Saturday evening...

I'm not sure where to start this post...the last 2 hours have been a bit of a whirl...and alot emotional around here.  And I'm not sure I can articulate clearly why...but I'll try.

There's been alot of things brewing through the hearts of our students this week.  Some of them have brewed silently, and a few have spoken to some leaders about the thoughts they've been having and the things that the Lord has been speaking into them.  Our group discussion before dinner was the beginning of something good happening among us.  The kids felt a real freedom to share their hearts and open up in front of each other.  Holly asked them if they'd be willing to share what God has been doing throughout the week...and here's some of their responses:

"I am beginning to realize how big God's love for me is"

"God understands my pain"

"We're at war and we need to be prepared"

"I need to let Jesus live through me so my friends will know that I love Him"

"I know what I should be doing...I just need to do it"

"I'm trying to wrap my head around my faith-and my eyes are being opened"

We felt a sense that the LORD has been working among us all week...and He has.

During the closing ceremony this evening we had a time of worship and celebration for the way the Spirit has moved among us and done His work to draw us closer to Himself.  We were challenged by Jason Ostrander to continue on in the things that God has been speaking to us and allow Him to finish His work.  He then extended an invitation to those who had made salvation decisions throughout the week to stand and be welcomed into the Kingdom of God.....all over the arena students stood to their feet and were cheered on and clapped for.  It was a really moving moment.

Afterwards Jason invited those who have been wrestling God this week over a call to ministry- whether it is full-time or part-time- to stand in commitment to this call.  There was movement around every corner of the room as students stood, some before he had even finished speaking, and others almost reluctantly-as if continuing to wrestle.  Four of our own students were among those who made commitments to ministry of some sort.  Three of them stood to obey a call to pursue missions and one to a call towards music ministry.  It's hard to explain the feelings and emotions among our group...hard to put into words from my perspective, too.  Nick was among those who stood, and watching him struggle to obey God tugged at my mother heart...it brought back to me thoughts of so many Missions Festivals when I have repeatedly given each of my kids back to the Lord to use as He sees fit.  Nick's heart has always been tender towards mission work..and yet he's struggled throughout the week to distinguish his voice from the God's.  And, even up to the moment he stood was sure that he wasn't going to stand...in his words,

"Mom, I wasn't going to stand...I didn't want to, it scares me...but even though I didn't want to, without thinking about it, I was standing."

That same story was repeated in several of the kids.  THAT's what God has been up to this week...and so much more.  Remember our earlier prayer for unity?  God is doing a new thing in that regard, too.  As often happens with our groups, living together 24/7 can do lots of things; it can cause friction and frustration...but it can also cause friendship.  I'll be honest, I think we had a fair share of the first two earlier in the week, but as the week has progressed, it's been a really neat thing to see the kids learn to love each other and encourage each other.  I've seen it happen after previous LIFE Conferences, and I had hope that it would happen again with this group. 

 God has been really good to us this week.  I can't tell you how sweet it has been to watch the progression of each student throughout the last few days.  Every one of them has had a new root planted in them...for some it was more obvious and clear, and for others it was another step towards understanding God.  For us leaders it has been a great thing to watch.

Parents, I KNOW you would be so proud to see your kids this week.  We agreed that it's a privilege to have been allowed to spend this week with them.  We're ready to head back...but it has been a wonderful time for every one of us. 

So, here's the schedule for tomorrow morning:

We plan to pull the bus out of the parking lot at 6am {yikes, 4 1/2 hours from now!} we will travel a few hours so the kids can sleep, stop for a late breakfast, travel some more, have a late lunch, a potty break, and hopefully will be home around 8pm. 

*Pray that Rob and Steve get the rest they need in the next few hours...they're emotionally drained from meeting with a few of the boys this evening to talk about commitments made, etc. 

*Pray for safety as we travel

*Pray that we would transition well to our regular schedules

Can I also give you a heads-up about something else? A warning, I suppose, your kids have had a really exceptional week.  They've had some freedom to be {somewhat} independant from you this week, they've heard alot of messages, they've learned alot of new things, and they've lost alot of sleep!  For that reason, I'd like to encourage you to hold back on questioning and probing them about their week for a day or two.  I can tell you only from my experiences that there is a sort of low that you go through when you walk back into your life after being in a "Jesus bubble" for a week.  Real life is hard, and it's not easy re-entering it.  Please be patient and let them process...in time they will be ready to spill out everything, but it may take a while.  As an adult it's still difficult for me to go right back into mom roll - and I know that it'll be even more difficult for them.  You've got great kids...in time they will process their thoughts and begin to share.

thanks again for letting the leaders serve your kids this week...we love what we do!