Christmas With The Elams

As everyone agreed, it did sound like a prime time ABC Christmas special. However, it turned out to be a great time of fellowship for everyone. It was a great evening to stay inside and out of the nasty weather! There's nothing better than good Christian fellowship when it is accompanied by hot food and a roaring fire! Throw in a game of Imaginiff... and you have yourself Christmas With The Elams! Thanks to Gary and Naomi for their hospitality!

Gary and Naomi, our gracious hosts

Pastor Baker and Micah

Jeni and Dave seem to be having a good time

Jean preparing to answer a question

Caleb Baker revealing his answer (Gary is confirming it in the background)

The soon-to-be-wed Mr. Seth E. Bradley and Miss Natalie R. Smallwood :)

Jim and Nancy Bradley seem to agree on their answer

Ross looks very confident in his decision

Imaginiff...

Teen Christmas Party

On Saturday, Brother Mark took the teens ice skating for a couple of hours before the Christmas Party at the Northern Kentucky Ice Rink. It was a blast! They spent the afternoon flying around the ice playing tag, taking out old ladies and little kids (ask Ross Elam and Caleb Baker), and causing chaos and havoc in general! It was also an experience trying to teach Gaby Cabrera to skate. Let's just say she got better as the day went on. Afterwards they went to the home of Brandon and Suzy Ervin for tacos, games, and presents. They also had some fun "editing" the day's pictures on the Wii! All in all, it was a great day!

The whole crew

Just the guys

Caleb preparing to body-check Ross

Smile, Kelsey!

Gaby made it around a few times

Of course they are laughing at the ones who wiped out!

Gaby trying to make it (she did just fine)

The gang at the party (what a fine-lookin' bunch!)

Gaby, Kelsey, Beth and Alicia--four fine young ladies!

Mark and Caleb, the red-eyed reindeer!

Brandon and Suzy, our gracious hosts for the evening

Mark singing one the mad libs entitled "I'll Be Crunchy for Christmas"

Patch the Pirate Club Goes Glo-Golfing

On Sunday, Allyson Maynard and Missy Fancher took their Patch the Pirate Club kids (along with Allyson's husband Mark, who, incidentally, was told he was too "old" to be in the Patch the Pirate Club) to the Florence Mall to experience their new Glo Golf course. This is an 18-hole golf course that is lit completely with black lights. It was interesting trying to explain to the kids what a "black light" was and how exactly it functioned. Despite the science lesson, everyone had a great time. Afterwards the kids went with Mark and blew every dollar they had on toys while Allyson and Missy got to do a little Christmas shopping. According to Joshua Baker, after the outing was over, "Nobody had any money left, but at least I still had some 'sense'!" That evening, the Patch the Pirate Club sang two songs (accompanied by a snazzy dance routine by Joshua Baker) and Mark preached the service. It was a fun but exhausting day!

Behold, the miracle of black lights

Mark and Joshua as you have never seen them before

John "The Golden Bear" Fancher for par

Conner Ervin, half Tiger Woods, half Tony Hawk

Allyson Maynard and Missy Fancher, captains of the club

Mark and Allyson Maynard enjoying their afternoon

The Captains and their crew

The club singing one of their two songs of the night

Mark preaching the message on Sunday evening

Youth 4 Christ YMCA Overnighter

On Friday, November 9, 2007, the teens attended the Youth 4 Christ YMCA Overnighter sponsored by First Baptist Church of Milford, Ohio and Brother Doug Baker. We began the night at the church with a preaching service by Pastor Jonathan Gordon. Several teens were saved during the invitation--Praise the Lord! Afterwards, we made the trek up to Lebanon, Ohio, home of the nation's largest YMCA. There we participated in basketball, racquetball, rock climbing, and just good, Christian fellowship. We had all the food and drink we cared to eat as well! We had a great time! Sorry for the quality of the pictures. Most were taken on a cell phone camera.

An interesting take on "Beach Volleyball"

Pastor Jonathan Gordon

The night began with mass quantities of this...

Racquetball ensued(do not believe any reports of Brother Mark getting hit in the face with a racquetball)...

This is not one our young people, but this was not an uncommon sight!

Climbing the walls while totally hopped up on caffeine--what a teenager's life is all about!

Happy Reformation Day!

This post is dedicated to Martin Luther and all those who were involved in the Protestant Reformation. For those who don't know, it was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to church door in Wittenberg, Germany. These theses were in protest to the Catholic church's selling of indulgences. Indulgences were sold by the church in order to decrease the amount of time your loved one would spend in Purgatory. This idea appalled and angered Luther, so much so that he wrote the theses and nailed them to the local church door, where the news of the day was generally posted. This bold act was the flash point of what became known as the Protestant Reformation, a movement which eventually led to translation and printing of the King James Version of the Bible in 1611.

"Tracting" the Bengals game

II Corinthians 4:4--"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

Nowhere is this more apparent than in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon when the Bengals are in town. Today a group of men went downtown before the game and passed out a tract called "Earning Their Stripes", a Bengal-themed tract written by church deacon Jim Bradley. Although there was a hindering spirit present, we presented the Gospel to approximately 2,000 people, including 4 Cincinnati police officers (kudos to Caleb Baker). It was good to see the men of the church come together with purpose and zeal. Hopefully this is the first day of many more to come. Thanks to all those who prayed and participated! The Word of God will not return void!

Please forgive the look on Pastor Baker's face--he really does enjoy doing this!

Union Corn Maze

Today was our first church activity in quite some time that involved the both the adults and the teenagers. We went to a corn maze in Union, KY on a family-run beef cattle farm. There were a lot of different things to do besides the maze, including a hay ride (ask Natalie about feeding corn to the cows), a petting zoo, a log cabin "tour", corn hole, and even a ride in a genuine 1924 Ford Model T. It was a pretty amazing place! Everyone enjoyed themselves quite a bit, despite the dreary weather conditions. Afterwards, we went back to church and grilled some hot dogs and sat around the fire, singing songs and sharing testimonies of things that the Lord had done for us. It was an exhausting yet very enjoyable day!