Rest, Renewal, and Coming Home

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[0:00] So each of those passages were passages that we talked about during Unite. And then today, we are going, or right now, we are going to read Psalm 23, which is something that we at Unite read every morning together. And we did a hand prayer where with each line we would touch one finger and then the center of our palm. And it was really a way to draw home what the message of the psalm was.

[0:35] Here's Psalm 23. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no more. I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.

[1:23] Can you see the students, or should I move out of the way? Oh, excellent. Good deal. So I'm just going to ask some questions, and we're going to give them some grace because they don't know the questions.

[1:36] But for you guys, it's just questions about your experience at Unite. So there's nothing that you can say that would be wrong. It is not a challenge. It is not a challenge. It is just a wonderful thing to do. It is just a wonderful thing to do. It is just a wonderful thing to do. It is just a wonderful thing to do. you learned during either the morning or evening sessions at the arena?

[2:33] I guess, this is going to sound really basic, but just to start your day with God and to end it like that. Because I think when you wake up in the morning and that's like the first thing that you think about or do with your day and before you go to sleep, that's like the thing that you end your day with. It kind of centers yourself around it, even if everything else during the day is kind of like all over the place. Yes.

[3:03] I guess one of the main messages that kind of all of the sermons were about was obviously about rest, but that you can trust in God to give you true rest. That's the main message that I took away. What I got was kind of similar to Kelly, but it was, so the theme was the rest of your life. And that can be taken two ways, as in the rest that you get or the rest of your life and what you plan to do with it. And that's kind of what I got from it.

[3:41] Oh, you can. I. I mostly from the sessions I got that like true rest is kind of different from what most people I feel like think it is. It's not really being on your phone. That's not really rest. You have to like, you have to like actually rest.

[4:13] I agree with what Lila said. Like waking up. And spending some time with God is really important. And that's kind of what I got from most of this stuff. Excellent. What is something that stood out to you about the afternoon seminars? So I'll refresh your memory because those a week ago feels like a long time ago, right? So there was one seminar on meme your faith. There was another seminar on. There was a seminar on. There was a seminar on leading worship. There was a seminar on beloved community.

[4:54] And there was a seminar on welcoming the stranger. Did I miss any? I don't know. I feel like I missed one. What was it? Yeah. Okay. Wait, what was the question? What? What is something that stood out to you about the afternoon seminars? I think it was the. It can be all of them combined or just one of them. Okay.

[5:22] I think the thing that stood out to me the most. And this goes for like all of them in general. Although it like stood out to me in a few in particular. But I don't remember the exact ones. Is just how like open and honest everybody was when like we had group conversations. And I think it really stood out to me because I've been to like seminar like things and workshops before. Especially with like other youth. And I feel like a lot of the times it can feel really awkward and closed off. Because people are kind of like nervous and not as willing to participate. And in all of the seminars we went to, most people were pretty open and like willing to talk. And they wanted to be there. And I feel like that made a really big difference.

[6:09] I guess for me it's more general about all of the seminars that I went to was that all of the speakers were very energetic. And. Like seemed like they had a message that they really wanted to share. And I think they all did a really good job of getting their messages across. Because of how like interested I always was when they were talking.

[6:28] So I only went to one seminar. But the one seminar that I did go to was very interesting. And that kind of surprised me. Because I thought it was not going to be boring. But kind of like slow. But it was something that I actually learned some stuff. From. And that was something that I enjoyed. Okay. So you only went to one seminar. And I have to ask what was better Super Smash Brothers or Mario Kart? Super Smash Brothers definitely. Okay. Because I actually got to play in that one. Nice.

[7:06] Something that stood out to me at one of the seminars that I went to. It was called Top Three. The speaker. Well the speaker is here too. They. Like they told us that the seminar was supposed to be like them telling you the top three things about being a Christian. But they decided to just flip it. And make us talk. So that they could learn what the hardest things were about being a Christian as a teenager in 2024. And I feel like they were really like willing to listen. And kind of organized our ideas.

[7:43] And we didn't really have a top three. We had like a top five. But it was really interesting. Because we got to kind of talk. And like talk with people you've never really talked before. But everybody was actually listening. And things which I'm not used to.

