Only a youth director...

Only a youth director would spend his birthday with youth 9 out of the 10 years as a youth director.

Only a youth director would spend the night before his birthday in a Global Village with his youth.

Only a youth director would sleep in a rundown trailer in a Global Village at the Heifer International Farm (pic below). 

Only a youth director would wake up from sleeping here (pic below) in the Global Village the morning of his birthday.

Only a youth director's youth would set their alarms so they could wake him up at midnight just to sing him HAPPY BIRTHDAY just so they could be the first to wish him a happy day.

Only a youth director wouldn't have it any other way...well, he does miss his family, but this is still pretty good.

Only a youth director.  Not bad.  Not bad at all.

Day Two: Poop and Fences

I learned things today. I learned that shoveling poop is not glamorous. I learned how to milk a goat. I learned that Walker Sullivan is a rabbit and goat whisperer. I learned that when Josh Ransom does devotionals, he is filled with God's grace and willing to share. I also learned that beef liver patte' is not a favorite of mine (even though Walker says it tastes better with salt and pepper) and that I would prefer my soup hot, but chilled is alright too.
Yesterday, as soon as we got here, we jumped into chores which were not like chores we were used to. We herded sheep up the mountain like some warped version of Sound of Music and I've never seen something so funny. Imagine kids attempting to bully loud, terrified sheep past a huge garden filled with vegetables they would much rather be eating.. Chaos. Last night we had a good meal that included stuffed peppers with quinoa and sausage, beet salad, and strawberry rhubarb tart for desert. For a bunch of kids from the south I think everyone did a really good job with trying the different foods (disregarding the carrot-ginger soup served today at lunch which was a little too orange for some).
I can't continue any further without mentioning what we did for our service project today. This is the big lesson of the day- don't volunteer for tasks without knowing what they are. Molly, Cammy, Caileigh, Joe, Josh, Ariel, Jonathan, and I volunteered blindly and ended up with the crappiest (pun intended) job of the day - shoveling compacted poop from the stalls that were two feet deep! Dubbed the Poop Group, we had a pretty awesome time singing ourselves through the trauma. The other group did an awesome time building an enclosure for the ornery llamas (who remind me of grouchy old men).
Overall, the group seems to be having an excellent time, full of traumatic poop shoveling, boulder moving, orange soup, 5 am sunrises, and great devotionals.
Tomorrow we move to the global village- which will be a great source of entertainment. We will be sorted into different villages deep in the wood, complete with realistic living conditions (no power or running water) and some of the villages have dirt floors and no doors. It will definitely be an adventure (especially if our group is near the Yak which is said to be aggressive).
Before I end this blog post, it's important to touch on what Josh preached to the group about tonight and a quote that was just what I needed to hear. "Let go and Let God." As Josh put it, "Ask God not for things, but for him to prepare you for his things." We are learning to let go and let God on this trip, and tomorrow will be a true testament to that philosophy.

Olivia Huey

(PS-our youth leaders have been phenomenal this trip, after-all, how often can you see yourself becoming someones friend that saw you at the worst, most unflattering time of your life- middle school?)

The sun is set, the breeze is back and half of us have showered while the other half of us still smell like goat pooo.  Taking a little time before devotion around the "tent city" is a good idea.  There are loud amounts of chatter, and the air smells of aerosol bug spray, sweet shampoo, oreos (don't tell the Overlook staff!) and gatorade.

Today was full day to say the least.  Building rock walls (using boulders mind you) for Llamas to go from a 200sq foot "apartment" hut living to an over 2000 sq foot lavish grazing yard (photos included), to scooping a HUGE MOUND of poo into the bucket of a tractor made the day interesting to say the least.  We had a large crew working with fencing, post pushers, wire cutters, hammers and pins to secure the fencing to the posts for none other than, the Llamas.

The education piece, offered by Heifer has been saturated with really great info with an emphasis on saturated meaning, by the time our 7pm ed. time came, we entered the "loopy" phase of the day and basically we were toast.  

The group is crowded 'round old picnic tables while the sky, still lit with lavender colored clouds with hints of pink, hover over the twilight.  Josh Ransom begins our evening devotion by sharing with us a few passages of scripture that are meaningful to him.
Ending with the whisper of the wind...

More Heifer International Farm Pics!

Good Mornin'!

Good mornin' from the farm!  Not a bad thing waking up to the sunrise when you're on the Heifer International Rutland Farm! 

Sr. High Pics...

So Olivia will give you the write-ups and I'll provide the photos!!!  We started our farm chores the first hour we stepped foot on the farm!  - Scott

On the road again..

Alamance presbyterian is on the road again! Currently we're in Connecticut at a gas station, staring in disbelief at the 3.85 a gallon gas. We are two hours away before we begin our journey at Heifer International Overlook ranch in Rutland, MA. It was a long drive yesterday, we left at 8 am and arrived in Lawrencville, NJ at 6, just in time to scarf down pizza before we toured Princeton and the town surrounding. Before I go any further, you must know that Princeton was similar to the most magical place on earth (fictional)-- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary. In all seriousness, I've never seen a more majestic and architecturally Magnificent campus and I fully understand why people drool over the school. Unfortunately I realized my aspiration to be a Princeton student far too late but I'll settle for just pretending I go there. We all returned to the church for devotionals and a little history lesson on the church, given by Rich Richards who used to be the youth minister at this church while his wife attended Princeton seminary. He informed us that the church was the second (if not first) oldest Presbyterian church in new jersey. The church was established in 1698 and the current sanctuary was rebuilt in the 1760's. Needless to say, it was breathtaking and full of history. Rich showed us one side of an old tunnel under the road to the pub down the street, serving as a leg of the underground railroad during the civil war. The church used to harbor fugitive slaves from the people looking for them. The closet in the back of the church opened to a long shaft (now filled in) that led to the tunnel underneath. It was insane to hear and be around such history and put things into prospective regarding the age of the church. We discussed the verse Luke 12:22-34, which touched on valuing the things in your life that are really important. This week we hope to gain perspective on what things we need, and what we actually just want. I can't say sleeping on the floor last night was thoroughly enjoyable but being around 20 highschool girls in the same room on one big makeshift bed was definitely hilarious. The boys enjoyed playing basketball in the church's gym, and the college boys have informed me that they "utterly destroyed" the highschool boys in ball. Tonight we will be sleeping in platform tents so i think it's safe to say it'll be a new kind of experience.. Hopefully we brought enough bugspray.. til next time, Olivia Huey (designated blogger as of this minute)