Refine.
There’s no question that word depicts what is in progress at WYI so far this week. God is refining our hearts and minds. He’s been doing it through deep teaching from His Word, through worship that points only to Him, and through intentional fellowship.
The first night of WYI began with a pointed challenge from special speaker and author Anne Marie Miller to give others the gift of going second by releasing our burdens and confessing our sins so we – and others – can find freedom. After a time of personal commitment and sharing, we rejoiced together in God’s goodness through the saynetwork lounge with special music from Grace Sheppard.
Our first chapel of a series that is digging deep into the lives of several people in the Bible who went through a refining process focused on Paul with a reading of his life from Commissioner Carolyn Knaggs and powerful message from Commissioner Jim Knaggs. Divisional groups had a chance to spend time with each other and with their DYS, later breaking into cabin groups to dig deep into the questions and challenges from the morning chapel, discussing how it relates to us personally in a safe setting. Fun is an equally important part of WYI, of course, so the cabin groups moved on to their first cabin wars of the week. Picture a wide open baseball field, lots of gopher holes, and several yoga balls. If you can’t quite picture it…that’s exactly why you should be at WYI rather than just reading about it!
Elective options all week are allowing delegates to learn about topics that interest them as well as express themselves creatively.
The first full day culminated with an evening at the campfire pit – men on one side; women on the other. Captains Dave and Regina Shull shared with the men and women, separating out into worship and times of reflection, and ending with prayer for one another. As the women surrounded the men and prayed for their lives and their witness for Christ, words were lifted up for God’s glory. In turn, as the men prayed for the women, tears of release and freedom were shed.
God is refining us at WYI. And it has only just begun.