The topic of the retreat was the Holy Spirit. We went last year as participants and this year we had the privilege to help lead the retreat. Tyler gave a talk and played his djembe for the praise and worship band and I was on the prayer team and had the opportunity to pray with students during the weekend, specifically for two prayer sessions on Saturday.
Before the retreat started on Friday evening I was exhausted from a busy week of preparation and I didn't really want to go. I felt selfish because basically I wanted to be served instead of serve. However by God's grace I was able to offer that to Him and ask for his grace to serve others.
One thing I learned this weekend was that in contrast to my expectation of it being exhausting to pray with people for several hours on Saturday, I found that the time of prayer really gave energy. I was expecting to be physically and emotionally exhausted but what I learned goes to show that the Holy Spirit is what gives us life and energy, not anything we can do.
On Saturday morning I was ready for it to be the end of the retreat, but during the prayer session on Saturday night, even though it was around 11pm and we had been praying with students for over two hours, I could have kept going! It was such a gift to be a vessel of love to others. To let Jesus work in me to tell others that He loves them and wants to be in a relationship with them. It was humbling to see students open up and ask for specific prayer intentions, and then to see the Holy Spirit work in their hearts and to see them open up to the love of God.
What is something you learned this week that was possibly different from what you expected? I can't wait to read a lesson from my dad of what he learned this past week. It's beautiful to share these experiences with others!
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