Permeate Conference 2013

Permeate Conference 2013

February 28 - March 3

These are pictures from an amazing conference I got to be apart of this past month. The Youth Group I work with here in Asia puts on a huge conference for international students once a year called Permeate. This year we had about 200 kids from 6-12 grade from 17 different countries. 

Phil and I were counselors and small group leaders. We got to work with some wonderful God-fearing people. I am so thankful to have been apart of something so moving and big.

The kids come from all different cities from across the country we live in. Some travel by plane others take 12 hour bus rides across mountain terrain to get there. They are all dropped off by the bus loads to a hotel on the edge of the city for 4 days of fun, love, and worship. Not all the children are believers but I can tell you that by the end of the week they believed that there was something to this and that something was out there wanting them. 

The pictures are all mixed up so there is no rhyme or reason to the order 

but I hope to share some of the story with ya'll.

Never Give Up

Our Message:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart
Hebrew 12:1-3

The whole crew!
(Phil and I are in the back on the left side) 

Kids getting their name tags and signing in. 

This here is Mike, our speaker from Canada taking a snooze. 

Kids playing at the ping pong tables

Leader's Room!
It was a nice place to get away read, eat, and hang out.  

Miriam and I 

worship

Me signing people in. Can anyone guess whose holding a football behind me?

The worship band

Alan, Zach, and Brandon - what characters?!

Phil

Me praying at the art station. The art station was at the back of the worship room. Kid's could come back there and express their worship through painting if they wanted too. 

One night we all got Mc Donalds for dinner on the beach. Blah I did not.
I am not a Mc Donalds fan! However, the kids loved it!

Durning girl/guy time, the girls had stations they could choose to participate in while the boys played outside. I was in charge of the board game station so what you see here is me playing Catch Phrase with a group. The other stations were make up, hair, jewelry, and create your own body scrub station.

Carmina and I were in charge of the Canoe race. 

All of us in the worship room doing I don't know what! What a crazy group we were! 

Laura help setting up the room keys before everyone got there

Phil wearing the backpack talking to the guys during guy time. 

One of the stations in the prayer maze. In the back of the worship center behind the art station we created a prayer maze. There were different tables with things to do and pray over. This one was a cross that you wrote who you knew that needed prayer and healing. The kids wrote names on Band-Aids  and stuck it up there. 

Phil and Neal putting up the signs 

Oh Meredith! She was in the water balloon shot-put throw game with me.  Afterwards, Neal, Richard, Meredith, and I ran around throwing water balloons with the left overs. Lets just say we left a wet trail and wet friends behind us in our wake. 

The t-shirts the kids got at sign in. 

Here's when one bus unloaded. I'm sitting at the sign in table and Phil is our key runner when we call out the room number we need.

Here is another center at the prayer maze. The colored tacks were where the people's home country is. The white tacks were other countries not their own that theyd like to pray for. 

Look at all those colored tacks of where everyone was originally from. 

There was a pool with a slide! Which is actually a huge luxury for these kids. Some may get to go swimming maybe once or twice a year. 

Where's Waldo? jk If you look closely you can see Phil and I. 

Neal introducing our speaker and his friend from Cananda, Mike. The guy was an amazing speaker and an honor to have at our conference. He really was great with the kids making them laugh the whole time but also really pouring out his heart to them and telling about Jesus. Thanks Mike!

Phil's outside game. He had the kid's put shaving cream all over their face and then get hit with a water gun! 

This is our drama team

The mustache picture! 

The Crazy Photo! 

Mike our speaker had us laughing most of the day!

I was so excited to see some of my Eden girls there. This is Autumn whose learning to be a make up artist. The helped work one of the girl stations. Sarah is the little girl sitting in the chair. She is apart of my small group at the Youth Group. I'm going to miss both girls! 

Rose or (Li Si Yi) is one of my closest Eden friends here. She came to help out and do hair.
I will miss her terribly! She and I have so much fun together. 

Miriam and Liz

Amber & Nate

We had an amazing woman come and speak for girls time. It was so moving that all of us girls were crying. 

Michelle & Kim

Once more.. the drama team

We all had a lot of fun playing trick and games on people. These blind folded think they were going through a maze of cups with water in them. Little did they know that while they were being blind folded the cups were removed. We all had to give directions and act like they were about to knock over the cups. Only after they were done did they realize they were walking funny for no reason. The kids loved it. 

Push up contest against two leader who lost/ misplaced their name tags. 

Some areas were nice others were gross... not your typical american 5 star hotel but we were thankful for it all the same. 

Phil, Nate, and Neal getting things set up. 

Here I am.

Laura, Carmina, and Denise all eating pop-rock suckers. yumm.

Our Lunch/Dinner most nights. 

Worship

My room. I shared a suite with two of my small group girls. We ended up having a blast. I felt like I was a little kid again. haha.

Miriam and I 

The beloved leader's room! We were so blessed by so many yummy snacks parents and friends made for us. 

Mikalya 

It was so awesome so see these kids truly worship and pour out to God. I saw so many that have actually taken God and Jesus as their own not just because their friends have or parents want them too. I was beautiful. 

There's my babes walking with his Mc Donalds. :)

The Art Station. 

Our friend and sound guy, Rodger. He helped make the sound stuff  and worship night happen! 

The World is a Small One! I meet this women at one of the workshops. She lived in Conyers, Georgia where I grew up. She knew my mom's parents, even knew of my grandmother who past away when I was little. She went to the church the same time I went to preschool there. She also knew the family I went to Kenya with a few years ago.
Her son and granddaughter live here in my city and she came to visit them.
We couldn't believe we had so much in common. 

These beautiful girls were in my Conference small group. I was so thankful that 7 of the 10 girls are in my regular Youth Group small group. It was such a pleasure and honor to be their leader. We had so much fun and made memories to last us a life time.

I hope ya'll enjoyed all the pictures and comments. I really wish I could express and share more of that weekend. However, at least the photo will be here to remind me of my times there with these kids. 

God is so good. Thank you for letting me share this with you. 

:)

*Half of the pictures were taken by my friend Liz.