this past weekend i was a part of camping for christ. God placed the plan on the heart of my friend tristen and for the past eight months she's been planning it out. literally since the day i met her, she's talked to me about it.

going into the weekend i didn't have high expectations. since it was literally less than two whole days i didn't anticipate starting or deepening relationships and my lack of faith kept me from expecting God to move in big ways. i love being proved wrong.

literally minutes into camp as my team of a bunch of junior highers sat one by one beside me at our table friendships began. many of the teens i had met once before at various services and at impact outer banks last summer; that definatly was one of God's beautiful tools in breaking the ice very fast. within an hour i found myself surrounded by a crazy group of junior high girls who just made me smile.

one of the biggest highlights of the weekend came when the guys and the girls were separated for a talk. we girls were in the sanctuary listening to jessica mclean give her testimony and a few of her songs. once she finished tristen took the stage and soon she started crying. she told us that God had told her He was going to reveal Himself to her in a big way and she was going to cry but she didn't expect it to be on stage. as she took her turn to tell a bit of her testimony the tears kept flooding and i felt that it was breaking down walls within the girls. soon the girls were invited to come and kneel and to just pray. they were encouraged to pray for each other and to pray for healing for whatever hurt was in their hearts. i get hesitant in moments like this. you could say i'm slightly jaded. i don't like moments where people are emotionally manipulated into something spiritual. so when the girls started kneeling at the stage i was checking my heart because i didn't want to miss what God was doing just because i was afraid the teens were just caught up in temporary emotion.

it wasn't long before tears were flooding my eyes. as i looked back and forth at these precious girls who were kneeling broken at the altar i was overwhelmed with compassion and love. i knelt down beside one of the girls i knew and one i didn't, i laid my hand upon their backs and just prayed. tears fell and fell and fell. i don't usually cry on other people's accounts which is how i could tell these were tears of God.

one of the girls i knew, becca, has been such an inspiration to me. as just a high school freshman the girl is completely on fire for the Lord. her joy and enthusiasm is a constant example to me of someone who loves Jesus with all her heart. as i sat beside her i was compelled to tell her just that. as i prayed for and over her i felt a hand upon my back, it was tristen. i heard her lifting me up and it was like God was speaking to me through her. about His pride in me and how much He loves me. i bawled. i've struggled with having a very hard heart for a while now and God is so gentle at His ways of breaking through.

after she finished i looked at the girl sitting beside me. i discovered it was one of the girls from my team, danielle. having no idea of anything about her or her life i looked at her and felt led to pray over her. i let my mind go blank and let the words flow from my lips, praying that the Lord would speak to her through me. i think He did because when i said amen she latched on to my neck, squeezed hard and sobbed. shortly after that one of my other girls (who is also one of my girls from the pres church), megan, grabbed my hand.

girls started taking the stage sharing hard testimonies and stories from their lives. they all broke my heart. but i also looked at all of those girls and was filled with courage and excitement for their lives. knowing that God has an insane plan for each of them, that's already in motion. they're all so beautiful. when we were dismissed to go rejoin the guys, there wasn't a dry eye in the sanctuary. there were piles of tissues everywhere ;].

okay i'm too distracted to type anymore. more stories to come.