Taken from a blog post by Liz Abfall, Impact Staff.
“We first met to discuss plans for Blast 2013 in the middle of the fall. The weather was still warm and Blast seemed centuries away…As we prayed and listened, God united our hearts behind a vision that only he could create…A camp that caused students, leaders, and staff alike to stand humbled in the presence of a God that is bigger than they can imagine and closer than they could think. And so the planning began…
Months and months of list making, meetings, practicing, creative thinking, writing, editing, rewriting, phone calls and negotiating went by and yet the Lord continued to speak to us.
One week before camp, our levels of anticipation were high as we saw students reaching out and inviting their friends, leaders paying for students to go, parents stepping up and volunteering…
The week of Blast, almost the entire staff got sick…[But we trusted] God would work in our weaknesses, even if the worship leader had no voice. God assured us that nothing, sickness or weakness, could thwart the work he was planning to do in the hearts of 1350 students and leaders.
In the blink of an eye, camp came. The Lord answered the prayers we prayed, and those we didn’t know we needed to pray. He sustained, he provided, he did abundantly more than we could think to ask for.”
Amidst sickness, winter storms, and sleepless nights, God moved in a powerful way. One house group leader said, “I’ve been to 15 Impact camps, and I have to say there was something special about this year.” God worked in the hearts of more than forty students to make a first time commitment to Him. Many more rededicated their lives to Christ, and hundreds were challenged to live a life sold out as a follower of Christ, rather than merely a fan of His. Since then the Impact team has been flooded with stories passed on from leaders and staff members telling of the work God did and continues to do in the students who attended.
To read Liz’s full post, check out her blog.