Visit our Team Page on 30 Hour Famine’s website to help us make a HUGE difference in the lives of those who need it the most! Watch the following video to see just one way your donations help change lives.

On April 27-28, 2012, our youth ministry took part in the 30 Hour Famine, sponsored by World Vision. In the weeks leading up to the Famine Weekend, and then for the entire 30 Hour Famine itself, we learned about the impact of poverty, famine, and hunger on children around the world.

Our goal is to raise $3,000 for World Vision projects in an area of the world most in need. Last year, FoY teens raised nearly $2,000 and designated our funds for Haiti. This year, we’ll be choosing between Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Zambia and Kenya as the recipients of the monies we raise with your help.  Click on the image to the right to see what the situations are in each of these “Hunger Hot Spots.”

Click for a larger image of Hunger Hot Spots in the world

If you’d like to help us reach our goal by donating to a particular teen’s efforts in our church, please visit Living Hope’s Team Page on 30 Hour Famine’s website and click on the name of any of the Team Members who’ve created a page there.

If you’d like to donate to World Vision through our church, and not through a particular teen, click the button below!

If you attend Living Hope, you can give directly to a teen wearing a 30 Hour Famine T-shirt on Sunday, Apr 28, or Sunday, May 6, 2012. All donations are tax-deductible, so ask for a receipt! Make checks out to “World Vision.”

Thank-you for your support!

From the Pastor’s Desk
Poetry: “Praises,”by F.E. Matteson (Ray Matteson’s father)
From the Heart: “Precious Time,” by Beth Birkenfeld
Poetry: “The Night Before Christmas,” by Dave Quinn
Testimony: “Planes, Shuttles and Automobiles: Learning to Say ‘Yes’ to God,” by Jessie Dutra
Ministries/Family News
Parenting: “Effective Parenting Study: Principle of Responsibility,” by Lisa Quinn
Beavertail Sunset Fellowship (images and praises)
Fun Page: Family Activity Corner for All Ages, submitted by Silvia Curry
Upcoming Events

From the Pastor’s Desk
From the Heart, by Beth Birkenfeld
Testimony: “My Very Own Miracle,” by Chris Kenyon
Effective Parenting Study notes, by Lisa Quinn
LHCC Family News, including the Aug 21st baptism at NK Town Beach
News from LHCC Ministries
“Camping on Living Hope Street,” by Amy Brock
Bible Study Review submitted by Bea Seavey: “Live a Praying Life” by Jennifer Kennedy Dean
“Muddy Waters,” by Charlene Ryerson
Upcoming Events

In this issue:
1) Who We Are
2) Our Young Adult Leaders
3) What Wednesdays Look Like at FoY
4) Regular Testimonies
5) “Guest Guys”
6) What We Do
7) Our Private Facebook Group
8) 2011 Activities and Events
9) Coming Up

Click here to read the March 2012 Issue of Fountain of Youth Teen Ministry’s Newsletter.

(Note: images of teens have been  blurred.)

We opened with announcements (see bottom of this post), then divided the teens into 3 groups for a game called “Real or Fake”? Each group had 3 minutes to look over 18 images from the internet and decide whether they were Real or Fake. The team with the most correct guesses won, and their names were placed in a drawing for movie candy.

Tonight we discussed motives, and how our hearts can be led astray by a desire for wealth, riches, and other things like fame, attention, approval, etc.. Turning to Ecclesiastes 5:10-20, Mark 4:1-18, and 1 Timothy 6:3-21, we discussed what each of those passages had in common:  the pursuit of wealth and riches.

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:9-10

We discussed how Christians might be led astray — and even fall — by our own desires, and then, after discussing the danger of judging hearts and motives of anyone but ourselves, we shared examples of Christians in the public eye who appear to have been corrupted by their desires for things like money, fame, and more. Then we talked about ourselves and the wrong motives we might have for things like saying we’re Christians, for going to church, for tithing, for seeking after leadership roles, and any number of other public signs of our faith. We heard motives like being loved, being accepted, being admired, finding a mate, business networking, looking good, clearing our conscience (trying to do good to outweigh “bad”), and more.

