Thursday, July 7th NYC

1. Today the kids got blessed by some amazing speakers. The morning session speaker was Reggie Dabbs, one of the countries most sought after motivational speakers for teens. He is a large black man, who could tell stories like no other, and had the house in hilarious laughter and then in tears. At the end the altar was filled with hundreds. He spoke of his own brokenness when his mother gave him up to a foster home at 8 yrs old, and the life's lessons that led him to Christ through that.
   

The afternoon was filled with interesting sessions and lots of play time in the Exhibit hall, where all of the Nazarene Universities have booths and activities for the students. Also, each University is giving away a $40,000 scholarship, to be raffled off on the last day. Mid-America has a big wooden box, where an artist is creating something beautiful out of broken items that students are feeding through a hole in the side of it. The unveiling of this is to be on Friday night. Our PLNU booth is very laid-back with lots of video gaming, Wii and Kinnect for entertainment, set against a huge mural of the ocean out of the Nease Hall lounge. It's a little like sitting in a living room at home, and has become a base station of sorts for our church teens.

Tonight another very powerful speaker, Francis Chan, (the first photo below) gave a serious and profound message to the kids about the significance of our lives here on earth, and how short they are, in comparison to eternity. God created us, and loves us, and shapes us through trials; comforts and guides us in them.. SO THAT... we may go and do this for the world around us. We are created to receive his love, and then give it away. It's a simple truth, but one of the most important truths in the bible.

It's been a great time so far, and I hope you are in contact with your teen a bit, and getting a taste of what they are experiencing here. According to the youth leaders, everyone is beginning to get tired, because they are staying up late to talk. And, even though they are getting up at 9 am, it is still like 6 am at home. There is not a lot of down time for them. Pray for health and strength for the youth kids and especially the leaders who are overseeing it all, and staying up til the last one goes to bed!