Things have been going well at Victory lately. Last Sunday we had 50 in attendance, which is one of our highest Sundays yet. Momentum has been gaining, and members have been fantastic in finding ways to help out in various ministries.
Last weekend we held a Fear Factor activity for the youth. The youth department was basically organized just a couple months ago and has done well with consistency. There were around 20 teens that showed up for the activity, so we were thrilled. There were four challenges that could be participated in, with points awarded for attempting, completing, and winning each one.
The first one was hilarious! Four kids raced at a time and started at the back of the pews. They had to crawl under the pews all the way to the front of the room. Our pews, which were donated to us from another church, have these knee rests that can be in an up or down position. (We Baptists don't do much kneeling during a service, but they make great footrests!) These rests made the crawl underneath harder because you kind of have to do a sort of over-under crawl. Anyway, at the front of the room waiting for the racers was a huge tub of flour that had wrapped pieces of bubble gum in it. Without using their hands they had to pick up a piece of gum in their mouth. I was worried that they might all be shy, but I was wrong! They all just buried their heads in the flour and went at it. It was sooo funny, all the counselors were laughing their heads off. It took longer than expected, but everyone managed to find their gum within three minutes. The first one to blow a bubble won their heat.
The second game involved a blender and beets, anchovies, dog food, and other things. Most participated, and most drank the whole cup! Just in case, there was a puke bucket, which was needed a couple times. Apparently, one teenager decided she could make it to the bathrooms instead before she blew. . .she was wrong. We had a nice trail on the carpet that had to be cleaned up. Funny thing was, she didn't even tell us she'd made a mess, we discovered it later on. Eeewwww.
They also had to hold their faces underwater while dangling a live worm from their mouth. The big decision with that was which end of the worm should go in their mouth. I'm glad I didn't do it! The last thing they did was to go into our pitch black unfinished basement and find 10 glo-sticks.
The activity was a hit! They all seemed to have fun, and a girl ended up with the prize. Justin gave a devotion and presented them with the gospel. Two teens ended up getting saved the following Monday at the Bible study, so the weekend was very profitable. We are now going to start planning a May Amazing Race deal.
