Beyond our own Imagination

I was killing time on my computer tonight since I wasn’t able to connect to he Internet in my time of boredom. I was going through pictures that were saved and came across my volunteer vacation to Florida this summer and what stories came about from the occasion.
This summer I had an awesome experience in Orlando, Florida at the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering. I know I’m not a youth anymore, but I never had the opportunity to go as a high schooler. I went as a college track young adult volunteer corp. I gained a step in my path and finding a stronger faith in the Lord and I met a lot of friends that I will always remember because of our common bond with Christ Jesus. I could have never imagined what a truly great experience that flying to Florida and spending a week of my summer volunteering would mean to me. The group I was with was a youth group and college students for the Midwest that all attend the same church. I had never been on a plane so that in it’s self was a nice reality for the dreams I had of flying…I had never been to Florida either. The group I was with was a very musical group…we didn’t always sound great, but we would randomly think of songs to sing (mostly praise and worship songs) that would keep us entertained when we weren’t playing Frisbee on our breaks. The first night in Florida we went to Johnny Rockets for dinner (old school, 1950’s diner) we were the only people singing to the songs on the jukebox and because our waitress danced for us, a few of my friends decided to join into the festivities…..oh the looks we were given (at least we got hats out of the deal). After that we had taken a walk to Pirates Cove were we played miniature golf…and kept singing random songs even a few Disney (cause we were in Orlando) and Christmas carols (there were English people behind us that were on a holiday…still not sure why carols would be sung) We were the trendsetters, not only could you hear us across the greens, but small groups after us would sing a song following our lead. We were singing walking back to our hotel rooms as well; we decided to try a difficult task, a round (while walking). We all had are parts but we just couldn’t get the timing right, all of a sudden we heard voices behind us. There were three police officers following us on their bikes. Coming from the Midwest you don’t really see things like that very often and definitely not after midnight. The officers said they would count us off so we could all sing the song, after that we told them why we were here and that their were more of us to come (only 36, 000 or so). We weren’t done singing yet. The event was all about lifting up our hearts, prayers, and voices to the Lord. The best experience in Florida didn’t happen at the gathering, but after while the group I was with went to Island Adventure at Universal Studios. Our first ride we wanted to be the Hulk….the lines were huge we figured that 85mins in line might not be so bad….we just made it inside when the blue sunny skies turn gray and opened up on us (it started to downpour like no other). As we stood in line we met people from all over the country that had attended the event…how could we tell??…the shirts, the bracelets, the glow around them, not to mention the bright orange backpacks we saw them put away. We weren’t just going to stand there so we started singing songs that were stuck in our heads from using them all week long at the event. We slowly started moving up in the line though the rain hadn’t let up. People started requesting songs, families were singing along, high schoolers were clapping their hands. It was awesome. Were there some people that we drove nuts, were there people who thought we were crazy??…you bet. Some even cursed us and left the line to deal with the rain someplace else. “ Each of us makes a difference. It is from numberless acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.” ~Robert F. Kennedy. This is my history a whole 2 ½ hours that we waited in line, but it was wroth it. The ride itself was the best roller coaster I have ever been on, but the experience of worshiping with so many unknown people and having the chance to witness to others in such a way was far beyond my imagination. I love how God is so grand, so wonderful; so amazing that just one voice can shake the mountains. We as humans can’t even imagine what God has in store for us in our lives…do we still get a choice of what we do…yes, but God is with us always even if we deny Him, ignore Him, or place him in a box to unwrap once a year. The final experience before leaving the state was when I walked out of the hotel room and in the sky written in the clouds was the message Jesus Loves You…the whole way to the air port the plane circling in the clouds kept writing messages of God’s love in the sky….it was like the frosting of a cake that was already too good to eat.
Wow, what memories we can recreate from just a few pictures. Pictures are apart of our past that help us keep our memories (especially when we get old), memories of how people were changed and effected by and event or ones they know. There is nothing that will warm you up more when there is over a foot of snow outside than thinking of summer vacations! It is beyond our imagination what God has in store for us, keep dreaming of great things for yourself and those around you for nothing is out of reach for God.
God Bless,
Kristy

sorry about they typos...it is early in the morning