Rachel
“At first, I wasn’t all that excited to go, but all of that changed on the first night at worship. All of the speakers were amazing, but Judy especially spoke to my heart. On tuesday night when we sat close to the stage on the floor was when God first started working on me. The message was about Jesus being no ordinary healer. As I went forward (with a friend) to kneel all the hurts and pain I;ve been through recently just be lifted! All I had to do was ask and God heard my prayers…
…the offering for the kids in Sudan was super cool. I gave what would have seemed like too much for me to give up before, but now i almost feel as if it wasn’t enough! Before CHIC my faith was off and on with its excitement, but now i know that’s not what i should be looking for… I feel very led into mission still, but now I know that i don’t have to fly all the way to South America to do God’s work! I gave up my actions to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and I’m so excited for the rest of my life because its already made a difference! …
…You better be ready for God to do some wonderful things through me because I sure am!”
—Rachel
Help make more stories like Rachel’s possible by donating to the CHIC Legacy Fund through The Covenant Bookstore.
As the week of CHIC approached, I didn’t really get too excited. I viewed this week as if it was like any other church retreat—a chance to get away from home and chill out with some church friends. It wasn’t until the first night of main stage that I started to realize that this week wasn’t limited to just playing games and having fun with your friends; it was also about a chance to take a step further in our lives with Christ. Each night at main stage was organized a little differently. As music being a big part of my life both in worshiping, but also in my everyday life, I was able to see and experience that there are many different ways to worship God through music. Whether the type of music involves screaming at the top of your lungs, rapping, or simply mellow music, worship can be found through any form. The week of CHIC is an incredible experience that can’t be completely understood by listeners of these stories. CHIC gave me the opportunity to hang out with some close friends, meet some new friends, worship, and many more things.
“On Tuesday night when Judy was speaking about how she didn’t see her dad for 10 years, I was thinking, “Oh man, so maybe I’ll never meet my dad”. And right then and there I broke down. (My friend) was worrying about me but I refused to tell her what was going on—good friend—but then when we were singing, I was still crying and it felt so good. I’ve never experienced a cry that felt good! After I came to realize it was me feeling the Holy Spirit (working) all around me and remembering when I feel like no one cares, Jesus loves me! OOO what a wonderful thought—to know that he is, has, and will always be there for me, just makes me and helps me to think I can do anything. Even though I don’t know if or when I’ll ever meet my dad, it’s not gonna bother me as bad…