E06 youth conference
after mths and mths of preparation, training and practices, E06 is over!!! i can't believe it! i have withdrawal symptoms now, esp about what to do with my time on sundays! i reluctantly say that i miss all those gruelling hours of not really knowing what is the whole picture, and just simply trusting that God will show up during the week long conference. i can't really describe the conference. all i know is, those who attended, pastors alike, commented that they have never been to a conference like this. because it's so personal and focuses on each individual.
all delegates were broken into 3 streams; teens, college and young adults (YA). i was a facilitator for the YA workshops. boy, was it an emotional roller coaster! the workshop contents were painstakingly gone through with a fine tooth comb by pastor LC, and each facilitator had to 'look after' groups of 8 to 10 delegates. talk about personal service! we had to sort of 'minister' to them (for lack of a better word) via the workshops. we also had to teach certain parts of the workshops, and of course this didn't go down so well with many of us, cos most of these delegates were strangers to us.
i'm just thankful i had a bunch of 40 YA facilitators in the same boat. so we would moan and groan abt how nervous and scared we were, as the conference loomed closer. all of us are working adults, with hectic work / love / family lives outside of church. and to put in so many hours after work at church, going through training sessions after sessions is no walk in the park. many a time i sported a tired, blank mind as i sat there, dreaming of a proper dinner and my bed.
in hindsight, it's been SUCH a wonderful, tumultuous, awesome journey i can't describe it in words. after seeing so many of the delegates' lives impacted through the workshops and personal ministering, every single minute of sweat, tears and stress was worth it. many of us facilitators share the same feeling that if only one person was impacted, it would have been worthwhile. but many were. and no surprise that the ones most impacted were the facilitators and organisers themselves!
merely because we had almost a year to process all the contents and issues brought abt through the w/shops. the YA delegates only had 3 short days. many were brought to tears at some w/shops where some issues really touched them and made them see with different eyes.
the many testimonies the facilitators shared at every de-briefing session at night spoke so much of how god moves in people's lives. of how god REALLY loves each person, and honours each person's struggles and fights in life. each life is so precious and important. i'll think twice before i ever say i hate my life in moments when i'm being pessimistic and stressed. it cheapens my whole life. i'm ashamed of all the times i've said it so flippantly. just to express my boredom or restlessness at the moment.
i'm so glad for this conference. so honoured to be an integral part of it.i've learnt so much, stuff you can never learn out of books. the learning process wasn't easy at all. we were all stretched to extremes, as work suddenly got busier, nights ended later, proper meals were scarce, and helping out for a certain 'somebody's' wedding turned out to be such a demanding task.
most of all, the comradship between the facilitators now is pretty cool. i'm also quite amazed with some of the adults who were roped in to be YA facilitators as well, cos i know they were a bit terrified of the rambunctious, cynical YA's they might have to encounter as delegates. they consider us a different generation from them, so i don't blame them for being worried. but they are such a cool bunch, who really care abt the YA's and have a heart for us. i am quite inspired by them.
i dread thinking if there will be another conference like this, but then again, i think i would jump at the chance of being a facilitator again.
all delegates were broken into 3 streams; teens, college and young adults (YA). i was a facilitator for the YA workshops. boy, was it an emotional roller coaster! the workshop contents were painstakingly gone through with a fine tooth comb by pastor LC, and each facilitator had to 'look after' groups of 8 to 10 delegates. talk about personal service! we had to sort of 'minister' to them (for lack of a better word) via the workshops. we also had to teach certain parts of the workshops, and of course this didn't go down so well with many of us, cos most of these delegates were strangers to us.
i'm just thankful i had a bunch of 40 YA facilitators in the same boat. so we would moan and groan abt how nervous and scared we were, as the conference loomed closer. all of us are working adults, with hectic work / love / family lives outside of church. and to put in so many hours after work at church, going through training sessions after sessions is no walk in the park. many a time i sported a tired, blank mind as i sat there, dreaming of a proper dinner and my bed.
in hindsight, it's been SUCH a wonderful, tumultuous, awesome journey i can't describe it in words. after seeing so many of the delegates' lives impacted through the workshops and personal ministering, every single minute of sweat, tears and stress was worth it. many of us facilitators share the same feeling that if only one person was impacted, it would have been worthwhile. but many were. and no surprise that the ones most impacted were the facilitators and organisers themselves!
merely because we had almost a year to process all the contents and issues brought abt through the w/shops. the YA delegates only had 3 short days. many were brought to tears at some w/shops where some issues really touched them and made them see with different eyes.
the many testimonies the facilitators shared at every de-briefing session at night spoke so much of how god moves in people's lives. of how god REALLY loves each person, and honours each person's struggles and fights in life. each life is so precious and important. i'll think twice before i ever say i hate my life in moments when i'm being pessimistic and stressed. it cheapens my whole life. i'm ashamed of all the times i've said it so flippantly. just to express my boredom or restlessness at the moment.
i'm so glad for this conference. so honoured to be an integral part of it.i've learnt so much, stuff you can never learn out of books. the learning process wasn't easy at all. we were all stretched to extremes, as work suddenly got busier, nights ended later, proper meals were scarce, and helping out for a certain 'somebody's' wedding turned out to be such a demanding task.
most of all, the comradship between the facilitators now is pretty cool. i'm also quite amazed with some of the adults who were roped in to be YA facilitators as well, cos i know they were a bit terrified of the rambunctious, cynical YA's they might have to encounter as delegates. they consider us a different generation from them, so i don't blame them for being worried. but they are such a cool bunch, who really care abt the YA's and have a heart for us. i am quite inspired by them.
i dread thinking if there will be another conference like this, but then again, i think i would jump at the chance of being a facilitator again.
posted by pinkroses @ 6:09 PM
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