ARE YOU READY?!?

NATS Game!

We celebrated the end of school by attending the Nats game vs. the Detroit Tigers on Monday, June 18. The game was eerily reminiscent of the Spring Break game we attended - except the Nats' 9th inning comeback fell one run short this time!

Riding Metro to the game.

Some of the group waiting for the game to start.

Game action: notice the Detroit base runners - there were too many during the game!

The sad final score!

2007 Graduates!

Graduate Recognition Sunday - June 10, 2007

Corey Donnelly - Lake Braddock Secondary School

Michael Gillespie - West Springfield High School

Cristina Goldchain - Stonewall Jackson High School

Ryan Moore - Lee High School

Haley Schmitz - Schmitz Institute of Higher Learning

Dustin Wood - W.T. Woodson High School

Caitlin Young - West Springfield High School

Mindy Zhang - Robinson Secondary School

GO SPURS GO!

IMPACT VERSE/ COLOSSIANS

This is just a friendly reminder to those going on Impact; remember to read the book of Colossians and memorize the verse (Colossians 3:17). Once you have done that, don't forget to e-mail me so that I can check your name off of the list. My school e-mail is lcgilbert@bluefield.edu. Hope you are having a WONDERFUL last week of school! God bless!

Anniversary Time!

Randa and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary yesterday! Natalie, a former youth and current student at Georgetown College (KY), blessed us with free babysitting for the evening, allowing us to enjoy dinner, a movie, and dessert together! Thanks Natalie!

Natalie with Annie and Allison in the midst of playing some board games. The girls immediately took to playing with Natalie and could barely be bothered with hugs and kisses for Mommy and Daddy as we were leaving!

We ate at Mike's American Grill in Springfield. We had always heard it was a great restaurant, so we decided to give it a try! Randa enjoyed the Filet Mignon and I had the Baby Back Ribs. Our waiter said the ribs were his favorite and I can understand why - they were excellent! Outside we ran into Caitlin, a graduating senior who was celebrating with her grandparents. Caitlin took our picture outside the restaurant. Ainsley accompanied us on this anniversary dinner and was a big hit with everyone!

After dinner, Randa fed Ainsley and we dropped her back at the house and put her to bed so that we could enjoy a movie. We intended to see Waitress, but ended up seeing Gracie instead, due to a change in start times. The movie was good and we had the whole theater to ourselves!

After the movie we swung by the drive-thru at McDonald's and ordered some McFlurries to cap off the evening! All in all, it was a great and relaxing anniversary!

It's Friday - Laugh!!!

I saw this on the news the other night. It is called "The Dancing Cadet" and it is hilarious!

Youth News

Graduate Recognition Sunday is June 10. There will be a special breakfast for the graduates at the Abernathy's at 9:30 AM and the graduates will be recognized and will receive their gifts from the church in the worship service later that morning. Parents are invited to join their seniors for a special FaithStation that evening.

IMPACT Training this Sunday! We will hold mandatory Impact Training Sessions from 4:30-5:45 PM this Sunday and next Sunday, June 10. This training will take place in the Green Room and is for all adults and students going to Impact! Contact Tom Kern for more information!

Impact Commissioning Service will be Sunday, June 17. Please attend the service as the church commissions us to be Impact missionaries!

Nationals game on Monday, June 18! Celebrate the end of school by joining us to see a Nats game! Details will come soon!

Brown Bag Bible Study begins on Thursday, June 21, at 12:30 PM. Bring your lunch and Bible and come explore the Bible together! The first BBBS will meet at the Hodge's house. Contact Stephen or Leah for more information and for rides.

Make sure you check out the calendar at the bottom of the blog to keep informed about upcoming events.

Random Question of the week: What are you looking forward to most this summer?

Cappies Winners!

Congratulations to South County for being the big winners at this year's Washington area Critics and Awards Program, otherwise known as the Cappies! South County won four awards (out of 12 nominations), including the award for best musical for Thoroughly Modern Millie. Westwood was represented well in the musical with Justin and Scott performing and Kit, Kayla, and Karianne working hard behind the scenes. Check out the Washington Post article spotlighting South County's big win! Other area schools (West Springfield, Lake Braddock, Robinson, and Thomas Jefferson) also won awards. Check out the Cappies website for the complete list of winners.

KMT's 'The Secret Garden'

KMT's The Secret Garden was great! Congrats to Justin, Erin, Andrew, Pat Close, Donna Hill, and Pam Bryson for representing Westwood well!

Justin, Erin, and Andrew after Saturday's performance. Justin was Major Holmes, Erin was in the Ensemble, and Andrew was the Spot Light Operator.

Justin and Erin in costume!

Youth Family Cookout Pictures

Pictures from this year's Youth Family Cookout. Thanks go out to Mike Colley for the pictures!

Mother's Day Challenge Contest Winners!

Grand Prize Winners:

Haley with her mom walking into Caribou Coffee. The surprise didn't work here, but the manicure and pedicure later on was a pleasant surprise! Haley and Holly won gift cards to Starbucks and the Family Christian Store.

