Passion Bound!!!!

We leave tomorrow at the crack of dawn for Nashville. We are going to Passion '06!!! Can't wait.

19 of our students are going with us. Our new intern, Anna Aaron, is also going to meet us there. She will then follow us back to Pittsburgh and begin working with us at CMU next week. We are so excited about having her on our team. When she gets here, I'll share the story of how God sent her to us. It's pretty cool.

We are also going to get to meet one of my online buddies, Joe Kennedy from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Joe is someone I have enjoyed getting to know in the "blogging netherworld", and he keeps us all entertained. But he also throws some profound thoughts in there from time to time that just leave your head spinning. I think he does that just to make sure we're all paying attention. : )

Back to Passion--we will have the opportunity to worship with 18,000 college students at the Gaylord center. The event was sold out by December 28th. We will be led by amazing worship leaders like Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, and Matt Redman. Some of the speakers will be John Piper, Louie Giglio, and Beth Moore.

I remember the first Passion event that I ever attended. It was One Day '03 in Sherman, TX. We were camped out in the middle of the country, and the first night a huge storm came in. It blew down one of our tents, and all of the girls got soaked. Two people were even struck by lightning in one of the campsites (but they ended up being okay.) It was an awesome exhibition of the power of God.

I remember AJ and I trembling in the tent, while giggling hysterically as water dumped on our heads. But one of the most moving things of the whole weekend was the reading of God's Word from the "Word Tower." Even in the midst of the storm, and throughout the night, you could hear scripture being read over the loudspeaker. There were several times through the night that each of us experienced God waking us up and speaking to us through a specific passage of scripture.

But the next day was the most beautiful, sunny, mild day. It spoke so clearly of God's peace. That night at the preparation service, we were sitting out in a grassy field, praying and worshipping. Shane & Shane began to sing "Be Near O God" and instructed us to just prepare our hearts before Him. It was right at dusk, and twinkling stars were coming out in the dark blue sky. A gentle breeze was blowing.

All of a sudden, three white birds came and began to circle the assembled group. They were stark against the night sky. They circled around and around until the time of reflection/meditation/prayer ended. Then they circled one last time and flew away. It was incredible.

The following day was the "One Day" celebration. We fasted, prayed, heard amazing teaching, and worshipped together all day long. It was an incredible experience. The final day, which was Sunday, was the "Sending" ceremony, where students were sent out to fulfill the Great Commission globally.

That was a really special day for me. I was able to witness one of our students, who I was extremely close to, kneel before the huge banner of the world. She poured her water out before it as a symbol of giving her life as an offering. Then we both bawled like babies.

Today she is fulfilling that commitment, serving in an unnamed location in Asia.

I am looking forward to the coming week, and anticipate that God will not only speak to me personally, but to Doug and our students as well. I can't wait to get there.