There is something special when another human being tells you that you are doing a good job. I mean they are just words, but they go a lot further than just our ears, they travel to our hearts!! We experienced this Monday night while at Engage….but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Monday morning was just about as beautiful as you can get when it came to the temperature and cloud cover. If I remember correctly, when I walked out of the cabin around 7am Monday morning, the temperature was around 39 degrees. I mean absolutely beautiful!! Before we all gathered to eat breakfast some of the guys decided to get in a quick game of football. The guys quickly found out that I was quicker, could catch the football, and could also throw the football way better than they assumed I could.
After breakfast we got a kickball game together where it was the boys against the girls. Needless to say the boys pulled out a close…..yeah right….victory. During which, Julian managed to kick the ball into Michele Martinez’s head….only Julian could pull off something like this!! After kickball we got another games of football on, which was very fun and exposed my lack of agility. We then ate lunch and had some free time.
During free time some people choose to swim while others choose to walk like 5 miles around the entire state park. I choose to walk the 5 miles and look at the scenery. I enjoyed the conversation of the students along with being in the presence of God while admiring nature.
There was dinner and then God started moving. Right before we ended worship on Monday night, Ana told me she felt like God was saying he wanted to heal some people right then and there. It was the confirmation I had been looking for. I did a brief teaching on community and how we need each other. How we don’t have to fight this fight by ourselves. But that wasn’t the best part.
Everybody wrote their names on a slip of paper then placed that slip of paper in a hat. Then we passed around the hat again and picked names. The name you picked you had to write a letter of encouragement or what you see God doing in that person’s life. Everyone was given 30 minutes to write their letters. Then we met back up in the cabin and exchanged letters. Besides the birth of my two kids, this was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. The community that I had just told them about was thrown through the window, they were genuinely loving on each other….it was amazing!!!
Afterwards we worshipped and God began to heal people just like he wanted to. Students were praying for each other, challenging each other, encouraging each other….again, beautiful!!!!
Some students came to Engage with a bunch of hurts, scars, and excess baggage that God wanted to take from them.
Some came with their own agenda’s, to get away from all the drama, problems, and stress of everyday ordinary life, but ultimately God’s plan for these students broke in on the here and now.
Some students left Engage free…closer to each other….and closer to God, which was the reason and goal for Engage. Engage was an awesome retreat, but just as God could be felt in Hattiesburg, MS, he can be felt while in the classroom, or workplace. We must strive to make sure that God is in the correct place in our lives, and that is at the center, with everything, every hobby, every concern, revolving around him.
Community, God's presence, football, kickball, 5 mile walks.....now I call that living in the here and now!!
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