It was a little hard for the students to get vulnerable with such a large group, but God was relentless about pursuing each student... all the way to the very last night! We had a large group sharing about what God had done. Slowly, students began to share deeper and deeper things that God had been doing in their life that week.
One woman shared about a broken and unhealthy relationship that she had been in with her ex-boyfriend, and tearfully asked the room to help her stay out of it and follow God into freedom.
One guy in our group was so emotional during the sharing, that he started to cry before it was even his turn to share anything. He walked out of the room, and then when he came back in, he shared about his struggle to want people to like him and admire him, and his hatred for seeming weak in front of people. God had been opening him up to trusting in Him for his strength and value.
Another young woman talked about how her life as a Christian had turned into just following the rules, much like the Pharisees in the gospel of Mark. She explained how it had been easier to rely on being a "good" Christian than actually engage in a relationship with Jesus. But that week, she had come to the realization that that kind of religion wasn't working for her, and she was turning away from being a Pharisee, repenting, and turning towards an intimate relationship with Jesus.
The sharing went on and on! Afterwards, I prayed with students for healing and the continued work of the Holy Spirit until late in the night! I crawled into bed after 1am, exhausted but exhilarated at how the Word of God, particularly the life of Jesus can radically transform students' lives... in just one week!
Thank you for your prayers! I go back to Catalina next week to be with the community colleges as they go through Mark as well. Pray for even more healing and breakthrough with these students!
