Wii & Youth Group

Sarah put the bug in my ear a couple a months ago that I should seriously consider getting a Nintendo Wii for the youth.  

Why?  We'll many of the games on a Wii do not require the same skills that an XBox or PlayStation would require (being familiar with buttons and being able to perform certain combinations of buttons very quickly) since many of the Wii games are based on moving a remote.  So whether we had youth who spend 8 hours a day playing video games or youth don't own a video game consul, everyone would be on a somewhat equal playing field.  Plus, many of the games for Wii think outside the box and are fun in a whole new way (something other than running around and shooting each other).

Our youth have been meeting twice a week, Wed. for the main youth gathering and Sunday morning for Sunday school, but now we're adding a third gathering.  This gathering, called "Hang-Time" is different from the other two in that it's only designed for hanging out to provide a bridge to get to know the youth who've been coming better, and to encourage them to invite friends to a no strings attached evening of fun.  And the attraction we've added: a Wii!  Not to mention a pool table, ping pong, foosball, snacks (we're having nachos with cheese dip for the first meeting), and soda.

Our first Hang-Time is this Sunday.  Sarah is in charge of the Wii rotation (taking turns).  I'm excited, and so are the youth.  I'm really hoping they have the courage to invite some of their friends, not because I want the youth size to grow; I do want to see growth, but for youth to invite their friends is a big step for them.

Since we announced that I found a Wii to the youth tonight (Wii's can be difficult to find) the youth have been begging for Rock Band, since we had them over this past weekend and they loved playing it, but it's just too expensive of a game to buy for the youth group right now.  Maybe after the holidays (by then Rock Band 2 should be available).

Rock Band

So, our funnest new venture has been our new game, Rock Band, for the wii. WE LOVE IT!!! It is the coolest thing ever since sliced bread! We got the band kit that comes with a guitar, a drum set, and a microphone. The guitar is the funnest. The drums are almost as fun, but a good deal harder. The microphone you just sing into, so it isn't as fun. (Plus I don't know most of the songs, and that makes it kinda hard to sing).

What really makes it fun is that Terry and I can play together, one on the drums and the other on the guitar. And what I really enjoy is beating Terry. He knows how to play a real guitar pretty well, and he used to play the drums when he was younger, but I almost always beat him. Yes, it is very different from the real thing, but I still think it is fun!

I highly recommend the game to anyone who can keep a beat. Thanks to Patty and Terry Moore (Terry's parents) for getting us the game!


Sarah Elizabeth

Wii Fit

Last week we got the Wii Fit. Terry has been looking for it ever since it came out a few months ago, but it has been sold out everywhere. He got lucky and found it online. So, it came in, and we did the first test to see what our "Wii Fit age" was. Terry got on first. It takes two things into consideration calculating your wii fit age: your weight and your center of balance. Well, Terry is a bit overweight; strike one. And he has really bad balance because of his past knee injury; strike two. Terry will be 32 in October. Any guesses what the wii aged him? 42! A little more than 10 years difference. Poor Terry, he has a lot of work to do to get down to 32.

Then I stepped on to get my wii fit age. Now, I must admit, I am not in shape. But I am doing good with my weight. I was right where I should be. The balance test went pretty good. I am 24 years old. My wii fit age? 20! I guess that I am doing pretty good then, although I definitely want to use the wii fit to get in better shape.

So far, we are both quite impressed with the wii fit. It tracks your progress every day, whether you have time to exercise or not. The exercises are really good. There are all different kinds, such as yoga and strength training. The exercises that I have tried so far are easy to do, but certainly work your body. I just hope that we will keep up with it and reach our goals!

FYI, the wii fit age changes every day, depending on how you do on the balance test. The second day getting on it Terry went up to age 48, while I went up to 26, so it does jump around quite a bit.


Sarah Elizabeth