ALJC Apostolic Youth Corps

A HUGE THANKS!

2012-02-11T21:55:00.000-05:00

We want to give a huge thanks and shout out to the Indiana District for giving to our cause this summer. The Indiana district Crusaders have created a yearly custom each year at their Winter Youth Convention to give a missions offering to sponsor our summer AYC outreach efforts. This year they gave 2351.00 dollars. The offering will pay the printing cost of our 100,000 flyers for Ireland and Poland and then some! Thanks to Rev. Dan Mundy the Indiana District Youth President and his leadership team for giving to this great cause.

We are going to continue to raise funds for the blockparty in Ireland and to purchase sound equipment for the Adams family. The need as about 2500.00 dollars more. Many times pastors who are sending their students have given to this cause in the past. Last year in Uganda many churches sent 200.00-500.00 dollar offerings to bless the work. Please join with us in prayer that God would put this need on the hearts of pastors all over the USA.

Finally please say a prayer of blessing for the Indiana District Crusaders for giving. This was a sacrificial offering they gave. God bless you.

Our 1st deadline is coming up

2012-02-09T19:26:00.002-05:00

We just want to update you all about our first deadline date coming up. March 1st is when your European Flight money will be due. This will cover your Dublin to Paris, Paris to Krakow and Krakow to Dublin flights. Please do not miss this deadline. Along with the 400.00 USD check you will need to mail in your registration form to Faith Apostolic Church at 1212 E 116th St, Carmel, IN 46032. If you miss the March 1st deadline we will not be able to get you on the trip with us this year. Please get everything in on time. Please note that these funds are non-refundable due to the fact that we will be purchasing non-refundable airline tickets.

Someone emailed us a question asking about the increase in the Euro flights from the registration form. That is correct but we were able to get a lower price on the Chicago-Dublin flight. The total cost is still the same.

Future Deadlines

March 1- 400.00 Euro flights

April 1- 250.00 Registration

May 1- 1100.00 Chicago-Dublin Flight

June 1- 400.00 Hotel

What are we going to be doing?

2012-01-31T15:01:00.000-05:00

We are now up to 37 registered AYC'ers for our European tour. We only need 5 more people to register and we will break our record for most ever registered. Call your friends get them connected and lets break the record this year. Many of you have asked the question of the day "What are we going to be doing?" Here is the break down. We hope you likey!

1. Leave Chicago on Monday July 16th at 3:30 pm

2. Arrive in Dublin at 8:45 am on July 17th we will then ride the bus to Heuston Train station and ride the train to Waterford to meet with the Potter family. We will then check into the hotel, let everyone rest and then we will have dinner, prayer and talk about expectations of the mission.

3. On July 18th we will wake up early and take a bus to Cork, Ireland to visit a historic castle where the Blarney stone is located. After the tour we will return back to the city to pass out flyers and have a revival service that night with James Chessor preaching.

4. On July 19th we will spend the entire day passing out flyers and inviting people to the revival services and Saturday blockparty. That night we will continue our revival service with Rev. Chessor.

5. On July 20th we will continue to invite and pass out flyers and hang out downtown Waterford. At night we will have church services.

6. On July 21st we will have the first ever block party church service by the river in Waterford in the afternoon. We will then take the night off to hang out.

7. On July 22nd we will have church in Waterford at 11 am. When church is over we will ride a bus back to Dublin for church at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Everyone will be encouraged to rest well that night because we will go from 5 am until 11 pm the next day.

8. Wake up at 4:30 am and go to the Dublin International airport to fly to Paris for the day. We will visit the Arc de Triumphe, Eiffel Tower and other places as time permits.

9. On July 24th we will catch an afternoon flight to Poland. Upon arrival we will check into the hotel and pass out flyers telling everyone about the new church and English as a second language classes.

10. On July 25th we will leave for Birkenau, Poland to visit two WWII concentration camps. Your life will be forever impacted after visiting these locations. We will return back to Krakow to finish passing out our flyers. Then hang out on the town square that night.

11. On July 26th we will tour Historic Krakow, The Jewish Ghetto, the Church where Pope John Paul was on overseer and a giant castle in the city. We will even visit a very modern mall near our apartment. At night there is an optional concert everyone is welcome to attend near the city center at an old church.

