MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi guys

Merry Christmas to all of you, hopefully you are all having a great Christmas surrounded by all of your loved ones :) We had a wonderful Christmas, my entire family was over at our house, it was fun and I especially enjoyed watching Noah open up his first Christmas presents :)

Me and Marja are going to be out of town this weekend, so we won't be organizing any youth night. We will pick up in the New Year, I hope that you all have a blessed holidays and New Years.
God bless all of you

-Mononens-

Youthlings

Hi

How's everyone doing? Hopefully you have all gotten into the Christmas spirit and are enjoying yourselves. I want to thank all of you guys for participating in the Christmas play, i've heard a lot of positive comments on it, so congrats :)
Now, we won't be meeting this week. Its a bit to close to Christmas and since all of the other meetings at the Church have been cancelled, I figure that we might as well have the week off also.
So thats about it for now. I'm not sure what you guys are planning for New Years,but i'm gonna spend my New Years this year with Marja and Noah. I think though that throwing out some ideas for what you guys are doing or want to do would make for some interesting discussion for the next week.

God bless all of you and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

-Miika , Marja and Noah-
ps. Hopefully all of you can use some of your freetime during the holidays to focus and dwell on the birth of our saviour, and to really understand the significance of His coming...

Hark How the Bells!

Sweet Christmas Bells!! :D :D :D
The time of the Christmas play is approaching!! Are you ready?!?
So this Friday at 7:30 we're going to be doing a dress rehearsal of our play that we've worked so hard on memorizing and getting together!
So bring all the "costume" ideas you can with you, or what you would think a typical high schooler would wear- guys maybe some of you can bring jerseys or dress totally gangsta or something.. girls maybe co-ordinate costumes for when you're collecting the food drive stuff (nina, ruth, and danica).... And yeah! Costumes are pretty simple, but try to bring something super fun. :D
We'll go over the play a couple of times and then help decorate the church for the Christmas concert/play night on Sunday.
So again, Friday night.... THIS friday night. at the church at 7:30 pm!
Bring: costumes, and your good energy.
Remember: to memorize your lines! I'm (liisa) expecting this to be done since you've had the scripts for at least 3-4 weeks already.
You guys are great, we're excited to see you soon!
God Bless,
the Karjanlahti's

Christmas dinner

Hey youth

So we have changed the date of the annual Christmas dinner. I came to the realization this weekend that we had a total of 5 tickets sold for the 15th banquet. Now I asked you guys last week to let me know if you had sold any tickets. I believe that Jenni and Liisa were the only ones to post over whether they had sold any tickets. So please make an effort to let me know ASAP.
So I need the following info from you guys

1. How many tickets your family will need?
2. Will you be able to come and help prepare, serve and clean-up for the banquet? Basically the ball is in your guys court. I will do my part, but basically if this banquet will happen this year, It will be because of a bunch of you guys gettin up and helping make it happen...

God bless and please respond with your info

-Miika-

Homework

Hey guys

I'm gonna have a rather lengthy and event-filled post here, so concentrate :)

1. Next week, we are at the Koivumakis for our Christmas secret-stealing-santa-lindtlosing party. We are gonna try to make it for 7:00 p.m and if you want to bring something to snack on, please do. (its not mandatory to bring a gift, but if you want one, then bring one ) 5-10$ value.
2. Our Christmas dinner fundraiser is coming up again. I have a request for you guys. Since this event is solely for YOU, and since YOU are your parents child, could you ask your mom (or dad) if they could make some kind of Finnish laatikos (Carrot or Rutabaga). Now I know that everyone is busy and such, but this fundraiser can only work if YOU are involved fully. So please bring up the issue with your family and let me know ASAP (this week).
3. I forgot to ask you guys about your parents and loved ones who are planning on comin to our event. Please find out who is coming and how many tickets are needed. The price is higher this year, but the money is going to us for YouthRally 2008. DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER :)
4. Our Christmas play looked pretty good already last week,and i'm looking forward to seein it with all the props and such. I'm gonna make the lockers and a sign this week for it. We didnt discuss the Sun and Moon thing to much, but i'll make those also :)
So yeah, there is all the info for the week. Please get back to me with the Laatiko info. I figure that since our youth are the only ones to benefit from the fundraiser, it should be our youth's familys who are the most helpful and supportive :)
God bless and see you guys Friday

-Miika-

Practice

Hey everyone

So this week, we will be meeting at the Church again. We will have a few different things happening.
1. Practice for the play, along with some prop preparation. I'll bring some Spray paint/tape/scissors/string/etc...
2. We will also have some good eats, as I said last week. We should all try to bring something good to munch on :) (I'll bring something salty and drinks)
3. We'll watch an office or 2 if we have time.
So yeah, there is a lot of stuff to do next Friday. Hopefully you can all come out and enjoy some good fellowship and prayertime. Have a blessed week and remember to devote some time to God. It is time well-spent :)

