Valdosta State and Florida State met up together for the weekend at Laguna Beach to bring our students out for a ge
taway far from the stresses of studying to help get them into the Word and build community among our campuses. It was a wonderful turnout! I was blown away by the number of students who gave up their weekend to invest it in their relationship with God and fellow believers. We had over 60 students from Florida State join us! We met on campus on Friday afternoon and loaded up our cars and caravanned across the top of Florida to Panama City. I had three great girls in my car, and we spent the time swapping stories, asking questions, and getting to know one another. Once we finally arrived we unloaded our stuff into the bunks (we had about 15 girls in one cottage! Triple bunks!) and headed out to the beach! It was such a sweet location! Not crowded at all, and we had the whole resort to ourselves! Talk about blessings!
Later that night we did "Skit bags" to help break the ice. This is such a wacky and fun activity to play in a group! We split the students up into teams and each team was given a bag of seriously random props and 10 minutes to come up with a skit to perform. The results: hilarious! The students got really into it and what a show we had! The rest of the night was free for relating with other students and spending time on the beach or at the pool.
The next mor
ning I got up a little early to spend some time praying on the beach. Oh, how refreshing for the soul! There's something about looking out into the ocean that makes you feel so small. It just seems to go on forever, never ending. What a reflection of our God. I sat there, taking it all in, praising God for the answered prayers we've had so far, and I saw some dolphins! What a sweet morning that was to spend with the Lord enjoying his creation. As I prayed, I realized how the students that came out to our retreat are a glimpse of our answered prayers. Two things we've been praying for our campus are young men to grow up to be leaders in the ministry, and diversity among our students! Well, we had a ton of guys come to the beach! One of my teammates entire Bible study, 8 freshmen, came together! Wow. We
also have a number of new upper classmen guys as well! On top of that, the guys, as well as the women, are so diverse! We have students from all different nationalities, and what a joy it is to look around and see more than white faces! We also had several international students join us from Pakistan and China! What a beautiful picture of what future glory will be like as every nation, tribe, language and people come together to worship the Lord. It's written all over Revelation:"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" " (Revelation 7:9-12)
My heart skips! I cannot wait to experience this in person! Please continue to pray for these students as the Lord works in their lives, making Himself known to them.
I returned from the beach for breakfast and then we met together as a group for a workshop on how to spend time reading the Bible, God's Word. After this we were dismissed to spend time in the Word together with a friend, reading Psalm 139, one of my very favorites! I got together with Hannah, my Bible study co-leader, and Katie, a girl in our study. We spent time reading Psalm 139 and sharing what it says, what it means for us personally, and how we can live it out and apply it to our lives. We had a really great discussion about how we can't run or hide from God, so why do we try?
"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you"
Psalm 139: 7-12
We were able to share personally what that has looked like in our own lives, and Katie was honest with us in sharing that she still feels like she's resisting. We talked more about why this is, and I told her I had an illustration I could share with her to figure out where she is in relation to God and how to get right with him. She said she'd love to see it, so we planned on looking 
at it during our free time that afternoon. We had a little time before lunch and I asked her what she was planning on doing and she said, "Actually, do you think you could show me that illustration you were talking about earlier?" Yes! So Hannah, Katie, and I sat down and we were able to share the Bridge illustration.
For those of you who might not be familiar with this, it's basically a simple diagram, using a single verse from the Bible, to explain man's broken relationship with God, the gospel of Jesus and the reconciliation he has brought to us and God, and to pinpoint where we are in accepting Him. We had a great discussion over the illustration and Katie was open and honest with us; I'm so thankful she's a part of our Bible study!
The afternoon was fre
e time where students could hang out on the beach, swim in the pool, nap, study, play volleyball, or watch the football game. Later that night we had another workshop on fellowship among believers; what it is and what it isn't. We had an awesome dance party that night where Candice taught us a few dances, and everyone had a blast! Oh how I love to dance :) Put me with a group of students at a dance party, and I am happy as a clam!
We shared another quiet time in God's word the next morning (this time I was with Ruthie and we looked at 1 Corinthians 12:12-30), and then it was time to clean up and head out. Our drive back was even better than the drive there. I enjoyed getting to know Emily, Alina, and Kelly so much! Our conversation got to personal questions, and I was amazed at the vulnerability the girls displayed in the car. Praise God.
So now, looking back at the weekend, I am continuing to see how good it was, how it 
impacted our students and united them together as a community, and how thankful I am for the privilege of working with college students. Please keep praying for hearts to be softened to the gospel, for our students to continue to grow in their relationship with God, to become leaders and life long labors, and for lives to be impacted on the Florida State campus! Pray that what the students learned in Panama City wouldn't be left behind there, but that they would bring it back to FSU and continue to read the Bible, seeking God on their own! And pray that we would keep building deep and meaningful relationships with students :) I am eternally grateful for your faithful prayers, friends!
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