Bible bowl was quite the experience this year.

When Allison, Christian, and I heard that the Junior Division would be the only team representing our church, we felt a lot of pressure. Not to mention that there were only 3 of us and we had to finish reading about 7 books and comprehend and understand what we were reading. But despite these things, we knew that there was nothing more important than reading the word of God.

It was challenging for me to comprehend and focus on what I was reading, but I still kept trying.

It was the week before the actual tournament, and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of reading I had to get done. I tried and tried with Ate Jill and Elydon at my side. They made questions for me and we had practices.

The day of the bowl, I was feeling nervous. We pulled up to the church and I had so many doubts in my head. I knew I wasn’t ready, but it would be a good experience.

Our first game was a disappointment to my team and me. We tried so hard and answered what we could, and took a guess on those that we had an inkling about, but our opposing team was extremely good. Our second round didn’t go any better, but we still kept our heads up.

We knew that we weren’t really ready, but it taught us a lesson to study harder for next year. Despite our loss, we still got knowledge from the bible and I want to continue to participate for as long as I can. It is a great experience and we have more motivation for us to try harder and as they always say at bible bowl, “You’re always a winner when you read the word of God.”

The Operation Global Rain or otherwise known as the World Wide Week of Prayer was a great up-lifting experience for me. As my second year to attend the gathering, from May 1st to May 10th, each night my friends and family-myself included worshipped and prayed for the pouring of the Holy Spirit unto us. Speaking as a student, my weekday is filled with school, school, and more school and waiting till the Sabbath Day to come, but the Week of Prayer was an awakening for me. It brought inspiration and a feeling of comfort because of all the stress from school, those 10 days made me feel relaxed. Touched by God’s Word, it showed me that our troubles and problems are “only temporary” but the Holy Spirit is eternal. This special event to me is a new tradition in my life and memories that will last forever.

“The youth lock in was unbelievably fun and a definite success. We had all the essentials… Apples to Apples and other board games, girls cooking AMAZING food (Thanks Jill, Jennye, Ellen and all your little helpers), and boys with their video games, but we also did a number of new things. A few of us stayed up till the sun came up, a major feat in itself as our last record of staying up was held at Jennye’s house at the inconceivable time of 5:30. Talking and just learning more about each other, we just didn’t want to go to bed. The next morning Jennye and I had a ping pong tournament with the boys. As amateurs we were naturals and almost beat the boys, but didn’t want to hurt their egos, so we let them win. The end of the day consisted of everyone chowing down on Jill’s world renown pancake breakfast before having another round of Apples to Apples. By then half the house had come down with something, but I’ve always thought that to be a major indicator on how good a lock in is. Thankfully we had Jennye’s delicious, spicy soup to help soothe our throats. Right before we left we played a little Guitar Hero…my now most favorite game ever!! I am definitely looking forward to having another lock in in the near future. Spending time with this youth group before I have to leave is something I will absolutely miss.” – Janet Cometa

“This past lock-in at Ronnie’s house was absolutely a blast! I have to admit, I have fallen in love with lock-ins. This is only my second lock-in within my whole life and I can already pronounce my love for it. The weekend lock-in meant a lot of laughs, great food, bonding, and of course, being locked-in a house with some of my favorite people. This particular lock in was special to me since my older brother, Raymond, and my cousin, Benny (a*k*a Timmy, Bennihana, etc.) were both going as well and since I don’t really get to spend a lot of time with them, this was a special time for me. We were also blessed with the presence of the bride and grom themselves, Ate Memorie and Kuya Duane.

The lock-in started late on Saturday night but our Iron Chefs (Jennye, Jill, and Ellen) along with the rest of the girls were still able to whip up a delicious late Mexican dinner complete with chicken tortilla soup, Spanish rice, and fajitas. !Muy Bien! After dinner, the girls decided to entertain the boys in song to convince them to clean up. It was quite a difficult feat but I do believe the boys love when we girls sing to them, especially Mr. Agui-NALDO. When the songs ended and the dishes were washed, we were all amped to start our favorite game of Apples-to-Apples and then Taboo. Cranium was missed but Apples-to-Apples provided lots of screams and laughs. After the board games, the boys went off to do what they do best, Halo, and the girls with the older guys went off to do what we do best, talk and get to know each other more. It was a fun and relaxing night that ended early around 4:30/5am. We were all able to squeeze in a couple of hours/minutes of sleep before waking up to Jill’s banging in the kitchen and Jennye’s prominent voice, always one of my favorite ways of waking up.

Breakfast was as delicious as dinner. Jillian Fortin can’t seem to do any wrong in the kitchen and delivered us fruit-filled crepes, turkey bacon, and eggs benedicts. (I make sure to include details of the food to show that our Iron Chefs do not simply throw cereal or microwaveables at us, they really throw down in the kitchen!) After breakfast, we had more memorable moments with Apples-to-Apples and Guesstures. The rest of the day was spent on the games, great talks, Wii (which I absolutely loved!) and Guitar Hero. Going home as always was quite sad but I’m sure Ronnie was ready to have his beautiful house to himself again.

This lock in provided so much fun for all of us and I really cant wait for the next one. I say that I love lock-ins because of the food and the fun but I really do treasure these moments that we all get to bond. Some of us are going away soon and being able to spend this time together means a lot to all of us. And as we grow together as friends in our fun and games, I do believe we are growing together as a church family as well. I sincerely feel blessed to have a group of friends to laugh and enjoy each other’s company with but that will also pray with me and for me.” – Maria Paguinto

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