See you guys on Friday

-Mr Mononen-

Ole

Hey fellers and fellerettes I'm feelin much better, and will be comin
out this Friday for youth :) In a nutshell, I hurt my back and ended up
in Emergency last Friday night. So if anyone was wonderin where I was,
that should suffice :) I've missed a bunch of work, and today even had
an MRI done at the hospital to try to see why I am so hurt. My left
foot has been numb for 5 days, and walkin around is annoying due to
lack of feelin anything. Enough about me though :) This week we will
meet at the Church for some play rehearsal and then maybe some prayer
time and a mini-debate on " time allotment for God". I encourage all of
you to come out and participate. I will also bring something good to
munch on, and hopefully even Marja and Mr. Donuts will come out... God
bless all of you guys and see you Friday

Ps. I tried to upload some video :) See if it worked :)

Bowling night

Hey guys

So I got a call about Friday bowling. We ARE gonna be bowling at Xcalibur bowling this Friday night. I rented 3 lanes (4th if needed). The cost is 40$ per hour, but up to 6 can bowl per lane and the shoes are included, so I think the price is pretty good. I booked the lanes from 7:30 onwards, so we'll have to show up a bit earlier. Maybe at 7 o'clock would be a good time.
Xcalibur bowling is located beside the Patullo bridge in Surrey. Hopefully all of you guys can come out and have some fun :) Bring your friends if you want, if its not a crazy turnout, I think everyone should be able to play.
So the key facts are as follows.
1. Bowling at Xcalibur at 7:00 (play starts at 7:30)
2. Bring money. ( bowling, snacks, Miika money...) :)
3. Bring yourself and have some fun :)God bless all of you guys and see you Friday

-Miika-

Bowling

Hey guys

I tried to book 4 lanes at Xcalibur for next Friday night. I won't find out til Tuesday though, whether or not we get them( absolutely ridiculous), so i'll post again as soon as I hear from them.

God bless and see you tomorrow

-Miika-

The return

Hi guys

Hows everyone doin? Its been a few weeks since i've posted. As most of you know, Jarno and Liisa have been carrying the load over the last while in Youthwork. Anyways, the reason that I was away was my renovations started to occupy all of my time, and it started to get to difficult to manage work, youthwork, renos and family-life. So I was blessed to get a phonecall from Mr. Jarno a few weeks back giving me the option of havin a few weeks off. My renos are done( 1st stage ) and i'm all ready and recharged to spend, teach and hang out on my Friday nights with all of you again :)
So yeah, thats that for now.

So we have been given the opportunity to write, direct and perform the annual Christmas pageant this year. We have 6 weeks to come up with it, so I was hopin that this comin Friday, we could meet at the Church and discuss(hopefully) some of the millions of ideas that youth as talented as you come up with during the week :)
We also have to start to plan the Christmas dinner (fundraiser) and so on, so please come out Friday. I will have a short message, and hopefully we could even have some other fun stuff to do.
I will get some definite info on exactly what we should be aiming for in regards to the Christmas play.

Hopefully we will see all of you Friday, and we can hang out, grow in our faith and enjoy some good coffee and snacks after.
God bless and see you Friday

-Miika-

The Hunt Continues!

HEY Y'ALL!
For all of you who were at camp this year or last year, or would like to come next year... there's a camp reunion coming up this weekend!
The Hunt continues this Saturday at Kotikirkko (Bethel Church Vancouver).
We'll be kicking it off at 3pm and will have fun games, Courtyard playing, and refreshments! Parents can stay along for a coffee and mingle with other parents as well!
Come out and see your friends from camp, have some fun and laughs!
See you there!

Youthlings'R'Us

Hello everyone,

So once again another week has begun and another youth night approaches. This week we will be having youth at the church at 7:30pm. There we will spend some time together in worship followed by message. I hope everyone can make it! Last week we had a great time at our youth.... it was cool to see so many of you participating and having a great time. We are so excited to see what God has in store for our youth and our church as a whole. I know there are big things coming. So we really need to keep ourselves in check and clean before God. So remember to spend time with God on a daily basis. See you guys Friday.

-The Karjanlahti's-

Yoo Hoo!

SO this week at Youth we will be having a little costume party at the church, 7:30pm! WOO HOO!!
The materials you will need to bring are:
1. a pumpkin (any size you want)
2. a carving knife (if you so desire to carve a pumpkin, and use a knife that is to your likeliness)
3. Yourself in a costume
Costumes will be judged, so put a little effort in it! bonus marks for those who dress up as Bible characters, and innovative creativity!
The rest of the night will be a mystery....
see you all there!
-the Karjanlahti's

One

Hey guys

So Thursday is gonna be our youthmeetin for the week. The Antturis are gonna host the youth on Friday also, but lets all first focus on comin out Thursday night. The event starts at 6:30 and should wrap up around 9:30. I recommend meetin at the Church at 6:15 or so. We'll meet up at the front doors, and then from there.

The address is 3456 Fraser Street, and the church is Glad Tidings Church.

See you Thursday night

-Miika-

Youth night

Hey guys

As I posted earlier in the week. Youth will be at church this Friday, we will have some worship music, I have a message and a few others things :) Hopefully you all can come out and support our group.

God bless and see you tomorrow

-Miika-

A hero in our midst...

Hey everyone

I saw this sign this week and just had to stop and capture it :) I hope that all of you guys enjoy your Thanksgiving celebrations, and really appreciate and thank God for how good we really have it here.
I'll post later on in the week, but we will be meeting at the Church definetely for starters.

