last day!

Sorry there are no pictures today... it has been a HOT one and we are all running around trying to get the most out of our last day at CIY!

Here are a few pictures from earlier this week:

Senior girls!

Ummm... ? :)

Someone got ahold of the camera and was taking close-ups!

We are planning on leaving Anderson tomorrow at 8:30 am and should return to OCC around noon. We are sad to leave, but happy to be coming home to family, good food and our own beds!

Yesterday was another really moving day for our students. The theme was worship and students were encouraged to think about who/what they truly worship...

Our friend Matt Reagan from Southeast delivered the message and he did an amazing job. Our students then met for youth group time and we really challenged them to be honest and real about what their hearts seek after.. not to just give the church answers. We talked about how to come to CIY, confess sin, have a moving experience, and then return to home the exact same would be pointless. Our students split into girl/guy groups and were up into the early hours of this morning sharing with each other what was really on their hearts. It was a powerful time and we praise God for it! We know that it is only through His work that our students hearts are changed.

Today the theme is live... we are talking about abiding in God as our Shelter and Foundation as we return home. We are thinking about what it means to abide with words like remain, continue, endure, sustain, follow, and steadfast.

We are off to our final session and tonight we are having girl's and guy's forums.

Thanks for your prayers this week and

see you tomorrow! :)

coming to a close

We can't believe that today is already Thursday! This week is really flying by.

Yesterday evening was another powerful night. After discussing their freedom from sin the day before, students had to deal with the question, "Now what?" Our theme was crossing (from the story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.) After a powerful time of teaching, students met as a youth group and shared with one another what they felt that God was calling them to do as a response to the night before.

Today's theme is worship. We are looking a little further into Exodus at the 10 Commandments and the story of the golden calf... we talked about how everyone worships something... either the Creator or something that is created. Students have been thinking about idols they turn to and tonight should be pretty powerful as they discuss having an undivided heart to worship the Lord! Please continue to pray for our remaining time here!

Picture time....

Today during free time we had a scavenger hunt. The winners received Ale8 as a prize, and all the students got pizza and popsicles at the end!

After lunch, some students played a little kickball...

More tomorrow!

day 2 & 3

We have been learning so much as a youth group these past few days!

Yesterday we talked about freedom.

We looked at the story of the Passover and talked about how like the Israelites, we are in bondage. Not to a foreign country like Egypt, but as humans, we are all slaves to sin. Students were encouraged to dig deep and confront their own struggles with sin, considering how seriously we each have fallen. Everyone was given silver bracelets for their wrists to represent our chains of bondage to sin. They wore them all day as a visual reminder of what we discussed that morning.

Fortunately, we didn't stop there! The Israelites were freed from slavery after God performed a series of miracles culminating in the Passover. During the main session, our speaker looked at the similarities between the Passover and Christ's crucifixion and talked about how Christ's sacrifice provided the ultimate freedom from slavery... freedom from sin! At that point all of the students were linked together by their "chains," and the chains were broken! We finished out the night celebrating our freedom through Christ. Many students had great conversations with our sponsors and with one another, opening up about their struggles and committing to live now as slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6)

We are about to head off to tonight's main session and then spend some time together as a youth group processing what we have learned! Thanks for your prayers... God is really working in the hearts and lives of our students!

And now for some pictures....

Games before the morning session... CIY has a "morning show" where we play silly games and watch videos.

Every morning, students spend time together in dgroups after a time of personal devotion.

During the afternoon, students have free time.

Ping pong, ultimate, just hanging out... today a comedian came and performed an students put on a showcase.

Some of our students spotted around campus today...

Don't they all look so happy?? lol

We are all a little tired, as you can see! I heard about 1/2 of our students fell asleep during the comedian!

chains be broken

Today has been really powerful and we have had some great moments together as a youth group. It has been a late night, so we are off to bed... we will be sure to share more tomorrow!

hanging out

... before our first main session!

This week at CIY we are going to be focusing on the life of Moses. Tonight the students are going to be looking at Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush and talking about our Identity...

Who does the world say we are?

Who does Jesus say we are?

How does having a correct understanding of God's Identity affect our perspective on our own identities?

The thought for tonight's session is God is calling you... not because of who you are, but because of who He is.

Please continue to pray for our students tonight!

we're here!

We have made it to CIY and are enjoying some down time setting up our rooms, showering, and recovering from the overnighter! We are getting ready to head down to dinner and our first main session!

CIY 2009

CIY is almost here! Today we will kick things off with an overnighter at church... then tomorrow morning at 8:30 we are heading off to Anderson!

We will be updating this blog throughout the week with pictures, stories, and testimonies of what God is doing this year at CIY. Please say a prayer for our students this week as we prepare to have a lot of fun... but also learn a ton about the Lord and about who we are in Him!

Can you believe just one more day till this?