All Star Camp

What’s new at All Star Camp this year?                                      

Glad you asked! One major change is that we are relocating from Barnes to Butler Acres Elementary. We are excited to have the chance to serve our immediate neighbors and build relationships with staff and students at Butler Acres. Invitations for ASC have gone out to Barnes Elementary as well, and we hope that many of those students will join us!

Another change this year is a great new theme: Cowboy Roundup! This is a fun and simple theme that offers our volunteers lots of opportunity for creativity. We hope to see everyone get into the cowboy spirit. Don’t be surprised to see leaders and kids playing soccer or jumping rope while wearing cowboy hats!

While we want to have fun, we also want to teach important truths. This year the emphasis will be on equality. Through devotionals, discussions, and activities, kids will learn the value of showing kindness and friendship to others. They will also learn the awesome truth that God loves everyone!

So what is staying the same at All Star Camp?  We will once again have three great activity tracks where kids will have the chance to connect with volunteers; each child will also hear a gospel presentation during the week. Add in songs, snacks, an original drama presentation, and a barbecue on the last day, and you have All Star Camp, a unique way that we can bless our community and share the love of Christ.

What can you do?  Register your kids early! Registrations are available in the Welcome Center and online. Also, we are need of many, many dozens of cookies for the week, so if you want to donate (baked or bought) cookies please drop them off in the church kitchen this week! Please no nuts or peanut butter. Contact Marilyn for more info about cookies, 423.6539. 

House Interview - The Larwick Family

Welcome to the East Hills Alliance family!
The House interviewed new EHA members Lance and Ali Larwick! 

The House: How long have you been attending EHA?

Larwicks-We started attending early 2012

The House: Could you describe your family a little bit? (number of years married, number of children, their ages?)

Larwicks: Ali grew up in Bothell WA and Lance Brush Prairie WA.  Lance & Ali met at Washington State University (Pullman) in 1999.  After college Lance got a job at Cowlitz PUD.  We moved to Kalama and rented for a year.  We built a house in Lexington and have been there since.  We were married March 2006 in Kirkland, WA (8 years!)  We have 2 boys, Blake, 6 years old, was born Sept 2007 and Mason, 4 years old, was born July 2009.  Blake is currently in kindergarten and attending Beacon Hill.  Mason is in preschool and attending Smart Start at Exodus Church in Longview. 

The House: Where do you work?

Larwicks:  Lance works as an electrical engineer at Cowlitz PUD.  Ali is a stay at home mom who works way harder than Lance. 

The House: Share a little about your journey with Jesus: When did you become a Christian? How did that happen? Share one or two things that mean a lot to you as believers?

Larwicks: Ali is a baby Christian and still in the process of growing her relationship with God. Lance: I grew up attending Bethel Lutheran Church in Brush Prairie, WA.  When I went off to college I strayed and stopped going to church.  I basically became a CEO (Christmas and Easter Only).  As a Christian, I believe Love is very important part of my everyday life and do my best to share it when I can. 

Lance and Ali:  It was not until 2012 that we both felt a calling to reach out to Jesus.  We had both recently lost family members and were feeling like something was missing in our lives. We started visiting local churches and it was not until we found East Hills (recommended by Lannie Sheldahl) that we felt at home and settled in.  We discovered we had several East Hills Alliance neighbors that lived within a stone’s throw from our house as well (Stumbos and Milligans).  When we first started attending we sat down with both families individually (the Stumbos were a little shocked that we were willing to feed a family of their size) and had a good chance to discuss some concerns and share our stories.  The meetings with these families played an important role with us ending up at East Hills.

The House: Do you have a special interest, talent or skill that you think we might be interested in knowing about you? J (Do you juggle? Race motorbikes? Run or hike for recreation?)

Larwicks: The kids are both active in sports (baseball, soccer, and basketball).  Lance coaches and just finished another year of tee ball at Kelso Youth Baseball league where both boys got to played on the same team this year. 

Ali is a member of MOPS (mother of preschoolers) and a member of their leadership team.  She is also enjoys stamping as a hobby. 

Lance enjoys outdoor activities such as local mud runs and is currently building a boat for the 4th of July Longview Cardboard Boat Regatta which is on July 2nd.  This is his 3rd year doing this.  Lance’s boat will be a Harry Potter themed boat this year and this will be the first year Blake will get to help row. 

We both like to fish and typically go camping several times a year.  This year we have plans to camp at Fort Stevens State Park, Mossy Rock and Cape Disappointment.  We have family in Wenatchee and will spend at least one week on the east side of the mountains enjoying the sun and fresh fruit.

The House: Any fun facts? 

Larwicks: Lance’s parents own a u-cut Christmas Tree Farm in Brush Prairie WA (Between Battle Ground and Orchards).  After thanksgiving, we spend every weekend working at the farm helping out.

Pentecost

Here at East Hills Alliance, we invite you to join us in celebrating this significant holiday! Pentecost is the day we remember that through the Holy Spirit, God himself has come to dwell within all who believe in Him. 

Here are ways that you can mark this day:

At East Hills: We are calling for a "red-out" at our weekend services on June 7 and 8. Come wearing any shade of red to symbolize the fire of the Spirit that came in Acts 2. After each of our three services, we will also have a dessert celebration downstairs in the Community Room, provided by EHA Youth.