God bless and see you Friday

-Miika-

Corn flakes

Hey guys

So I have a few things to post this week. They are as follows :)\

1. We WILL be going to the Corn Maze this Friday night. It is the last night that we can go, so I think that we should just go for it. However since we live in BC, and it does tend to rain. I will confirm on Wed or Thursday night. But as of the moment, unless we have some kind of monsoon or torrential downpours all week, we WILL be meeting at the Cornmaze at 7:00 p.m next Friday.
2. We were invited to go to ONE gathering this year. It is the biggest youthevent of the year, and it is a night with worship, prayer, teaching and great fellowship. The problem is that it is on a Thursday. I therefore think that we should have Youth on OCT 18 (Thursday) and attend this special event as a group! Let me know what you think.
3. Last but not least, as some of you who were at Church heard today. Next weekend is Thanksgiving. And since ALL of us live in such opulence and wealth, we obviously are thankful and want to show it :) So we have been given the opportunity to help out in the kitchen after the service next weekend. Table set-up, clean-up and dishes are all ways that we can pitch in and help make our Churches annual Thanksgiving celebration a positive and happy event for everyone. I will be roasting a turkey and helping out also.Hopefully you can all make it a priority to come out, enjoy the service, the food and the opportunity to help out and make the kitchen cooks jobs a little easier.

God bless all of you guys, have a great week and remember to pray and give time to God. It is one of the best ways to spend your freetime.

- Miika -

YO, youth this week.

Hey everyone,

So I hope everyone has had an awesome week so far!! We are halfway through the school or work week so the weekend is approaching fast... and hopefully we can all start the weekend off with youth group on Friday at the church. It will be starting normal time, 7:30pm, and Liisa is having a worship team practice at 6:00pm. So youth will consist of a little worship time, and then our new and wonderful Pastor Klaus has a message that he would like to share with us. So make sure to come out!! Hopefully everyone will be able to make it... looking forward to seeing all your smiley faces.=) So until then... God bless and remember to pray.

-Jarno & Liisa-

CHANGE OF PLANS

Attention everyone! It's raining, so CORN MAZE IS CANCELLED and we're gonna meet at the church and watch a movie instead. Be there at 7 - 7.30 pm. Bring some movies with you and we'll vote which one we want to see. We will do the corn maze thing in a few weeks or so...

A sea of vegetable

Hey guys

So it if wasnt obvious, we ARE goin to the Corn-maze this Friday. I looked at the weather and it looks like it might rain a little. I think though, that we should just go for it. So we will meet at the corn maze at 7:00 or so. Please dont be super late, and remember to bring some money and warm clothes. (Rubber boots) might not be a bad idea either :)
Anyways, the address is posted below with prices and such. Remember to come out and bring a friend or two.
God bless all of you and see you tomorrow.

-Miika-
ps. Awesome Nina, that is super rewarding and i'm sure you have noticed a positive effect on your daily living and time spending habits already :)
pps. Here is the info 16390-64avenue
Surrey, BC
V3S 8E7
LAST ADMISSION IS AT OUR CLOSING TIME

Opening Date: September 2, 2007
Closing Date: October 8, 2007

FRIDAYS 6PM-9PM
Last admission is 9pm

ADULTS 19 AND UP 6.00
TEENS 13 AND UP 5.00

Info taken from their website:
http://www.cornfieldmaze.com/sites.php?ID=&username=cancloverdale

Next week

Hey guys

So it sounded like a sweet night at Jarno and Liisa's on Friday. Thats awesome, and really a blessing that there is another married couple who are helpin lead and so on. It really makes me and Marja happy :)
So I was chattin tonight with a few of you, and there was some questions about next week, and also a few suggestions. I think that since we are democratic and fair though, we should have a 48 hour period where ideas for next week are pitched.
So far the ideas are
1. The corn maze
2. A movie night at the Church

Let me know what you think we should do, and we'll go from there.
God bless and hopefully we'll see ya at Church tomorrow.
-Miika-

Fellow Kotikirkko-youth!!

Why hello there everyone!
Hoping you have had a good week so far and that the load of school hasn't hit you too hard yet! I can't say how nice it was to see everyone on Friday! It was so nice to see such good friends and people I love! :D
We're excited to announce (if you missed it on Friday) that this weeks youth meeting will be at our place (Jarno & Liisa's) out here in the Walnut Grove!
We hope you all can make it and will join us in fun times having some time in worship together, prayer, and some sharing of words. And of course, snacks!:D
The meeting will start around 7- 7:30, so you're all welcome over and if you would like to bring something to munch on, you're more than welcome to! We just went to Costco to get some things, so give me a holla if you have something in mind!
Directions will be emailed or Facebooked to you later on!
Hope to see you all out! Remember to invite your friends!
God Bless,
Liisa
ps- this pic is from our honeymoon... a typical day on the beach was spent under one of those after a nice swim.... sigh!

