By Guest Writer LuraKate Pijanowski

I have a self-esteem issue. It’s not just an issue, though — it’s actually a huge problem in my life.

Recently I signed up to go on a mission trip to New York City, and I was worried about what others thought of me, and how I was going to get along with everyone on the trip. The first day of the trip I was so nervous about whether or not people liked me, that I had a panic attack while serving in a soup kitchen. (more…)

By Guest Writer Shannon Meiers

I stared at my untouched lunch, then at the clock.  How many teenagers took 35 minutes to eat one salami sandwich, one apple, and one cup of Jell-o pudding? Then again, how many teens are distracted by a mob of kids while they try to eat?

Rosie’s pigtails bounced. “Shannon, will you take me to the washroom?” Washroom?  Don’t your parents bathe you at home? I wondered. (more…)

by BJ Hamrick, RTF Staff Writer

Dear Summer:

How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways
The long cool nights
The sticky warm days

Lying on the couch
Being a real bum
….

Wait a second. Is that all I’m going to do this summer?

That’s the question my sister asked me several years ago. “B.J.,” she said, “What are you going to do this summer?”

I hadn’t given it much thought. In fact, I was pretty sure I liked my summer the way it was. But there she went again, asking questions that made me think.

In fact, her question wouldn’t leave me alone. So when I heard about a local organization where I could work with underprivileged kids for the summer, I knew — this was my chance.

My chance to do SOMETHING.

“OK,” I told my sister. “I’ll do it this for one summer. But that’s it.”

Does God have an awesome sense of humor? Because 8 years later I was still volunteering with that organization. It changed my life. In fact, I met my husband there.

So I have only one question: What will you do with your summer?

Be careful. Your answer might change your life.

Here are some opportunities you might want to pray about:

www.summermissions.com
www.ywam.org

OR, tell us what YOU’RE doing this summer!

by Jamin Goecker, RTF Staff Writer

Summer ushers in a ton of free time. It can be hard to decide what to do with all of it. Some people spend their summers partying. Others work till they resemble squirrels that have been placed inside a box and shaken around.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Sure, summer provides a great time to relax a bit or have fun with great friends. However, some people decide to use their spare time to change the world.

Arielle, age 20, plans on spending her summer in an internship program at a ministry called House of Faith. She will be on a team, working at camps and ministering to their community in outreach.

Arielle says what draws her to this ministry is working with kids. Most of the kids she works with don’t come from good homes. Many of them are surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and other adult situations. “We work with a lot of children,” she says, “whether it be elementary age or high school age, and I just love working with kids and always have. And that’s what really draws me to this because we really get to show love to them when they really don’t get any anywhere else.”

Because the events the interns work on are so close together, they have to keep busy. Arielle expects to work up to sixty hours a week. It’s also a struggle to transport all the equipment and supplies needed for camps and such to locations.

Does she believe she will make a difference for Jesus this summer?

“I definitely do. I could just be spending my summer doing nothing or hanging around with friends. But doing this I get to impact a child, even if it’s just one child, that gets impacted it will be worth it because that child will go and impact someone else.”

WHAT CAN ONE TEEN DO?

• Get involved in your own neighborhood with VBS, Salvation Army Boys and Girls clubs, or Big Brother/Big Sister.
• Check out House of Faith ministries.
• Pray for Arielle and the kids she will reach. 

by Derek Hanisch, RTF Staff Writer

For Spring Break fifty of us piled into a bus and drove 30 hours to head down to Panama City Beach, Florida. We were on our way to the number one spring break spot in the US. We weren’t there to party, though. Far from it. We were there to walk around and share the gospel.

Spring break reminds me a lot of summer. A lot of us will be traveling. A lot of us will be working at a new summer job. A lot of us will just be chilling with friends, maybe going to the beach, or whatever. Whatever you do, you’re called to be sharing the gospel of Christ.

I remember when I was walking along the beach. I was scared. I was nervous. I cared that I’d look like a fool. I cared that I would fail. There were two things that really helped me see things differently.

Our success rate is 100%: Wherever you are, whoever you share the gospel with, you’ve succeeded. You’ve shared the Gospel. God needs to be working in the heart of the person you talk to, all you can do is share His message and word.

Also, look at it this way: As a Christian we believe in eternity. We believe that if you don’t accept Jesus into your heart and follow Him, you won’t spend eternity with Him. How much do you have to hate a person, to not share the gospel with them?

That question rocked me to my core.

Mark 16:15 is often called the Great Commision: He [Jesus] said the them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

Wherever you go this summer, whatever you’re doing, you’re in the world. Because of that we are commanded by Jesus to preach the gospel. So be praying for opportunities. Be praying that God will use you.

Are you interested in summer mission trips? Teen Missions offers several. Included this summer are:

• Zambia Foot Washing
• Orphan Angels I Motorcycle
• Haiti
• Sweden
• Belize
• Ireland
• Malawi Foot Washing
• Malawi Fishing
• Amazon River – Brazil
• Suriname
• Northern Ireland EV
•  Thailand Orph/English
• Switzerland
• Covered Wagon
• Nicaragua

by Jamin Goecker, RTF Staff Writer

Summer ushers in a ton of free time. It can be hard to decide what to do with all of it. Some people spend their summers partying. Others work till they resemble squirrels that have been placed inside a box and shaken around.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Sure, summer provides a great time to relax a bit or have fun with great friends. However, some people decide to use their spare time to change the world.

Arielle, age 20, plans on spending her summer in an internship program at a ministry called House of Faith. She will be on a team, working at camps and ministering to their community in outreach.

Arielle says what draws her to this ministry is working with kids. Most of the kids she works with don’t come from good homes. Many of them are surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and other adult situations. “We work with a lot of children,” she says, “whether it be elementary age or high school age, and I just love working with kids and always have. And that’s what really draws me to this because we really get to show love to them when they really don’t get any anywhere else.”

Because the events the interns work on are so close together, they have to keep busy. Arielle expects to work up to sixty hours a week. It’s also a struggle to transport all the equipment and supplies needed for camps and such to locations.

Does she believe she will make a difference for Jesus this summer?

“I definitely do. I could just be spending my summer doing nothing or hanging around with friends. But doing this I get to impact a child, even if it’s just one child, that gets impacted it will be worth it because that child will go and impact someone else.”

WHAT CAN ONE TEEN DO?

• Get involved in your own neighborhood with VBS, Salvation Army Boys and Girls clubs, or Big Brother/Big Sister.
  Check out House of Faith ministries.
  Pray for Arielle and the kids she will reach.

I sat in my car and read the texts I received from the small group in youth D-class that morning. They were amazing.

I taught a lesson called “Something to Say”, sharing how each of the disciples died a martyrs’ death–all but John.

“Why would they give their life? Why would they keep talking about Jesus even after they had been imprisoned, beat, chased out of town, and eventually beheaded, scourged, boiled in oil, crucified sideways and upside down…”

Because they had something to say. (more…)

Can you imagine a missions trip with no boundaries? What an amazing idea! Want to get involved? OnlineMissionsTrip.com has picked up steam for the February 1-14 online mission trip!

To give you a sense of what this “missions trip to Facebook” has grown to, there are youth groups from all over the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and even a group from Bermuda that have officially registered at OnlineMissionsTrip.com, accounting for almost 2,000 teenagers! That’s AMAZING! Keep spreading the word, guys!

There’s plenty of resources available for pre-trip training for your group (or you) here:
http://www.onlinemissionstrip.com/pre-trip-training/ (more…)