and every time I tell him to stop, to try and talk to him about it in a civilized manner, he laughs, plugs his ears, pokes more fun. He won't stop because "it's too funny." Every part of me wants to retaliate in anger, to curse in anger, to make him bleed, all in the name of anger. I'm quite angry. I'm trying not to let it take control, but there seems to be no end. One time he's going to cross the line and I'm going to explode in unkempt and untethered rage. Chris calmed down a bit after Forsake Me Not played in the C.I.Y. talent show; they did good, I think that put him in a better mood. I got chocolate ice cream at the cafeteria and Megan screamed, didn't want me ruining my diet; and thus the ice cream ended up either on her hands or on the floor. Worship was incredible, an awesome message: Whose Are You? Our lives ought to reflect our Father, our King. We talked a lot about how Christian teens are virtually identical to teens "of the world"; and we talked about persecution in foreign countries. We quietly shuffled off to our D-Groups across campus, past the helix statue, past the eternal flame, under dark clouds. Bryon told Lee last week, "The church youth group is too divided and spread apart at C.I.Y. for us to have any real, authentic D-Groups." But Bryon was wrong, and the night by the torch was passed with conviction and tears. God threw challenges at all of us. Pat D. was broken and contrite, so thankful for our friendships. All the girls wept. God humbled us, stripped us, poured himself into us. We were all in a fervor for the kingdom, and Jeff lit five candles, snuffed each one out one-by-one, saying, "When this week's over, some of us will fall, back-slide, and the light of our youth group will fade. We need to fight, keep ourselves plugged into God, draw others back to God when they're sliding away. It's our time to lead, the time for 412 to lead Southwest." We hugged, prayed together, rejoiced together, and in silence we ended the night, filtering into the darkness, heading back to our dorms.
Thursday. I missed breakfast, sleeping in late. I staggered to Celebration & Encounter. Shelby led D-Group, and we spent the day learning about how the church is supposed to love, be accepting, and have unity in Jesus. We had lunch at the 'BK Lounge' on campus, and during free time all 412 went out to see Spider-Man 2. Back at the dorms Hank blamed me for spilling water on his bed (which I didn't) and came at me with a plunger; I grabbed it from him and we had a friendly scuffle, and he ran to his room. He found some ketchup, put it in his hands, and threw it in my eyes. My eyes were burning and he ran off. During His Time Jeff pretended to be Satan during our worship and we improvisationally enacted different tactics to get around him. I ended up being dragged out of the circle, all alone, and everyone's hands were linked, and no one would come help me. So I just left and wandered the halls of the building. Jeff staged the whole thing with me, it was about how the church shouldn't be so inwardly-focused that they forget those who lie beyond the walls. Lee and I went on a frantic run down the hallways, playing with our imaginary friend 'Jimmy', and accidentally burst into a room filled with praying people. We let out a scream of humiliation and scrambled back, slamming the door shut. The rest of the evening was spent back at the dorms talking 'bout community, 'bout getting serious with masturbation, and then we did the usual shower pranks.
Friday. I led the Encounter D-Group on spreading Jesus' love. One of our sessions was about secular music and how it turns people away from Jesus. Lee & I couldn't help but laugh the entire time. Worship was stale but the speaker was good. Kristen told a bunch of girls that I jacked off onto Hank's bed, and they actually believe her. I don't understand it! Everyone--including the sponsors and Jeff--forgot to bring their bibles to His Time, and we were all really convicted: "People die to have one, and we can't remember to pick ours up." At the dorms we took shots of Sprite and ate Chex Mix to celebrate the end of C.I.Y. During His Time we talked about our highlights of the week, and Jeff said, "Mine had to be when I walked into the guys' bathroom and saw Anth in the shower, and he was dancing like this [and he showed them my weird dance], but that's not all! Pat D. and Chris were playing guitar and singing, 'Anthony! Oh, Anthony!'" It was hilarious, everyone was rolling. I bought a book called The Emerging Church.
Saturday. Someone had an old Jr. High picture of me in their wallet, one of the guys, I think probably Pat D., and he was passing it around, and people were saying, "OMG, it looks like liposuction..." We left Anderson University and drove through Indianapolis. Jeff saw a statue of an Alamosaurus, said, "Anthony would love that." So all of us piled out and went to the Dinosphere at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Really nice, but the dinosaurs weren't as exciting as in the past. Pat D. and I slept in the balcony for part of the time, and we laughed through a failed planetarium exhibit. The Mall was cool, really big and extending into various buildings and glass walkways over the downtown roads. Some old dude flashed himself at the girls, they were really upset by it. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and I snapped a picture of a signed Kurt Cobain guitar. We checked into the Marriott Hotel, and I went swimming with the girls and Hank, Bowden, Chris & Jeff. We had our last His Time--I kept borderline falling asleep from exhaustion. We lit candles and turned off the lights, and we all got real with one another. I told Ams how much I love her, told Ash how she's like a sister to me. Pat D. told Ams he was jealous of her because she got to spend so much time with me. Amanda told me how much she loved me, how I am her best friend in the entire world. Dewenter said I was 'ultimate freaking HILARIOUS!" and a great friend. Hank said we have good stories, that I'm good at listening & caring. Chris called me a funny, therapeutic, awesome friend, and Lee said "Thanks for Jimmy!" and we burst out laughing. The girls talked about how I have such a heart for God, how I'm a great and passionate leader. Ron called me a spiritual revolutionary, said I'm more intelligent than I know. And Jeff said he sees me being a future "C.I.Y. speaker." I leave with this, in the words of Pat D.: "How does a ripped-off nipple go about healing?"
