Encounter08 - Christ the Redeemer

My brother and I just returned from the Campus Crusade Christmas conference in Greensboro, NC.  This was something my parents used to go to back when they were first in college and then on staff with Crusade, so they "gently encouraged" Jered and me to go.   I didn't know what to expect in going, since we've never actually done anything with Campus Crusade except for the normal "staff kid" things...but never as a participant.  

Honestly, I hated it for about the first 48 hours.  Being surrounded by over 1,000 college students...and yet knowing no one (except your own brother) was an extremely lonely feeling.  Normally I can make friends pretty quickly, but in this circumstance, pretty much everyone already knew other people since they came in groups from their respective college campuses...leaving me out of the loop.  It wasn't until some people from the SC Upstate group called me up (since their leader knew my dad) and asked me to join them that I had a campus group to do things with.  My two roommates (from UTC) also started inviting me to do things with their group also.  That's when things got fun.

I definitely bonded with the UTC group more, which is good for me since I can now still hang out with them once I'm back at Bryan.  They were a group that loved to have random and crazy fun...which pretty much describes what I like to do also.  :)  Just a few of the highlights include: playing card games and board games 'til the wee hours of the morning, intense games of "I have never...", having a slumber party in the hotel hallway, dancing 'til we thought we'd die, and the list goes on...  I love and adore each and every one of them.

New Year's Eve presented an amazing experience also.  Praise and Worship started at about 11:30 or so...and lasted 'til about 11:50.  From then until past midnight, we all prayed together.  It was weird at first having a moment of peace and calm when normally you'd be loud and crazy, but praying in the new year was so refreshing.  After that time was more intense praise and worship and just being a huge body of Christ rejoicing together (with mosh pits, crowd surfing, and strobe lights).  Then...we transitioned into the dance party.  For about the next 3ish hours we danced until we couldn't anymore.  It was kinda weird that we were at a Christian conference, and yet dancing and having fun.  :-P  I'm so glad one group finally realizes that you're not gonna get pregnant by dancing, and that there's actually good fun involved in it.  The UTC kids definitely know how to "get it on"...and we were probably having the most fun of anyone out there.  Yay!

I didn't hear from God in any HUGE way this week...like I think a lot of people did.  But it was a good reminder of some things I'd forgotten.  Christ is the Redeemer...and I don't always see how much that should change my life.  Hopefully I'll get to start being involved in the UTC Campus Crusade group, and maybe even bring some of it to the Bryan campus.  I think that would be awesome.  :)

So now I'm exhausted since I basically got like 9 hours sleep total the last three nights of the conference.  But it was worth it.  :)  

-erika