78 messages sent

The number of messages continues to creep up – keep sending them and we’ll get them delivered all the way through tomorrow morning! The US sent eleven more messages yesterday, retaking the lead from Canada by a total of seven. Bragging rights for most messages sent are still up in the air – we’ll announce the winner tonight as everyone enjoys pizza from Scribbs (a local favorite).

Web Site Visitors

For Thursday

• US: 111
• Canada: 85

For the Past Month

• US: 568
• Canada: 419

It looks like the US is going to hold on for a strong win this year, though Canada can hold their heads high: Canada’s margin of victory in 2009 (602) was larger than the US’ total number of visitors this year (568).

Two notable changes in the top ten cities: Phoenix passed up Muskegon, who I’ve been excluding from the list but had been the actual top city for visitors. Clinton also passed Red Deer, with 76 visitors to 75. Finally, the top ten sees a new addition, with Green Bay bumping Grand Rapids from the last spot.

1. Phoenix, Arizona, USA
2. Clinton, Ontario, CA
3. Red Deer, Alberta, CA
4. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
5. Agincourt, Ontario, CA
6. Toronto, Ontario, CA
7. Goderich, Ontario, CA
8. New York City, New York, USA
9. Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
10. Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

76 messages sent

Every day that number goes up, but time is running out to meet or beat last year’s one day record of 116. Out of those messages, exactly half came from Canada and half from the US. Despite a slew of messages out of Phoenix, Canada’s continued to gain ground and they now hold a slim lead over the US for the total number of messages sent.

Web site visitors on Wednesday

• US: 107
• Canada: 89

Despite not sending as many messages (percentage-wise) as the Canadians, the US maintains a lead for total visitors.

Web site visitors for the past month (June 14 to July 14)

• US: 463
• Canada: 337

The top five cities remain unchanged, but I thought I’d fill out the other five for a top ten. I have to admit that this listing is a little unfair, depending on how your area divides itself up. For example, visitors from the Toronto area are split among Clinton, Agincourt, Toronto, and Goderich, whereas Phoenix is nice and consolidated. If the Toronto-area suburbs were consolidated they would easily pass Phoenix for first place (sorry AZ folks).

1. Phoenix, Arizona, USA
2. Red Deer, Alberta, CA
3. Clinton, Ontario, CA
4. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
5. Agincourt, Ontario, CA
6. Toronto, Ontario, CA
7. Goderich, Ontario, CA
8. Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
9. New York City, New York, USA
10. Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

51 messages sent

That’s quite a jump, from 10 messages to 51! Nice work, but we still have a ways to go to beat last year’s record of 116 – just head over to the contact form and send some messages to your friends and loved ones. With that said, I can tell you that Wednesday is already off to a smokin’ start. I just hope we don’t overload the printer (just kidding)!

Web site visitors on Tuesday

• US: 95
• Canada: 82

Web site visitors for the past month (June 13 to July 13)

• US: 357
• Canada: 248

US maintains its overall lead with a strong showing. I thought it might also be interesting to break down the visitors by town/city; here are the top 5 (excluding Muskegon) for the past month:

1. Phoenix, Arizona, USA
2. Red Deer, Alberta, CA
3. Clinton, Ontario, CA
4. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
5. Agincourt, Ontario, CA

Last year Canada stomped the US, sending 147 visitors to the site to the US’ measly 29. The tables have turned this year, with the US taking a 262 to 166 lead.

Will the Stars and Stripes reclaim bragging rights, or will we be singing “O Canada” by the end of the week?

Side note: our coolest visitor last year hailed from the Netherlands. You know you’re Dutch when you still have family back in the Old Country.

He tweets, he posts to Facebook, he is mayor of Calvin Church (according to foursquare)… it’s Kyle Adams.

Kyle is SERVE’s resident geek. He handles all the technology, from putting the photos online to the live video streaming from our robotic webcam.

Kyle loves playing with the latest whizbang gadgetry and can be found behind his Mac laptop during the wee hours of the morning discovering new technology tools & ways to use them. His goal during SERVE is to use his knowledge & those tools to create a way for SERVE participants to communicate with friends and family back home. We want to involve them as much as possible so that they can understand what their loved ones are experiencing. Kyle hopes that this understanding not only keeps them closer during the week but will also help start conversations about the SERVE experience once everyone heads back home.

