weird morning here in san diego. there are two fires, burning somewhat out of control, in the hills to the east of san diego. one of the fires, overnight, moved into a neighborhood to the north and east of san diego and burned down some houses. i’m still watching the news and don’t know all the details. heard from one of our seminar speakers this morning that he stayed with a friend in north county and can’t get down to the convention, because the roads are closed. a few of our ys staff live in areas where there homes will likely be evacuated soon. i’m still trying to find out if there’s any sense that i should be worried about my home – i don’t think the fire is moving to my area at this point (the fire in the north east seems to be the one that’s much worse at this point; my home is closer to the fire that’s in the south east).
another strange deja vu thing is that this is four years, almost exactly to the day, from when we were at a national youth workers convention in charlotte, and there were massive fires in san diego that destroyed hundreds of homes. in that one, my family was evacuated, and tic long’s house had a close call with the flames. that situation was also a couple days before mike yaconelli’s untimely death (unrelated to the fires). so… all this adds a surrealness.
oops — just saw that there are now 8 different fires around san diego. wow. all the schools in san diego are closed – it seems that some of this is due to the fact that in the fires 4 years ago, there were all kinds of asthma problems and other breathing problems for kids, when schools didn’t close and there was so much ash in the air.
that said: we still have a final morning here at the convention, including the closing session, where i’m speaking. i’m praying (and would sure appreciate your prayers) that i’ll be able to focus, and bring the message god has for me to bring. i’m sure there are plenty of convention attendees who are local and impacted by all of this, also.
I’m sure I join loads of people in praying for all the details as the convention ends. I pray you’ve got a clear head as you hit the stage this morning and wrap things up. Likewise, I hope the YS family stays safe.
Mark,
You and everyone in the area are in our prayers. God will give you the right words to say today at the close. I am attending the convention in Atlants and cannot wait. The last one I attending was 4 years ago in Charlotte.
I look forward to taking one of your sessions.
God Bless
praying for all of you. i got an email from someone in our church today whose parents and brother have been evacuated down your way because of the fires. we might not be there, but we’re with all of you in prayers and spirit!
You all have been in my prayers since early this morning.
yeah, i bet it was good. i attended the ys latin american version in august. i heard a nice talk about the primal teen, research disgregaren the young brain. grabbed the book and now just found news here: http://www.livescience.com/health/
071022-sleep-emotions.html
that are particularly interesting to read under the scope of the book, specially regarding the pref cortex, the pinneal gland, the sleep patterns and mood swings. enjoy.
Marko,
Wanted to let you know, no matter how you might feel, your message this morning in San Diego was great!
Town and Country is now full of evacuees.
It’s sad all over again. And San Diego is more prepared for this.
Mark, Hope I didn’t tick you off when I ran into you at the bottom of the elevator. I think that was on Monday morning right before the general session. I mentioned to you that I appreciated the notes for the middle school group that met in Mich. Thanks for your talk it was an encouragement to “BE”
Marko, YS Conv. (San Diego) was fantastic. General sessions were re-fueling, and your “new visions for middle school ministry” session gave me, well, new vision for middle school ministry.
It is refreshing to be immersed in authenticity and organic, raw, and honest perspective. It can also be refreshing to be surrounded by rich history, depth, and long-term effectiveness… Rarely can you find these realities cohabitatiing. I would have to say, however, that this collision defines YS.
Marko, I was inspired by your talk Monday morning. Sadly it’s so difficult to try to bring about change. We have major changes going on in our church right now, I mean major! I can see God’s hand in each of them, I know He is in control, and I trust Him. But even with all that reassurance I have, there is still fear at times. It is giving me a little more understanding for the people who have been so resistant to the changes we’ve been making in the youth department specifically.