Coming Home!

Hello everyone!
We are crazy-busy trying to get packed and on the road, so this post is super short.

Our estimated arrival time back in Missoula is 10:30pm.

The crew is exhausted, sunburned, but still positive and strong in unity!  Our hotel did a sweet gesture for us without even telling us:  We were welcomed on the marquis!  We spent yesterday evening walking around town and just enjoying each other's company.

See you all soon!
Grace,
JD

Darby Dybdal

Well as you can see Katie Guy is really the only one that takes the time to blog about whats going on. So here it is from my point of view. IMPACT started off amazing and it ended that way. Especially the lessons. Every night in our group devotions we would ask a question and the next day God would answer them. Like a direct answer. It was crazy! Except when we tested it and ask where to get the best lemonade.
This trip has also been awesome because of the people we've met. I personally got to know a group from Florida. They were so awesome. I even got to watch one of them get baptized. I miss them like crazy. But I made them promise me that I would see them next year. When we were in Arkansas all the girls went to the mall and when we were waiting outside for the guys to come get us and we me these girls who were all sisters and their names were Brianna, Memory and Whisper. Aren't those cool names?!?!
Anyways, the rest of are week at IMPACT was full of weird stuff. Like I got proposed to by a 13 year old who looked like he was 17 because he was growing a beard. His name was Sammy. He was one of the weirder people that I met. Also, Katie Guy kept finding money just laying on the ground! One day she's just walking around and she sees a $10 bill laying on the ground. Of course she kept it because finders-keepers. Then like the next day she finds a $20 bill laying on the ground! It was a little ridiculous how lucky she was.
The best night of IMPACT though was Friday night when Katelin (yes that is how you spell her name) got baptized! We were all so excited for her. Thats probably what I love most about IMPACT. There is always so many baptism. There are so many that you have to get put on a waiting list to use the pool. Its insane! I couldn't have been happier for Katelin.
Well now we're on the road again. It's been some crazy long days in the van. Most of which I spend reading because I have a small obsession with the Hunger Games. But we've seen some pretty cool stuff. We got to spray paint the cars at the Cadillac Ranch again. We tried to meet up with Tyler but his vacation hasn't been going so well with his car trying to blow up on him. Now we're just chilling in a hotel and tomorrow is gonna be another awesome "excursion". But I'm not gonna tell you about that because I know Katie will. :)

Katie’s Day of Joy and Happiness and Fun Fun Fun!

Hello everyone this is Katie Guy!  Coming at you from the happy land of New Mexico!

(...JD wrote that intro, not me, because I was having a poopy attitude.) Anyways, I am writing this as of Monday morning, and we are just leaving Albuquerque! But first, a summary of events since the last blog:

Friday’s IMPACT was great. The sermon was, in my opinion, the best one yet, and we all sang until we were hoarse. And then, Katelin got baptized! Hooray! Luckily, we videotaped the whole thing and got lots of pictures.

Saturday was just another travel day. We got up and checked out by 8:30 and traveled from Nashville all the way to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Cornfields galore! We still had a few hours of daylight when we arrived, so the boys went disc golfing while the girls went shopping. We bought a pet for JD’s office.... a hermit crab! His name is Nemo because one claw is smaller than the other. He’s been dropped several times and has been left to roast in the van on occasion, but he’s still kicking.

We spent Saturday night in a church called West Ark. We all slept in the gym together, in a big circle. Unfortunately, the floor was really uncomfortable so nobody got any sleep. We attended the church service that morning, amazed at the generosity of the people!  Before classes, with about 30 minutes to blow, the Missoula crew circled up and sang in the middle of the gym - the acoustics were crazy!  We enjoyed the fellowship of the brethren both in our Bible class, as well as those we met after the primary service.  We tip our hat to Travis Campbell and for setting up the whole thing - thanks, Travis!!

One of the church members asked us which way we were heading, and when we said west towards Oklahoma City, he laughed and said: “I feel sorry for you! There’s nothing out there!” He was correct, a thousand times over. I pity anyone who lives in Oklahoma. 

Anyways, from Oklahoma City, we started getting our kicks on Route 66! Apparently, we were behind schedule, so we drove well into the night through Oklahoma and Texas and into New Mexico. We were supposed to meet Tyler in Texas since he’s visiting family, but his truck broke down. We stopped at the Cadillac Ranch in Texas, which is a place with 10 Cadillacs stuck in the ground where people can graffiti them, and took a lot of cool pictures.

We arrived in Albuquerque at 1 or 2 in the morning, but I’m not sure which because of the time change. We spent the night in a really shady Travelodge where I expected to be murdered in my sleep at any moment, and then we got up early and took off. Mandie set her alarm for 6:30 but didn’t account for the time change so Darby, Jodie and I woke up at 5:30 and were getting ready until Nick came into our room and informed us that it was 6 AM. Haha!

