30 Hour Famine

This weekend April 5th and 6th our students will be participating in World Visions 30 Hour Famine. I want to give you as much information in as little space as possible so pay attention :)

We are asking students to meet for breakfast with other students from their area.
Davenport students will meet for breakfast at Village Inn (5925 North Brady Street Davenport, IA) at 6:45am.
Moline/Rock Island/East Moline students will meet at Village Inn (2122 53rd Street Moline, IL 61265) at 6:45am.
Sherrard/Orion students will eat at home and pretend that you are at Village Inn OR come join us in Moline. (sorry)

Students will begin their fast at their lunch period. There is a sticker for students to wear and a informational booklet in their fundraising envelope with facts about world hunger that students can share with those around them that have questions as to why they are fasting.

Friday April 5th Schedule
6:30 pm -Meet at Edgewood/check in.
7pm -World Hunger Prayer Walk
8pm -Juice/Water Break*
8:30pm -Video/Discussion on World Hunger
9pm -Candlelight Vigil/Famine Cam
9:30pm -Dismiss Ladies for the night**

Saturday April 6th
8:30am -Arrive King's Harvest Ministries -King's Harvest Ministries 824 West 3rd Street Davenport, Iowa. Phone number: 563-570-4536
11:30am -arrive back at Edgewood -TRIBE Activity (receive new identity)/Meet and Greet
12pm -Activity (Water Walk) 
12:45pm -Juice/Water Break
1:15pm -Finger Print Banner 
1:30pm -Activity (Camp Football)
2:30 -Juice/Water Break
3pm -Activity (Scavenger Scramble)
3:30pm -Juice/Water Break 
4pm -Activity (Market Mayhem) 
5pm -Church 
6:15 -Communion/End Fast.***

*Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles. We will provide bottled water as well as juice. Students can decide what type of fast they are doing i.e. water only or water + juice. 

**Students will need sleeping bags and pillows and shower necessities. Ladies will be spending the night at the home of Marty and Sheila Mills and Guys will be staying at Edgewood. 

***We will end our fast in the Ignite Room with Potato & Ham soup and sandwiches with fruit. 

Please email me with any questions you may have @youth@edgewoodbaptist.net

-Pastor Jeff 

Bullying 101

Parents,
Bullying has become a hot topic around the news and on the internet lately so I wanted to give us a little information on bullying and help us know what to look for on BOTH sides the issue -a child that is BEING bullied and a child that IS a bully.

The following article was taken from Focus on the Family, it was posted October 5, 2012. You can find it here http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/schooling/bullying/how-to-deal-with-bullying.aspx or read the pasted article below.

How to Deal With Bullying

How to know if your child is being bullied, and what to do if your child is the one bullying others.

from The Complete Guide to Baby & Child Care

Be aware of the following indicators that may indicate a child is being harassed:

• Injuries — unexplained bruises, cuts or scratches
• Torn, damaged or missing clothing or other belongings
• Anxiety, tearfulness, moodiness and resistance to going to school
• Ongoing physical symptoms — especially headaches, stomachaches or fatigue — that are invoked as a reason to stay home

If you are suspicious, ask questions that express your interest and concern: "How are things going at school? Is anything — or anyone — giving you a hard time?" Your child may be reluctant to reveal what has happened, and you may need to exercise some persistence to find out. If bullying has indeed occurred, make sure he understands that you take it very seriously, that you intend to take appropriate action and that keeping silent will only allow the bully to continue what he is doing. You will need to get as much information as possible: who, when, where and what happened. If there have been witnesses to the bullying, gather information from them as well.

Assuming that this has happened at school, make an appointment as soon as possible with the principal or administrator who is designated to handle this type of problem. Most likely this person will be ready and willing to put the heat on anyone who is involved in bullying, but he or she will need specifics. Tell the story but also provide information in writing, and be sure to take note of the response to your concern. You may want to arrange a meeting with the perpetrator and one or both of his parents in a school official's office. Your posture should be calm, but resolute: Look the bully in the eye and make it abundantly clear that even one further episode will bring disastrous consequences and that you expect his parents to cooperate.