Summers over

Hey guys So summers comin to an end. Man, it seemed like it was way to short. It seems like summer just started and already its comin to an end. Anyways, the one bit of good news with fall comin is the resuming of our Youth nights on Fridays :) I hope that all of you guys have had a blessed summer and are ready to come out and grow individually and as a group. I hope that we can have a sweet year with some major Spiritual growth. So this Friday, we will be meeting at the church at 7:30 for our first meeting of this fall. I think that we should set some goals as a youth group for this year, and try to achieve all of them. Hopefully you can all come out and give your input, energy and happiness and make our first youth night of the year a rousing success :) God bless and see you all on Friday -Miika- ps. We will bring some munchies, but as always I wont get mad if a cake or two is brought :)

Longgggg weekend

Hey guys

So I am officially invitin you all to my folks place in Hope for next Monday. I think that we could have a pretty sweet day up there. There are lakes to swim at, hikes to go on and there will be some great food to eat :)
Me, Marja and Noah will be up there already on Friday, so feel free to come up on Sunday night already if that works better :)

Let us know if you can come.

ps. I wont hike, but you can :)

-Mononens-

THE PLANS

Hey guys

There has been a slight change in our plans for the coming weekend. We WILL be meeting up on Friday night, but it will be at Pastor Herman's house at 7. The Blomerus family has invited us to come over there on Friday night, and I feel that it would be a good and beneficial activity for us all.
I know that it is not outside, but it will be fun and Herman will have an awesome word for us. He called me today and asked for the chance to speak to you guys, and I figured that this weekend would be a good time.

So please make it a point to come out. They will have some stuff of munch on there, and above everything else, it will be good to meet and chat about how our summers have started off :)

God bless and see you Friday
-Miika-
ps. Herman lives in Teuvos old townhouse, but if it makes it easier, we could meet at the Church and drive from there. Let me know???
pps. I think that a hike would be a great idea also. Maybe to mystery lake or something?

Summertime

Hey guys

So its the middle of July, and I figure we should maybe try to meet up soon as a group? What do you guys think?
Me and Marja are going away for a little break for this weekend, but I was thinkin maybe the following weekend? I'm really not sure what we could do, so maybe some suggestions would be appropriate :)

I'm thinkin a BBQ, maybe the beach, or even just a movie and something?

Let your voice be heard :)

God bless and remember to devote some quality time to God throughout your days. It will impact your life in a blessed way...

-Miika-

BBQ night

Hey guys

So as agreed yesterday. We WILL be having a BBQ at our place this FRIDAY NIGHT. Its short notice, but since I saw most of you yesterday, I dont feel to bad :)

We live in Richmond. And our address is # 303, 9300 Parksville Dr. Its near Railway and Francis roads. Our buzzer number is 953.
We'll be expectin you to start to come after 6 tomorrow night. Hopefully all of you can make it out.

God bless and see ya tomorrow.

-Mononens-
ps. Danica, you should come out also, If you are feeling well. We need someone to do the dishes and you would be perfect :)

Random postings

Hi y'all

I was chattin with some of you guys today, and we were talkin about our BBQ and when we will finally have it! It seems that everyone is super busy and with the Church picnic next Saturday, it wont happen next weekend again!!!
Anyways, I think that we should just have a few days of suggestions about what we want to do as a youth-group this summer.

Feel free to post whatever you want.

-Miika-
ps. We will have a super-spectacular bbq party sooner than later, so have no fears :)

A BBQ'less Saturday :(

Hey guys

So this Saturdays year-end BBQ is cancelled!!! Too many people either are workin, or then booked up for something else. Hopefully this does not cause any problems for anyone. WE WILL HAVE A BBQ AT OUR HOUSE SOON, but with Fathers day on Sunday, and the Church picnic next Saturday. It will have to be moved to a later date!

So we wont be meetin anywhere this Friday or Sat. There is the CD-release party at the Westwynds Church on Friday night. If some of you are interested in this, contact Jenni for more info.

Other than that, check the blog later. I'll have more to say :)

Lots of blessings and remember to give God your best time, not just your leftover minutes at the end of the day...

-Miika-
ps. I'm preaching on Sunday at the English service, so if you want to hear a message from me, you'll know where to find me :)

You are important!!!

Hey guys

Sorry about the late post, I've been so busy of late again :) We will be having youth this Friday at the Church again. It will be a special night, as we will have worship music, prayer and then DISCUSSION. I want to have a discussion which emcompasses our youth group direction, summer plans, own Spiritual wellbeing and a few other topics. I really feel that everyone should make an effort to come out. I know a few told me that you couldnt make it. But hopefully everyone else can come out and give there feedback and energy.

God bless all of you and have a safe week

-Miika-

Friday night

Hey youth

This Friday, we will be meeting at the Church. I think that we've been all over the place for a while, and a good meeting would be in order. I will prepare a message, and we will definetely have some prayer time also. I'm not sure about worship music, but if Liisa is there. Then maybe we can enjoy some of that also :)

God bless and see you Friday
-Miika-

ps. I'm also curious about the lasting effects of Historymaker on you guys, so we will have some discussion about it and how it blessed us all as individuals.

