Aitch Notes: Being Still... (kind of!!!)

All of yesterday and this morning I've had 'Things I'll Never Say' by Avril Lavigne in my head;

If I could say what I wanted to say,

I'd say I want to blow you away,

Be with you every night

Am I squeezing you too tight?

If I could say what I wanted to see,

I'd wanna see you go down on one knee,

Marry me today,

Guess I'm wishing my life away,

With these things I'll never say.

I'm kind of wishing my life away at the moment- so many wonderful experiences are going on and it's helping me to grow and learn but I am finding it hard to stay patient when it seems that all my dreams and wishes are within my grasp.

Recently I was a counsellor at London South EFY. I can't even begin to express how awesome that experience was. It wasn't all sunshine and roses but I met so many amazing people and to feel the spirit of that many youth at Nottingham campus and to be able to be there as they shared their testimonies was just a breathtaking time. Our company- None Greater- just made life so enjoyable. They were so much fun. I miss my girls but am grateful for the internet and technology that means I can keep an eye on how they are doing. It felt like a crash course in parenting! As I had the 16-18 year olds, some of them were merely 3 years younger than me (about the same age as my younger sister) but one of the boys in our company started them all off on calling me 'Mommy' which made me laugh a lot.

I'm not sure how to adequately express my feelings about EFY. One of the teachers of the classes on Wednesday (Brother O'Farrell) explained it in the best way I have ever heard. He cited Moses 7:18-

18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

then he explained that at EFY these conditions for Zion are established- they have come together for the same purpose. They all learn lessons from the same teachers and they learn the same doctrine. They follow the rules set out for EFY. Finally, they are all provided for at EFY- accommodation, food, medical care if they need it- and thus they are all alike, with no poor.

I'm grateful to have been part of something of this nature. The spirit was so strong and the youth went away from it with a firm resolve to be more than they were when they arrived at EFY on Monday.

A picture says a thousand words, so here are a few of my favourites: