My senior year of high school God called me and some of my friends to start an Anglican youth retreat for the diocese. This was an incredibly awesome and challenging experience and tested my faith in many ways. However, it was one of the single most growing things God has ever called me to, and I'm so thankful for it. The retreat occurs twice a year, and now, three years later, we're heading onto #8 in December. #7 was this past weekend, and I attended the church service that occurs for the community of believers in the diocese. There's a story that was told that blew me away, brought tears to my eyes, and still leaves me in awe of how much God loves me, and how resourceful He is. The fruit of obedience lasts for longer than a few seasons and is impacting people even today.
There was a young senior who is 18 years old at this weekend. He had been raised actively pagan, and had only become a Christian two months before. His friends signed him up for Dynamos and he went. On Saturday night, they were having a prayer section. As the kids filed out, Father Andrew offered to anoint each one of them and seal the healing work of the prayer session. This young man said okay, but then asked Father Andrew, "actually, can you baptize me tomorrow? Is there a service we can do it at, or something?" Father Andrew started to say yes, but then he decided they would baptize him that night. So they went down to the Suwannee River, filled a cooler with muddy river water, and started a bonfire. Now, normally during a baptism, a parent or someone presents the candidate and offers to help him/her in his spiritual walk. However, nobody was here for this kid. So the entire retreat filled with candidates and team members stood up, and as a community presented this kid for baptism. They dunked his head in the cooler of muddy water and baptized him in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I heard him tell this story at the closing service, and was in awe. His face glowed, and you could tell he was just alive with the Spirit. It was so incredible to see the change in this kid!
The spirit is alive and moving in our community and in the hearts of our kids. Dynamos is a wonderful reminder to me that what God says He's going to do, God does. That when we say "yes" to God, God continually says "yes" to the fruit that pours out of what we're doing. I would never have thought this retreat would be the catalyst for a baptism, but the work I did three years ago, and the obedience I had then is impacting people today. It's my prayer and hope that we can all live into this and start saying "yes" to God more often because it impacts more than just our current situation. I hope that we can instill in our kids the way of living a life that says YES to God. Reckless abandonment of our own lives for His purposes.
Also, Congratulations to the Strickland family :) So great to have another kid in our Ministry to pour into!
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