hey gang!

I just wanted to send out a reminder that the YAG Spring Retreat is this coming weekend March 28-30th!!

We are going to Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island.

We will be leaving from Pete and Sandi's house (804 Hillside Ave Middletown NJ 07748) at 6PM. Please arrive by 5:30 so that we can get your stuff packed into one of the vehicles we will be driving down there. Please either bring a dinner, eat beforehand or bring money to buy dinner on the road, as we will make a short stop for dinner at a rest stop on the Parkway, most likely!

PLEASE DO NOT BRING SLEEPING BAGS. Harvey Cedars provides sheets, blankets, pillows and pillow cases for us all. If you do not like sleeping on those sheets, then bring your own for a twin bed size. THEY DO NOT ALLOW SLEEPING BAGS AT THEIR CENTER!!!

BUT, you can bring a towel for showering, extra clothes and shoes, any toiletries you need, a bible, paper, pen and a great attitude!

IF YOU WILL BE AT YAG THIS TUESDAY, PLEASE BRING YOUR MONEY!! 83$ IS THE PAYMENT. If you have made arrangements with a leader for scholarship money, just make sure to remind them this week. ALSO, IF YOU ARE AWAY AT SCHOOL OR WILL NOT BE THERE THIS TUESDAY, PLEASE HAVE YOUR MONEY ON FRIDAY!!

If you are able to drive down to Harvey Cedars and can take a couple of people or so with you in your car, please e-mail Sandi at: sandiandrews@gmail.com I will get back to you before Friday and let you know if we need you to drive. ALSO, if you are not driving and can get dropped off or can carpool with other people going, please do so, as we can only fit so many cars in our driveway for the weekend!

Thanks so much gang! We look forward to an awesome retreat!

-- RETREAT
So there's a retreat this weekend for YAG - you know it. The 28th-30th at Harvey Cedars. The cost is $83 for the weekend. You will have a blast. Christian will be our speaker, Tim and Brandon will be putting us through our paces with games and bizarre events, I will be ruining your speaking voices with all kinds of loud songs, etc etc etc. You know the drill.

-- Thrift Store Tour Spring '08
So YAG did a small 1 day tour of thrift shops in the Lancaster, PA area last year (YouTube - Thrift Store Tour '07)be sure to watch that for highlights. We are planning another for the 1st weekend in May - it will be an all day extravaganza of low prices, moth-ridden cabana wear, allergens, and all you can eat buffets. Get your Claritin ready.

-- Church Field Trip
Matt P. is planning an outing or 2 to visit other churches in our area. Please talk to him for details.... this will be a great opportunity to visit other communities in our area!

-- Softball Season Begins... Hecklers Needed
Now that the ORB softball team is back in action - our heckling squad needs members! see tom sasso if you're interested in "supporting" the softball team by yelling at them and making lots of noise with musical instruments you most likely don't know how to play (it's actually much better if you have no musical experience).

-- Show And Tell is BACK
We haven't had one in a while, but it is time! April 1st (for real - no foolin') we will be doing a show and tell night - come ready to show something and tell about it (yes we realize this is the young "adult" group and this event smacks of 1st grade - but therein lies the charm). Anything is fair game - a talent, an old toy, a song, a dance, a speech, be creative!

-- The New Ancients Album is DONE.
....now we need to raise more money to get it pressed. A Big THANKS to everyone who participated in the pre-buy - that helped pay for the mastering of the album. At this point we need to get our hands on $2000 dollars to get this thing pressed into spiffy CDs. Anyone at other churches who may be interested in getting the band to come do a show or play at a service come talk to me (pete andrews).

*Mark your calendars! The YAG retreat is set for the weekend of March 28th-30th at Harvey Cedars. The cost is $83 for the weekend. We are collecting money now! Come for a great weekend of fellowship, learning and fun! A sign-up sheet will be going around on Tuesday nights for the next few weeks. If you are going to come, please sign up! Also, if you can drive people back and forth, please note that on the sign-up sheet! If for some reason you don’t have enough funds to pay for the retreat, don’t let that stop you from coming! Come talk to Emily or one of the other leaders and we can help you out. We hope to see you all there.

*Hey ladies! Our next Ladies Night event will take place on Friday, April 4th at 8:30pm at ??? house (Still to be determined). If you are a lady, come out for a night of good fun and hanging out!

*Every Sunday we at ORB worship all together at the same place we meet for YAG, just upstairs. The service is at 5PM. Please come out and join us for worship.

* ORB – The Bus – The Metaphor is making a comeback as a blog. There is a Facebook page and all! If you have any art, poems, short stories, etc., send them to orbblog@gmail.com.

* Every Thursday between 10am and 1pm, the ORB Service Group will be helping out at Lunch Break, a soup kitchen in Red Bank, to help serve food to the poor in the Red Bank community. Everyone is welcome to come to this weekly event so if you have some free time, come serve those in need!

* The first Tuesday of every month the ORB Service Group will be helping to cook and serve food to the families of terminal cancer patients at the Ronald McDonald House in Long Branch. If you are interested in coming to this event, please see Susan, Chris, Allie or Emily to sign up or for more information.

*The Service Group will also be serving communion to those people who could not make it to the Sunday service. After the service they will be going around to those people who may be sick or unable to attend for one reason or another. If you would like to help with this, please see Chris dela Cruz.

*If you are interested in sponsoring a child in the Dominican Republic from the School or Orphanage where ORB's group just went. Please talk to Chris dela Cruz about getting the paperwork needed.

* If you are interested in giving a talk on a Tuesday night at YAG, come talk to one of the leaders.

* There is a prayer group that meets every Wednesday morning at 6:30am at the church. Please come and help pray for people of this community and the world…it's better than sleeping in!

* Get ready for the next Thrift Store Tour…coming Spring 2008!

* Sandi Andrews & co. will be heading down to the Washington D.C. area the weekend of April 11-April 13th to attend a Global Prayer Gathering hosted by International Justice Mission, an organization aimed at helping to end atrocities around the world. The cost for the conference is $109 for the weekend, NOT including hotels, food, etc. If you are interested in attending this conference, please see Sandi.

*THIS TUESDAY (MARCH 18TH) IT IS EMILY TANG'S BIRTHDAY! EVERYONE MAKE SURE YOU GIVE BIG LOVE AND HUGS TO E-TANG; SHE DESERVES IT, 'CAUSE SHE IS AWESOME!!!