Friday night

Hey guys

Sorry about not postin sooner. I had to work late today and was not near a comp! So it seems that Hillsong is the thing of choice for most of you posters. So I think that thats what we should plan for. As Jenni wrote on her post, she can buy tickets ahead of time for whoever calls her and confirms there attendance. So that is the plan. I am gonna try to come with Marja and Noah, but if we cant make it. Then I will invite over all the youth who arent goin to Hillsong, and maybe if the concert ends at a decent hour. Then you could all come over after?
Anyways,I wont find out til tomorrow who is not goin, so until then. I cant promise my attendance. But those of you who are goin for sure, I hope the concert is incredible and moving.
-Miika-
ps. At this point, I would lean towards us comin, but like I said. Tomorrow will decide it.
pps. Call Jenni if you want tickets.Just remember to bring exact change, cause it is difficult to break it down for everyone.

Feedback

Hey guys

So HM has come and gone for another year. As a first time attender, overall I was impressed with the event. There are always things which can be made better, but as a youth oriented event. It was great :) I personally enjoyed the Saturday night sermon. It was challenging and I was unable to listen to it without analyzing my relationship with Christ the whole time.
Anyways, someone posted a comment asking for a entry with room for your experiences, visions and dreams that came about on the weekend. So here it is. Feel free to write what you feel on the comment board. Be honest and bold. If your vision is from God, then action and boldness are keys to realizing it.

God bless and be happy

-Miika-
ps. We have also not hammered out next weeks youth, Hillsong concert would be one possibility. The fee would be somewhere around 30$ , so what do you guys think. We can also just meet at the Church and have a meeting there. Let your voice be heard though :)

History maker

Hey guys

So i'm gonna try to get all the info in order here. I am lookin forward to HM, and i've been praying for God's guidance, protection and goodness to be displayed prominently over the comin long weekend :) We will be stayin in Hope for Saturday and Sunday night, so lets try to pack light and efficiently :)

1. Meeting point--- The Koivumaki house at 9:30ish on Saturday morning. We will figure out who's going with who, and arrange the rides, the rules and the schedules for the weekend :)

2. Stuff to bring---
a) clothes to wear over 3 days ( must fit in small dufflebag :)

b) toiletries (toothbrush and so on)

c) sleeping bag, pillow and air-mattress + towel and bathing suit(4 sauna)

d) Money (We will have snacks, drinks and breakfast stuff in Hope, but if you want to eat out in Chilliwack, then bring some cash along!!!

e) a cheerful and helpful attitude

Now I think that I have covered everything of importance, but if I have forgotten something, then PLEASE feel free to post, call or write me with the missin info :)

-Miika-
ps. I've never been to HM before, but bringing your Bible would also be a great addition to your stuff :)

The plan

Hey again

This is historic, 2 posts in a few hours :) Okay, so our Friday night plans have been finalized :) We WILL be hangin out at the Ahlgren's on Friday night. We will watch a movie of some sort, so suggestions can be made still. I will go and rent it on Friday night, so if you have something that you would think would be fitting for us, suggest with all your might :)

Also, since we are going to be hangin out together, lets all try to bring something to munch on. If we organize (Danicas idea) what we are bringin, then we wont be stuck with 15 bags of chips :)
God bless and see you all on Friday

-M-
ps. If you cant bring something, dont worry about it. Your attendance is more
important than snacks :)
pps. By organizing, I mean postin what you are bringin on the blog.

Changes :)

Hey guys

So we are gonna have a change in venues for Friday night. We will NOT be going to the Anturri's for Youth this Friday. There was a slight mix-up with the plans, and instead we will be meeting either at the Ahlgrens or Koivumakis :)
I will post tomorrow with the final plans, so check back and see :)

God bless

-M-

Movie night

Hello Youth

So as we discussed last week, we will be meeting at the Anturri's on Friday night for a movie and stuff. We will pick a movie from there extensive collection, so no suggestions are needed :)
Bring stuff to munch on. I'll bring some drinks and so on, so some munchies would be nice.

God bless and see you Friday

-m-

ps. Anturri's means Paul and Hannas place, and the time will be at 7:03 pm :)

Youth

Hey guys

So this Friday we will be meetin at the Church. We will have worship :) prayer :) a message :) So remember to come out and enjoy the evening :)

Remember to give time to God during the week, its the only way to move forward in your faith...

God bless

-M-

Friday night

Hey guys

So this week, we will have special speakers for youth. Sam and Paivi Tuokkola are goin to be speaking at youth this Friday. As you know, they have been involved in Missions work in Tanzania for the years. Come out and hear about how God is working in the mission fields, it will be a super interesting night.And who knows, maybe this night will be the one which God uses to light a missions call within you....
Jarno and Liisa will be leading youth this week, because Marja parents are comin into town Friday night, and i'll be at the airport at 7. So remember to come out and support everyone. YOUR attendance is important and greatly appreciated :)
Hopefully you all have a great week, remember to continue to pray for the things which God has put on your hearts. Prayer is powerful, and its effects are far-reaching.

