WinterFest

What a weekend! Friday morning we, my family along with 42 youth and adults, traveled to Gatlinburg for a youth rally called “WinterFest.” I have to admit I wasn’t very excited about going because last year, which was my first time to go, was a flop. The fire alarm went off during the Saturday night session so we missed it entirely and I wasn’t impressed by the production either, however this year was a different story. WinterFest passed out a New Testament Bible before the production began. It was to be used all weekend and at the end of the program they challenged the students to pass it along to someone in their contacts list on their cell phone. They used characters to play Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and these men explained what their book is about so the youth could understand better. They had several visuals using sand and paintings. At the end, they took all the individual paints and made one huge display that formed the face of Jesus. (I would recommend that you try and find the “Sand Man” whose real name is Paul Castillo. What he does with a handful of sand is awesome!) God moved in awesome ways. The theme of the weekend was Mission Christ. The four points were: 1. Know Jesus. 2. Be Jesus. 3. See Jesus. 4. Share Jesus. I will talk about these points as the week goes on.

I want to take a few minutes to brag on the youth that went on the trip. They were very well behaved and we had no major incidents! The only problem that I am aware of is the hotel got onto us because a few of the youth had bought those plastic guns that shoot plastic b-b’s. They were outlawed on the property and one kid got caught (I promise…I am not the kid). They were on time for the devotionals which required them to leave the shops in Gatlinburg and get back to the hotel by 10pm. They stayed in their rooms after “lights out” and I never heard anyone complain. There were no arguments or fights and the trip there and back home went as smooth as it could.

Overall, I must say I have never experienced a youth rally or church service that was as good as this weekend. It is my prayer that the lessons given seek deep within our hearts and our lives are changed by what we witnessed. Lord willing, I’ll have more details as the week goes on. Randy