Serving Time for the Lord “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, brought them out,and said, ‘Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.’ ” (Jeremiah 1:4-10)
A record number of attendees, “The Matrix,” small groups and Mo-lympics combined to make this year’s Multi-Cultural Youth Conference at Mo-Ranch Conference Center a success. For the first time, the conference included churches outside the Synod of the Sun, resulting in approximately 180 enthusiastic participants and marking the beginning of an exciting partnership between Mo Ranch, the Joint Ethnic Councils of the Synod of the Sun and the National Office of Multicultural Ministries.
Plenary sessions began with energizers led by Nikki Lee and music led by Kenny Davis. Andy Wong, this year’s keynoter, encouraged the youth to identify the prisons in their own lives and recognize how the truth of God will help them to break free. Clips from “The Matrix” reflected the way that society can control us. Wong charged the participants to go out and help others break free as well.
Youth and adult sponsors broke down barriers together during small group time, expanding on the themes of Wong’s keynotes. They also competed in this year’s Mo-lympics games event by the river. Participants experienced worship in the morning at the Chapel on the Hill and during evening vespers at the tennis courts.
“You see how different cultures and different people and different races interpret God,” said youth participant Dafne Avila. “You have to be open to everything ... that’s what you get to do here and that’s why it’s so important.”
Peggy Rush, next year’s director and a member of a multicultural church, reflected, “coming here at camp affirms who we are ... I think it’s the kind of thing we’re going to have to spread throughout in order for the church to grow.”
Next summer the conference will be held July 9-12, 2009, one weekend later than in past years. Please consider bringing a group from your church to join us next year at the Multi-Cultural Youth Conference!
A Conference Reflection by Peggy Rush
Hemphill Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, Texas “I learned to let go of my fears, like talking to new people and speaking out, and I tried one new thing that scared me every day!” “I learned that the world tries to use us by showing us things and telling us to buy them.” “I thank God for the opportunity to be at Mo and to mix with people like and unlike me!”
Youth who attended the Multi-Cultural Youth Conference at Mo-Ranch. Photos by Andy Anzaldua and Joe Williams.
We came in buses and cars and planes from as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada. Some groups were large, some only one person, but we all came to have fun and left knowing something we had not known before. We left with new friends and new understandings of who we are. We found ourselves not just in those who are like us, but also in those who are different.
We heard God whisper in the stars at vespers as we rested on the warm cement of the tennis courts and gazed at the night’s deep heavens. We discovered ourselves in the preparations for the Multi-Cultural festival Saturday night as we cooked foods our mothers’ mothers have served; and practiced steps to dances our great grandfathers learned from their fathers. We saw each other and ourselves in a new way.
The keynote told us we are all prisoners in a world that seeks to reduce us to a dollar sign, a unit of consumption that fuels a system that tries to convince us we are nothing more than what we have, wear or buy. We learned we build the prisons with our own desires, doubts and insecurities. We learned we are only free when we look at the world and ourselves through God’s eyes, and claim the inheritance that God has waiting for us as blessed children of God. Our freedom will come when we break down the barriers between ourselves and the other by going and telling everyone we know that the Good News of Christ in this world is meant for all God’s children. Christ came and opened the door, but it is our decision that will carry us across the threshold. The final challenge is “Go and tell!” — being free means freeing others.
I learned we are never truly free until we realize how amazing it is to be free and to free others!
