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What a great week we had at CIY! We had a total of 15 students who went, along with three sponsors. There were three decisions made: two commitments to ministry with an interest in foreign missions and one rededication. All of our students were impacted! I’ve included some pictures for those of you who have been praying for us, below you see Katie Scott teaching our Tuesday morning D-group (Discipleship Group).

Every evening we would gather for worship, the Caleb Miller Band led our celebration time. Then each night our students could experience worship through reading, prayer, singing and some form of written expression of faith.

At the end of every evening we would gather together during youth group time to process the day. We would share about our experiences, have group building exercises. We even did a foot washing on Thursday and took communion on Friday.

On Thursday we were given extended recreation time and went to Johnson City for some fun!

Thank you all for your prayers! This week was a phenomenal success and life-changing event for many of our students!

There have been many trips (some of which I’ve been a witness to) that have unraveled and been derailed by the van ride home.  High school trips can be overcome by emotion, the wrong word or silence…it doesn’t help when everyone is exhausted from an intense week of conference.

Pray for safety as we travel.  Pray for our students as they are tired that they would not derail this week by a poorly chosen word.  Pray that our trip home will be a time of celebration and relaxation.

This is our final full day of CIY, tomorrow we’re heading home.  The final text is Acts 9:1-31 and the theme is “Move.”  “Move” is the new name of the CIY Summer Conference and describes the lifestyle that we have been working toward all week.  CIY is challenging our students to “Move” and become intentional about living a Christian life.  It is about moving toward the world with the love of Jesus.

Pray that in this final day of conference our students would have the strength to hear the final challenge tonight.  Pray that what every speaker has shared so far will culminate in a commitment to “Move” with the love of Christ in the world.  Pray that these commitments and connections will be lasting and changing.

Today is when the energy starts to wain…especially for us sponsors who are wore out from VBS!  Thankfully CIY anticipates this and gives us a half-day play break.  We’ll be going to a family fun park for our day off.  This morning we’ll have early session, devotional time, small group lesson and then we’re off until main session tonight.  This emotional and mental break I believe helps our students to make clearer decisions.

Pray that we will be safe as we travel from campus to Johnson City and safety as we get some fun group time together.  Pray that this time is a great group-building experience and that it helps our spiritual momentum.

Our theme for today is boldness, being a bold Christian is easy at CIY but difficult at home.  The theme verse is Acts 5:17-42 which describes the apostles’ early persecution and their boldness.

Pray that our students will make a commitment to live out their faith with boldness – not just at CIY but at home.  Pray that the Spirit would give our students lasting commitment and boldness in faith.