Jeremiah 17:7-8 – But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Ephesians 3:16-19 – I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

Every year during mid winter break, YFC has always taken our high school students to camp. These students are willing to dive in deeper with Christ. The Cultured city life team took 11 students out of the 30 that attended the camp. This year at camp was special because it’s been two years since we actually have been able to meet in person during the pandemic. Normally, when our students attend camp, we have to prepare them mentally by saying “let’s try to focus on God even though we are here to have fun”. This time was such a different experience. The students discussed how they were ready to hear from God and needed peace and understanding. I was like: “Ok, let’s GO!!!!”

We worshiped and the kids found breakthroughs. The word came forth and everyone was attentive. The focus of the camp was “Rooted.” One thing that I heard repeated and retained by the students was that we are all seeds and we have a forest ready to be planted. What is our purpose? The speaker, Ray Nelson, was able to tell stories that related to the students. He shared about his absent father who was on drugs as well as selfish behaviors that hurt him and could have changed his life for the worse. He was able to find his purpose in Christ because he was rooted and that brought forth forgiveness and healing in his relationship with his father. His story definitely related to my students. The small group went in and things were heavy, but we got to really speak life into each other.

Overall this weekend was a blast. And I honestly got to see change and true repentance in the lives of our students.

PRAY

• Pray for our upcoming events.
• Pray for our in-person Cultured event on Sunday. 
• Pray for our interns as they are experiencing stress. Pray that they would continue to be cared for.