Life 2013 - St. Louis

Greetings from St. Louis! 

It’s Friday afternoon already, and it’s hard to believe the conference ends tomorrow night. The days have been long, but time has moved very quickly. All is well with our team of 74 students and 23 leaders. The students have responded tremendously and are busy seeking what God has in store for them this week.

The overnight bus ride was smooth, and we enjoyed an excellent breakfast meal at Cracker Barrel in Indiana, however sleeping on the bus was a bit more challenging than anticipated. It generally seemed easier for the students to sleep on the bus than the leaders, but overall some had an easier time than others.

It was very hot and humid in St. Louis when we arrived, but the weather has gotten better as the week progressed. It's sunny and beautiful today in the mid 80's.  The walk back and forth to the convention center takes about 10 min and is very easy. 

It's amazing to witness so many students (approx 6,000) all converge into one city for the purpose of seeking Christ. The Scripture says that God has reserved for Himself a remnant, and many of them are here this week in the form of our young people and the faithful leaders that brought them here.

New CMA President John Stumbo took the time to visit with us and spoke to all the students on Tuesday evening. The Life conference changed his life many years ago while he was a young teen struggling with his faith. He experienced God that week and never looked back.

The students were also treated to a LeCrae concert Tuesday evening, and many were impacted by his life story and testimony on Wednesday during his seminar.

Also on Wednesday, we had the privilege of participating in an afternoon service project to bless the residents of St. Louis as we teamed up with hundreds of other students to clean brush and reset grave stones in an old abandoned cemetery. 

Please continue to pray because this trip has the potential to be life changing for students and we’re beginning to see some evidence of that.  Students are being challenged by the way they live out their lives as the Church of Christ, and have been busy attending a variety of different seminars that will position them to live differently when they return home.  It’s also a blessing to see the love they have for one another as they build and strengthen relationships with their peers and leaders.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be participating in a 5k race to help support local education here in St. Louis. We have dozens of students and leaders participating. The conference will wrap up tomorrow night and we’ll head off to Louisville Sunday morning.

Please pray for Jared Ziegler who broke his finger during the service project. He is doing well and the pain has been manageable, but please pray for quick and complete healing.

That's all for now - we’ll try to post more in a few days.

Adios!