The mountains in New Mexico are the first ones we’ve seen since... Montana! It’s a nice change from the cornfields. I always thought that I would hate the desert, but I can’t take my eyes off it. The hills and ridges and rocks and sagebrush and sand are so fascinating! Apparently we’re camping out tonight, but Nick and JD won’t say where or what we’re doing. Guess we’ll find out. JD keeps warning us that a big fallout may occur within the group because everyone is irritated from the cramped space and lack of sleep, but so far, everyone seems to be doing well. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

After many miles and much Chic-fil-A, we arrived at the West Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR.  The college minister, Travis, set us up in their gymnasium, gave us the grand tour, and prayed over us.

Taking advantage of our remaining few hours of daylight, we then split:  the ladies went to the local mall where their shopping adventures produced a very real hermit crab named Nemo.  The guys travelled a short distance to one of the premier disc golf (that's "folf" for you Missoula folk) courses in Fort Smith.  We separated into teams and proceeded to play through the hot, sticky evening.

Our day ended with a devotional and prayer.  I thank God for His Kingdom.  Even a small gesture, such as sharing a church building with a group of sojourners, slaps me with the reality of the amazing, grace-filled relationship we have with people (with strangers!) in the family of God - all through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!  I am continually in awe.

Our group does not show many signs of weariness.  Conversations are lively and range from theology to napkin origami water foul.  Our next leg of the journey will push us into the Southwest - one of my favorite areas of the States.  

We will try to keep you posted!

Grace...
J.D.

On the road again...

The last few days seem like a blur...

I love to eat at HuHot, the mongolian grill in Missoula, not only because the food is amazing but because you get to eat as much as you want.  Leaving HuHot is always difficult because by the time I walk away, my stomach is painfully overstuffed with the delicious food and is trying to digest everything... Such is the feeling of this morning as we leave IMPACT.

The lessons from Chris Siedman, the craziness of afternoon 9-Square Volleyball, the intense evenings of worship, the Bible classes, the heat/humidity of the day, the wise rantings of Mr.T, devotionals in the dark, the painting of a bison, the fellowship of campers, churches, other youth ministers... There is simply too much to describe, to fathom, to digest.

We leave with ideas piled upon ideas, with spiritual awakenings, with new friendships, with a strong sense of team, with an indescribable motivation to simply “radiate”.

My hope is that we come down from the mountaintop, not yearning for the next mountaintop but using what we experienced for the valleys below.  My hope is that our van, full of 14 people, will return with rejuvenated Christians, waiting to share the glory of God with Missoula.

Of special significance, Kaitlyn Hancock was baptized last night!  Such an incredible young woman, she has quickly become a natural part of the group, full of life and wisdom.  I have personally witnessed different “victories”, different measures of growth in every person on the team.  But perhaps more importantly, we have mutually witnessed a strong sense of togetherness, of family.

Please send up prayers!  We still have 5 days left of this trip!  Please continue to pray for safety, for guidance, for spiritual formation.

Grace & Peace...

J.D.

Thursday

Hi everyone, it's Katie again!

Not a whole lot happened aside from what I've already told you guys about. Today we had the talent show. A girl from Burnt Hickory sang an original song and won a fully paid scholarship to IMPACT next year. JD bought a painting yesterday and was keeping it in his and Casey's room until the Burnt Hickory people decided to prank him by "stealing" it... we were all fooled!

Even though IMPACT is almost over, the trip isn't. We'll still have 5 more days on the road after tomorrow. It's hard to believe, cuz it feels like I've been gone forever. I have to go since breakfast is almost over... we're gonna paint the bison today. Time to enjoy the last day!

Monday, the first day of IMPACT

Hi, it's Katie again!

Yesterday was the first full day of IMPACT. I didn't listen to JD when he told us to pace ourselves and ended up completely exhausted at the end of the day. I think that I'll follow his advice today and try to find time for a nap!

That might not be possible, though, because our day was jam-packed with activities. Since IMPACT is longer than a youth rally, they spread out the deep spiritual stuff with a lot of fun activities rather than trying to force too much into one day. We have devos and classes in the morning, but the afternoon is devoted to free time. Then we end the day strong with a lot of worship and devos. Singing in a big arena with 2,800 people is a great experience, and so is doing the Interlude with all those people!

The theme this year is: STRANGER THAN FICTION. It's about the idea that God is the author of our lives so we should stop worrying about ourselves and instead follow what he has planned, and he will make our lives worth reading or watching. It's a lot of pretty intense stuff, and difficult to absorb without getting overwhelmed.

On a side note, there's something to be said about Southern hospitality. It's actually pretty funny to watch.  If I walk through a crowded area, all the men step out of my way and apologize if they accidentally bump me. Also, I haven't had to open any doors myself. But when Ethan tries to walk through a crowd, everyone pushes him around and shuts doors in his face. Haha!