All of this was to lead into Acts 8:1-25. We’re studying the Book of Acts from beginning to end, and tonight brought us to the encounter between Peter and Simon the Sorcerer.  Simon, a popular and well-regarded sorcerer in Samaria, and a man who had apparently trusted in Christ (“believed”) and even been baptized, revealed saw what God was doing through Peter and John and wanted that Holy Spirit-given power for himself:

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:14-19

We discussed the ways our actions and words reveal our own hearts, and how Christians can look on the outside like we’re “doing all the right things,” while our motives are a mess! Eventually, what’s in our hearts is revealed in our words and actions. It’s vital that we read God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to show us who we are so we can ask God to change us, and so we can be the people He calls us to be in the world.

We ended with a funny but challenging skit, “Good Christian Boy,” starring 6 of the teens: CJ, Zandra, Aidan, Tyler, Dan, and Josiah.

Thanks to Steve Brock for being our Guest Guy tonight!! You’re so appreciated.

For information or questions about LHCC’s Teen Ministry, email Michelle Quillin.

Announcements made: Teens going to Snow Camp need to be at LHCC at 3:30 pm on Fri, Mar 23rd, with their permission slip(s) and luggage. Make sure your luggage will fit under the 15-passenger van’s seats and in tight spaces throughout the van. We’re departing at 4 pm. Bring a sack lunch or money for McDonald’s. No food or beverages in the van, except water. We’ll call parents Sunday afternoon when we leave Camp Berea.

Teens in attendance: Abby, Emily, Zandra, Joyce, Dominique, Tabby, Delaney, Becca, Virineja, Josiah, Aidan, Dan, Tyler, Jakob, CJ,  and Josiah.

If all goes well, Fountain of Youth teens will be headed to Camp Berea for “Deep Freeze” the weekend of March 23-25, 2012!! The speaker that weekend is Duffy Robbins, a 35-year veteran of youth ministry, Professor of Youth Ministry at Eastern University, author, and well-known conference speaker for both teens and youth ministers.

Any teen who has been a regular member of Fountain of Youth, or who has attended Fountain of Youth for 4 weeks prior to the deadline for registrations, is welcome to attend. Teens who attend LHCC but do not attend FoY may be able to go as well, depending on several factors; please contact Michelle (contact info at bottom of this post) for more information.

We need a $50 deposit by Wednesday, January 18th, from each teen who plans on going. The total cost will be $135, with the balance ($85) due on Wednesday, March 14th. Camp Berea has paintball, which is an additional cost of $10 per hour. If you want to play paintball, you’ll bring your extra money with you to Deep Freeze and pay there.

**********************

Any questions or concerns? Please contact Michelle by email or call/text her at 401-573-7532.

NOTE: Teens must be regular attendees of FoY to attend this activity — for at least 4 weeks before Sept 7th — because of the need for leaders to know the teens traveling with us, teens to know and respect leaders, and because of space limitations.

FAMILIES ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND IF THEY PROVIDE THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION. Teens who are not regular attendees of FoY may come with their families, but hang out with other groups if their parents are in agreement. :)

CHAPERONES: We definitely have three adults going, Pastor Peter, Michelle Quillin, and Ryan Blanchette, and maybe a 4th in our new young adult leader, Brianna Quinn.

After consideration, I’ve decided that all FoY teens attending without families must be in an adult-supervised group, because those teens will be eating together in the parking lot (see “COST” below) & we need to make sure everyone is together in groups that can access the van. Teens may switch groups at meal times, or if groups meet up inside the park.

********************
BANDS:

Doors open at 10:30 am, First stage 11:30 am, Second stage 3:30 pm, and the Music ends at 8:00 pm.

