Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Teenpact Update

Hello everybody!

Well, I had another great day today! The student government elections took place and Isaac was elected as one of the representatives. Yeah for Isaac! And Quinton Cools got elected for governor! Hurrah for Quinton!

I got to meet with Jason Atkinson personally! He's a very busy guy but he was still kind enough to meet me and answer some of my questions. And there's something huge in our state coming up that he told me about but I can't tell anyone else. :D Check out his site at- http://jasonatkinson.us/

I had better get to bed to be awake for the ride home tomorrow!

Enjoy the pictures!



Tuesday, April 28, 2009

I've been nominated for Governor!

Today was awesome! I learned a ton and had a blast! It is very fun getting to know new people. It's probably even a good thing that no one I know really well is here because if they were, then I would only hang out with them and not meet as many new people.... It's kind of like what Tait was saying about Regionals. But at the same time I wish you all were here so you could learn all the amazing things I've been learning.

We have what are called 'field experiences' about twice or 3 times a day. A field experience is where you leave 'home base' (the room where we met regularly), and go somewhere in the capitol to see the government in action.

Today we watched the house of representatives for a short period . This was after we had learned all the procedures and rules of conduct that they follow. We watched it from the balcony and I was able to look down and see all the representatives, the speaker of the house, etc. Dennis Richardson, the representative from our district, was down there. It was very organized and official.

Another highlight of the day was during one of the breakout sessions. We were split into 4 different made-up political parties. I was in the Dehydrated Rain party. So in that session we had to vote on different issues our party would support and then we nominated and elected a governor and 3 representatives. This was the primarys of the election.

So that was when they elected me as governor nominee. That was kind of exciting. :)

Tomorrow we'll do the general election. So I'll be campaigning and running against the governors from the 3 other parties. And 2 of them I already know- Taylor Wells and Quinton Cools. I really look forward to it!!!! :D

I've been having a great time so far. The conversations have all been excellent! Mr. Harris and those leading the camp have a lot of insight and wisdom on issues such government, its role, and how it compares with the church, the family, and the individual person.

I'll try and keep you all updated!
-Aaron

In Salem for Teenpact

Good morning, everyone! I'm sitting here at the Harrises eating breakfast and getting ready for the second day of Teenpact! How is everyone doing down there?

Yesterday we got to read all the bills that we had written and they assigned them to different committees to review each bill. We were split up into several different committees and I think we'll be reviewing and passing the bills today!

God bless you all! I gotta run! Enjoy the banquet tonight! :)

-Aaron

Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Prayer Request

The Moores are asking for prayer for their family. Their son, Jacob, is home now after living at a Boys ranch in Texas for 5 months. He was expelled for bad behavior. Please pray for reconciliation between Jacob and his family. Pray that God would give the Moores wisdom about how to deal with this new situation. Pray that He would soften Jacob's heart to mend the relationships that are broken.

I talked to Zane tonight and he said they're holding up pretty good but it was quite a sudden change to have Jacob home again. Please pray for Jacob. He is young and already struggling spiritually in many ways. He needs prayer more than anything else right now.



James 5:13- "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

God bless you all!
-Aaron

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Grueling 10 mile Run!














The Rugged Runners- (from left to right) Me, Dylan, Kolton(ran the 5k), Jachin, Kaila, Victoria, Christina, Dad Stephanie, Natalie(ran the 5k), and Steve.

Alexa forgot to picture Jachin, myself, and Steve in the last stretch, so in case you were wondering, yes, we did run. :D

You can see all our running times and results on the pear blossom website.

It was very fun, at least when we were finished. :D There was also a great atmosphere of encouragement and wholesomeness among everyone. 1260 people ran the 10 mile. It was a wonderful group of people! I look forward to running next year and with even more friends! ....hint hint. :D

God bless you all!
-Aaron