Sunday. Jeff took us to Common Ground Christian Church, a Gen-X postmodern worship gathering. The worship was loud, they had scripture reading and a powerful speaker. Everyone was so into God, so warm and welcoming and accepting. It was in an older stone building, maybe around 150 members. All of us really enjoyed it. Jeff met some of his extended family at a fast food strip, and we got lunch at Pizza Hut. I rode in the van with Ron on the way back, and we spent a lot of time in traffic. When we got back to the YMCA we unloaded our things and headed home. Ashlie's still staying with us, her family's out in Delaware.
Thursday. I missed breakfast, sleeping in late. I staggered to Celebration & Encounter. Shelby led D-Group, and we spent the day learning about how the church is supposed to love, be accepting, and have unity in Jesus. We had lunch at the 'BK Lounge' on campus, and during free time all 412 went out to see Spider-Man 2. Back at the dorms Hank blamed me for spilling water on his bed (which I didn't) and came at me with a plunger; I grabbed it from him and we had a friendly scuffle, and he ran to his room. He found some ketchup, put it in his hands, and threw it in my eyes. My eyes were burning and he ran off. During His Time Jeff pretended to be Satan during our worship and we improvisationally enacted different tactics to get around him. I ended up being dragged out of the circle, all alone, and everyone's hands were linked, and no one would come help me. So I just left and wandered the halls of the building. Jeff staged the whole thing with me, it was about how the church shouldn't be so inwardly-focused that they forget those who lie beyond the walls. Lee and I went on a frantic run down the hallways, playing with our imaginary friend 'Jimmy', and accidentally burst into a room filled with praying people. We let out a scream of humiliation and scrambled back, slamming the door shut. The rest of the evening was spent back at the dorms talking 'bout community, 'bout getting serious with masturbation, and then we did the usual shower pranks.
Friday. I led the Encounter D-Group on spreading Jesus' love. One of our sessions was about secular music and how it turns people away from Jesus. Lee & I couldn't help but laugh the entire time. Worship was stale but the speaker was good. Kristen told a bunch of girls that I jacked off onto Hank's bed, and they actually believe her. I don't understand it! Everyone--including the sponsors and Jeff--forgot to bring their bibles to His Time, and we were all really convicted: "People die to have one, and we can't remember to pick ours up." At the dorms we took shots of Sprite and ate Chex Mix to celebrate the end of C.I.Y. During His Time we talked about our highlights of the week, and Jeff said, "Mine had to be when I walked into the guys' bathroom and saw Anth in the shower, and he was dancing like this [and he showed them my weird dance], but that's not all! Pat D. and Chris were playing guitar and singing, 'Anthony! Oh, Anthony!'" It was hilarious, everyone was rolling. I bought a book called The Emerging Church.
Saturday. Someone had an old Jr. High picture of me in their wallet, one of the guys, I think probably Pat D., and he was passing it around, and people were saying, "OMG, it looks like liposuction..." We left Anderson University and drove through Indianapolis. Jeff saw a statue of an Alamosaurus, said, "Anthony would love that." So all of us piled out and went to the Dinosphere at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Really nice, but the dinosaurs weren't as exciting as in the past. Pat D. and I slept in the balcony for part of the time, and we laughed through a failed planetarium exhibit. The Mall was cool, really big and extending into various buildings and glass walkways over the downtown roads. Some old dude flashed himself at the girls, they were really upset by it. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and I snapped a picture of a signed Kurt Cobain guitar. We checked into the Marriott Hotel, and I went swimming with the girls and Hank, Bowden, Chris & Jeff. We had our last His Time--I kept borderline falling asleep from exhaustion. We lit candles and turned off the lights, and we all got real with one another. I told Ams how much I love her, told Ash how she's like a sister to me. Pat D. told Ams he was jealous of her because she got to spend so much time with me. Amanda told me how much she loved me, how I am her best friend in the entire world. Dewenter said I was 'ultimate freaking HILARIOUS!" and a great friend. Hank said we have good stories, that I'm good at listening & caring. Chris called me a funny, therapeutic, awesome friend, and Lee said "Thanks for Jimmy!" and we burst out laughing. The girls talked about how I have such a heart for God, how I'm a great and passionate leader. Ron called me a spiritual revolutionary, said I'm more intelligent than I know. And Jeff said he sees me being a future "C.I.Y. speaker." I leave with this, in the words of Pat D.: "How does a ripped-off nipple go about healing?"
Sunday. Jeff took us to Common Ground Christian Church, a Gen-X postmodern worship gathering. The worship was loud, they had scripture reading and a powerful speaker. Everyone was so into God, so warm and welcoming and accepting. It was in an older stone building, maybe around 150 members. All of us really enjoyed it. Jeff met some of his extended family at a fast food strip, and we got lunch at Pizza Hut. I rode in the van with Ron on the way back, and we spent a lot of time in traffic. When we got back to the YMCA we unloaded our things and headed home. Ashlie's still staying with us, her family's out in Delaware.
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