Anyways, it's hard to believe that we're not even halfway through the trip yet. It already feels like I've been gone a week. Thankfully, everyone has been getting along well with each other. In fact, we're all growing closer each day. We ended yesterday by sitting in a dark, empty classroom, each taking turns praying out loud. I like ending the day like that, being together with my friends. I gotta go now because breakfast is almost over. I can't wait to see what the second day of IMPACT has in store for us!

IMPACT! (by Darby Dybdal)

Well where do I start...Ever since the moment we left IMPACT last year I wanted to come back. And here we are! The ride up here was actually a lot of fun. I thought that having 14 people in a van would be slightly uncomfortable but it wasn’t. The host homes were great. Especially my grandparents :) It was great to see them again. And the “excursions” (thats what J.D. calls them) we do are so much fun!

Yesterday night was so exciting! I got to see people that i haven’t seen in a year. I don’t even know some of their names but I recognize their faces. The worship was AWESOME!!! I absolutely love singing with so many people. I can sing as loud as I want and I can’t even hear myself. We were worshiping with BHYM (Burnt Hickory Youth Ministry) before we went to do our own devotion and in the middle of it a bunch of kids from different youth groups came to join us. It was amazing to watch because even thought they didn’t know all the songs we sang they still worship even without knowing the words.

I have Katelin and Misty as my roommates and we have had some great talks. I love that its only the beginning of the week and we’re already opening up to each other. Today has been full of funny skits and games like 9 square (which I rock at) I know the rest of the week is going to be awesome and I cant wait to see what God has to teach me. 

-Darby

Saturday, June 16

(by Katie Guy)

Hi everyone! This is Katie!

It’s still hard to believe that I’m actually here. I never thought I’d be taking a road trip across the country without my parents or grandparents. I was so nervous Friday night that I was shaking a bit. Turns out, I didn’t have a whole lot to worry about! The trip has been great so far. Sitting in the van for 20 hours isn’t as bad as JD made it out to be. It’s the perfect excuse for sleeping and reading and just doing nothing. However, there are some (mostly) unspoken rules of the van. Here are a few:

1. Leave your personal space at the door! Luckily, I don’t really have a problem with this one. Sleeping underneath Darby’s leg is pretty cozy.
2. Keep track of your stuff! If you can’t have your backpack right with you due to a lack of space, at least know where it is. Ethan keeps losing things only to find them and promptly lose them again.
3. Be quiet during sleeping time! This one is unique, as there is no designated sleeping time. It’s kind of funny to watch, actually. Everyone will be up, laughing and talking, then burn out and fall asleep at once. There is an abundance of pictures of sleeping people...
4. Go pee EVERY TIME WE STOP! I have followed this advice and haven’t suffered yet.

We made a few interesting stops along the way to the Dybdal’s farm. We went to Devil’s Tower (ironic, huh) in Wyoming. It’s a big, oddly shaped rock that was featured in some movie about aliens. We didn’t bother driving all the way up to it though, we just stopped for about five minutes and admired it from a distance. Then we went to Wall Drug, which is a famous drug store I’ve never heard of but looks pretty much the same as any other drug store I’ve been to. Around lunchtime, we were starving but couldn’t find a fast food joint anywhere in South Dakota until we stumbled upon a diner located in an antique train. It was run by a bunch of old ladies who were very happy to see us, as we were probably the largest group of customers they had seen in a while. Then, we headed down to Hartington, Nebraska, where the Dybdal farm is located. 

Marj and Lawrence were very welcoming, but unfortunately, only had one shower! We each had to take 5 minute showers, which was very challenging for me. I ate dinner super fast and got in and out of the bathroom before everyone else. Tomorrow, we’re getting up at 4:30 AM so we can hit the road and be at church on time. At the start of every traveling period, we recite the Shema, which is a passage from Deuteronomy that is a Jewish tradition to be recited at the beginning of every day. We each got journals with the Shema written in it, as well as many blank pages to document our trip. However, I haven’t gotten the chance to start writing because my journal is buried in Ethan’s backpack somewhere under all the pillows and blankets... But I’m still following rule #2, because at least I know where it is! Tomorrow we’ll be heading over to Kentucky. I’d better go to bed and rest up. Good night!

IMPACT Roadtrip 2012

Here we come!

Once again, the MVYM has hit the road, traveling all the way to Nashville, Tennessee to attend the phenomenon known as IMPACT, hosted by Lipscomb University!  The following posts and pics will reflect our adventures!  Pray for the group of fourteen travelers, for the spiritual formation that is likely to occur, and for safety along the way.  May God be glorified through our time together!

J.D. Partain

Student Minister

Missoula Valley Church