Ride all the rides at Six Flags and see the bands you want to see (Both local and national acts).

Here’s the Fall Quest 2011 Line-Up so far:

Peter Furler (former front man of The Newsboys)
The Afters
Stellar Kart
Special guest host John Reuben
Me Without You
Write This Down
Dominic Balli
House of Heroes

*********************
COST:

1) Tickets are $26 each if we have at least 15 in our group, $30 each for 10 or more.
2) Meals are expensive at Six Flags, around $15 for a burger, fries, and soda. A large pizza is $30. To save money, all teens are asked to bring a sack lunch & dinner that can be kept cool in coolers we’ll leave in the van; leaders of each group can take their group out to the parking lot to eat together at mealtimes. I’ll purchase a couple of cases of bottled water for mealtime beverages.
3) Souvenir drink cups are $30 for three, with free refills all day, if you want them. Bottles of water inside the park run about $4 from what I’ve heard, and there are water fountains somewhere. No drinks or foods are allowed to be brought in from outside.

See Six Flags New England’s website for more information, lists of restaurants, games, snack bars, rides, etc.

***********************
DEADLINES FOR REGISTRATION, PERMISSION SLIPS, and MONIES

On Wednesday, Sept 7th, a raffle will be held at FoY for the top 3 scorers on the weekly New Testament Quizzes. The winner’s ticket to Six Flags will be paid for!

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: All teens traveling with FoY must register by the end of FoY on Wednesday, Sept 7th, so we know how much group tickets will be and whether we’ll need additional transportation. Permission slips will go home that night.

MONIES & PERMISSION SLIPS DEADLINE: ALL MONIES and permission slips are due to Michelle Quillin on Wednesday, Sept 14th, with no exceptions. Please get your monies to Michelle as soon as possible before that date; make checks out to Living Hope Christian Church. Checks may be mailed to Michelle [see Facebook Group for address] if you won’t see her at church or FoY.

Tickets and any souvenir cups will be purchased online on Thursday, Sept 15th, and there can be no refunds after purchase.

***********************
PERMISSION SLIPS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH, and on the FoY Facebook Group in the Docs section soon. I’ll alert everyone when they’re up! :)

***********************

I think I’ve got everything covered! Any questions, concerns, or advice? Ask them here, email Michelle or call her at 401-573-7532.

Permission slips are required because of the movie’s themes; you can print them out from the Docs section on the Fountain of Youth Facebook group. Parents can also sign the permission slips when they bring their teens.

Teens, please invite your friends, & have them bring permission slips with them (their parents can just write a note giving permission).

Parents are welcome to stay for the evening and see the movie, too!

Any questions or concerns? Please contact Michelle by email or call her at 401-573-7532.

**************************​****

Note from Michelle Quillin:

I watched the movie myself, and while the movie doesn’t glorify the lifestyles of today’s teens, it certainly is authentic and I suggest parental guidance and discussion. There are Christian teens in the movie, plus a youth pastor and youth group (a typical youth group, with teens who are there just to hang out, and teens who really want to grow in their faith). The main character is a guy who is torn between the two worlds and two groups of friends, so your teens will see those two worlds in this movie. The lifestyles depicted aren’t exaggerated, nor are they downplayed.

I want to recommend two websites to you to get info on this movie and others. The first is Christian Answers, where you’ll get a main review written from a Christian perspective, plus a slew of comments from other Christians and moviegoers, divided into “Positive,” “Neutral,” and “Negative.” Here are the reviews for “To Save a Life” –

Spotlight on Entertainment’s review of “To Save a Life”

The second website is a great one for getting all the the details about every single incident of violence, sex, and profanity in any movie. If you check out some of your favorite “tame” movies, you’ll see that the writers of these reviews pick up on things you may even have overlooked or not noticed. With that said, reading the details might also make a movie sound much worse than it is when the scenes are in context. Here’s the review for “To Save a Life” –

Kids in Mind’s review of “To Save a Life”

Fountain of Youth Recap: March 9, 2011
by Ryan Blanchette

Wow what a night!  First off let me give a warm welcome to our returning youth Nicole who has been absent due to the unfortunate turmoil of an overload of homework.  Glad to see you back.  We are also very grateful to have with us this week Becca Banner, an old friend of Michelle and Christa’s from Quidnessett Baptist Church.  They met at the rollerskating night a few weeks ago and she decided to grace us with her presence this week at Fountain of Youth…and what a night to come!