[8:03] I really liked the welcoming strangers seminar. And it was fun because I would have never talked to any of the people that I met there. Not because I'm like. I'm not. Yeah. But it was fun to meet new people and share experiences. So.

[8:27] What was your favorite part of the whole week? And you can say your least favorite part too. That's kind of a downer. But we want to hear it for the future. So we can make it better. I liked most of it. Favorite. My favorite. I think it was the morning and the evening worship services. I just felt like all the speakers they had were very good. And as someone who sometimes struggles to sit through long speeches and stuff. I was kind of surprised. Because I didn't feel that kind of urge to get up. Or I wasn't really bored. And also just the environment in general was very fulfilling there. So I think that's my favorite.

[9:15] And I don't really have a least favorite. Yes. I would say my favorite part was two things. One was the seminars. Because they were all really interesting. And then also just getting to spend time with the youth group outside of just here. Like youth group on Fridays.

[9:34] And my least favorite part was how loud the worship team was. And how bright. My favorite part was also the worship team. And also playing games and spending time with all my friends. And my least favorite part was probably how bright it was every day. It was super bright.

[9:55] The worship? Or the sun? Not just the worship. But like every, the sun. The sun. It was really bright. I just want to interject that it was loud. But it was so much quieter than the last time we went to Unite. So you guys. You guys who went for the night. You guys who went for the first time were lucky.

[10:16] I think it was like the same. Oh, okay. I don't really know my favorite part. I kind of, like I liked it. It was really fun. I guess. I just don't really know. I really liked it. Oh, yeah. That was one of my favorites. But my least favorite part was probably either the fact that they canceled the color wars. Just kind of for no reason. I feel like. I don't know why they did that. And the food wasn't that good.

[10:49] The food wasn't that bad. I really liked all of the other people. I mean, spending time with the youth group was fun. But all of the people from last time that I got to see again. And spending time with other people aside from the youth group.

[11:12] Yeah, that was some. The whole week was fun. My least favorite part was probably having to be a roommate with Adam. Aww. He's just kidding. That was his favorite, Adam. I didn't do anything. What about the week surprised you?

[11:38] I don't know. I don't know. I guess what I took away from it. Because I feel like going into those kind of things, you never really know how you're going to feel when you come out of them. And sometimes I get kind of skeptical about that. But I definitely took away a lot. And I think the message, at least so far, has stuck. So that kind of surprised me in a good way.

[12:05] I'm having trouble thinking of something that surprised me. Because I don't want to say how good the seminars were again. But that did kind of surprise me. I guess just how many people were there that were willing to interact with you and talk to you.

[12:23] Yeah. Something that surprised me was how loud it was when we were worshiping. Nathan had warned me about it before. But I didn't really expect it to be that loud. But it was very loud. Something that surprised me was probably that the seminars were actually kind of enjoyable. And usually I don't just like to sit through somebody's speech. But it was really fun. And it was kind of unlike what I've experienced more recently with somebody sitting there and talking. Because they didn't have to go every five seconds like, guys, settle down. Listen. So everybody in my school was like really loud and really interruptive. So it was nice to just kind of listen.

[13:15] Surprised by how much we had to walk. I mean, last time at Biola it was like barely a two-minute walk to go eat breakfast. And then here it was like ten minutes to go get breakfast. So kind of a bummer. And I'd like to say that Nathan still went out on a run. So well done.

[13:36] Once. Well, once is better than I think the rest of us. So what is something that challenged you about this week? I don't really know. I guess like pushing myself out of comfort zone. Like in group discussions and stuff. And like the seminars. There was one where I had to like challenge myself to like, you know, speak in front of other people. And that kind of thing. And just in like youth group discussions and stuff too.

[14:26] I guess one thing that was challenging that week was like how much thinking about myself that I had to do. Like during all of the sermons and things. And thinking about how I live my life and like the patterns that I'm in day to day. And how I should change them to better match up with like their message about what God wants for us.

[14:54] I completely forgot the question. But. Do you want a repeat? Yeah. What is something that challenged you about this week? Okay. Something that challenged me was like widening my horizons. Like widening my area of faith. So.