12. On July 27th we will fly back to Dublin to spend the night.

13. On July 28th we will leave Dublin for Chicago at 8:45 am.

Why Go? According to Chelsea Savala

2012-01-19T06:21:00.000-05:00

Why YOU should go on a AYC mission trip. There is no explanation to describe how amazing it is to have your eyes opened in such a way it completely changes who you are. That is what just one AYC experience did for me. I was beyond blessed to join a group of young people heading to Uganda, Africa sitting on that forever long plane ride all of us full of hope and anticipation. The moment the plane flew low enough for us to see Africa it was a fight to get in a window, to see another country below you knowing the God that made our home also made theirs. We were about to enter a completely different world.

Having no one to rely on in a foreign land except our leaders and the rest of the AYC group really hit me once we were off the plane it honestly made me more independent. Meeting and getting to know these absolutely amazing people of Uganda changed my personal opinion of myself and who I wanted to be. The love, trust, loyalty and faith that they had were at a level so high I can only pray to obtain one day. The services were probably as close to being in Heaven as possible. The worship and dance were pure love and joy for God and for hours at a time. The mind set of the people took my breath away at how humble and how in love with God they were. To have the bare-minimum to survive they are the happiest group of people I have ever and will probably ever meet.

Not only did the people of Uganda affect me but also the other AYCer’s. Getting to know the group of outstanding young people in the ALJC district and becoming inseparable friends even after the trip is such a blessing. All of us have different passions and lives we lead but there is one thing all 28 of us will have in common, this mission trip. God always has the perfect plan and every one of us were there for a reason and I couldn’t ask for a better group to be with.

My life has drastically changed because of this AYC trip. Uganda will forever be in my heart, my worship, my love and my dance. Even if you don’t specifically feel called to foreign mission work still go, at least one time in your life. Break out of your box, trust God with your whole being and step in faith. Nothing but pure greatness can come from a missions trip. :)

-Chelsea Savala

Why go? According to Rachael Martin

2012-01-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

"Since 2007, I wanted to go on a mission’s trip to Africa, and then in
2009 my Bishop went to Uganda, Africa with four other members of my
church my heart was crushed that I wouldn’t be able to go with them
because it was my senior year of high school. In 2011 I had the
opportunity to head to Uganda, Africa with an awesome group of young
people! Heading over to Uganda I felt like I knew what to expect from
hearing all the stories from people from my church, and my brother who
went in January of 2011. Once I landed in Africa until the day we got
on the plane to head back to the United States, I realized I was
wrong. Actually being in Uganda changed my outlook on the people over
there. My brother would tell me how you go over and expect to change
their life, but they ended up changing yours. I found out what he was
saying was true! In the United States we take so many things for
granted, especially the things we sacrifice to God! I remember one
night after a hard rain came down it was probably 65 degrees, and an
orphan was holding my hand shivering. Being an American I thought this
weather was perfect, but looking at this child I knew it wasn’t
comfortable for him. I realized how much I have in the States that I
use to keep me comfortable. This child had nothing else to put on to
keep warm, but there was still a smile on his face seeing a group of
people playing games with them to show we care and love them very
much. While over there I learned what it meant to sincerely worship
the one true God! There is a lot more to mission trips than being able
to see another country. Going to Uganda my heart was opened to many
people who didn’t have much materialistic items.
You may ask yourself “Why should I go on the AYC Missions Trip?”
Going on a mission’s trip allows you to meet friends across the United
States that has the same passion as you. Not only do you meet friends
from the States, but also living in a different country. Every so
often I receive a phone call and emails from my friends that I made in
Uganda. During these phone calls they inform me of how revival is
breaking out at their church and the village churches, it is amazing
to hear these stories and feel like you are back with them in revival!
I know that when I went to Uganda my faith grew so much! Not only my
faith but my love for people all over the world has grown. Many people
also talk themselves out of going to another country because it may be
dangerous and they don’t have the security that the United States
does. I remember going through that and I was about to email Josh
Wilson and say I couldn’t go. I prayed and asked God to show me a sign
because I didn’t want to have fear. After praying I got a strong urge
to read the Bible. The verse I opened up to was Hebrews 13:6 which
states, “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will
not fear what man shall do unto me.” Remember that throughout your
time on this trip God WILL have His hand of protection on you! I
promise you will not regret going on a mission’s trip. It will give
you strength, encouragement, love, faith, and a whole lot more! You
have nothing to lose on this upcoming trip…go and open your heart to
what blessing God has for your life. Trust me you will be very
blessed! "

Why Go?