Minute-to-Win-It was awesome this week! Christa came up with an optional game for the teens, peeling and eating a whole boiling onion!  The first person to eat the whole thing and stick their tongue out for us to see it was gone would be the winner, but it was more of a challenge than that.  As the teens started eating their onions (participants were, Abby, Emily, Becca, C.J., Chelsea, Tyler, and Aidan) most of them started to nearly gag at the taste of it, nevermind their eyes watering and their sinuses clearing up! By 1 minute in the only contestants left were C.J., Chelsea, Tyler, and Aidan.  Just when we thought Chelsea was going to hold her own against the boys, she had to back out.  As the challenge progressed, it looked like Aidan had it won for the night, but out of nowhere C.J. chowed down his onion, taking small quick bites, and pulled away with the victory just seconds before Aidan finished his!

So in rightful order of those who actually ate their entire onion, First – C.J., Second - Aidan, Third – Tyler.  Riveting!

After that was the greatly-anticipated Scripture Challenge.  Any of the kids who wanted to participate against Michelle and myself memorized a pre-arranged list of Scriptures.  Of the teens who wanted in, we had Abby, Aidan, and Becca.  Each person had to read their chosen verse (picked by Christa from a basket) word for word from their own translation.  To go first….Me (Ryan)…of course.  But with flying colors I zipped through John 10:27-30, not without an inital hesitation, though.  Following me was Abby who had to recite John 3:3.  She completed the task, but not without missing a word or two, scoring for her team only 1 point, bringing the challenge to a total of 2-1 at the end of the first round. 

Next up was Michelle, who slowly but surely made her way through John 3:36, but again, mixing up a few words and scoring only 1 point for the Leaders team.  After Michelle, for the FoY team was Aidan who breezed through John 13:35 with ease, tying the score up at 3-3. 

To begin the third round I was left with either John 1:1-3 or John 3:16-17.  Now, we all hope for John 3:16-17, one of the most known scriptures in the Bible.  So, continuing on with the challenge, Christa leans over and with a wide smile on her face declares that I do in fact get to recite…the other one, John 1:1-3!!  However, having been memorizing it for some weeks now and also hearing it from the teens reciting it to win points and candy week after week, I was not frightened or discouraged and spoke out that verse like a champ!  Not really, I had to stop and think about it and nearly messed up but made my way through…word for word…to put the Leaders up by 2, leaving Becca now with having to recite John 3:16-17, which she did victoriously!  

You know what that all means now…OVERTIME!

Having just recited their verses, the teens got the chance to sit back and watch Michelle squirm for the Leaders as she had to recite one of the bonus questions, Romans 3:10-11.  A bit slow coming out of the gate, Michelle eventually worked her way through and triumphantly accomplished the task at hand, giving the Leaders 1 point to take the lead 6-5!  After a brief pause for judging due to some of the girls reading over the Romans scripture between rounds, Abby was chosen to be the one to recite out Romans 3:22-24.  Not even a line was recited as Abby had to withdraw and forfeit her turn, giving the Teens 0 points to finish out the night, leaving the Leaders the champions of the challenge!  That’s no excuse for me though, having also failed at my Bonus Verse, Romans 1:16, and not able to capitalize on the crushing blow of outscoring the FoY team.

With most of the night gone then, we didn’t get to spend much time on our topic discussion of learning to love one another through our actions and our speech, regardless of who it is we are dealing with. 

