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Hey Kids: There is a "rhythm" to the universe. God set it up that way. We see and sense it as we watch the sunrise and sunset each day. We experience it in the four seasons. We see it as the tides rise and fall and the waves continually lap against the beaches. The blood flowing though our body as the heart rhythmically pounds out a life tune is evidence of a system God has put in place. Problems happen when that heart skips a beat or beats irregularly. It's time to go see the doc and get things working right again. Don't forget to check out our new Daytona Beach Camp. It is for middle school, high school and college students. Louie will be doing some special college tracks. It's gonna be great. Check it out at: www.theorangeconference.com See ya there, |
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As you all probably know we are just about sold out for all of the camps in Panama City Beach. There are a lot of you on the waiting list, so we want to make sure you know about BigStuf Daytona Beach this summer. We are so excited about what God is doing with BigStuf right now and that He has placed it on our hearts to try something new this year to ensure that everyone who wants to experience BigStuf...CAN! Daytona Beach is going to be everything you love about camp taken to the next level. You will be on the journey with lead worshippers Steve Fee, Kristian Stanfill, and Chrystina Fincher and listening to Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio all week. In fact, Louie will also lead college students during their own break out sessions! For some of you the jury still might be out on what the BigStuf Daytona Beach Student Conference will be like, but we want to assure you that it will be the same BigStuf you love in Panama City Beach packed up and taken to Daytona Beach. You will have main sessions in the morning and evening with cool worship, an awesome stage, an opportunity to play on the beautiful beaches and awesome pools at your hotels, then finishing the day with the church group time that is so vital to your time spent with us. It's true, you won't be staying on the property of the main session meetings, but you will be close. We have done our best to make the lodging and food as close to the experience you all love in Panama City Beach. So even though there will be several different things going on, just imagine what it will be like for your students to worship with 6,000 other students in an arena running towards our great big God...pretty cool. We can't wait. We want you to be there. So if you are on a waiting list or not registered yet, we really encourage you to think about taking your group to Daytona Beach for this new adventure...and give us a call if you have any questions! |
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Lanny As some of you heard, Lanny just had a pretty crazy back surgery! The past few months have consisted of many hours of recovery and getting back to his crazy self. He is recovering well and can't wait to get down to camp this summer and show you the new bounce in his step! Lanny has been busy with the creative planning of camp. Hard to believe that all of the planning has already started, but it's true! You can often find him in meetings with other freaky creative...um I mean...amazingly creative people, or working by the fireplace with a smoothie. He and Peggy are busy as ever keeping up with their 3 boys, Landon, Andrew, and Evan, but they are always ready for the adventure. In their free time they really love to jump on the trampoline and practice their new tricks. Have you heard the news that trampolines are actually FABULOUS recovery for back surgery? (uhhh.....) |
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Gwen Oh Gwen! I don't know what we would do without her. I don't want to say this every time, but I probably will.... I have NO idea what we would do without her in this office! She keeps it all together. I swear, if it weren't for her none of us would have our sanity. Well, if you have ever called the office you would know that we already don't, but Gwen keeps us in line! Gwen stays extremely busy keeping up with our trampoline-jumping boss! She manages his schedule, organizes his notes, and keeps the place from spontaneously bursting out in flames. Seriously. One morning I was actually on fire and she put me out. Gwen has recently remodeled her home and is always busy finishing those projects at home. She really enjoys deep sea diving and feeding dangerous sharks and mollusks. |
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Brian Brain...I mean...Brian has been busy busy busy this fall! He is the guy for BigStuf that makes and maintains relationships with various ministries that we partner with. He attended all of the Youth Specialties conferences with our staff, as well as his wife and his beautiful baby, Addison! Addison just turned one in November and she is walking around like a crazy fool! She is learning words and recognizing animals when she reads books...she is so smart!! Brian keeps himself busy these days working a lot with BigStuf Productions as well as getting the budget ready for 2007 camps while the rest of us figure out how we can best confuse him in this process. Brian has also become great friends with the chipmunk who hangs out around our office, he has cleverly named him Alvin and you can often find Brian and Alvin sharing a bag of fresh peanuts on the front porch. |
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Megan Megan is up to her neck in planning for Daytona! She is working out how meals are going to work, ironing out the final details with the hotels in the area, organizing the army of volunteers we will need as well as managing a whole lot of production gigs that have been coming her way. Needless to say, Megan keeps herself busy! It's a good thing she has a sweet new office to do all of that work in. Megan and her awesome husband, Matt, have just put their house on the market (check out buyowner.com for more details!) and they can't wait to sell it and move into the new home they are building! This fall they traveled to Florida to attend every home game at the University of Florida. They are DIE HARD Gators fans and they LOVE going to the game. Now all Megan likes to talk about is how they are the national champs...blah blah blah. CHOMP CHOMP! Megan has really gotten into land snorkeling lately. I'm not sure if you have heard of it or not, but it's all about purifying your oxygen intake by walking around with a snorkel and mask on. It's a really interesting concept, Megan likes to find new birds and land creatures on her land snorkeling adventures. |
