Weekend in the Twin Cities

Dare2Share
Okay, I’m awake this morning. After a long weekend in the twin cities, we’re home and tired. I wish I could say that I was there for some fun – a little shopping, walking in the city, hanging out with friends, maybe even hanging out with the H’s. But, that wasn’t the case this weekend. Friday we took 20 people to the Dare 2 Share conference. As the junior high youth group leader, hubby spear-headed the trip. After lots of planning, D-day (aka drive day) arrived. We met at the church, made a few quick pit stops on the way and finally arrived at the convention center for the conference. I spent Friday evening volunteering for the D2S staff. They needed help and I filled in, which was a blessing for both of us I’m sure – they got their help and I learned some more about the D2S organization. Towards the end of the night, I slipped into the conference to hang out with our group.

Lauren
As I sat in with my group, I heard a bit of the speaker and then caught the drama. It was an amazing presentation of the judgement seat of Christ. It was a great way to let people know that being a part of God’s family is much more than saying “I’m a Christian” or that you’ve done good things. It hit home with Lauren, I suppose. At the end of the night, she gave her life over to Christ. I was so excited – I still am so excited! Giving your life to Christ doesn’t mean that life will be easy or super fun. It is an acknowledgement of the TRUTH that we all so desperately need. Way to go Lauren!

Hotel
We arrived at our hotel right around midnight. Okay, I was beat tired but was still excited and emotional for my little sister. Finally around 1230pm, I hit the sack. I was so tired that I didn’t even brush my teeth or take a potty break or wash my face. After watching the clock throughout the night and not getting much sleep, I got up at 545 to start the day.

Volunteer
Three of us from our group headed back the convention center for the 7am-noon volunteer shift. It was a great time hanging out and doing odd jobs. I made myself available for whatever needed to be done and so I got pulled in multiple directions throughout the morning. Fortunately I was helping out in the leaders meeting – which was where I needed to be as a youth leader. Things rolled pretty smoothly throughout the morning. I was asked to hand out glow sticks right before the lunch break. It was amazing how the JHi kids RAN to the table for something “FREE”.

Post Lunch
We had another session and some more music before heading out. Several hours in the afternoon were spent collecting can foods for the mission which was a great way to also give the kids an opportunity to put into practice what they’d been learning. I had 3 students join me – 2 were in Jhi, one of which had never really heard “BIBLE” stuff before. The other was Lauren. They were scared and nervous to share the GOSPEL with folks. It an interesting experience. Of the many doors we knocked on, they were lots of people gone and/or not answering. Most of those who answered would give a few cans but weren’t willing to let the kids PRACTICE sharing. The final house was perfect. One of my Jhi kids walked her through the GOSPEL acronym and she was good to encourage him afterwards. It was a huge step.

Superchic[k]
Eventually we made it back to the convention center for one more session and the Superchic[k] concert. This was a “different” band than my style but many people like them. I did recognize two of their songs. But, by this point, I was pooping out. I was lacking sleep, tired of sitting and not enjoying the music. After the concert, autographs and planning our drive home, we jumped back in our vehicles. This was not fun – people were not doing things the way I THOUGHT they should be done. None-the-less, we headed home. We got home around 230am on Sunday and headed to bed for a few hours before I got up for church.