I think this weekend marked somewhere close to 20+ teen conferences I've helped out with in some way. 2 retreats per year x 10 years or so? And I've loved every single one of them. This weekend though probably ended up being one of my favorite teen conferences I've been a part of over the last 10-12 years, for a lot of reasons, really.
Trying to prepare for the conference last week, I had two plans to implement, but I didn't know until Thursday evening if I would be going with plan A or plan B. When plan B becomes plan A, well, then things get confusing :-) By Thursday early evening, I was so stressed about what I was going to do about setting up for the conference, I couldn't decide if I should cry or vomit. I had so much anxiety about this weekend, or at least the preparations for it, that it was all I could do to just go into survival mode. But, things got worked out and as usual, I had a great crew of guys helping me late Thursday night to get things ready to go, not only for the teen retreat, but also for the Church Planters Roundtable we were hosting at the camp on Friday. Praise God for wonderful bosses who will let me switch my days off so that I can be available to run sound for these events!
Once Friday morning hit, I made my trek over to the camp so I could get all of the power points ready to go for the Roundtable. Naturally I would run into a snag with a few of them, but then God started answering prayers I didn't even know I had prayed as 2 very computer savvy guys from our sister church in Columbus, OH walked through the doors of Jordan Hall. I honestly don't know what I would have done had they not been there to help me get things figured out; they were such a blessing! Working with these men and their wives was yet another testimony of how getting in the trenches, serving the Lord together and bringing Him glory, unifies brothers and sisters in Christ like nothing else can. We may not see each other again until heaven or the Lord's return, but I honestly feel like I made lifelong friendships this weekend.
As the day went on, it was then time to get ready for the teens to come in and God just kept on providing people to help. The band that played Friday and Saturday nights brought their audio guy with them and after reluctantly giving the board over to him, I started to realize how much of a blessing it was to not have that responsibility, because it freed me up to take on more of a servant leadership role.
God knew what I needed before I needed it. Before the thought could even
really form in my head, He was there, providing the exact thing I
wanted. He provided in so many huge ways this weekend; with people and equipment and just keeping me encouraged. At the end of a retreat weekend, I am usually pretty depleted. But this weekend, I have never felt so ministered to and ready for the next thing. Bring it on! (I might regret saying that later) But I cannot say it enough; I want to shout from the mountaintops how great and how awesome God is!
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