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Sheila The Registration Diva, Sheila, has been hard at work talking to millions of people on the phone answering questions and registering people for camp! She can answer any question you have about ANYTHING (x.101...challenge her). Sheila is also busy getting the hotel details ironed out in Daytona and trying to make the registration process as easy as possible for the new monster...I mean...camp we are having this summer! On a personal note, Sheila is NOT engaged nor does she actually wear wedding dresses to work. I see my lies were taken seriously in the last newsletter, so now that we are all clear, you can stop calling! We will blow the trumpets when that fine hunk does pop the question! (which, between you and me, I am hoping it will be soon!) Sheila really enjoys climbing apple trees in the fall. She blessed us all with a wonderful selection of applesauces, butters, pies, cakes, breads, hats and mittens this fall. It was, uh...overwhelming? (and quite apple-licious) |
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Jamie Jamie has pretty much been gone all fall! He attended all 4 Youth Specialties conferences doing the graphic elements in the main sessions. He was also there to help us with all of our technical problems at the booth! Now that he is back in the office, he has found that his co-workers really know how to screw things up when he is away! He is busy fixing laptops, printers, and really anything else that you can plug in that we messed up! Jamie stays busy outside of work hanging out with his wife, Kristin, decorating their house, painting, finding new furniture, playing with puppies, kittens, and gerbils, and watching 24. One of Jamie's favorite things to do is roll quickly down large hills in mountainous regions. He is looking into taking it to a more serious level and compete in a competition called "The Big Roll Off." We're really excited for him. But does anyone know a great way to get grass stains out of your hair? |
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Leah Leah has been enjoying her fall at BigStuf! She has been busy filling orders for our online store, figuring out some of the copyrights for the videos we make, which, surprisingly, she loves, as well as helping Sheila out with registration. Often people call to talk to Sheila but she blindsides them with her wit and knowledge, clearly...but, if they see through that, she passes them onto the Diva. Leah really enjoyed going to the Youth Specialties conferences this fall for her first time and meeting so many of you who come to camp! In her free time Leah enjoys studying and cleaning...wait...those are the things she hates most in life. She enjoys painting pottery, finding new things to do in Atlanta, and smelling flowers in the park. She is taking applications now for a studly mate, and Sheila will review any suitors. Please give her (Sheila, that is) a call if you would like to apply. Her newest achievement is winning the award for riding a simulated roller coaster 938 times in the mall food court. Yes, she did come out green and unconscious, but she made it! |
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Clete Clete, like Jamie, has been out of the office most of the fall. He has been traveling to Youth Specialties and many other gigs that BigStuf Productions has been a part of. He is a huge asset to BigStuf with his willingness to pick up and go all the time! Recently he took a few days off to head up to NYC to hang out with friends and be like the paparazzi...I mean, take some great pictures of the city! Clete enjoys taking tons of pictures and learning more about photography with his sweet new camera! Because of this new found talent Clete has been blessing all of our desks with awesome new Glamour Shots of our families and friends. It's very beautiful and inspiring to see such radiant photos of our loved ones. |
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Kurt Kurt has been so busy with 410 Bridge! After a fabulous trip in October to Kenya to establish contacts and see what is going on over there, 410 Bridge is in full swing! In November Kurt officially launched 410 Bridge with a party that more than 100 people showed up to. He also went to Hilton Head in November to attend a golf tournament to raise money for 410. It's pretty awesome to see Kurt building so many contacts and relationships in such a new ministry. Kurt stays busy outside of work with his three kids and awesome wife, Erika. As a family they enjoy having corn shucking competitions as well as weekend long gold panning sessions. In fact, just the other day Kurt dusted his ice sculpture (the dolphin...see last newsletter) with the fine dust he found in the creek beside his house. It really does wonders for the dolphin, I never thought it could have been better, but it really is. |
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Suzanne Suzanne has been extremely busy trying to transform the Journey program. She is heading to Africa again in January to map out the final details of the trips for the summer. Applications are already coming in and it is really exciting to see the faces of students who want to join us this summer! I asked Suzanne what she likes to do for fun and the only thing she said was "run." Now, either she really loves running, or she is a very boring person. But in all seriousness, you can often find her frolicking the streets of Atlanta running many miles...give us a call if you want to race her. I'd put my money on that agile girl any day...running on from that though. (ha ha!) Suzanne regularly participates in "Greased Watermelon Races." This is where you are in a pool with a watermelon and you have to race to the other side. She's really great at catching those slippery things while pummeling everyone in her way! |
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Jessica Jessica is the newest member of our ever-growing staff! She came on board in mid-December as Kurt's assistant for the 410 Bridge. Jessica assists Kurt with anything and everything he needs her to...which is a lot! She has been extremely busy lately getting together the last minute details of the January trip. Jessica also works hard talking with churches who are interested in becoming 410 Bridge churches, so if that's you, you're lucky! You get to know Jessica! In her free time (according to her MySpace page) Jessica loves her cat, students, traveling, her job (suck up!), and her family. She is 35 years old, single...and ready to mingle! Jessica is really excited about her upcoming race. She is participating in the first annual "Death Board" competition. Death Board is when you tie a rope to your skateboard and the other end to the back of a car and then ride with no hands, preferably downhill. It's very extreme, just like our Jessica. |
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Check out these websites! We love these people and what they do for others! |
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