Last week was M28's annual spring break retreat to Florida. It was very refreshing to get a week off from work and just relax with my friends! Here's what stuck out to me the most while I was down there.
I'm an introvert, which means that it always takes effort for me to
interact with people all day. I literally need to be alone for a bit
every day in order to feel normal. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy
being with people, especially everyone in M28. But if I'm with them for
an entire day, it tends to drain me of energy. Don't feel sorry for me,
this is how God created me.
All that being said, before and during
Anthem I prayed that God would strengthen me and give me grace to be
able to spend the whole week interacting with people. The past several
years at Rekindle, I went off by myself for hours every afternoon. I did
not want that to happen again this year. I asked God to cause me to
depend on Him, and not try to change myself through my own efforts.
By
God's amazing kindness, He answered my prayers! Aside from one solitary
walk to see the sunrise, I spent every day at Anthem hanging out and
talking with people. God helped me to do what does not come naturally to
me, and for the most part (Thursday night being the only exception), He
kept my energy level up as well.
I
could not have done this without God's grace and help. I know that it
was because of His work in me, not anything that I had done. During
ministry night, I couldn't stop thanking God for blessing me by
answering my prayers. He impressed upon me just how good and loving He
truly is, to hear my prayers and answer them. Our God is so faithful! :)
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Some other things I loved about this trip:
- Talking and laughing with my dear friends, especially on the bus ride there and back. We had some wonderful, meaningful conversations, and made each other laugh a lot. :)
- Worship. Even though the music was loud, I loved being able to jump and clap to the drum. And there's just something about worshiping our Lord with a big group of Christians, it's so powerful.
- Giving and receiving notes via the "memo line". It was fun writing encouraging notes to people, and getting a few in return.
- Teaching a few of my friends a bit of sign language, and then being able to communicate in signs. I have missed using sign language, so it was so much fun using it again! Especially because my friends actually wanted to learn, and picked it up pretty fast. I love signing!
- Ministry Night on Wednesday. After the message, there was a time of prayer, and I prayed with 3 of my amazing girl friends. For most of the time, we went around praising and thanking God for who He is and what He is doing in our lives.
- Helping serve breakfast in the cafeteria every morning, and saying "My pleasure" whenever people said thank you. I got some interesting reactions.
- Giving shoulder massages to a bunch of people, and receiving the nickname "Doctor Sweigart". I just love watching people's faces as they get relaxed after a massage!
(photo post coming soon)
