Senior retreat in Yosemite

Submitted by Sheri (after my own senior discipleship retreat back in 2007)…

Arriving after a few weeks of winter break, this past senior retreat was an uplifting and refreshing time for me and many of my peers. Yosemite –a long time favorite of our church (Gracepoint Fellowship Berkeley)- was our destination. We did a lot fun things, such as sledding, snowball fights, and indoor games. We even had a friendly Sisters vs. Brothers game of Family Feud. I must say, though the answers in the survey were clearly biased towards the masculine train of thought, the girls emerged victorious.

I was personally so blessed by this retreat in so many ways. I really felt the need to develop my character as salt and light and concretize my identity as a faithful Christian woman. Being a naturally fearful person, Pastor Ed and Kelly Kang’s exhortation to not give in to our fears was challenging, especially in light of the many fears and insecurities that I will have to confront as graduation approaches. Pastor Ed had us make a timeline of our lives, noting the major markers in which we can clearly see God’s hand at work. This exercise was encouraging for me because I was reminded again that God indeed is in control and I was urged to entrust my future, my life to Him in daily surrender to join with Him and others in doing His kingdom work, with faith that He will continue to lead and guide me. Seeing Pastor Ed and Kelly co-laboring for the gospel and recognizing the growth in relationships of my own peers heightened my awareness of being a part of a community –a family. And as we took our last group picture against an ethereal orange sunset, I was filled with thanksgiving that God would allow me to experience a bit of heaven in this wonderful body of Christ.