2012-01-04T15:07:00.001-05:00

We have asked some of our past AYC participants to write in and answer the question "Why You should go on an AYC Mission?" Here is what Mareshah Wheeler from Baton Rouge had to say about her AYC Uganda Mission.

Why YOU Should Go on an AYC Trip This Summer

AYC trips are amazing and well worth attending during the summer. I attended last summer where we went to Uganda, Africa and visited two different cities in the country of Uganda. We attended church services in the cities of Kampala and Mbale. It was life-changing being in worship services with people from a completely different cultures and ways of life worshipping an amazing God. In the church services there was no air conditioner, no carpeted floors, one light bulb that lit up the entire church, but in every single service as I worshipped with new friends from America and Africa, God’s presence rained down upon us and we were forever changed by Him meeting us there. I expected, going into this trip, the people there would be down and sad because of the situations that lots of them were faced with, but what I found was people full of joy not because everything was going completely right in their lives, but because there was a God who had never failed them and was there in the midst of everything that they faced. There would be days when we would be out sightseeing and be hours late to church and instead of them canceling service or, postponing they would just sing and dance and worship for hours and then once we got there service would begin with more singing and dancing and worshiping and preaching. We also spent lots of time with the orphans while we were there and it was so humbling to be in the presence of those who did not have much materially, but were so blessed spiritually. They may not have had iPods and cellphones, or even a decent change of clothes and a pair of shoes, but they were blessed! They were always rejoicing and full of joy and gratefulness and while we were able to bless them with material things like shoes and clothes, they blessed us by teaching us that no matter how bad we think it is, God is still a good God!

While on this AYC trip my worship was challenged, my faith was strengthened, my love for missions increased as did my love and desire to help those who don’t have as much as we have here in America (shoes, clothes, three meals a day); but most of all, God was glorified like I had never experienced before in being in church services with people of like precious faith who wanted nothing more than to worship God. If you are interested in making amazing new friends from all over the ALJC, sign up! It was awesome meeting and forming friendships with people from so many different churches, and we were all able to keep in touch after the trip was over! AYC 2011 was life-changing and you should try your absolute best to be a part this year!

-Mareshah

Thank you Mareshah for your words! AYC 2012 will be another year when you will meet new people and your love for missions will increase.

Registration form

2012-01-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

Just in case you need a registration form just click on this link AYC 2012 European Registration form. Just click on it, fill it out and mail it in. If you do not have your passport yet you can still mail in your registration form and then email your passport information later.

Happy New Year get your US Passport!

2011-12-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

Please apply for your US Passport before the end of January, 2012. We will need your passport information to book our European Flights on March 15th. If you do not have your passport by March 15th we will not be able to order your Flights from Dublin to Paris, Paris to Krakow and Krakow Back to Dublin flights. All European flights require your passport information at the time of booking. You can get your passport by going to your local post office or you can go online at this link US Passport Information. Remember in order to get a passport you will need to allow at least 6 weeks to get it back in the mail or you can pay extra to rush it through. Please post or email any of your questions to jwilson149@hotmail.com.

Happy New Year and we will blog you later!

Sponsorship Letter

2011-12-18T01:36:00.001-05:00

We have been getting emails wanting information about writing a letter to potential financial contributors. Thank you Jonathan Wheeler for writing this letter. Please feel free to copy and paste or simply use it as a guide in writing your own.

Dear Friends and Family, (be specific when you address an individual, call them Mr. or Mrs.)

I hope this letter finds you enjoying the blessings of the Lord. I want to be mindful of your time today. The purpose of this letter is to inform you about a mission that I am going to be going on in July of 2012 with the Apostolic Youth Corps of the ALJC. If you would like more information on this mission please check out our mission blog at www.apostolicyouthcorps.blogspot.com.

