We had a great time at Catalina Island together last weekend. Here are some praises:
- All 11 youth and young adults who signed up came. There was a little drama, however, as one of the girls in our group lost her bag at school earlier in the day. One car stayed behind to wait for her and left over an hour late – they narrowly arrived to the port in time to catch the boat to Catalina. Whew!
- Many 18-24 year olds affiliated with our church have fallen away from God and gotten into a lot of trouble – pregnancy, homelessness, incarceration, etc. With this in mind, a young adult ministry was birthed earlier this year in hopes of better serving youth transitioning out of high school. With this, it was encouraging for me to see our youth, young adults and adult staff form deeper relationships during our weekend away.
- Youth, young adults and adult staff alike enjoyed a weekend of fun. Whether it was hiking, snorkeling, skipping stones or playing group games, everyone had a blast. Philip, a high school sophomore remarked, “I wouldn’t mind getting stuck here.”
- God provided enough money for all 11 youth to attend! Thanks for your generosity.
During our time at Catalina Island last weekend we also experienced God doing the unexpected. First we discovered an awesome new game called “Ninja.” After learning it for the first time on Saturday evening around 9:30 pm we continued playing until 1:00 am. The next morning, more “Ninja.” On the boat ride home, more “Ninja.” As we waited at the dock for our rides, “Ninja.” At our YG meeting last night, again, “Ninja.” I’m not sure if the youth or adult staff enjoyed playing more.
Beyond “Ninja” God had some more surprises, particularly through our times in the scripture. Unexpectedly the main scripture and theme for the conference was switched at the last minute to Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the lost son. I was a bit surprised and actually didn’t find out about the change until we had a leaders meeting on the boat ride over to Catalina.
Turns out God knows what he’s doing =). Over the course of the weekend the speaker pointed out the way in which our experience of our earthly fathers affects our ability to believe and receive the perfect love of our Heavenly Father. This really hit home with our group. 9 out of the 11 youth/young adults on the trip do not have father’s actively involved in their lives. The two that do are part of the same family.
By God’s grace, many for the first time began to process the pain of having absentee fathers. Through tears, prayer and physical healing God ministered to us. Here’s one of our adult staff’s account of praying for one of the youth:
When I asked him how he felt about the talk, all he just said, "Pain.” And then he had a headache and his whole back was hurting. It was clear that the pain he had from his dad was manifesting physically, so I just prayed in the name of Jesus that God would reveal himself as J's true father and heal him to increase his faith and trust in God. And he did! Praise God!
I asked J how he felt about what happened and he gave an honest answer that he was scared. But as we talked about it, he came to really see how good it was and he said he'd like to continue meeting up and dealing with his father issues. I asked J about testifying at church about God healing him and he didn't feel comfortable but he said I could on his behalf. J definitely took some huge steps in openness to God as his Father this weekend!
D, one of our youth student leaders, also grew up without his father in his life and had a more tumultuous response. He wasn’t ready to forgive his father and struggled with connecting to the speaker throughout the weekend. He was unusually distracted and rebelled against my authority in ways that took me back to when I first met him 3 years ago. It all came to a head Saturday night.
After playing “Ninja” for 3 hours, at about 1:30 am, I told our youth it was time for bed. Unexpectedly, D was furious and refused to go. He felt like he was being treated like a child. He didn’t feel like I had his best interest in mind and said defiantly, “I can take care of myself.” After frustrating and failed attempts to talk through the situation, I went to bed angry and disappointed.
By morning I felt a conviction to wait and see how God would move. Through breakfast and as we packed to leave, D had said little. By the time we boarded the boat to head home, nothing but superficial chit-chat. About 20 minutes into the boat ride home, D approached me and asked to talk. Plainly he asked for forgiveness for the night before. I forgave him, we hugged, went back to the top deck, and played some more “Ninja.”
D still hasn’t forgiven his father or dealt with all the pain that comes along with being abandoned. I anticipate that this will be a long journey for D with Jesus. He did, however, ask for his own forgiveness and in that I find hope. As he grasps the Father's love for him in his own forgiveness I am hopeful that D will experience the healing and wholeness he needs to forgive his own father. Would we all know the Father's love more truly in the days to come.
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