Day 5

Wow.

So here I am, exhausted, ready to be home, and dreading the drive to get there. However, something is lingering in my thoughts, stirring a passionate excitement for the work the Lord has done in our time here on the island.

My approach to church group time (at the end of the day) is simply to give the students a platform to express what the Lord is doing in their lives, be it victories, celebrations, or a time to request encouragement. We've seen God do some stunning things the past few evenings and He seemingly gave us such an amazing blessing in our last time together this evening.

As we were finishing up concluding our time in prayer and about to head in to pack, one of our students spoke up with something that was pressing on their hearts. After having their first authentic encounter with the Lord last night that led to their surrender, they requested to be baptized. It didn't take long to realize that they weren't hinting at getting it done Sunday morning during the service. With our pants already rolled up due to the sand, we headed down to the water. Standing in the dark water as the tide continued to rise, illuminated by tonight's full moon, we saw our first student baptized in my time here with the Ridge.

The night's events weren't done just yet...another student was prompted to take the step of baptism after being a believer for some time. Even with the random circumstances, and the painful pinch on the toe from a large crab, we were able to give them the chance to give their public profession of faith. On the way back through the sand we were stopped by a random bystander and asked what was going on. After telling him the situation, he told us how great our God is and how awesome he thought tonight's events were.

Thanks for making it possible for all of our students to be a part of what God did during this week. The stories and moments scribed are most definitely not the only ones from the week. God left his mark on our group, leaving us transformed and challenged. Watch out for us as we return...we're on a mission.

We're planning on hitting the road around 6 AM, hopefully putting us at the church right around 5 pm. Please have your phones on you throughout the day. We will also try to update the web along the way to let you guys know where we're at.

Day 4

What a day, what a day. It has most definitely been an exciting one for sure, filled from start to finish with amazing things.

Early this morning in our Celebration time, we were announced Youth Group of the Day. We were later interviewed on our experience thusfar, and that can be found at the influencestudentlife website. We were all quite excited about the honor and opportunity...and we all know we really deserved it, because, well, we are that awesome.

We spent a lot of time off the beach today, whether walking through one of the fairly identical cheesy beach shops, or in the pool. Most of us decided to give our sunburned backs break from the sun.

Finally, our time tonight was one to remember. Through the worship time and our church group time after, we saw the Lord work in so many ways. Some experienced freedom from the stuff in our life that holds us back from really loving God how we are called. Others of us experienced the sheer power of prayer for one another, as we offered a time to be transparent of where God was bringing us this week. The time out by the waves tonight was one that, I really feel, will be one of the defining moments for our group this point forward.

The last day of events is upon us, but we know He isn't working. Continue to be praying for today- big things are on the way.

Day 3

Sorry for the lack of anything yesterday...it was quite the crazy day filled with moving into our hotel, getting situated, and apparently rushing to get sunburned as soon as we could.

I really wish I could express how amazing it has been to see God work thus far. For the past two evenings we have been blessed with an incredible worship experience. We've been learning about the vastness and greatness of our God, His glory, and ultimately how we should respond to it. You can actually listen to the past two nights of worship online @ www.influencestudentlife.com. You can also listen live to our nightly events @ 7pm.

Another thing that has helped encourage the students are the emails that have been sent to them through the above link. Please feel free to send the students notes throughout the week.

Though the camera hasn't exactly been used to its greatest ability, here's some proof that your kids are still alive..we're working on video- apparently the camcorder doesn't like the humidity as much as the palm trees. be blessed...

DAY 1

Sunday 6/24
We made it to the Island safe and sound! We'll be giving updates throughout the week with pictures, recaps, and *hopefully* videos- so keep an eye out!
-Ian

Though we don't have any pics or videos of us to upload today...here's a little bit of cyber gold that Mr. David White dug up...
enjoy!