God bless

-Miika-

Friday night

Hey guys

Great responses on the board. Its so nice to see you all actively thinkin of youth and what we should/could be doin :)

Since there were more than a few requests to pray, Prayer shall be something which we will focus on tonight. There are a lot of things which have happened over the last weeks, and praying as a group is important. I'm definetely going to prepare a sermon for one of these upcoming weeks on Prayer. It is SO important and I want you all to have a strong understanding and knowledge on it :)

Since a bunch of you guys also wanted to play some sports, we will ALSO be doing that!! There are a ton of hockey sticks at the Church, so we will have a little game of road hockey in te parking lot. If anyone has a hackey-sack, bring it along also.

So there it is, we will have prayer and sports tonight. Youth starts at 7:30 always, sometimes Liisa has worship practice, and the band needs to have some time to get together, so hence the 7:30 start ALWAYS :)

God bless all of you guys

-Miika-

ps. I didnt post last night, cause we had visitors and the evening just went by in a flash :) Sorry :)

Upcomin stuff

Hey guys So its Sunday afternoon, and I thought I would write something in the Blog. I have a few things to talk about, and i'll post them in a list.
1. Next week is open as to doing something different. I called the Tuokollas, and it works for them to come to youth on Friday,April 27th of this month. They will have some slides and a message for us, so bookmark the date and come out to hear about missions in Africa :) So once again, that leaves next week open for us. I'm gonna leave it up to you guys to mention something that we can do. I'll give a few days time to you, but if I get no ideas. Then I will plan out youth myself, and inform later on in the week :)
2. Remember to send Emma a pic or 2 that you treasure. Her project sounds pretty cool, and it will be nice to see the finished result :)
3. I had a great time with you guys on Friday. It was a special night, and I drove home with a grateful heart over it. I feel so blessed that I get to hang out with you all on Fridays. God has great plans for our youth as a group, and also for each of us as individuals :)
God bless all of you and remember to devote some alone time to God this week. He created you and wants to know you deeply!!!
-Miika-
ps. I posted one pic of the youth night, but if someone sends me a pic of the sofapile, I will post it right away :)

Friday night

Hey guys

So this week, we'll be meetin at the Koivumakis again :) I know that last week some of you went over there and had a fun night. Lets all go there this Friday, and have a super fun night. I will have a little message to speak, and then we will have some time for prayers. I am ready to get back into the rhythm of spending my Fridays with you all, and I am lookin forward to seein you all Friday.
Marja and Noah might come, i'm hopin that they will. But its still a learnin process when we leave home, so I cant promise anything. Regardless, i'll be there and hopefully all of you will also :)

God bless all of you

-Miika-
ps. If any of you want to bring something to munch on, once again you are more than welcome to...

Hey guys

Hey everyone

So he's here :) Me and Marja are officially parents now :) (can't stop smilin) Our son Noah was born on Sunday and we have been busy since :) He is perfectly healthy and happy and the focal point of our lives right now! It is so cool and neat to have a little munchkin to take care of here. We look forward to the joys and challenges that he is bringin with him :)
Marja is also doin well, the birthing process was apparently so "bythebook" that she was asked "unofficially" to become a teacher in childbirth :) We are both extremely grateful to God for His protection during the last 9 months. PRAISED BE HIS NAME!!!!

So in other matters, as we agreed on Friday. We will NOT be having youth this comin Friday. It is Easter, and even though we won't be meeting. I encourage you to attend the services which are being held. Easter is one of the greatest celebrations for us as Christians. It is our proof of our glorious Lord's victory over death and promise of eternal life to us all. Remember to spend some time in reflection and study over the incredible sacrifice which God made for YOU, those years ago.
God bless and be happy. You are all phenomenal individuals, and I see such potential in all of your lives :)
-Mononens-

The next few weeks

Hey guys

So the next few weeks are gonna be a little different, just because Marja could go into labor at any time. I am gonna attend Youth as always, but since i'm unsure of when our baby will be born, a back-up plan is good to have.
MARCH 30- this upcoming Friday, we will be watching a movie at the Church! If any of you have any suggestions, please post them and we'll decide from there. Remember, only movies that are proper to watch, so please use you're discretion when recommending :)
APRIL 6- this Friday will be spent at the Koivumakis house, we will meet there at approx 6:30-7 and have a fun night of fellowship and fun.

I will come out to these nights if I can, i'm sure that all of you guys understand if i'm away. Regardless, I will continue leading the Youth as soon as our baby is born and safely home :)
God bless all of you and have a great week. Remember to study you're Bibles and pray. They are investments which will strengthen you're faith and life :)

-Miika-
ps. Both of these youth nights will happen regardless if we are there or not!!

Friday night

Hey guys

Just a quick post to remind you about this upcomin Friday meeting. We will be havin a traditional meetin with some worship, a sermon and some prayer. We will most likely be upstairs for the worship part, but the prayer and sermon will be downstairs, as I really liked the atmosphere down there last week :) (ps. I truly enjoyed last week and the discussion night, we'll definetely do it again)
If anyone feels the urge to bring something to munch on, it would be cool. Regardless though, the most important thing to bring is yourself though :)

See you Friday
-Mr Mononen-
ps. We WILL have notes and translation available again, it will be the norm from now on...

