We had a great final day of Bible club.  It really has been an awesome we seeing everyone work so hard and love on the children of Cicero.  We ended the week by helping Cicero Baptist throw a big block party at the new church location.  The pictures posted below are of that block party.  Currently, we are on the bus about 2 1/2 hours from New York City.  Lots to see in a very little bit of time!

Another great day of Bible clubs.  Neighborhood location had about 20 kids and we had a new girl at the park location.  The mission team also worked hard in the afternoon to move some lumber, cut a overgrow field, and handed out fliers for the Block party tomorrow.  However, we took some time to relax and have a little fun at a local beach and mini-golf course.  O, and we saw a plastic moose!

Another couple days of Bible clubs.  Both teams grew a little bit and the mission team is doing a great job with the kids.  The team also did another afternoon yesterday of going door to door letting people know about the block party this Friday.  After lunch today we sang at a local nursing home.

Heard a great story about how God is beginning to use our efforts here in Cicero.  A man and his son came by the Lakeshore Baptist building today while Pastor Karl was working.  He heard about the block party through the fliers and wanted to come check out the location.  His whole family will be coming to the party Friday.  On top of that, it turns out that this man is a contrator and he is willing to start putting up dry wall at the church (MAJOR NEED) every Saturday.  It is amazing how God can work and bring people together.

I leave you with a few more pictures.  I think will are going to have a little fun over at a bowling alley tonight.  Keep praying & we’ll keep working!

Michael Bucy

GREAT DAY!  Today was the kickoff day for the two backyard bible club locations.  One club location was in a small park near the current Cicero Baptist Church building and the second location was at a church member’s home near the new Lakeshore Baptist building.  The park location was attended by one family (parents & 5 kids) & the neighborhood location had about 10 kids.  For the first day, I was very encouraged by these numbers and I hope to see a few more friends the next couple of days.  Our food team (Glen, Lindsay, & Jordan) prepared a great lunch for us to eat at the park.  After lunch we did a little clean-up work over at the new church building.  Tomorrow schedule will be very similar to today’s.  Please keep praying!

Today the mission choir had the opportunity to sing at two churches.  In the morning we sang at Cicero Baptist Church and Vorea Baptist Church in the evening.  In between services the mission team spent two hours going door-to-door with fliers letting people know about the local backyard bible clubs.  I think everyone is a little worn out tonight, myself included.  I will conclude by just giving you all several pictures of the choir and Vorea Baptist Church:

Today we finished the last 6 hours of the 18 hour drive from Southaven to Cicero!

After we got settled in the hotel and had a little food, we got to work preparing for the Bible clubs.  Late this evening we handed out fliers in a few local neighborhoods surrounding the neighborhood bible club location (100+ homes).  For the most part, the people we spoke to were polite and somewhat responsive.  I think everyone had at least a few doors closed in their face before finishing a single sentence, but that is to be expected in this area.  We also had a chance to see the new church property that is being renovated and where we will be hosting a block party on Friday.

Tomorrow the mission choir will be singing at two different churches (once in morning and once at night).  Between the two church services we will be once again handing out fliers at the other Bible club location.

Keep praying!

Michael Bucy

Prayer Warriors,

We made it safely through the night to Sandusky, Ohio.  LONG DRIVE (13+ hours, ON A BUS)!  If you were lucky, you might have got 5 or 6 hours of sleep, but most got very little.  However, we were quickly awakened by a roller coaster at Cedar Point that launched us at 12o MPH!!!  This is on top of one of the world’s fastest stand-up coasters, a coaster that drops you about 300 feet at close to 100 mph, and wood coasters going near 60 mph!

What an amazing coaster park!  Everyone seemed to have had a great time, but I think the lack of sleep and a day of walking in the sun has taken its toll on everyone.  I don’t think sleeping will be a problem again tonight.

