I just wanted to share a bit about my trip to Korea with my youth group here in Okinawa. Gina, one of the other youth leaders, and I set out on this trip with 11 kids from our group ranging from ages 11-17...such a young group. We were headed to Korea to go to a youth camp called Centrifuge. Traveling was fun. The kids were so well behaved. They only had to be a told a few times to keep up or pay attention. :)
The whole trip was wonderful! The week at camp was full of laughing, crying, and tons o' fun! I mean, I played tennis for the first time in my life and I played tag, which I hadn't played since elementary school. I felt alive again for the first time in a long time...I felt free and like a kid. It was great! And then we got to sightsee for a few days, which was AWESOME!
Anyway, here are some of the key points that I thought stood out to me this past week at camp. We started the first night talking about kairos moments or defining moments. We were challenged to look back on our lives and recognize the defining moments that brought us to where we are today. Then throughout the week we talked about different bible characters and their kairos moments.
First was Jonah and love. One of the points that stood out to me, when talking about Jonah, was this, "after 3 days and 3 nights away from what Jonah normally did, he decided it was time to love..." The challenge that I find in this is that, its so easy to get caught up in life and the way we normally do things, or the way we think things ought to be done, but there is a time to sacrifice and love people more than we love ourselves. And our love for God propels us to love others.
The next day we talked about obedience. In this lesson we were shown how we can't do things on our own. We have to live each day in the power of the resurrected Christ. And our relationship with Him should affect the way we live.
Wed. we talked about sacrifice. This message, by the way, was awesome! Just a snipit though... One of the analogies given was about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. I don't know if you've realized this(I hadn't), but throughout the whole story Dorothy just wants to get home. She makes new friends and encounters strange people. In the end though, she is told by the good witch that she had the tool to get her home this whole time...the shoes... The point of the story was that, "we don't want to get to the end of our lives and realize we've missed the most important thing..." Love... 1 Cor. 12:31b- the most excellent way... My other favorite analogy that was given was on this night. The preacher likened us(Christians) to a cup of coffee, bitter and bold. We, like coffee, need sweetness to come transform us into something yummy...we need the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus to make us sweet and transform our lives. I love that!
Thurs.- talking about integrity. This isn't a word we use all of the time, and I'm pretty sure we don't know many people who actually have this characteristic. What it means: be who you are all the time, and be all of who you are. There is also a sense of not quitting and staying committed to the things we start. Something I like from this day is this, " great stories start with ordinary, messed up, simple people who are part of a larger picture. " As Christians, this is us. Sometimes we think that we are the coolest cat on the block, we aren't. Jesus takes the initiative, cleanses us, and then uses us(broken, sinful people) to accomplish His work in this world...AMAZING!
Anyway. I hope something of what I was reminded of this past week has touched your heart and made you think about the way you are living you life. I pray you are changed by His Holy Spirit working in your life.
Some pics from the trip.
Bible Study. I helped lead it:)
Some of our kids on the subway.
I was an RA for the trip...we won the cabin challenge. Go 2nd floor!
Have no fear. There will be more about what Jesus spoke to me personally during this trip another day. For now, good night!