[15:13] Something that challenged me was getting up before 10 o'clock every day for a week. That was a lot. And also. I feel like just kind of getting out of my comfort zone a little. Talking to new people. I think what challenged me a little bit was what Kelly said. Like during the sermons in the morning and the evening. There was a lot of like think about yourself. Think about what you're doing. Think about what you're going to do. And like the one of the seminars was the college prep seminar. And I went to that one. And that was a lot of like okay what are you going to do. What do you want to do. So. Yeah.

[16:06] Can someone describe what the refugee experience was? Like yeah. The refugee experience was kind of like a simulation that we did. We all got like kind of an identity of who we were. And we went to a certain place. And then they started sounding like this alarm. And we all had to like go walk just in a big group somewhere.

[16:34] And like we were all separated from our families. And yeah. Adam never found us. Neither did Ethan. And it was like we went. Our group had to walk like a lot and the other group didn't. Which was annoying. But we had to wait out in the heat because they didn't like let us into the thing.

[17:00] Because there were already people in there. And. Then like when we finally got in there and we watched the video. And then we like left. But the video was really interesting. It was about like refugees in.

[17:18] Where was it? One was Sudan and one was Syria. Yeah. Sudan. And it was really interesting. What was your own personal experience with the refugees? What was your own personal experience with the refugee activity?

[17:37] I think like the reflection afterwards was more impactful than like the actual like simulation itself. Because I think we had a really long discussion afterwards with like a lot of questions about it. That got me to think like more deeply about it than I had during the day. But I think like the reflection afterwards was more impactful than I had during the initial simulation. And I think there's a lot of like finer details and stuff to like the refugee story that I hadn't really thought about before. And that kind of left an impact.

[18:15] What was the question again? What was your own personal experience with the refugee activity? I guess like what I did was when they had us start walking after the alarm sounded. I just kind of started walking and I didn't realize that I was probably supposed to be finding my family. But I was like the... Adam, stop laughing. I was... Some of us didn't try very hard to find their families. No, I was supposed to. But I learned a lot from the videos. And I feel like I learned more from like watching the videos and hearing people's experiences than I have in other places, I guess. And I also learned a lot about what goes on in refugee camps and how difficult it is, especially for going to school. I was one of the people who had to experience school and it was very stressful. And yeah.

[19:13] My experience was very interesting. So I was at the very front of the line. So it wasn't as crowded. And I got there first to like the building. But... Because everyone else was looking for their family. Maybe. Maybe. But I got to there first and I was able to sit down and finish my homework that I had got from school.

[19:38] And then I... Like the main part was learning about what everyone has to go through in order to even get to the refugee camp. And what they go through on a daily basis. And how long it takes for them to get there.

[19:58] My personal experience with the refugee thing was like the experience itself, I feel like it wasn't super impactful. Like it just didn't really make that much sense. We weren't giving like we weren't given that much instruction. So I feel like it could have been better. But I kind of learned a lot more than I've ever learned. Because like I feel like I've learned about refugees in school a billion times. But I've never actually like known what refugees like even do.

[20:37] And they have to go to camps and try and go to other countries. But it's really hard. It was very informative. I mean. I had known about like some basic level stuff about refugees. But after walking and like experiencing a little part of what they go through. It was very eye opening. And we got to watch a video about a few former refugees who explained their experiences and what happened. And the number of refugees that are still being displaced. Every year is pretty surprising. All right. I think we're going to skip a couple questions.

[21:27] And go to the last one. What is one adjective you would use to describe your time at Unite? Thoughtful. I guess like educational or informational. Educational. Exciting. Fun. Still mine. Fun. Excellent. Again, they didn't prepare for this. So we should give them a round of applause just for being good sports.

[22:04] You can take a seat back. You can take a seat back in the fuse. Yeah. That's all that we had for today. We're going to. We're going to go ahead and pray over our students. And then we'll go to offering. God, we thank you for each and every one of the students from our church, from Grace, from other churches, from even around the country who went to Unite West or Unite East. God, we pray for the things that they learned, the experiences that they had.

[22:48] God, we pray that you would instill these lessons into the rest of their lives. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.