EPIC Conference 2010 :)

im always really excited before retreats or just big trips in general and this conference was no exception.  the car ride was.. interesting.  i have a tendency to share a bit too much with people at times and i feel like some boundaries were crossed in terms of brother/sister relationships. in the end, im okay with it. i think i learn best by making mistakes. i really hope we discuss this kind of relationship during an epic meeting soon.  these relationships are so vital to our walk that they should not be taken for granted.  being a friend to the opposite sex is something that is so often misunderstood in our generation, but thats another blog entirely.  anywayyy, back to conference!  The conference's theme was being a hero for God.  here are a few notes i took down throughout the weekend:
-i cant feel safe when i rely on myself. im always letting myself down. when i trust God and his plans for me, i will find safety. he wont let me down
-romans 8:28
-hold back nothing. be brave. serve the Lord in every moment. every thought. every action.
-feeling so good. excited. most God-filled, amazing day of my life (saturday) spent the whole day devoted to God. reading, worshipping, praying, connecting with others in Christ-centered conversations.
-little annoyed by some people talking about selfish, superficial things. "those who love God must also love one another." 1 John 4:21 God says i have to love them
-scared to share. told God he has to take this leap with me. let his spirit surround us all. let it be a demonstration of the spirits power, so that their faith does not rest on human wisdom, but on Gods power 1 Corinthians 2:4
-i dont ever want to lose faith like my parents did. dads suicide attempts opened the door to forgiveness. he does all things for my good.. even the worst things
-psalm 16:7-8
womens time was one of my favorite events.  our speaker, prisca woo, was like the grandma ive always wanted. so wise and soothing. she had us break into small groups to talk about and pray for our mother/daughter relationships.  i, once again, felt super open to share about my life. it was nice to feel the love and support from not only my epic girls, but a few strangers as well. 
the most challenging thing on the schedule was outreach. it definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone.  i used to say that i would never be the kind of christian who would do that kind of thing. i still think your actions are your greatest influence on others, but i see things differently now.  God created us to have relationships with each other.  we were created to love. on some level, we all desire for someone to reach beyond their own circle of self-interest and care for us.  sharing my faith isnt about forcing someone to agree with me that God is Lord of all and Jesus is the way to heaven.. its about caring about someone elses life, stranger or friend, and giving them an opportunity to be saved. on the ride up i noticed my driver had a bunch of kgp (knowing God personally) booklets in his car and i commented that they arent doing any good sitting in the car! haha.. i had no idea i would be putting those to use this weekend!  i saw a lot of crazy things that day.. one guy smoked a bowl of marijuana right as we walked by. the conversation didnt get too focused for obvious reasons, but i hope that he remembers we cared.  another guy started swimming on the ground in front of us. one woman actually tried to shove money down my jacket. it was awkward, but very generous. i donated the $20 she gave me to the Haiti relief drive later that night :) btw, $4,700 was raised out of a group of 400 people!  my favorite encounter was with a young couple on the pier.  after meeting the pothead, my partner and i were hoping for something a little better when we saw a distant figure at the end of the pier. when we made it to the end of the pier the sky was a dark grey color.  clouds were so dense you couldnt separate one from another.  the strong wind made my body lean and my hair covered my face.  they were both from catholic high schools in san jose and clearly in loooove, the girl sitting on her boyfriends lap. my partner and i asked a couple questions and they opened right up about their spiritual beliefs.  the young girl, miley, believes that Jesus died and rose again for our sins, but admitted that she didnt put much thought into a relationship with him on a daily basis.  she said she prayed only once in a while outside of school. her boyfriend said he wasnt sure about any religion, but believes theres probably some kind of God "up there".  by their reactions to each others comments, it sounded as if they had never really discussed this before so it im glad we had the opportunity to open up that dialogue in their relationship.  towards the end, i shared some personal stories about the way God has shown his love for us and my partner shared his testimony with them.  as we opened up more and more, i noticed a rainbow forming above their heads and i knew that God was giving me a sign that this was going well.  i gave them both a kgp booklet before they left and as we watched them walk down the pier we prayed aloud for them.  a man on the pier with us gave me a funny look, but in that moment i didnt care if he thought we were crazy. i was hoping that he was wondering why these young people are standing out in the freezing cold praying for the hearts of two random strangers.  i was hoping that he saw something that would make him reflect on his own faith while he lay in bed trying to fall asleep that night. just as we finished praying, blue sky broke through the clouds above us. i could feel God with us on that pier. it was exhilarating. "The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." isaiah 9:2
worship was pretttyyy awesome too. i looooved the extra long worship session on sunday. everyone was so energized and eager to praise the Lord.  me and a few other ucsb pic girls were up by the stage singing and dancing our hearts out. by the time the dance party started, i was exhausted.  still managed to find energy somewhere though. after thhhaaaat was the talent show.  i decided id rather take a shower and miss the talent :) still had energy to hang out and talk after the shower though. my favorite part about conference was my alone time with the Lord, but i reallyyyy enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know my own epic group better too.

okay im done. love you all :)

oh yea.. and the Lord answered my prayer for relief from the flu on friday. just in time for nickys polynesian dance performance!  btw, im so proud of you, nicky! you were great! you made it look so fun that me and eunice wanna join soon!