At Home: Get creative about ways that you and your family could set aside Pentecost weekend as a special time. Host a barbecue or s'mores bonfire with some friends. Cook a special breakfast. Stay up late telling stories or reading Scripture. Go out for lunch with friends. When your children ask, "why are we doing this?" take this opportunity to share with them the meaning of Pentecost.

In Prayer: Set aside 30-60 minutes during the week to prepare yourself through prayer. In Acts 1, Jesus commanded his followers to "watch and pray" until the Holy Spirit came. 

Between the ascension and Pentecost the disciples waited in anticipation of the promise; the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all believers. From that time on, the Spirit has been available to all who wait before the Father.

Dry Dock

 If you drive along any significant waterway in our area, you are likely to see some boats that have been pulled up out of the water and are sitting on some kind of scaffolding structure. This always looks odd, because boats are made to be in the water.

 But “dry docking” a boat serves a significant purpose. It is a time to prepare the vessel for many more successful adventures by scrapping off barnacles, repairing any leaks, and securing the hull. A season of preparation then gives way to many more seasons of in-the-water action.

At the beginning of this month, our entire East Hills staff was down at the annual conference for the Alliance Northwest. This district comprises all the Alliance churches in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska about 100 gathering places total.

Our district leader, Randy Shaw, declared a season of “dry dock” for us last year when he was elected to his role. This has been a season of evaluating what our district of churches can do to better reach people for Christ and build them in Christ. It has also been a time of listening, as Randy travels around the area and meets with church leaders to hear their heart and vision.

This year’s conference was all about preparing the boat to launch back into open water. Randy unveiled a new vision statement for the district, Courageously following Jesus in the world as family.  This statement defines who we are- a united family of brothers and sisters in Christ- and what we do- live in the world as Jesus lived, to bring people into a deeper relationship with God. Randy also shared four messages about what it takes to follow Jesus in a new season.

I have been reflecting on these messages this last week as they relate to East Hills. While we haven’t used the phrase “dry dock”, we are certainly in a significant season of preparation.

God has led us in a vision of launching a second campus in Longview in the Fall of this year. We believe that we will build more people in Christ and reach more people for Christ by multiplying ourselves than we could if we just all stayed in the same building. A vision like this takes time, and has many different components. So what will guide us through this time? I offer you the heart of Randy’s four messages as a helpful paradigm for all of us.

Whatever season you may be in personally, I believe these ideas will help you frame the future:

1. We need a confidence to take risks because we walk with the Father.  Randy led us to consider the story from Genesis about Abraham taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him to the Lord. From Isaac’s perspective, this story has a unique twist. From all we can tell, Isaac would have been a young teen, and his dad Abraham a man of over a 115 years old! Surely Isaac could have over-powered or out-ran his dad to prevent being tied up for sacrifice. Instead, he is laid on the altar. In this, we see a trust that Isaac had in his father. He had confidence that his dad knew what he was doing, and so he submitted himself to his father’s will. So also for you and I, we will be unlikely to take risks or do anything out of the ordinary unless we have a confidence that God is in it.

2. Most skills are taught rather than caught, so we need to model first what we want to pass on to others.  Randy spent some humorous moments at the conference teaching us how to swing a baseball bat. Randy has never played baseball, so he was teaching the elements based on what he had learned from Google! His point was well-made: if we want our churches to build people in Christ and reach people for Christ, then we had better know how to do these things ourselves and practice them on a regular basis. A season of preparation is a time where we develop new skills. We learn to walk closely with Christ and to be a friend of those who are far from Christ. As we do this personally, we can teach others to do the same.

3. We need to willingly address the tough stuff in a heart of love. Randy posed a poignant question to us, “Do we want to be a family that just meets together, or one that goes somewhere together?” Families that only meet together often ignore difficult issues. Problems go undressed. Conflict stays unresolved. And the family remains relationally disconnected even though they are close in proximity. In order to pursue God’s will together, we must be willing to address difficult issues and work towards healing in all our relationships.

4. We go where Jesus leads us, even if this means new or unknown territory.  Randy called us to walk in new ways as churches and leaders. This is hard! Learning anything new and changing our normal rhythm feels uncomfortable. But if we want to go where Jesus is leading, change is inevitable. So for you and I, as we look at new seasons in our church and in our lives, we must be ready to walk in new places with Jesus. As we look to the future as a district, as a church, and as individuals, may we have a new confidence that we can do this- not because we have what it takes, but because we have the ONE who takes us there. God is on the move. Let’s move with Him!

Easter At Mark Morris

Easter Sunday is one of my favorite holidays. There is nothing more powerful and beautiful than celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the rich salvation that’s come to all who believe.

This Easter, the celebration will be even sweeter as all three services will gather together as one at Mark Morris High School in Longview to celebrate the Risen King and consider what new things God may be seeking to do in our lives during this season.

A major focus of our vision this year is to launch a new campus into Longview. Gathering at Mark Morris is one more step in turning our collective eyes and our prayers westward into this community.

Join us for coffee and pastries at 10:00 AM, and for the worship celebration starting at 10:30. There will be special kids programs for kids 5th grade and under. Prayerfully consider who you could invite to join you, and then welcome them along. For more information, pick up an information card in the welcome center, check out our website at easthillsalliance.org, or contact the church office.