Friday night and other things

Hey guys

I have a few different things to address here, so i'll try to be concise and organized :)

1. We will be having our "Discussion night" this upcoming Friday. I want to just hang out and talk about some of the things which are current issues in the world, the local community or in your own life. I have some topics in mind, but if anyone has any burning issue which they would like to discuss, then post here and we'll go from there. Ps. Anonymous is ok, if you dont want everyone to know where the question comes from :) 2. History maker, I booked tickets on Sunday afternoon for 7 of you, I already mentioned to them(organizers) about the signers, and for you youth that didnt get in on the 65$ tickets, we'll give you another shot at the 75$ tickets in a few weeks :) 3. I'm super excited about Klaus comin here with his family :) I have been telling you guys for months that I feel that God is startin to move in our Church, and I think Klaus is another huge piece of the plan which is slowly being put into motion...I truly feel that we are on the verge of a major breakthrough :) 4. I posted a pic of the "bottle" gatherers. Its quite the pile they have there, and i'm gonna really try to make it out for the next drive. I recommend that we all make it a priority :)

God bless all of you and have a blessed week. Remember to give God some time in your daily living!!!
-Mr Mononen-

HISTORY MAKER

Hey everyone

So it has or was brought to my attention that Historymaker early booking priviledge's end on Monday!! To break it down into simple terms, it means that if you book before Monday, you will pay $65 for the event. If you book later, you will pay $75 for the event, and if you don't book at all and pay at the door, you will pay $85 for the event.
So here is the chance, I will collect money on Sunday (AGM meeting) from those of you who are 100% comin and have the money right now. Those of you who can't come up with the cash right now, well there is still time (6 weeks) approx to get in for the 75$ price tag.
Well, thats about it. I will buy as many tickets as I get money for on Sunday evening, so if you want to be at Historymaker knowin that you got the best deal possible, then meet me on Sunday at the Church and cough up 65 big ones :)
God bless all of you and see you Sunday :)
-Mr Mononen-

Hey everyone

Yo guys

So its come to my attention that there could be a serious shortage of youth this Friday night. There is a b-day party that some of the youth are attendin on Friday night instead of youth. So my proposition is that we who are still comin to youth, meet at the Church at 7-7:30 and figure out something to do together. So yeah, thats about it. Bring some money and some good ideas. We can pretty much do what we want, we can stay at the Church, we can go out somewheres, we can, well do anything :)
Anyways, thats about it for now. Hopefully all of you who are not occupied can make it out, and we can have a fun night doin something as a group.

God bless
-Miika-
ps. The meetin on Sunday is the Annual general meeting, and everyone who is a member of the Church can come and vote. If you are not a member, and want to become one. Then come out and maybe it can be taken care of on Sunday :)

A night of discussion

Hey guys

So hopefully all of you have had a great week :) Me and Marja are super renewed and recharged after spending 4 days away from all of our responsiblities :) But now, its back to the grind. So its with great pleasure that I announce our upcomin Friday meeting!!!
I figure that we will have a night of discussion, i'm gonna formulate some questions, and some "hot" topics and I would like to discuss and see how you guys feel and think about them. I think that it will be a good night of hangin out, and hopefully you guys get some answers and strengthen your faith through it:)
If anyone has any good ideas or topics which could be discussed, feel free to post them on the comments section. I want the night to be an informal hangout time on our new sofas, with some time devoted to prayer and fellowship!
So yeah, thats about it. I will be preachin on Sunday morning also, so if you want to hear me speak, come out on Sunday morning to the English service!
God bless and see you Friday
-Mr Mononen-

Girlz and Guyz Night

Hey fellow churchopians.... so this Friday we are gonna do things a little different. The girls will hang with thel girls and da boyz will hang with da boyz. So the girls will be meeting up at Jenni and Emma's place, and the guys will be meeting at my place (Jarno's house). For the guys you are more than welcome to spend the night at my place.... I have a fold out couch thing and I can get some extra mattresses too. I'm not sure if the girls are having a sleep over thing yet... so Jenni and Emma can let us know if it's OK. I think the girls know how to get to the Koivumaki's (I hope I spelled that right, sorry if I didn't) place... but for the guys I will send out an e-mail soon with my address and phone digits if you need to call me.
So I hope you guys are excited about this cause I am! I hope it will lead to conversations about Christian topics that are more gender specific and also some good prayer time. So guys can meet at my place around 7-7:30p.m. and lets make it the same time for the girls (if Jenni and Emma wanna change this time then just let me know).
So have a wonderful week and remember to keep a positive attitude. Seek God's kingdom first and all other things will be provided and given to you. Keep on praying and reading your Bibles and see you guys soon.

-JARNO-

PS: if you guys wanna bring food and drinks then sort out who's bringing what by posting here or calling each other. Also remember Justin and Jamie over in Thailand in your prayers.