Our mission will take us to the continent of Europe. We will be flying from Chicago on July 16, 2012 and we will be returning on July 28. Our journey will take us to three different countries over a 2 week span. We will start out in the nation of Ireland, travel to Paris for 1 day and then fly to Poland to finish out the last 4 days of our mission. The ultimate purpose of this mission is to reach the souls of Europe with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We will be passing out 75,000 flyers in the streets of Waterford, Ireland and Krakow, Poland. Along with passing out the flyers in Ireland will be organizing a block party in the streets of Waterford. We will worship, pray and preach in the streets of Ireland.

In Poland we will pass out several thousand flyers promoting the first ever Apostolic church to be planted in the city of Krakow. We will also be traveling to Birkenau to visit a WWII concentration camp. Along with passing out flyers and visiting the concentration camp we will be praying as a group each night for the souls of Krakow and the entire nation of Poland.

This will be one of the most impacting missions I have ever been a part of. I am writing this sponsorship letter to ask for your contribution. I have broken down my expenses for this mission. Any amount you are able to give would be a tremendous blessing in making this dream come true. If you are able to contribute please make all checks payable to (your local church name) and put (your name) in the memo section of the check. Please mail the check to my local church (list your church name and address here)

- Flight to Dublin from Chicago: $1100.00

- Flights within Europe: $400.00

- Registration per person: $250.00

- Hotel: $400.00

- Spending money for food, train rides and bus rides should be about: $400.00-600.00

Thank you for your time, financial contribution and most importantly your prayers today. May the Lord richly bless you.

Sincerely,

Your Name (be sure to sign your signature with a pen)

Final Hotel Booked for our trip

2011-12-15T20:56:00.001-05:00

We are excited to announce that all of our rooms have been booked for the entire duration of our AYC trip. Please feel free to check out the hotels.

July 17-22 Riverwalk Apartments Waterford, Ireland

July 22 Holiday Inn Express Dublin International

July 23 Novotel CDG International Paris, France

July 24-27 Antique Apartments Krakow, Poland

July 27 Holiday Inn Express Dublin International

Let us know if you have any questions.

Reading material

2011-12-14T17:01:00.000-05:00

If you are planning on going with us this summer we want to suggest you read about missions and the countries we are going to visit from time to time. We have found a tremendous resource for you to read and journal before and during our AYC trip. You can find Missions Trip Prep Journal by clicking on the provided link. They have the book/journal available on Amazon for 0.13 cents plus 3.99 for shipping. This resource will enhance your mission. Looking forward to this summer. Make your mission happen! God bless.

What should I being doing right now?

2011-12-12T00:36:00.000-05:00

We realize our AYC mission is over 200 days away but there are somethings that you should be doing right now to prepare. Check out the list below.

1. Pray for the mission- Pray for the souls we are ministering to, pray for God's travel mercies, pray for God's protection and pray God give us favor everywhere we go.

2. Go ahead and get your passport- Check out this link US Passport information for all the information you need concerning your passport. In past trips students have received their passport in 2 weeks and in other cases they have received their passport in 6 weeks.

3. Research Waterford, Dublin, Cork, Paris, Krakow and Birkenau- For research on Birkenau (Auschwitz Concentration camp) go to this link Auschwitz Concentration Camp. You may also ask your teacher or professor at school about what videos you can watch to grasp a greater understanding of the camp. Having knowledge of the camp before we go will make the tour even more impacting.

4. Start saving- money and sending out for sponsors.

5. Read the blog- keep your parents and sponsors informed about our mission. The more informed they are they better.

Hotel and Airline tickets booked

2011-12-08T23:29:00.002-05:00

Our hotel rooms have been booked for our stay in Waterford, Ireland for the dates of July 17-22 and for our stay in Krakow from July 24-27. If you want to check them out click on these links. For Waterford go to Riverwalk Apartments. For Krakow Antique Apartments. We hope you all like them. Please share these links with your family so they can stay up to date on where we will be staying this summer.

We are still looking for rooms for Dublin on July 22nd, 27th and for Paris on July 23rd. As soon as we have those booked we will post them.

For our airfare the total amount for the flight from Chicago to Dublin is 1100.00. You can find our flight times below, we are flying on US Airways. We recommend that you come into Chicago on July 15th if you are going to fly there. If someone is driving you to Chicago please arrive at the airport by 1:00 pm on the 16th. If you are flying home from Chicago on the 28th please book your flight after 5:00 pm. There are other options for travel into Chicago. Just let us know if you want more information on other travel options to Chicago. July will be here before you know it, start planning now.

