doodles and babbles

Friday, November 04, 2005

Youth Retreat 2005

Hay naku... paano ko ba ito sisimulan...? Basta, all I can say is THANK YOU, LORD for all your faithfulness and your sweet mercies that You never withhold from us. Our recent youth retreat was such a blast! Our experience with the Lord in ZMI Antipolo was like a pool of refreshing cold water that poured out from the heavens and washed over us... followed by a warm and tight hug from our Lord's gentle arms... (uy, in-english ko lang yung line sa story ng group namin! hehe...)

This year's theme of our retreat is Waiting, Wanting, and Renewed. Isaiah 40:30-31 says,

"Even youths grow tired and become weary, and yough men will stumble and fall. Yet the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won't become weary. They will walk and won't grow tired."

This verse truly spoke to me, and I believe, to all of us in the retreat. Especially today, with all the stress and crisis of this world... even the energetic youth like us needs to rest. Because everything around us just make us very very tired. Physically, emotinally, mentally... and most especially, spiritually. Para sa akin, mapagod na ako at lahat-lahat, huwag lang ang spirit ko. Dahil once na mapagod ito, that would be very very dangerous.

I'm very grateful for this oppurtunity na binigay sa amin ni Lord para makapag wait sa Kanya. Indeed, the fire that we have brought home with us is worth the wait. And all our experiences with the Lord during that entire retreat will never equal any worldly experience. Especially our praise and worship... when we kneeled down before the Lord and just cried... pouring all our tears as we humble ourselves to the God... how I wish we never went home... if we can only stay in the presence of the Lord forever. But of course, the day would surely come when all overcomers and all who have faithfully run the race for the Lord, would forever worship God...

Yung mga activities rin na ginawa namin ay nakakatuwa. Giyera patani sa gitna ng mga makakating talahib at iba pang mga games, treasure hunting, where I learned to really seek diligently. (Kasi, yung group namin ang nauna sa spot ng treasure, pero hindi pa namin siya nakita dahil hindi kami nagseek diligently. Kaya yung ibang group ang nakakuha. But it's okay. We got our lesson. :) Then, yung isang "group dynamics" na ginawa namin. Ano ba tawag dun? Hindi ko alam eh. Anyways... And of course, yung story na ginawa namin for our group.

Nakakabless kapag naririnig ko yung mga experiences ng mga youth with this retreat. They were really renewed. Before the retreat, hindi pa nga namin sure kung marami ang makakasama. But then, God is so gracious. He gave provisions para makasama ang marami sa retreat na ito. And just like what I've said earlier, everything is worth the wait. I just pray that the fire that's once again ignited in hearts of our youth will continue to burn fervently for the Lord... and will never die out.

I know that these words will never be enough to describe our awesome experience with the Lord during that short 3 day retreat in Antipolo. If I can only bring you all to the past and just show you how it went... hay...

Maglalagay rin ako ng pix namin. Wala pa kasi akong copy eh. Once na nakuha ko, i'll post it here. :)

God bless you all!

Soar on wings, eagles!

10:49 AM
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