Movie night

Hey guys

So I went to the brick AGAIN and they promised to have the last set of legs for us this week :) Its been an exercise in patience for me, but we have 4 of the 5 now, and the last one will top us off in the sofa department :)
As you all remember, we discussed havin a movie night this upcoming Friday! I promise to have subtitles working, so EVERYONE come out! Now, i'm not sure over what movie we should watch, so i'm hopin that we could get some suggestions??
So post your ideas on the Blog, and we'll pick the best one of the lot!
God bless and remember to devote some time to Bible reading and prayer! Its the best possible way to spend free-time...
See you all on Friday
-Mr Mononen-
ps. Bring out some snacks if you can, we'll provide the beverages :)
pps. I posted some of the best pics, courtesy of our very own upcoming "Paperazzi" Elissa :)

Hey guys

So as we talked about on Friday night, we will be doin some work in the basement on Friday. Some of us will put together the sofas, some will do some minor painting, and some will do some minor upholstering of the benches. We WILL also be having a little worship at the beginnin and speakin, as Justin and Jamie Jardine will be with us. As you know, they are heading to Thailand for a missions trip, and it will be nice to send them off with our youth groups blessings :)

So yeah, thats about it. Remember to maybe bring some clothes that you can get dirty (we should be fine) and also bring some photo or photos that mean something to you. We want to start the picture wall started on Friday, and we need pics to get it done :)

So have a blessed week and remember to devote some time to God and His glory!!!

God bless
-Miika-
ps. I posted a pic of Jarno, I felt that it was fair that all of you get a sneak peek at his wedding outfit :)

Friday night

Hey guys

So i'm pleased to remind you all of the importance of this Friday's youth meeting. We will have Klaus Lehtimaki preaching and speakin to us. He is one of the Pastoral candinates for our Church, and I encourage all of you to come out and see how he is :) I was at the Bible study tonight, and was super impressed by his interpretation and illumination of the selected verses!

So in wrap-up, we will have worship, a great sermon and fellowship, so remember to come out to see and talk to Klaus.
God bless all of you and see you soon

-Miika-

Upcomin Friday

Hey guys

So its Tuesday night, and I have a few announcements for you!! The first one being that we will be gatherin at the Church for youth this week. I'm gonna have a sermon for you, actually it might be something a little different, but nonetheless a sermon of some sort :)
The next thing, is there are a few things comin up, and I need your guys help!! So I wont give it away now, but I will talk about it also on Friday, so come out :)
One more thing I also want to resolve is the couch situation downstairs. We should grab them maybe in a week or so, but we'll chat about that also.

So yeah, come out on Friday. I will have something new and a little different for you, so prepare to be awed and dazzled :) (now i'm under pressure to deliver :)

-Miika-

The mission to Missions Festival...

Hey guys

I'm just quickly posting some pics of last nights events, and then also remindin all of you guys to remember the Nykänen's family in your prayers. We definitely want Maija back with us on Friday nights, and its gonna take a lot of prayer time to accomplish it. So remember to bring Maija and her family to God over the next few weeks. If we all commit to it, there would be 20+ people praying for them. And that could make all the difference....

God bless all of you guys :)

-Miika-

Missions fest

Hey guys

So as we talked about last Friday, we will be goin as a Youth Group to Missions Festival downtown this Friday night. We will be meeting at 6:30 p.m at Patterson station (skytrain) and leavin from there. I know that some of you are comin from Delta and Surrey, so try to meet us at 6:30 on the nose :)
I am attachin the link for Missions fest http://www.missionsfestvancouver.ca/, there is info and stuff listed, so take a look at what they have to offer :)
The cost of the Youth event is $ 7.00, so remember to have that and Skytrain fare for the goin trip and the comin back trip also.
We hope that all of you are havin a great week and are excited about attendin an event which could possible change your life!!!

God bless you all and see you Friday night
-Miika-
ps. If you are comin and are runnin late, please make sure to call me and let me know. "Without word" will result in "without wait" departure....

Friday, January 18th

Hey y'all

I love writin in that american drawl :) Y'all know whatta mean...

Okay, onwards to more important issues. I would proudly like to announce our Youth night for the upcoming Friday night. We will be meetin at the Church for a good "ole fashioned" meeting. Liisa has promised to have a few songs for us in worship, and I will be preaching also. I want all of you guys to come out. This year I sense awesome things happening in our group, and we can start it on Friday night.
Remember to bring your Bibles and cheery attitudes :)

God bless and see you all on Friday night
-Miika-
ps. We will start the meeting at 7:30, but come early so we can hang out a bit before :)

One life

Hey guys

So just a quick reminder to show up at the Church for 7:00, we will wait around for a few moments, but if you are comin and are gonna be late. CALL ME AT 778-855-2751 so that we know that you're comin.
I truly hope that all of you guys make it our for this one. Its a good chance to represent our youth group to other Pentecostal churches and the more the merrier always applies :)

God bless and see you at the Church

-Miika-

Ski camp recap

Hey guys

So we've all slipped back into our week routines after the Christmas holidays. I was sent these pics by Elissa and decided to post them as quickly as possible. Me and Marja had a great time up there with you guys, and it was SUPER nice to be able to just relax up there in the Anturris beautiful place. Jarno and Liisa did a awesome job organizing the weekend, and lets all remember to thank them personally for their time and work that they put into last weekend :)
I'll post later in the week again, but briefly i'll say that we are meetin at the Church and leavin from there for the ONELIFE youth event. I truly hope that all of you guys can make it out for next Friday. It could be a life and attitude changing evening spent in worship towards God.

Have an awesome week and we'll see ya on Friday.

-Miika-