ok so at LAST i gotta chance to share my testimony for adult sunday school today. quite cool. iono why, im usually kinda nervous and have trouble making eye contact in front of a room full of adults, but this time, i was really comfortable standing up there. *shrug*

well, here it is. well, this is more than what i said, but if i had the time, i would have said all of this.

In a word, Atlanta was simply life-changing. There is simply no other way to sum up all those four days filled with different experiences. On the day before the mission trip, I typed up this prayer:

Dear Lord,
I want to see you come alive in people's hearts in Atlanta. I want to see brokenness. I want to see tears of joy. I want to see people turn to You. I want to see revival. I want to see color barriers collapse. I want to see Your name lifted on high. I want to see Your will be done. I want to see kids receive You into their little hearts. I want to see people witnessing to complete strangers. I want to see the power of prayer. I want to see things I've never seen before. I want to see unity in our fellowship. I want to see people gather in Your name. I want to see the true meaning of faith. I want to see people stepping out of their comfort zones for You. I want to see everyone grow because of the trip. I want to see success. I want to see people singing and dancing because of the joy they feel inside.

I want to see You save the day, my glorious.

Amen.

On the night that I returned home, I realized that God had answered every single part of that prayer. I could go on for days about everything that God has taught me through the trip, but unfortunately, I only have a few minutes.

One of the things that I learned was how to talk to people. Sounds kind of stupid, doesn’t it? But yes, on this trip to Atlanta, I learned how to talk. Before the trip, I admit I was worried. No, not about the skits or teaching vacation Bible school or the weather or anything like that. I was terrified of the 18 hour van ride. John told everyone not to bring playing cards or CD players. Everyone had the same wide-mouth look on their face. When we asked him what we would do on the van as an alternative, he simply said, “talk to each other.” I don’t know about anyone else, but inside, I was just thinking, “WHAT?!? TALK?!? FOR 18 HOURS?!? ABOUT WHAT?!?” Miraculously, yes, we talked. We even took turns sharing our life stories, so I think we all returned home with more unity than we had left with. But, of course, there are some people that I wish I hadn’t gotten to know so well.

But it turns out that all that talking really helped because as it turns out, a lot of what we did in Atlanta was simply talking to people. We would go out into the community and try to start up conversations with people and see if they had any special prayer requests.

One special friendship that I formed there was with this guy named Darren. It was after Sunday service, and I remember my job was to find someone and talk to him. So I started looking around. Yeah, I must have looked pretty stupid there, just turning around in circles looking at people, but then all of a sudden someone came up to me and introduced himself. It came as a total surprise, but the more we talked, the more I realized that talking really wasn’t so hard. What’s even more awesome is that even with over 250 people coming in to Blood N Fire every night for dinner, every night, while I was walking around looking for Darren, he would come up behind me and say “HEY JONATHAN!” I thank God for placing him in my life and allowing me to talk to him all five days I was there. I even got his phone number and address, and we are planning on staying in touch.

I remember one specific statement that he said during our conversations: “Living the Christian life is the best life to live.” After he said this, it made me consider what exactly the “Christian life” was. Then that night, John Lin led worship, and when we came to this one song called “I surrender all,” I realized that the “Christian life” was all about surrendering everything to God and putting your life in His caring hands.

That night, I stayed up late just thinking about what I wasn’t surrendering to God. So many thoughts went through my mind, but when it all came down to it, I realized that it was my past. Or, what is quickly becoming my past. For those of you who know me, I have been dreading college ever since my senior year in high school began. Life seemed so perfect in high school. My spiritual life was at its peak. I had the best friends to support me. I didn’t even want to think about college. And I mean, look at me. Look at us. The seniors. We’re not ready for college. We’re still too immature. Too easily amused. But in Atlanta, God reviewed a lesson that he had already taught me weeks ago.

I remember standing on stage, behind the altar, giving my testimony during high school fellowship after my car accident. And now, less than two months later, I am up here, saying the exact same thing. I remember my precise words: “In the Christian walk, there is no mountain peak that you can reach. There isn’t a limit as to how close to God you can get.” I had uttered these words, and yet I still thought I was at a peak in my spiritual walk. Atlanta really made me realize that college and my future isn’t a terrible end to something perfect. It’s merely a beginning to something even more awesome. And so in less than 2 months, I hate to say this, but I am going to go to college. But now I can truly say “I surrender all.”