250 and growing

It's hard to know where to begin on this one... Thursday and Friday were fabulous, unbelievable, chaotic, insane, and miserable all at the same time. We had our usual youth conference for this term's holiday. I had been thinking yet again it would be 200+ while honestly being ok if it was smaller because I don't know if I ever really recovered from the last conference. But as the days approached, the number kept climbing and 200 was passed. It was going to be another doozy, but then again, PRAISE GOD!

Now, it would have been one thing if I could have approached the event with 100% of my strength and gone for it, but as God would have it, Davis and I were out shopping for supplies on Wednesday and after a few days of random little symptoms I finally just felt so bad that I asked him to take me to the clinic because I had a feeling I had Malaria. After buying everything we stopped by my "usual" malaria testing clinic and as he came back with the results his exact words were "Eh! It is much this time!" It was then that I began really understanding that God wanted to do something big... not Kelli to do something big. So I went home took my meds and continued checking things off the to-do list and by 9 I was asleep.

Early the next morning (6 to be exact) Davis and I were out setting up benches and getting everything good to go. By 7:30 the rest of the leaders arrived, we had our coffee and chapattis and it was time to start day 1. Registration began and although the conference wasn't supposed to begin until 8:30, about 50 students were already handing around even before 8.

(oh, I forgot to add that 125 of them were street kids... so ummm... yeah...)

We began with worship, then Ricky teaching the theme of Be Disciples and then small group time. We then did a game where the volunteers had to be blindfolded and manage their way through an obstacle course in order to follow the example of their leaders.

Then it was time for Steven to teach on being focused and then it was lunch time. To feed 250+ people was definitely an interesting task but our ladies were AMAZING and did it all and we had just enough food for all the students (the leaders got samosas for lunch that day). We then had more worship and Jess taught on being humble. Talk about a tough subject but I pray the students were able to learn and be changed specifically in that area.

It was then game time. I can tell I wasn't feeling my best because the games were pretty tame this time but we still had fun. To demonstrate how we needed to be focused, we did a balance beam (basically a 2x6' balanced on 2 benches).

And then to teach about humbling ourselves and being willing to be uncomfortable, we had a game where one person had a half a water bottle they were to hold on their head while catching the water balloons their team threw at them. We had some more just chill time and then it was time for dinner.

At the dawn of day 2... all the students came back and then some and it was go time yet again. We had our tea and Mandazis and then quiet times where the kids were reading from 1 Peter. It never fails that my most favorite part of the conference is looking around and seeing all the students reading their Bibles. We also had the kids who couldn't read in small groups with leaders giving them small devotions.

We had worship, and then Rogers taught of being content... another doozy of a subject. And during small group time then we gave one student chocolate cookies and soda while the others got plain sugar cookies and water to test their level of contentment. You know... "I've learned to be content in all situations, chocolate, no chocolate... with coke or with water..." There was also a game where Jess got random things together for them to build houses with and use everything to make it into the best thing they could... teaching basically make the most of what God gives us.

Ryan taught about being joyful and then we had lunch... again... the meals... it was madness!

And then boy oh boy... we had presentations where several boys showed of their mad crazy dancing skills and all the kids were shoving to try and get a better view. If only that were the extent of the excitement that afternoon. As the presentations came to a close, the storm clouds slowly came in and during worship the rain came, and then came some more, and then some more and then the wind came seriously making the rain fall horizontally.

All the students were packed into the church (a building that normally doesn't get more than 120 people in it at a go) and our poor tent outside was beat into submission. And joy of joys, it was my turn to teach on being prayerful. I must say the storm gave for awesome illustrations tying together all the conference topics though. It was between my malaria and the storm that I knew God wanted to do something big and as chaotic as it was, and how many students (who many don't normally have the best behaviour), God kept their attention and they heard about how He cares for them, how we're to lay down our worries at His feet but more than anything we are know Him.

All in all, the students were fed the Word, loved on by leaders, had fellowship with one another, ate tons of food, and heard the Gospel in full force. You can't ask for much more than that?

I must say by dinner of the first day I was so done, the Malaria definitely gave me its best shot by then but praise Him that His grace is sufficient and that in His amazing grace He also blessed me with an awesome boyfriend. Davis was such a HUGE GIGANTIC WORDS CAN'T DESCRIBE IT blessing. He had it all taken care of for me. Before the conference and even before the Malaria he told me to tell him everything that needed to get done with the conference and he'd make sure it happened so I wouldn't have to be so stressed out. Even one of my students told me that I wasn't nearly as stressed this time as I've been in the past. I really would have been in the hospital on drip if it wasn't for him (well, you know, God working through him). So anyway, just have to give him props because he totally deserves it!