PROM 2011 is nearly here!

This Friday is the highlight of our FNL year! Yes, that's right, it's PROM time!

Tomorrow begins the three day process of setting up and getting everything perfect for the night of nights that is now just around the corner! Photo booths, giant Oscars, red carpets, awards, dancing, live music, classic memories...and did I mention dancing?

It promises to be an incredible way to cap off what has been an incredible year! God has done so much in and through us as we have fallen more and more in love with him as well as becoming as close knit a family as ever! So make sure that this Friday you have your finest outfit on, your dancing shoes at the ready and come with an appetite for one of the best nights of 2011!

And did I mention dancing?!

Sleepover? More like "Stay-awake-over"...

With the sleepover this Friday, here are a few of our top memories from some of these infamous nights gone by...

*Stalk the Lantern FAIL
-this was a moment when we realized that some things are just too complex for some people. We moved into the main hall at church, Steve Labrum held the torch and the entire room was blackened. The game was explained...the game failed. The game was explained again...the game failed. Someone else tried to explain it...the game failed even worse. All in all, we ended up laughing lots (mainly at our ineptitude) so it ranks as a top memory!
*Tyler's hogging of the pool table
-An early memory where Tyler played not one, not two but a million games of pool! He played so many games between the hours of midnight and 4am that he actually began sinking a few! And to top it all off, when he eventually got tired and fell asleep, it was on top of the pool table itself that he made his bed!
*The great escape! (attempt)
-The night the proverb "when gabe closes a door, we will open a window" was born. Need I say more?

It's late, and I'm saving my energy for Friday night (and morning) so I'm going to stop here. But one thing I'm sure of is that this list will have a few more new additions after this weekend!

The Rundown

With just two weeks to go till Prom 2011, FNL is heating up more and more! This week promises to be explosive as usual with the Battle of the Preachers and next week is the famous Sleepover, but more of those soon. Right now, here are photos from the last couple weeks. Enjoy!

Trip down memory lane

There's a very special place in my heart for FNL. It isn't just any youth group. It's amazing. I've been there for about a year and 5 months and it has been incredible. So incredible that me and my friend Steve have decided to put down all the incredible memories we have had at FNL that all can enjoy it and laugh along. Time for a trip down memory lane? I think so!

#1 There was this one time when Steven told me to tell Andre to take his shirt off during the Manliest-Man challenge (one of our many awesome game-shows) and I actually did, only to find out that I had made it very awkward for myself a week or so later, of course at the time I thought I was doing him a favour, Steven loved it, though it was hilarious.

#2 There was another time where we were discussing Matric marks and we found out that Jono only got one A in Matric. Well, Gabe called him a dunce, and that did it, we all started chanting "dunce, dunce, dunce"
and Jono started 'dunce-ing' (dancing).

#3 One of the very cool things we used to do is jump off the roof outside onto the jumping castle. Im pretty sure this was before we added in the side little room thing. We also jumped off the balcony inside, and we had awesome competitions to see who could perform the best jump.

#4 That friendly competition between IFABO-bear hunters and MOW...
which then cost Gabe the state of his car as those unruly boys trashed it!

#5 We had the most amazing videos for FNL's first camp... all of them were of cats being blown up, maybe that’s why I stayed??

#6 We can only remember those good old days when Tyler actually sent messages for FNL over mxit. He might say that it still happens... but it doesn’t.

#7 FNL Extreme Make-Over. The sight of Chris Lainis stepping out with his hair and make-up done wearing a dress!

#8 On our first Amazing Race, we can only look back and chuckle on the unfortunate events of the night including a very irritable police force, obviously with no interest in modeling, people jumping into pools with inappropriate attire, and that one kid that almost got run over by a car and wasn't phased at all!

#9 Dodgeball(Dargeball)! Where we shaved Jono's hair into an awesome mow-hawk, where Gabe and Andrew Darge wore ridiculous spandex.

