Day two has come and gone! We woke up to sleepy faces and smiles. We started off the morning with cereal and pop tarts. Our kitchen staff, Rita and Darryl, always have a special treat for the kids to enjoy, this morning was fresh eggs that were scrambled. It smelled so good downstairs in the kitchen!
You could feel the excitement as we began our morning in worship.. In true SBC fashion, we greeted each one with a hug and good morning to get our blood pumping. In our morning session, we met the Samaritan woman at the well and saw how Jesus met her one on one and began to draw her near by explaining that he had living water for her and she would no longer thirst once she accepted this water. While it may seem like another sales pitch, this was a true statement from our Savior who was drawing her in to bring her to salvation. He exposed her sin of having five husbands and now was on number six. He shared with her the good news of him being the Messiah and that HE was the living water. HE IS THE WELL in which we can dip into and receive living water that will well up inside of us now and through eternity. We discussed how accepting Christ is just the beginning of our journey. When we accept this living water, Jesus into our heart, he begins to well up inside of us, his grace, mercy and forgiveness and spills out into our daily lives and also allows us to witness and share the gospel with others. Our challenge was to be like the Samaritan woman and go share the news, just like she did and drew more people to Jesus to hear of his salvation!
After the morning worship, we had small group breakouts. The girls hung with Wanda, Amy and I and the boys were with Darryl, Rita and Richard. A lot of sharing, laughter and prayer went on and you could see that bonds were being formed.
We chowed down on some pizza rolls, chicken nuggets and sandwiches and quickly grabbed our towels and headed to the beach. This year we decided to jump waves. What a sight! I can't swim, so of course they lured me out there and took me just as far as my tippy toes could go and keep my head above water. As each wave rolled in, we jumped and screamed and laughed at one another. Probably more of them laughing at me. I have NEVER jumped waves like this before. I have ALWAYS been cautious in the ocean. Today I decided to let go and enjoy this time with them. I'm so glad I did. We all were having so much fun in fellowship. I thought as the waves kept coming that God's grace and mercy are a lot like those waves. They come crashing over us, covering us and washing away our sin. Leaving us full of joy, hope and a lifetime of amazing love from our Savior! We retreated back to the pool for some friendly games of Marco Polo and Categories before showering and having supper.
Tonight, we studied Jesus' crucifixion and the event leading up to it. We discussed how his body was beaten and torn. How he was mocked. How Pilate knew he was blameless and tried to save him, time after time, but how Jesus informed him that there was a higher authority and that Pilate truly had no power over this situation. Jesus was going to be crucified because he was the lamb being led to the slaughter to save us. To give US eternal life. To give US hope and a future. We studied the torture he felt on the cross and painted a picture of what it looked like and how Jesus' body was put through a pain that we can not truly imagine. As we closed the service, the sweet Holy Spirit began to work in the hearts of these youth and they began to pray with one another, cry out to God in prayer and began to break down walls of built up guilt and shame. I stood in awe as I watched "seasoned" youth pray over our "newbies." I watched as God worked. Folks, it is truly amazing to see him work in the hearts of our youth and to see them eager to know him better and to seek his forgiveness. Besides the sound of my three boys voices, there is nothing sweeter than hearing 25 young people sing "I am Reedeemed, he set me free. So I''ll shake off this heavy chains and wipe away every stain, because I'm not who I sued to be....I am Redeemed.."
We finished up the night in fellowship with a trip to the taco stand and some grabbed a cone of ice cream. Four of our youth even purchased ice cream for a neighbor and invited them to come to worship. They even let this old youth leader tag alone. Who knows if they will come, but a seed was planted and I'm proud of those three young men.
I still here some giggles and a little bit of snoring. Today has been a good day in the Lord.
Till Next Time - Bekka
You could feel the excitement as we began our morning in worship.. In true SBC fashion, we greeted each one with a hug and good morning to get our blood pumping. In our morning session, we met the Samaritan woman at the well and saw how Jesus met her one on one and began to draw her near by explaining that he had living water for her and she would no longer thirst once she accepted this water. While it may seem like another sales pitch, this was a true statement from our Savior who was drawing her in to bring her to salvation. He exposed her sin of having five husbands and now was on number six. He shared with her the good news of him being the Messiah and that HE was the living water. HE IS THE WELL in which we can dip into and receive living water that will well up inside of us now and through eternity. We discussed how accepting Christ is just the beginning of our journey. When we accept this living water, Jesus into our heart, he begins to well up inside of us, his grace, mercy and forgiveness and spills out into our daily lives and also allows us to witness and share the gospel with others. Our challenge was to be like the Samaritan woman and go share the news, just like she did and drew more people to Jesus to hear of his salvation!
After the morning worship, we had small group breakouts. The girls hung with Wanda, Amy and I and the boys were with Darryl, Rita and Richard. A lot of sharing, laughter and prayer went on and you could see that bonds were being formed.
We chowed down on some pizza rolls, chicken nuggets and sandwiches and quickly grabbed our towels and headed to the beach. This year we decided to jump waves. What a sight! I can't swim, so of course they lured me out there and took me just as far as my tippy toes could go and keep my head above water. As each wave rolled in, we jumped and screamed and laughed at one another. Probably more of them laughing at me. I have NEVER jumped waves like this before. I have ALWAYS been cautious in the ocean. Today I decided to let go and enjoy this time with them. I'm so glad I did. We all were having so much fun in fellowship. I thought as the waves kept coming that God's grace and mercy are a lot like those waves. They come crashing over us, covering us and washing away our sin. Leaving us full of joy, hope and a lifetime of amazing love from our Savior! We retreated back to the pool for some friendly games of Marco Polo and Categories before showering and having supper.
Tonight, we studied Jesus' crucifixion and the event leading up to it. We discussed how his body was beaten and torn. How he was mocked. How Pilate knew he was blameless and tried to save him, time after time, but how Jesus informed him that there was a higher authority and that Pilate truly had no power over this situation. Jesus was going to be crucified because he was the lamb being led to the slaughter to save us. To give US eternal life. To give US hope and a future. We studied the torture he felt on the cross and painted a picture of what it looked like and how Jesus' body was put through a pain that we can not truly imagine. As we closed the service, the sweet Holy Spirit began to work in the hearts of these youth and they began to pray with one another, cry out to God in prayer and began to break down walls of built up guilt and shame. I stood in awe as I watched "seasoned" youth pray over our "newbies." I watched as God worked. Folks, it is truly amazing to see him work in the hearts of our youth and to see them eager to know him better and to seek his forgiveness. Besides the sound of my three boys voices, there is nothing sweeter than hearing 25 young people sing "I am Reedeemed, he set me free. So I''ll shake off this heavy chains and wipe away every stain, because I'm not who I sued to be....I am Redeemed.."
We finished up the night in fellowship with a trip to the taco stand and some grabbed a cone of ice cream. Four of our youth even purchased ice cream for a neighbor and invited them to come to worship. They even let this old youth leader tag alone. Who knows if they will come, but a seed was planted and I'm proud of those three young men.
I still here some giggles and a little bit of snoring. Today has been a good day in the Lord.
Till Next Time - Bekka
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