I just got back from a retreat with my school at Palavra da Vida! It went really really well. Going into it, I wasn't quite sure I wanted to be going, I was a little apprehensiven to say the least. But, I think it ended up being a great time. We did alot of different things, from extreme sports, confidence courses, team building activites, and we heard from a group of young college students that came to share with us. The college team was great and I think they really helped make the retreat. It was great to interact with new people and learn from them as well. Though, I must say that I learned and reflected most on the times spent out in the nature and on the courses that we worked through. As we had to work as a team for the different things, my mind kept racing back the body of Christ and the idea of the Church. I talked with some girls in the dorm for a few hours about the modern church and our role in today's culture.... amazing time of talking and thinking and sharing together! I think it is times like those that challange us and spur us on. I think we grow as Christians, not only through personal study and time with God, but through community and through sharing our ideas with other people, testing what other people tell us, and thinking about it and together going to scripture and reflecting on the things of our present world. We were challanged today by an MK from Turkey, to not waste our last years in Portugal. He challanged us to make the most of the "now" that we have, because before too long, we will be leaving. He presented us with the challange to step up and set our fears aside, to tell our friends about God, because we have something they need to hear. And I think that as much as we need to tell them for their sake, to offer them something they need that we have, I think we need to tell them for ourselves as well. I think that we are missing out on part of the life God intended us to live until we share what we have with those who need it. And I'm not talking about physical needs, though that too is an amazing ministry. But it goes deeper as well. We have the Water they thirst for, and we need to invite them to drink with us!