Consolation Prize Winners:Jessica with her mom at Outback Steakhouse for a Mother's Day lunch. They tried to see Spider-Man 3 that day, but had to wait until the following weekend! Jessica and Lisa won a Starbucks gift card.

Don't forget to celebrate your moms every day, not just on Mother's Day!

Youth News

ATTENTION 2007 High School graduates! Help us recognize you on Graduate Recognition Sunday by emailing me your name, high school graduating from, college attending, proposed field of study, other plans if not college, etc. Also, parents should send pictures (from baby to senior portrait) of their graduating seniors to Marty Freeman. There will be a special breakfast for the graduates at the Abernathy's at 9:30 AM on Sunday, June 10, and the graduates will be recognized and will receive their gifts from the church in the worship service later that morning.

KMT Musical Theater presents The Secret Garden on Friday and Saturday, May 25-26. Performances are held at the John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale at 8 PM. For tickets, contact Donna Hill at 703-628-1340. Support Westwood's own Justin Alderson, Erin Donnelly, Pat Close (Director), and Donna Hill (Producer).

IMPACT Training begins this Sunday! We will hold mandatory Impact Training Sessions from 4:30-5:45 PM on the following Sundays: May 27, June 3, and June 10. This training will take place in the Green Room and is for all adults and students going to Impact! Contact Tom Kern for more information!

Make sure you check out the calendar at the bottom of the blog to keep informed about upcoming events.

Random Question of the week: Who is your hero? Why?

We Love Working With Youth!

Leah, Jenny, and I spent Monday and Tuesday in Richmond at the VBMB Summer Youth Ministry Conference. We are pictured here with the main speaker, Laurie Polich. We learned a lot about youth ministry and we are excited about what will happen this summer in our youth ministry and in Jenny's case, with IMPACT! You can't read what my shirt says in the picture, but it says it all: "...there's nothing like youth ministry!" And I'll add: "...there's nothing like youth!" I'm ready for a great summer! How about you?

First-Ever David Crowder Band Music Video!

From David Crowder's latest blog post: "suppose with me for a moment that this whole time the squirrel were simply a metaphor, what then?" Check out all the posts about squirrels on his blog. ENJOY!

Jeremy Foster Videos

I used to post short humorous "videos with a message" from Jeremy Foster. Recently, Jeremy has been doing a full-length TV show instead and that is why I haven't been posting any of his stuff lately. If you're interested in checking out his TV show, go here.

Invisible Children Benefit Concert

Check out this great opportunity to help support Invisible Children!

Youth News

The Youth Family Cookout at the Gray's is this Sunday from 5:30-7:30 PM.

In accordance with Westwood’s Child Protection Policy we will hold a required annual training session for workers with youth, children, and preschoolers on Sunday, May 20, from 8:30-9:30 AM. If you are currently a volunteer or would like to work with the young people of Westwood, please plan on attending this training session. Training will be held in the main section of Whitten Hall. If you have any questions, please contact Lora Johnson. Youth who are currently age 18 or older or will be by VBS (July 13) need to attend this training as well!

We have two contests running - the Mother's Day Challenge Contest and the She's Back! Contest. The deadline to enter is this Sunday before the Cookout.

ATTENTION 2007 High School graduates! Help us recognize you on Graduate Recognition Sunday by emailing me your name, high school graduating from, college attending, proposed field of study, other plans if not college, etc. Also, parents should send pictures (from baby to senior portrait) of their graduating seniors to Marty Freeman. Thanks!

KMT Musical Theater presents The Secret Garden on Friday and Saturday, May 25-26. Performances are held at the John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale at 8 PM. For tickets, contact Donna Hill at 703-628-1340. Support Westwood's own Justin Alderson, Erin Donnelly, Pat Close (Director), and Donna Hill (Producer).

We will hold mandatory Impact Training Sessions from 4:30-5:45 PM on the following Sundays: May 27, June 3, and June 10. This training will take place in the Green Room and is for all adults and students going to Impact! Contact Tom Kern for more information!

If you are on Facebook or are thinking of joining Facebook, join our This is FaithStation! group by clicking on the link found above.

Make sure you check out the calendar at the bottom of the blog to keep informed about upcoming events.

Random Question of the week: What is your favorite hobby?

She's Back!

Guess who decided to be our intern again this summer!?! Let's have some fun: The first person to track Leah down and take a picture with her and the front section of The Washington Post and email it to me wins a Starbucks gift card! GO!

Essay Contest

The 2007 Religious Liberty Essay Contest, sponsored by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, is open to all Baptist high school students in the classes of 2007 and 2008. The essay contest asks participants to respond to this quote by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and critic of the state, and never its tool." The grand prize is $1000 and includes a trip to Washington, D.C.

For contest rules and a registration form, please visit www.BJConline.org/contest.

Essay deadline is May 21.