#10 Alfonso and Laferga's funny clothes and accents. #FNLvideos

#11 After numerous sleepover's, we learnt the biggest lesson at the most recent one, "When Gabe closes a door, we will open a window (and use it like a door)"

#12 We have had some amazing encounter nights filled with God, laughs, weird people and super cool things happening.

#13 Our favourite cross-dressing talk-show host HAS to be Tracey Springer (Gabe's alter-ego), making his/her debut appearance at the FNL Valentines Vibe. Another highlight of the evening was the cupids arriving on the bike.

#14 Our numerous jols with bands such as To Our Divine, Cavalry Calls, Scarlet Hill and This Dying World, although no matter what, we always somehow end up moshing!

#15 We will never forget Jono with his long shaggy hair and trucker mustache. (He should totally get dreadlocks!)

#16 First we had our FNL dress to impress night which was a hit, this lead to our first FNL prom was a very special memory for us all, and won't be forgotten, for it's ridiculous awards, good food and fair amount of drama!

#17 When IFABO first started: "AHU-AHU'ing" (reference Steven)

#18 "Awe-sooooome" #DanielaYouLegendWeLoveYou

#19 Duran’s ponytail and beanie phase.

#20 Those times back in the day when all the background music we played was metal.

#21 You gotta love how our music is ALWAYS too loud for the people in the area!

#22 Once upon a time when we almost really had a D&D and it turned into one big game after the initial failures of Steven and Tyler

#23 When Andrew Darge actually came to FNL

#24 Chris Erwee's photo-phobia

#25 When eager and over-eager lost to tigger #LarisaYoureStillDuransFavourite

#26 We have learnt many important life skills from the man himself, Gabriel Phillips such as the way we deliver the punchline of a joke by pushing our heads forward on our necks or the swinging of the arms when it's awkward, and yes we know you all do it! Also the "Just Kidding... but seriously!" notorious in Gabe's preaches. Another thing we have picked up from the ginger-legend himself is vocab such as "jols" and "mates" or "spading" and of course "vibe" and "jig bols"

FNL has changed all of our lives. It's a family, a home. It has taught us how to party, how to dance, how to be okay with being a little bit crazy, how to be funny, and how to laugh. I can say that from me and Stevi, we are amped for the years to come as these last few have been insaaaaaane! :)

5 reasons we love Friday nights

5. Our Incredible Gameshows
-whether it's "Bible Quiz", the Manliest Man challenge, Extreme Makeover or our newly launched Temptation FNL, we are in no doubt that we have the best gameshows in the world...and Bashews are always amazing prizes!

4. Bashews
-Now that we've mentioned Bashews, that's all I can think of! The crowd of people every Friday that are searching high and low to find Tyler with the Bashew fridge key is getting larger and larger. Soon we'll need to get a bigger fridge!

3. Our Youth "hall"
-By day it's nothing but a neatly decorated coffee bar, but when Friday night rolls around it is transformed into a theatre of rock and roll! You may get a smokers cough, you may be temporarily blinded by our lights, you may even sustain an injury on our dance floor and yes, we know our stage is made out of benches... but we love it all!

2. Shock and awe
-Do you remember Tracey Springer? Do you remember when we broke the hole in the church's roof? Do you remember when we water-bombed Gabe when he arrived at youth camp? Do you remember when the power tripped and everyone just kept on worshiping? Every single one of these things prooves that we never quite know what's going to go down at FNL each week...but one thing is guaranteed, it will never be boring!

1. Our Family
-If you've been around any length of time, you will know that FNL is not just a youth group. We're a family that just gets tighter every week. It's an incredible privilege to be a part of a group of wild young people who have set their hearts on Jesus and his Kingdom and are determined to run into the big future he has for us...TOGETHER! Whether we are praying for each other, laughing at Tyler and Jono's expense, worshiping hard together or just hanging out, this family cannot be stopped!

FNL...the revolution's begun!