MUD 2018 Reflections

We had a fantastic MUD High School Retreat at Cascades Camp January 12-14. Matthew Humphreys and Laura Rudeen were our Co-Coordinators. Here are their reflections on the event:

Matthew Humphreys:

200 high school students and 60 youth leaders spent this past weekend at Cascades Camp for MUD 2018: ROOTS. There was an expectation set after our speaker, Steve Wong from University Covenant Church in Davis, California, spoke the first night that God would speak. It was a great start to camp to see circles of youth groups asking and have students sharing what they were hearing God say during our first session. We recognized that the things that were shared were not necessarily the things that anyone had actually said from up front, because God sometimes speaks in the pauses and prompts just as much as the literal words said.

It was a full weekend of Olympic-themed games and competitions; elective activities; seminars; prayer stations; worship; archery tag; glow in the dark dodgeball; and invitations. Each session we were invited into worship by high school students. We were invited throughout the weekend to listen to and respond to key challenges from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Sunday students were invited to respond to Jesus as Lord with many coming forward to mark their commitment to Jesus. Other students responded to the invitation to start following Jesus for the first time. Our final invitation that brought students back to the circles they started in as churches shared a time of communion together.

Thank you for your prayers ahead of and during MUD. Please join us in praying that the seeds that were planted at MUD would continue to grow in the lives of all who came.

Laura Rudeen:

MUD 2018 was incredible. Steve brought the students words to challenge and guide us. The truth is, God not only works through our circumstances to bring His kingdom more fully on earth, but God also works BECAUSE of our circumstances to do the same. It filled my heart to see high schoolers realize they matter, their stories are important, and God has a unique part for them to play in His kingdom mission. I am still hoping and praying that students will continue to be transformed by what God did at MUD. May the Lord give us eyes to see all of our neighbors as beloved brothers and sisters in the mission of Christ, not despite our different backgrounds, but because of them.

Thank you to Erik and Zach for being fun upfront presences, to Matt for gracefully and profoundly leading us through Letter From A Birmingham Jail, to Steve for his excellent messages, to Carl and the NPU band for leading us in worship, to Jessica and the camp staff for holding the weekend together, to Carla for her work on the prayer stations, and to the leaders who make this possible.

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