We leave Chicago (ORD) at 3:55 pm on July 16th
We arrive in Dublin (DUB) at 8:45 am on July 17th
We leave Dublin (DUB) at 9:45 am on July 28th
We arrive in Chicago (ORD) at 3:30 pm on July 28th

When does the Journey begin?

2011-12-05T01:11:00.003-05:00

One would think that our AYC mission starts on July 16th, 2012 when we take off from the airport in Chicago. In all reality our European tour starts right now.

July 16-28 will fly by, if you start your journey now you can prolong the entire AYC experience. AYC is more than just taking a two week trip in the summer.

-AYC is about learning how to raise money for missions

-AYC is learning to make sacrifices for missions

-AYC is about connecting with other students who love missions

-AYC is about making lifelong friendships

-AYC is about sharing lifelong memories

-AYC for some is testing out your call to the mission field

-AYC is a step closer to becoming a missionary

Every AYC summer mission has the potential to be a life changing experience for you and the ones you share the gospel with. My advice to you is to start your journey right now. Dont wait until July 16, 2012 to start your journey. Get a journal and begin to pray for the souls of Ireland and Poland.Write down what God speaks to you about the countries of Ireland and Poland. Allow the Spirit of the Lord to move on you to intercede for the souls of Waterford and Krakow. Allowing your journey to Europe to start right now will enhance your AYC missions experience.

AYC European Tour starts right now!

Photo of Paris

2011-12-04T18:33:00.003-05:00

European Tour 2012

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Our European Tour will be here before you know it. We would love for you to be a part. On July 16th we will be traveling from Chicago and flying to Dublin, Ireland. We will arrive in Dublin at 8:45 and catch an afternoon train to the city of Waterford. If you look on a map you can find Waterford on the southeast corner of Ireland. When we arrive in Waterford we will eat some fish and chips then go sleep off our jet-lag. We will then begin our mission to Ireland the next day. We will hold nightly revival services with Pastor Potter and his church family. Evangelist James Chessor will be preaching every night. On Saturday July 21st we will be having a block party downtown. We will be giving away various gifts to our guest and then we will pray and believe that God will fill people with his Holy Spirit. Then on Sunday we will have 1 more service in Waterford and then take the train back to Dublin for a night service at the Crowne Plaza in Dublin Blanchardstown. After the church service we will check into our rooms for a good nights rest because the next morning at 4:00 AM we will catch a flight to Paris, France. We will spend the day in Paris walking through the city. On Tuesday we will catch another flight to the city of Krakow, Poland. In Krakow we will pass out 50,000 flyers promoting the first ever Apostolic church planted in Krakow with Missionary Tony Adams and his family. Along with passing out the flyers we will be doing a prayer walk through the city. While in Poland we will visit Auschwitz. Auschwitz was one of the main death camps used by Hitler and the Nazi's during WWII. We will blog more about this camp in the future. If you get a chance please research Krakow and the concentration camp before we leave in July of 2011. On July 27th we will fly back to Dublin and then at 9:00 am we will leave as a group for our return flight back to the USA on July 28th.

The cost for this mission can be broken down like this.

- Flight to Dublin from Chicago 1100.00

- Flights within Europe 400.00

- Registration per person 250.00

- Hotel 400.00

- Spending money for food, train rides and bus rides should be about 400.00-600.00

How can you raise money for this mission?

- Talk with you pastor about having your local church sponsor you

- Make a list of 30 people that you can ask to give you 100.00 dollars per person

- Start saving each week if you have a job

- Ask for sponsors for Christmas instead of Video Games, clothes and other electronics

What are the dues dates for the money to be sent in?

- March 1st - 400.00 for the European flights

- April 1st - 250.00 Registration Money

- May 1st - 1100.00 US Airways flight money

- June 1st - 400.00 Hotel money

When you send your money in please send it to 1212 E 116th St, Carmel, IN 46032 and make all checks payable to Apostolic Crusaders.

Check out our "Wish you Were Here" Video!

Please continue to stop by this blog for updates as we get closer to leaving on our mission. God bless you.