Tomorrow we finish the remaining 6 hour drive to Cicero, NY.  If time permits, we will begin handing out flyers for the Backyard Bible Club (BBC) and upcoming block party.  Be praying for your kids; this task will require them to go door-to-door (in groups) to hand deliver the flyers (a huge push out of your comfort zone for most people).

Please keep prayin’ & I try to keep updatin’!

For God’s glory,

Michael Bucy

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3: 13-14

The Winter Olympics begins this week.  I recently came across a story about Olympic speed skater, Dan Jansen, that related to these verses out of Philippians:

After falling twice in the 1988 Olympic speed-skating races, Dan Jansen sought out sports psychologist Dr. Jim Loehr, who helped him find a new balance between sport and the rest of his life, and who helped him pay more attention to the mental aspects of skating.  Peter Mueller became his coach, putting him through workouts that he has since described as “the toughest I’ve ever known.”  By the time the 1994 Olympics arrived, Jansen had more confidence than ever.  He had set a 500-meter world record just two months previously.  That race seemed to be all his!

Then, Jansen fell during the 500-meter race.  Dr. Loehr immediately advised, “Start preparing for the 1000.  Put the 500 behind you immediately.  Stop reliving it.”  The 1000!  For years he didn’t believe he could win that distance.  He had always considered it his weaker event.  Now it was his last chance for an Olympic medal.  As the race began, Jansen said, “I just seemed to be sailing along,” and then he slipped and came within an inch of stepping on the lane marker.  Still, he didn’t panic.  He raced on and recorded a world-record time that won him the gold medal! ¹

Goals can be very intimidating, because it can sometimes feel like you might be setting yourself up for failure or disappointment.  However, without goals you will never be pushed to achieve anything.

Our relationship with God should really be no different.  We need to push ourselves to be more and do more within the Kingdom of God.  Just like with the athelthes at the Olympics, it is going to take some hard work and training on your part.  You may even need to set some goals for yourself.  One goal we have set as a church staff is to read through the Bible in a year.  You could have this goal or countless others: “Memorize one Bible verse a week or month.” “Share the Gospel with at least one person this month.” “Spend 15 minutes alone with my Bible & God every day.”  You get the idea!  Even if you fail at some of these goals, your walk with Christ will be so much better than if you had never tried.

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.”
-Unknown- ¹

1. “God’s Little Devotional for Graduates.”  Honor Books, Inc., Tulsa, OK.  1995.  Pgs 174-175.

Our youth ministry page has a new look and several new features.  One of those new features is a weekly blog from me, Bucy.  I’ve never really done the blog thing before, so I’m not sure what it may contain in the future.  I guess it will be a random mix of many things.

“So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  Revelation 3:16

Last night at H2O (youth worship service) I spoke on Jesus’ parable, “The Good Samaritan,” (Luke 10: 25-37).  That parable has caused me to think a lot about passion.  As people, we seem to be naturally passionate about the things we love.  Our passion will often cause us to do some of the wildest and dumbest things we have ever done.  Why is that?  Because we don’t know any better… maybe, but I believe it’s just people wanting to show how much they care; even if they do end up using poor judgment.

You can find passionate people for every sports team, political view, recreational activity, and world cause.  However, a place that is becoming harder and harder to find passionate people, at least in America, is in the Church.  As Christians we claim to be in a love relationship with Christ, so it should not be that difficult for us to be passionate about what we love, should it?  Why is it that bad weather will cause people to miss church on a Sunday, but the same weather does not keep them from the Ole Miss football game?  We’ve got to start changing this trend in America by living with passion for Christ here in Southaven and on your school campus.

To become passionate about Christ you’ve got to spend time with Christ.  As you begin to understand just how much Christ loves you and how He rescued you from your sin, you can’t help but become passionate about Him.  This will also cause you to stop “hoping” your lost friends get saved, and have you start telling them about Jesus.  Let’s stop being “lukewarm” Christians, and start burning with a passion for Him and spending time with Him in prayer and the Word.  With Christ as our passion, we cannot go wrong!

Bucy out!