If the harassment continues and the principal or parents of the perpetrator appear unwilling to take appropriate action, they should be put on notice that the problem may be taken to a higher level of school administration, an attorney, the police or all of the above. If the problem involves risks of extreme violence or gang activity, you will need to seek advice from law-enforcement personnel. In a worst-case scenario, a change of school (or home schooling) may be necessary to bring your child or adolescent through this situation in one piece. Do whatever it takes (within the bounds of the law) to protect your child's safety and self-respect.

What If Your Child Is Accused of Bullying?

Whatever you do, don't shrug it off (Hey, boys will be boys) or deny that there's a problem. Get the facts. You should get your child's side of the story, but also diligently seek input both from school officials and from whomever else was involved, including the victim(s) of the bullying. If the evidence (or your child's or teen's own admission) points to involvement in bullying, you will need to have a number of serious conversations:

You must make it clear not only that this behavior is unacceptable, but that if continued, it will lead to serious consequences imposed by you, the school and possibly the law.

You will need to contact the parents of the victim(s) involved to apologize and express your determination to prevent further episodes. As a gesture of integrity and courage, you might want to arrange a meeting with the other family at an appropriate location so that a formal apology can be made by your child, as well as an offer of restitution for any expenses (involving medical care or property damage) related to the incident(s).

If others have been involved in bullying — perpetrators often act in groups — you should take the lead in contacting their parents to encourage corrective and restorative action.

If your child or teen has been involved in multiple bullying incidents, you should arrange for him to undergo counseling, both for evaluation and prevention of further episodes. Other issues — depression, drug use, impulse control and even prior victimization (since some bullies have been bullied themselves) — may need to be addressed. This is a family issue, so be prepared to participate in some important discussions in the counselor's office yourself.

-Pastor Jeff 

Encouragement

One of the things that the Lord has really put on my heart recently is encouragement. So far, I have realized two things about encouragement: 1) Encouragement is powerful – with just a few words, we are able to affirm, refuel, and inspire others, and 2) encouragement is a gift.  I am blown away by the fact that we have the ability to use our mouths to build each other up.  We can be used by the Lord to communicate His love to His children!  Crazy!

When we encourage others, we are glorifying the Lord.  We are appreciating the unique ways that He has gifted His creation.  We are celebrating the fact that He uses sinners to do incredible things for His Kingdom.  Because encouragement is so important, we need to make sure that we are practicing it in our lives!  In order to make the most with this gift, we should keep a few things in mind when speaking to your student(s):

• Be specific.  Whether you have an incredible or not so incredible student they need you to be specific with them, don’t just say, “You’re doing a great job.”  Let them know WHY they are doing a great job.  Talk to them about the gifts you have seen them use.  Talk to them about the impact they are making in other students’ lives.
• Be authentic.  Don’t say anything you don’t mean!  Giving out insincere encouragement will quickly make your words useless.  Empty words are a waste of the incredible gift that the Lord has given us and can even be damaging to your students growth.
• Be thankful. A great way to encourage is to thank them.  Celebrate the awesome ways that the Lord has used them.  Make sure they know how much of a blessing they have been in your life.
• Be observant.  Capitalize on unique opportunities for encouragement.  Notice the moment when your student steps outside of their comfort zone on a serving trip.  Take the time to write letters of affirmation.  This also means that you are making sure you see those things that don’t often get praise, the actions that wont make them heroes, but matter in the long run of life.

Spend time in prayer about this.  Pray for the ability to look at others in the same way that Jesus looks at them.

I challenge you to spend some time thinking about the student in your life that needs encouragement.  Go out of your way this week to write them a letter or pull them aside for an intentional conversation.

-Pastor Jeff