Here is the top ten list from the middle school trip to CEF Headquarters in Missouri:
1. The Cake–We celebrated Christa’s birthday while we were in Missouri and we had quite a party. It started with an encourgement circle, where we all shared one evidence of grace from Christa’s life. We then sang “Happy Birthday” while Bethany brought in a cake. She then *accidentally* dropped in on Christa. So, while she took Christa to get cleaned up, the rest of us got the room/party favors ready to celebrate with her for real.
2. Swimming–On a hot Missouri day, there is nothing like a refreshing dip in the pool. After a long work day, we all headed over to the pool for some diving, acrobatic jumps, keep-away, and alley-oops.
3. Unblinded–Our theme this year is “UnBlinded” coming from 2 Corinthians 4.4: In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
4. Group Devos–One of my favorite parts about the trip is sitting in a circle and talking for upwards of 90 minutes about God’s Word. These students are engaged at studying the Bible and seeing what God is saying to them. I love the interaction, the fellowship, the Biblical thinking, and willingness to apply His truth.
5. Tour–One traditional part of the trip is the campus tour, led by entertainer Steve Johnson. He showed us the inter workings of the CEF campus and even let us walk around the president’s office. My favorite quote: “The sun never sets on the CEF empire.”
6. Ice Cream–The kids worked so well together that we went out for ice cream one night. I really enjoyed just hanging out with the students and talking with them about funny things, Jesus, and everything in between. The ice cream break was another chance to do this.
7. Prayer Pods–After our group devotions, we broke off into three smaller groups that we dubbed “prayer pods”. This was my favorite part of the week, without a doubt. I got to spend hours with Miguel, Christa, and Maddie praying and talking about what God was teaching us. We gave each other spiritual challenges to carry out when we got home and had sweet times of fellowship together. We may also have had a little fun with easy cheese, Mulan, and rocking chairs, but that stays secret.
8. Nicknames–Everyone on the trip got a nickname for the weekend, from “panther” to “taylor tots” to “lil wayne” (see Caleb Beilgard).
9. Steve Green–While we were there our group got to meet Christian celebrity Steve Green. One member of our group even got his autograph.
10. Next Year–I can’t tell you enough about this group. They are an amazing group of young people and I am thrilled by the evidences of grace I see the Holy Spirit working in their lives. They are a huge joy to be around and I am so looking forward to spending the next 4 to 5 years talking about Jesus with them as we wait for our Savior to return.