Great Weekends

I feel like I have so much to catch ya'll up on! I have been feeling so overwhelmingly blessed lately by the people in my life that I just have to share. I'll start with the weekend before last. My mom and sister came in to visit, which I just love! I treasure any time I get to spend with these 2 lovely ladies, so I was quite excited to spend a weekend with them up in my neck of the woods. Well, not only did they come in for a visit, but my sister Becca's boyfriend, Zac, came up to visit as well. It was such a nice weekend all around. The ladies did a little shopping while the fellas did a little Xboxing, and we all hung out at night playing Scrabble. I feel like I really got to know Zac better, and it's always refreshing to spend time with momma and sis, but hands-down the best part of the weekend was that Zac gave his life to Jesus on Sunday! YES! He has been going to church with my sister since they started dating several months ago, and has really been on the journey of searching since then, and decided that he was ready to make the biggest and best decision of his life! The coolest part was that Josh got to really minister and pour his wisdom into Zac, and got to baptize him on Sunday. One of my favorite parts of seeing someone give their life to Jesus is the sheer desire to get to know Him better. I absolutely love it when new believers ask questions and genuinely seek and have a desire to learn, which is what I see in Zac. It is truly refreshing.

Some intense Scrabble action :)

Zac getting baptized...in a horse trough, no less! :)

This past weekend was another great one...I am beyond tired as I write this, yet am feeling so inspired and encouraged! We took 11 of our youth kids to a Dare2Share conference in Columbus, which is basically an evangelism training for teens. We roadtripped it to Columbus Friday after school, just in time for the first session. Shane and Shane led worship, and then we had various speakers talk to us about the importance and urgency of sharing the gospel with our friends. We stayed at a hotel on Friday night, where we pigged out on pizza and candy and played some card games, and then rose and shone super early on Saturday (i.e., 6:30 a.m...yuck!) for some more sessions. The coolest/scariest part of the conference was that the kids were encouraged to call 2 of their friends on the spot and basically point-blank ask them if they believed in God. Scary, yet so inspiring to see our students embrace this and just do it! I am so so proud of our kids, and am honestly so moved and encouraged by their courage and boldness for the Lord. They were also encouraged to share the gospel with a stranger over dinner, and I am just unbelievably proud as one of our youngest students, a 7th-grader, boldly walked over to a couple eating dinner at Wendy's and asked them if they knew the Lord. She felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit and let it lead her. She didn't allow herself to be talked out of a prompting, which I ashamedly admit I am guilty of, but rather she moved when she felt called. One of my favorite parts which just filled my heart to the brim was seeing our students so engaged in worship. To see 5,000 teens with their eyes closed and arms in the air, worshipping their Father was just amazing. Also, I am so excited to share that 4 (yes, four!) of our students adopted a Compassion child! These kids understand the mission, and want to share the love of God with others, whether they be in Ohio, Uganda, Ghana or wherever. I left the conference in awe of God, extremely proud of our students, and with a full heart. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. :)

A youth retreat certainly isn't complete without a stash of junk food :)

Worship.

Students worshipping.