There is too much to talk about so going to break it up some this week. We left last Saturday, March 20th at noon-ish. Our bus then ran into a snow storm in Utah at about midnight and we had to stop and put on chains, well, I say "we" but it was really the guys -- what servants!! So it took a few more hours than we thought, 27 total, but we were all in pretty good spirits so that was a huge blessing! Then we arrive Sunday night, about 20 minutes before dinner, so we all rush to get to our rooms and basically drop off our things and then go to dinner and our first session! Here are a few pics of the castle when it was snowing - it looked so beautiful!!
The castle is the headquarters for The Navigators, a Christian organization that was founded here in So Cal!! The property was bought in the '50's and it's been in use for conferences ever since! Our first speaker was Jim Leube, and one thing he said really stuck out to me. He said, "Don't settle for a self-absorbed life," because he was saying that when we live for others, that is where true freedom is found. It was just so against our culture which says constantly "look out for yourself because no one else will." It was definitely a good word to hear!
The next day was focused on the Bible and the reliability of it. Jerry Bridges, the author of The Pursuit of Holiness and many more books was our speaker!! It was crazy actually seeing him up there and listening to him! One thing he said that gave the Bible huge credibility is that Jesus Himself submitted to it - whenever He was tempted by the devil He quoted Scripture, and that if Jesus would quote it you know it must be real and true.
Then I went to a workshop that day talking about commitment to God. It was based off of a quote by a pastor in Fort Worth, TX, Harold Bullock, who said, "If God has called you to anything, He has called you to commitment." He went over what that means, and how we can commit and how we can make a difference if we simply commit and put all our chips in. He also had an unrelated, but pretty cool quote too that said, "If your chosen maximum is the job's minimum, you'll have a lifetime of mediocrity."
Each day was focused on a part of The Wheel, a diagram the Navigators came up with in the '50's to describe the foundational aspects of the Christian life:
My small group actually went over it in the fall so it was fun to see the girls who came to make connections with it!
Now, I'll stop there for today and pick it up again tomorrow, but I'll leave you with some pictures too :)
This is Michelle, and she was my bus buddy for both the ride there and the ride back! We got to know each other pretty well in those couple days on the road :)
This is a picture of myself, Lindsay (from OU), Brittany (Ft. Hays) and Lucy (from OU also) who were all at Project Impact with me 2 years ago in Costa Mesa!! My small group that summer was Lucy, Brittany and I and this picture captures the first time we were all together since that time! There have been two of us here and there, but not all three, so I was SO excited to be reunited with them!! I also saw a bunch of other "Impact alums" from that summer because some of them went to OU so it was fun to talk with them and see how they've grown since then. We laughed till we cried about old memories and also talked about our ministries and our struggles and victories with them. Brittany wasn't a part of the conference, but she lives in Denver so she visited for a few hours and it was just so refreshing to see her!!
THIS is what happens when we get together - craziness and funny poses ensue :) And what is AWESOME is that as we were all talking about Project Impact a LOT of the USC students are now applying!! What a blessing!! We've never had a great showing from USC, usually only a few students, but this year I think 13 are applying which is so great!! And now I'm super sad that I'm not going to be working with them this summer, but I told all the students that I would visit them at their work and basically be a Project Impact groupie :) Incidentally, if you'd like to know more about Impact, the website is goprojectimpact.com :)
This is Michelle, myself and Anissa, who is on staff at OU, as we were trying to pose for a picture whilst walking backwards! We succeeded to a certain degree right? But this was the beginning of our trek to the Garden of the Gods, basically a walking park of HUGE red rock formations!
This is Lauren, myself and Alex from my small group posing by the rocks! It was so fun and the rocks were insanely high but really cool to see!
PLUS - I have GREAT news for you!! I have saved the best for last of course :) but...Lauren committed her life to Christ over the break!!! On Thursday to be exact!! Oh man, SUCH an answer to prayer - I've been praying for her since the fall when I first met her!!
This is Lauren and I on another hike to a nearby waterfall :)
But on Thursday some of us from USC hiked to the grave of Dawson Trotman, one of the founders of The Navigators, and my boss led us there and told us Dawson's story, and one thing he mentioned is that when we make a decision, whether it be to come to know Christ personally or even just to lose weight, making the decision is only 10% - actually following through is the other 90%!! So as we're hiking down Lauren is behind me and she says she was a little scared of what Neil had said and in my mind I am thinking it might have scared her off, but after I asked her why she said it's because she did it, she committed and is all in. I whipped around and screamed and hugged her!!! Everyone else behind us thought I had seen a snake or something, but I was just SO HAPPY!!! God was totally moving in her heart and she said a lot of the speakers answered her questions she had lingering and it all finally made sense and the next, logical step was to commit! WOW God is so good!!! Definitely the highlight of my trip!!
So after all of that, you'll get another update tomorrow :)
and here is the funny of the day:
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