Kyle is not all nerd, however. He has a great sense of humor, a desire for adventure and has a very creative imagination. Even though he imagines himself in Bruce Willis’ role as John McClane in Die Hard, he has to admit that he is more like Matt Farrell, Justin Long’s geeky character in Live Free or Die Hard. Kyle is completely comfortable in his geeky skin. “Not only did he (Matt Farrell) get to go on an awesome adventure with McClane, but he also got to hook up with McClane’s daughter at the end,” says Kyle.

Kyle’s fear (the imagination at work again) is that he may lose his super geek skills. As he posted on his Facebook recently, “I’ve just realized that my computing skillz are Benjamin Button’ing. My peak was in my teens and I’m now in decline. My mother-in-law, wife, sister-in-law and college friends all figured out how to post to Facebook from Hipstamatic before I did. *sigh*” Maybe he is just sleep deprived from staying up until wee hours of the morning. After all, he has two energetic toddlers who are morning creatures like his wife, Kelly.

Kyle’s favorite part of SERVE: “I love it when you see SERVE really click for a kid. Maybe it was a work site experience or one of the nightly worship services, but there’s usually some point in the week where they open themselves up to God and begin to become vessels for His love.”

Kyle had an experience of his own the summer of his freshman year in college that really touched him and showed him that God was at work and in control. He was a youth group leader on a week-long mission trip building a house in Juarez. The group completely lost their shelter while away working for the day due to a powerful storm. “When we pulled into the compound we realized that our tents were gone. More accurately, they were flattened and torn and everything inside the tents was soaked. We found bits and pieces blown all around, including a cast iron frying pan that was more than 50 feet away from were we’d left it. All in all, we had no shelter, our sleeping bags and clothes were all soaking wet, night was fast approaching, and we were in a foreign country.”

Kyle thought of a knick-knack of his mother’s that reminded him, “not the absence of pain but the presence of God.” A joy came over him and the others and they pulled together and found ways to turn the disheartening situation around with God’s help. As Kyle puts it, “For me, it was probably the closest I’ll get to understanding Paul and Silas as they sang songs and prayed in the prison.”

One of Erika’s claims to fame is a remarkable resemblance to Matilda, from the movie Matilda. Alas, it’s a bit hard to see that resemblance when she has a tiger mask on…

It doesn’t hurt that Erika is also a fan of the movie because “she was a good example of making something good for herself even if she didn’t come from a great place.” Erika has a passion for working with kids and a growing interest in child psychology. Just don’t ask her to remember when Napoleon fought the battle of Waterloo: “I could never remember dates!”

One of Erika’s summer jobs was working as a camp counselor for 1st-3rd graders. As happens so often, she caught a glimpse of God at work with the kids:

During one week our Bible study time was going really rough every day and on the last day we were talking about something (not even sure what now) and one of my crazy campers asked “do you mean…” and totally understood the point behind the story. It was so encouraging and really showed God at work even in the youngest kids!

To wrap things up I’ll leave you with another photo that speaks to Erika’s personality:

Would you trust this woman with your children?

Dee has an adventurous side, as she’d like to follow in Junior’s… er… Indiana Jones’ footsteps, starring in Raiders of the Lost Ark. While the movie starts out with Jones making his way past booby traps in a Peruvian temple, Dee is more likely to be found a little further north, in Nicaragua. She’s busy learning Spanish as part of the mission work in which she and her husband Ric are involved.

Dee felt God’s presence recently while listening to a loved one pour out their heart: “although my stomach was in knots, I knew God was there giving me the right words to say.”

In all seriousness, the closer we get to the week of SERVE the more excited John gets. During last week’s service he told the congregation how much he looked forward to seeing the church so full of young people. When asked about his favorite parts, he answers without hesitation: “kids and meals.” When he isn’t pesteringVern in the kitchen, he’ll be busy throughout the rest of the church, making sure everything is running smoothly. In his words, God “tells me he has great things in store for Calvin Church. Think I’ll hang around to enjoy this.”