Note from Michelle: As we recited Scriptures, we stopped to expound on those that dealt with the way we treat one another. At the end of the challenge, we talked about next week’s topic — Responding to others with Grace — and how the way that we treat others reflects directly on Jesus, who we claim to represent when we call ourselves Christians. We asked the teens if the way that they speak to one another on Facebook reflects love for one another, and how those who don’t know Christ are reading their walls. What do they see?

One subtopic that came up earlier in the evening was loving those who feel Christians as a whole have not been very loving to them, in particular people who label themselves homosexual or bisexual. 

Note from Michelle: This is a major issue for our Christian teens who go to public school, as many of their peers now identify themselves as gay, bi-sexual, or confused about their sexuality. How are we as Christians to respond? How would Jesus respond? How did He respond in similar situations, when we read the gospels? These are the questions we’re tackling as we study God’s Word.

Many feel we will condemn them and look down upon them for their sexual orientation, when in reality, as Christians (followers of Christ’s ways; disciple of Jesus) we are to love everyone [Michelle: and condemn no one].  Even if we don’t personally agree with someone’s decisions, that is by no means a reason to not love the person, for they too are a child of God, and to hide away our love for them is a manner of hatred and discrimination. 

Note from Michelle: Next week, March 16th, we’ll be discussing in great detail what God’s Word says about how our words can hurt or heal, how to speak the truth in love, how to respond with grace when we are offended, and examples of “sticky situations” in the Bible where various men and women of God were tested in this area.

With love in Christ,
Ryan Blanchette
c: 401-439-8373
w: 401-596-6658

Fountain of Youth Recap: March 2, 2011
by Ryan Blanchette

We are missing a week due to me not feeling so well last week (February 23rd), but we made up for it with a message from Snow Camp.

We picked up our wonderful time with the teens this Wednesday starting first with time for the leaders to pray as Josiah led the draft results for the Minute-to-Win-It game.  Ashley and Leah came away the champs as Michelle had to offer a tie-breaking question.  The game this week…a puzzle!  Michelle had cut up a breakfast cereal box (Honey Bunches of Oats w/Almonds) and the girls had one minute to try and put it together.  For the first time ever in the history of FoY’s MTWI challenge…we had no winners!  Both girls tried their very best but failed to complete the cereal box puzzle in the time alotted.

Afterwards we broke into our announcement time.  Not many announcements this week.  The big one was who we chose as a group to sponsor from World Vision, and the winner was Eunice from Uganda.  A sweet little girl from a small village who loves to jump rope.  The girls are excited to be able to send her a new jump rope.  The next announcement is a rather obvious one, and it’s about how the weekend went with Snow Camp.  We talked about the power of humility and God’s sovereignty over our lives and the Spirit moving within us at times we feel we aren’t capable of performing the task at hand, or better yet, the Spirit working in people’s lives when others feel that person may not be qualified.  It was a good talk as we spoke of the overwhelming results of grace through Zandra’s hospital visit, Christa’s talk with the young girls, and the group discussion that ended at the most perfect time as Michelle and Zandra were just arriving back…in good health!

The message this week was about that of our actions as Christians and how the world is able to recognize us as different because of them, and where our heart is in those acts. Are we doing it for ourselves to just look good, or are we doing it for the sake of others?  Matthew 25:34-40 was the scripture passage discussed and it was a wonderful message as the teens spoke up about how some people do see the difference in them, or better how they see the difference in the world due to the Spirit dwelling within them.  They recognized the signifance of the King, Jesus, separating us at the end times by sheep and goats, as Aidan so well put that with his experience with goats, they tend to be extremely stubborn and have to be dragged along rather than willing to follow…unlike the sheep who know their Master’s voice and follow willingly.

Next week we have our Bible Verse Challenge as the teens take on me and Michelle, determing whether they get their pizza party or not, and also giving them the chance to score points for their team too!  It’s going to be interesting to see how well these kids know the verses.