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Casper, Wyoming … Wyoming Winter Retreat will convene on February 14 at Mills Spring Ranch near Casper Wyoming. The event is a joint venture organized by the Rocky Mountain Youth Department and several members from Casper Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“Join us as we explore together what it means to live ‘Fully Alive’ in Christ,” says Brent Learned, RMC youth assistant director, coordinator of the event.

Brent explains that Wyoming Winter Retreat is designed to emphasize the development of your personal identity and purpose. Over the course of the weekend, we will explore the Scriptures together, recharge together, have fun together, and pray together. “Our hope is that your experience at the retreat will inspire confidence, encourage learning, and establish or re-establish your connection with Jesus Christ. Experiencing Jesus together and exploring what it means to be ‘Fully Alive’ in Christ, you will find the freedom and courage to live life to the fullest,” he explained.

The organizers said that the weekend will include worship, recreation, and fellowship.

Worship: Pastor Henry Johnson, young adult ministries coordinator from the Carolina Conference will serve as biblical teacher for the weekend. Johnson is passionate about connecting and serving all age groups, particularly teens and young adults. Lyle Wortman, along with his band members from Gillette, Wyoming will be leading the retreat through lively worship songs, bringing to life the “Fully Alive” theme. Wyoming Winter Retreat is designed to be a time to hear the word, worship together through singing, and learn from one another through interactive biblical teachings.

Recreation: Sitting atop Casper Mountain, Mills Spring Ranch has more to offer than just pretty views. The retreat’s schedule is designed with plenty of free time to experience favorite winter activities, including sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. Weekend participants should bring their own gear, borrow it from a friend, or rent it from one of the gear shops located in nearby Casper.

Fellowship: A time will be set aside to hang out, build new relationships, and strengthen old ones while engaging in outdoor recreational activities together and participating in Saturday evening activities. Saturday evening will be filled with a plethora of board games, s’mores, hot chocolate, tea, and cider, as well as active games.

Located on Casper Mountain, the Mills Spring Ranch is at 8,000 feet elevation. At this time of the year, winter conditions with several feet of snow are expected. Brent says that participants should bring a winter coat, as well as snow pants, boots, hats, and gloves. Although the buildings will be heated to a cozy warm temperature, participants should bring their own bedding or a sleeping bag.

To register, get directions, or find additional details about Wyoming Winter Retreat, contact Liz Cornett by phone at (307) 277-5084 or by email at [email protected]. Cost is $35 per person which includes food and lodging for the entire weekend.

—Brent Learned, text and photo

Aurora, Colorado … The youth and young adults of the Rocky Mountain Indonesian-American Seventh-day Adventist Church decided to use their feet to share the gospel. On Sabbath, January 31, twenty young people went to the neighborhoods surrounding the church. They signed children up for Vacation Bible School, found adults interested in Bible studies, gave out GLOW tracts, and prayed with people.

“GLOW stands for Giving Light To Our Word,” explains Matt Hasty, RMC literature ministry director. “It’s our conference’s initiative to give every church member an opportunity and training to become a literature evangelist.”

He refers to literature evangelists as “foot-preachers.” He points to “Romans 10:15 “how beautiful are the feet who preach”. Apostle Paul, unable to leave various forms of imprisonments, preached by writing and others delivered on foot what he wrote. This form of preaching made its impact, and millions today are still blessed by the impact these silent foot-preachers made. I believe it’s the same today. Our modern-day Pauls write, and the silent foot-preachers deliver.”

In Aurora, where they held the second annual Sabbath of GLOW outreach, “many seeds were planted,” Matthew reported.

Here is a story of one young person’s experience.

Just down the street from the church, Eduardo met two men standing outside talking.

“Hi, my name’s Eddy. I’m from the church down the street,” Eddy pointed towards the church, “We’re collecting prayer requests from our neighbors. Do you have anything you would like us to pray for?”

“What?” The men were confused, they had never had someone ask them for prayer requests before.

“I just want to pray for you,” Eddy explained.

“Pray to Jesus?” one of the men asked. He began asking Eddy questions about what he believed and what was taught at his church. Eddy spoke to the men about how the church uses the Bible as their foundation, adding nothing and leaving nothing out.

“Does your church let anyone come?” the man wondered.

“Yes, everyone!” Eddy smiled, “Come next week. We even have a potluck after the service. It’s great food.”

“Maybe I will,” the man smiled.

Eddy took out a GLOW tract called Sunday is for Football, Saturday is for _________. He wrote the church’s name on the tract. “Next Saturday can be your day to go to church.” Eddy handed the man the tract.

“On an average week, we get three online GLOW orders from various churches on www.midwestglow.com. I’ve been working with 12 congregations, but I believe there may be more than that,” Matt adds.

Currently, there are 11 students participating in literature evangelism at Campion Academy. Summer 2020 plans are still in development, with an interest to visit all the cities in Colorado outside of Denver, Loveland and the Fort Collins area.

“Many people in our communities are ripe for the harvest. Consider sharing tracts with your church’s neighbors,” Matt encourages.

—Amanda Hasty with Matt Hasty; photo­­­­­­­­­­­ by Amanda Hasty

Loveland, Colorado … Fifth and sixth graders at HMS Richards Elementary School have been diligently working on a bridge-building project that teacher Paul Bragaw has his class do every other year. The class is divided into groups which they refer to as “companies”. The overall goal of the project is to build a successful bridge out of toothpicks that is the correct dimensions of the land provided and is able to bear weight.

To begin with, the companies must come up with a name and assign each person a job. The names that the companies decided on this year include Purified Builders, ABC (American Bridge Building Company), WASBE (First letter of the names of each member of the group), and NBBA (National Bridge Building Company).

The jobs assigned include project director, architect, accountant, carpenter, and transportation chief. Bragaw is in charge overall and owns the warehouse which provides the material needed for each bridge. Each job is equally important and can only be done by the person to whom it is assigned. This challenges the teams to use teamwork. Some groups thought working with groups was easier than others. The accountant is in charge of the imaginary $1,550,000.00 budget and must make sure to maintain the balance. The teams may also be fined for talking to other companies, distracting the companies, and having messy and dangerous building conditions.

The first step in the bridge-building process is drawing up the plans. The plans must be approved by Bragaw. The next step is buying the correct amount of supplies, which include toothpicks and glue, and making sure there is enough money in the budget. Then, the building process begins. This part includes a lot of trial and error, and some groups may find that they need to revise their plans. After the bridge is standing, there is a test to see how much weight the bridge can bear. The company whose bridge can hold the most weight wins.

One of the participating students, Evie Lange, remarked, “It has been fun, but it’s also frustrating and stressful. We didn’t have a lot of money left, and sometimes we would fight. We may not win, but we’re still going to try our hardest.”

—Megan Michalenko; photo by Jill Harlow