Today was our day at Cedar Point Amusement Park. They claim to be the roller coaster capital of the world. I can tell you right now that they didn't disappoint!!
We arrived at 10 am, right when the park opened. Our group, in addition to their park tickets, received two other items this morning: A meal voucher to assure them of a good meal at some point during the day, and an All-day drink wristband, to allow them to stay hydrated without worrying about the high cost of drinks at theme parks!
Upon entering the park, our youth received their instructions for the day and immediately took off in a thousand directions to see what thrills and chills they could discover. I'm sure that the pictures Mr. G. and our student photographers have taken will re-tell the story better than anything I can do here. Let me just say that our youth had a fantastic day at Cedar Point!!
Each year during tour, we keep what we affectionately call "The Tour Kitty." It's simply a collection of money donated by the youth (sometimes voluntarily, more often, not really) that we donate to one of our mission projects. Most of the money in the tour kitty is collected as late fees or buy backs for items left at churches, work sites, and other locations. This incentive really helps our groups to be responsible with the time and resources we have during tour. During the past few days, Kendell and I have received several donation offers, one in excess of $100 to the tour kitty, if we'd just let them stop at a mall.
Once we were worn out and ready to leave all the Amusement Park fun behind, we boarded the bus for the 1 1/2 hour bus ride back to our hotel. En route, we somehow discovered a very nice shopping center and "accidentally" stopped and let the youth out for dinner and some time together there. The offer of $100 for the tour kitty turned into a reality as our youth, led by Julianna and Lydia from Marion, collected in excess of $100 in a few short hours! I'm so proud of our youth and their generosity. Currently, the total of our Tour Kitty is around $250. We are daring our group to push that to $300 by the time we return home. Our youth will be working together tomorrow to make a decision on where the money for the tour kitty will be donated.
We capped off a great day together by holding devotions (led by Marion) and a special evening ceremony in honor of our graduating Seniors. Each of our Seniors lighted a Wishing Lantern, which then took flight and drifted off into space. Kendell reminded us that Jesus said "I am the light of the world" and that we are charged with carrying that light as we go. A special thanks to Paige Sisk for helping to arrange a special night for our seniors. It was a memorable night indeed!
With a great end to a great day we turned in for the evening.
We arrived at 10 am, right when the park opened. Our group, in addition to their park tickets, received two other items this morning: A meal voucher to assure them of a good meal at some point during the day, and an All-day drink wristband, to allow them to stay hydrated without worrying about the high cost of drinks at theme parks!
Upon entering the park, our youth received their instructions for the day and immediately took off in a thousand directions to see what thrills and chills they could discover. I'm sure that the pictures Mr. G. and our student photographers have taken will re-tell the story better than anything I can do here. Let me just say that our youth had a fantastic day at Cedar Point!!
Each year during tour, we keep what we affectionately call "The Tour Kitty." It's simply a collection of money donated by the youth (sometimes voluntarily, more often, not really) that we donate to one of our mission projects. Most of the money in the tour kitty is collected as late fees or buy backs for items left at churches, work sites, and other locations. This incentive really helps our groups to be responsible with the time and resources we have during tour. During the past few days, Kendell and I have received several donation offers, one in excess of $100 to the tour kitty, if we'd just let them stop at a mall.
Once we were worn out and ready to leave all the Amusement Park fun behind, we boarded the bus for the 1 1/2 hour bus ride back to our hotel. En route, we somehow discovered a very nice shopping center and "accidentally" stopped and let the youth out for dinner and some time together there. The offer of $100 for the tour kitty turned into a reality as our youth, led by Julianna and Lydia from Marion, collected in excess of $100 in a few short hours! I'm so proud of our youth and their generosity. Currently, the total of our Tour Kitty is around $250. We are daring our group to push that to $300 by the time we return home. Our youth will be working together tomorrow to make a decision on where the money for the tour kitty will be donated.
We capped off a great day together by holding devotions (led by Marion) and a special evening ceremony in honor of our graduating Seniors. Each of our Seniors lighted a Wishing Lantern, which then took flight and drifted off into space. Kendell reminded us that Jesus said "I am the light of the world" and that we are charged with carrying that light as we go. A special thanks to Paige Sisk for helping to arrange a special night for our seniors. It was a memorable night indeed!
With a great end to a great day we turned in for the evening.