John and his wife Ellen arrived at Calvin via Arizona and all that sunshine is still in their blood: John’s usual Sunday sweater doesn’t come off until the temperature is at least a brisk 80 degrees. When not at the church John and Ellen are likely in their garden, walking their big teddy bear of a dog, or doting on their grandkids.

These women all refer to themselves as part of a three-headed monster called community life. Ellen is the paper work and organizational head of that monster: you can thank her for any letters you may have received, your name tags, bags, bottles, and supplies. Kayla and Shannon plan and run various fun activities throughout the week. All three women are united in their passion for SERVE; Shannon summed it up saying, “my favorite part of SERVE is meeting all these new people and watching them enjoy helping others throughout the week.” Ellen agreed, saying that she enjoys “meeting people, praying for special needs”.

Shannon is a elementary school teacher with a passion for English. With that said, one of her most memorable God Sightings also involved Spanish:

On a mission trip to Mexico in high school, I was very touched on our last day there. We had a ceremony in which we sang a song in Spanish, and they sang a song in English. Almost everyone there was in tears by the end, and you could tell God helped us connect with one another throughout that week to make that time so special. This is one moment I will never forget.

Even though she’s a teacher, she’s not all books and learning – her favorite movie is Clueless, “because I would have an excuse to act like a complete airhead for a day.” Sounds good Shannon, as long as you don’t start driving like Cher.

Kayla is a currently a college student; her favorite subjects are math and science. Good thing too, since learning to be a world-famous geologist would be much harder if your favorite subject was underwater basket weaving. Much like Vern, Kayla has a soft spot for 80s movies; don’t look for her in aviator shades though, as she’s more of a Sixteen Candles girl. Growing up in this area, Kayla loves heading to the beach. The natural beauty and amazing colors constantly remind her of God’s majesty.

Ellen was more of a recess and art class person back in her school days. She has a whole lifetime of God Sightings that just start bubbling out when you ask: “when my kids were born, when my granddaughter was born! When my husband graduated from seminary. So many more than I can count!” Ellen’s fingers are crossed, as one of her other favorite things about SERVE is “seeing that things run smoothly and that everyone is OK and getting along.”

That’s our very own three-headed monster, up close and personal.

[My favorite part is] watching people as they gather for coffee time or at a event, sitting around enjoying one another’s company. You can see the smiles and wonderful fellowhip they are having. God is surely at work.

Vern and his wife Joyce are avid University of Michigan fans, so if you want to get on his good side (your tummy will thank you) wear blue and gold and practice up on your “Hail to the Victors.” In addition to the cooking, Vern also feels the need, the need for speed, as he’d love to star in the 80′s classic, Top Gun.

Brian is Calvin CRC’s youth pastor; he’s also the cat herder for SERVE. His job is to organize or delegate all the different details that make up a SERVE week: food, transportation, lodging, work sites, fun and games… it’s a lot of work but worth it. Brian’s favorite part is “how many different people, young and old… get involved and have such a spiritual awakening that impacts our church, the kids who come, as well as the community.” The Friday night worship for 2009′s SERVE was a God Sighting for Brian, as the service lasted for over four hours and “everyone wanted more!”

Brian and his wife Courtney have two daughters, with a third child on the way. Brian just finished his Master’s degree, which is pretty impressive for a guy who says his best subject in school was gym. Maybe that’s why he’s a youth pastor: there’s always a dodgeball game around the corner. When he’s not in the gym or at home, there’s a good chance he’s on the golf course, pretending to be Happy Gilmore.

I thought some of you might be interested in knowing how your message gets from the web site to the recipient. When you fill out the form, it sends an e-mail with the message to myself (the Muskegon Serve webmaster and tech guy) and our prayer coordinator. One of us prints up the e-mails each morning, usually around 10 or 11 AM EST, so if you have a message that you want to arrive on a particular day get it in before then

All Serve participants were assigned an mailbox; these are usually mailboxes for families A-L at our church, but they’re taken over for a week during Serve. Once the messages are printed off, they delivered to the appropriate mailbox, usually along with a small gift from the participant’s prayer partner (everybody has one).

It’s great fun seeing how excited everybody (kids and adults alike) gets over checking their mailbox, so I’ll try to get some video of that tomorrow. Until then, keep sending those messages!