Friday

Friday 2nd half
(For some reason the pictures are not loading…will try again tomorrow.)

We all get back from the Holocaust museum and have a little free time and then get dressed up in our nice outfits and load up into the vans to go to “Remnant” a Hip-Hop Friday night youth church.

I really was so excited about this and had been praying that the kids would hear from God that their hearts would open up as they saw “real” people loving Jesus and speaking to them in their own “language”.

When we pulled up to the building that the group met in we were met by a youth pastor that had a sad look in his eyes as he walked up to our van. He handed me a letter and explained to me that the group had grown so large from 50 to now over 400 youth that they no longer could use the building that they were in and had to cancel “Remnant” until they found a larger place to meet in. “Really?” I asked… “Really?” that was all that I could seem to get to come out of my mouth at the moment. I felt the tears coming and looked away, trying not to show him how much it hurt to hear that it was canceled, b/c I knew that it hurt him that much and more to have to shut the doors. “Where are you guys from?” he asked. “N.C.” I said faking a smile. “Oh, man this is going to hurt us so much…Oh man…Oh man” he kept saying. He went off to talk to some other leaders and Dayna and Marshal.

Marshal came back to the van and told us that we were going to go to McDonald’s for sundays and then the youth pastor was going to come out to the college and talk with us. It sounded alright. Not anything like the service would have been but I was thankful that he was coming.

We went out for Sunday. Their faces were priceless when we ordered 16 chocolate Sundays, 13 carmel, and 2 plain sundays. Everyone enjoyed the slight change of plans and our van had a good laugh and cracked jokes about how we dressed up to go to
McDonalds.

*** Davy creamed everyone that was willing to challenge him in slaps.***

After a little free time back at the dorms we all headed down to a room where we were going to meet the youth pastor. And boy were we in for a surprise!!!

Not only was the youth pastor there, there was also like a dozen other young adults. They were all cheering as we all came in and were celebrating like we were what they had been waiting for us all night. The kids were blown away and so was I! They didn’t come out to “talk to us” they cam out to have “Remnant” with us! With US!!! They came out to just be with us, it was Friday night they could have been somewhere else hang’n out but they came over to the college to be with us a group of 37 from N.C. that they knew nothing about!

We played games, we laughed, we danced and then we all turned our chaires to listen to what the youth pastor had to say. He hadn’t been talking for more then 20 min. when the Holy Spirit fell. It started with one tear that glistened in the corner of one of our 8th grade girl’s eyes. He told her, “I see your tear sweet heart.” And that was what was needed, the kids’ tears were released and they fell heard. Some time at camps I know that kids can just get emotional and that it may just be that “emotion”. But I was there; I am a witness to what happened that night. Our kids do not cry for no reason, in fact I feel like they spend a good part of their lives practicing not crying. But when truth is spoken in your own language, when God is tapping on your heart, when you feel loved and safe, there is no reason to hold them back any more and so the flood that you have been holding back for years begins to flow.

Kids were set free that night. Kids were prayed over and heard word after word of affirmation spoken over them. 13 kids got real, and made decisions for Christ that night!!! 2 of our boys called their moms and grandmothers (at 1am) to tell them that they were sorry and that they were going to be different now. (Can you imagine getting that new at 1am. You may be used to getting calls about your child being in trouble at that time of night, but not that the God of the Universe had touched your son and that he had responded and just wanted you to know!)

After long time. The youth pastor announced that it was time to CELEBRATE and not one but two bands had shown up and they were ready to rock the house! The kids danced and yelled and some sat and pondered what had just happened. It was a glorious night for all of us.

Sleep came sometime after 3:30am….