Welcome to 2012! Please Fasten Your Seat Belts, Thank You...

Wow! It's 2012!

To say that the beginning of 2012 was eventful is an understatement! Remember that scene in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (the original, not the remake) where they're on the boat and it goes through the tunnel? (Yes, the really creepy scene) Well that how I felt and still feel to this day, minus the creepy. Haha!

First there was New Year's Eve which I spent with my family and with my best friend (sparkling cider, what what?!), then there was New Year's Day which was spent with my second family: Journey Church. Then the very next day began the first day of PASSION CONFERENCE! I and eleven people from my college small group loaded up into a van and headed down to "Hotlanta" which was actually quite freaking cold (it flurried one night!). As expected, the first day is always the one that passes by the fastest because you're driving, getting hotel things in order, registration, crowds of people, excitement, bags and tags and lanyards and wristbands and places here and there and everywhere!

Anyways, the rest of the week was just amazing. I always go to Passion expecting but not expecting.
I'll explain.
I'm expecting God to move in my life but I'm not expecting anything specifically if that makes any sense at all. I don't want to limit God in my thinking so by simply expecting Him to have His way, I'm opening the door for anything He has to throw at me. And He threw a lot! The main cause for this week was about human trafficking and slavery in the world. There are on average, 27 million slaves in the world which is the highest it has ever been in human history. That's ridiculous. When I heard about it, I was blown away. I had heard of Free Trade periodically but never really investigated what it really was. Little did I know that I was closing myself off to the fact that there are 27 million people who are being denied their God given right to be free people.

The whole week was kind of branching off of that and let me tell you, God certainly moved. Some of my favorite moments of the week was Beth Moore. She spoke on the woman with the issue of blood. I had heard of the story but no one ever bothered to speak on it. She explained her affliction and that her act of reaching for Jesus' garment that she was 1) exhibiting faith that Jesus would heal her and 2) basically coming out in public that she was unclean and defiled. Beth said something that I put a star next to in my notes and it was "do not sit and wait for something to happen, have faith and reach". That spoke volumes to me seeing that I have been planning to go to Europe this summer. Faith will be the only way this will happen.

Another was Christine Caine. I love her so much. 1) because she's Australian and 2) her method of speaking is very engaging and powerful. She spoke on compassion and how we as the church ought to not sit on our haunches and nod meaningfully when we hear of something like slavery. We cannot call that compassion. She said that compassion isn't compassion until you get up and do something about it. We as the church need to mobilise and reach out because that's what Jesus did for us. Christine said something else that resounded with me and it was that "God wants to use rescued people to rescue people". That's so true and I think we as Christians forget about that. We get caught up in everything else that we forget that we were rescued and that Jesus called us to reach out and tell other people that their salvation rest in Jesus Christ.

Next was John Piper. Oh Piper haha! I'm always daunted when he walks onto the platform and preaches because his method of teaching is very...hard to follow if you're not devoting all of your attention to what he is saying. But what he says is so profound and amazing that you respect the headache you receive afterwards! Anyways, he spoke about what it truly means to be free. His entire message is incredible but the part that hit me the hardest was this: "Freedom is being so in love with Christ that you can do what you love to do and be in accordance with His will". I mean...wow. Just thinking about that begins to break down the walls in my mind. We tend to box God in as ask "what is Your will for my life?". What John and (eventually) Louie Giglio say is that God's will for your life is right here and now. What ever aspirations you have, do them and that is God's will for your life. God wants us to be free! Free to love Him and to do what we love for Him. It's amazing really. Simply amazing.

And lastly, the candlelight vigil. All through the week, Passion had begun construction on a sculpture of a hand on the International Plaza in Atlanta that would represent Freedom. (see picture)

Freedom Hand Passion 2012

On the last night of the conference, we were asked to walk in complete silence to the International Plaza, unlit candles in hand. I felt like that was such a powerful moment. 45,000 18 to 25 year olds walking in complete silence to one location. That spoke volumes and still gives me chills when I think about it.
When it became midnight, we lit the candles and then when the hand finally lit, we shouted as loud as we could. It was amazing! Just being there in that moment with all those people who were on the same page that I was, shouting for freedom and shouting for Christ was just indescribable.

So to say that Passion was life changing is an understatement. I'll always carry that week with me and I can feel that I'm changed. I'm actually going through an adjustment phase because it's difficult for me to actually get back into the swing of things and start with school (I will talk about that in a later post).

Anyways, if you are still reading, congratulations! This was a very lengthy post and you are a champ for reading it all! :)

Till Next Time...