Chi Alpha Winter Camp

It has been nearly four days since I last stepped foot on Camp Berachah soil and I am experiencing some withdrawals right about now. A group of WSU Chi Alpha-mates and I packed up our belongings and were set off for a weekend road trip to western Washington. You guys, I was practically at home. The evergreen trees, pine needles, the morning dew – it felt absolutely refreshing and reminiscent just to soak in everything once again. Clearly, there is a distinct difference from western and eastern Washington. Except for the horse ranches, we have those everywhere.

 

Spring break, I am coming back for you. I was strongly looking forward to this trip once spring semester came back. It was a chance for me to let my mind wander away from school, spending quality time with friends, and allowing to worship and learn more about God with roughly 7-9 other universities. The vast community was jaw dropping. Those three days were such an eye-opening experience. I have only ever been to a mission trip (it was all right, to be honest) and going to a retreat was completely new to me.

The lone cat that was lurking the camp ground. It definitely liked me.
Maybe I am meant to be a partial cat lady? Nah, dogs for life.

Tough Love Core's Co-Leader Shannon!

Fellow anime friend, Maribel!
Clearly, I have this "westside frizz" happenin'.

My XA fam!

Chi Alpha Winter Camp 2015!

 Last night, we had our weekly “Wednesday Night Gathering,” and most of us shared our testimonies about winter camp or what God has been doing in our lives as of late. Since I am trying to enable this “Just do it” mentality (and work on my public speaking skills), I was one of the first three to speak. In all honesty, there were numerous events that had happened during camp that I cannot narrow it down. However, after giving much thought about it the day before, I have finally figured out what I wanted to share: God’s acceptance. Now, the following passage is what I wrote in my journal. What I shared at WNG was the comprised and rushed version because I’m nervous, awkward, and kind of eat my words when speaking to a large group of people. (I apologize in advance for the amount of “stills” I used.)

“I was fortunate enough to spend my past weekend at Winter Camp. Those three days were completely eye-opening in terms of growing closer to God. I’ve only been to a mission trip, but a retreat was totally different. God truly presented his acceptance to me during camp.

We learned that in order to build that strong bond with Him, we have to be honest, real, and unmask ourselves to Him. Growing up, I’ve fallen in and out of religion numerous times that resulted in me being agnostic during my senior year of high school. However, it wasn’t until this summer that I committed to Christ. With such a rocky background, God still accepts me as once of His disciples.

I still don’t know the Bible that well (let alone scriptures), and even Jesus, but God is still welcoming me into His kingdom. I believe that He appreciates the fact that I am continuing to try and put in my fullest for, and that is all that matters.”

Even after all those jitters, I felt pleased to have shared. J I cannot wait for what Discover the Nations and SICM have in store for me, or rather, what God will present there. :) 

I should probably go to bed... The amount of hours I have before I have to wake up again is slowly decreasing...

Cheers,
Sabbie