Friday, August 08, 2008

Hmm...

Just watched Atonement. Brilliant but very very depressing. Not something I'd particularly want to watch again I must say.
Oh yes, and just found out that 27 Dresses is now out on DVD so really want to get that - v. good film. And I saw Wall-E at the cinema with Carol and Sparkle - For a film where the main characters hardly talk, it wasn't bad.

Anyway, I actually came on here to do my New Wine blog. I don't think I'm going to do a huge blog though like I originally thought because I don't quite have the time etc. But yes.

Ok. New Wine 2008.
First time I'd ever been to one of these sorts of things and I found it a most invigorating experience. Oh yes, I added a couple of songs that I first heard at New Wine on to my music player on this page :).

Most importantly - the spiritual side of things:

It was totally amazing to have a total focus on God for a week, the worship was fantastic and it was great to be able to look around and see all of these teenagers singing and praising God all around me. The talks were very inspirational and down to earth, there were many amusing moments - I can say that I truly enjoyed every single talk I went to.
On the last night we had prayer for healing and had testimonies from about 6 or more of the teens in the building who were healed from various physical illnesses that night.

Also, I personally felt that I should be getting more involved in worship in the near future - so I'll be hopefully joining our church worship team soon - not sure if just singing or also piano...

On one of the last nights I had just been prayed for by one of the ministry team and was feeling a bit awkward because the prayer hadn't really 'touched me' I suppose, and a girl called Justina was walking past and saw me and she was going to go away but then felt she should pray for me. So she came over and started praying for me out loud and I started crying (this is the 'thing' I do - if the holy spirit's working in me, I'm probably crying, some people shake etc. but no, I cry, always need to remember to bring tissues) and when we finally finished praying she gave me a hug and I went back to the worship. I just have to say thank you very much to Justina because I was feeling really weird and a bit confused actually and she brought me back to a state of worship which was wonderful.

On the last night I was sitting with friends and a girl came up to me and said she'd been sitting behind me a couple of times in the worship time and she said that she felt God was going to do great things through me. She gave me a little biro drawing she'd done of me (which is now up on my wall with all my other random stuff) and she gave me a quick hug before rushing off. I couldn't see her properly and I didn't ask her name which is a bit of a shame because I would have liked to add her on facebook or something - chat a bit and the like. But it was really sweet :).

And also, on the last night, when all the worship had finished and the guys from Flava cafe were beginning the 'disco' night, I looked over and saw there was a girl standing with her eyes closed and she was shaking - she was being prayed for by a couple of her friends (who I think had been praying for her for quite a long while). I really felt that I should be praying for her (though I didn't really want to - I felt a bit awkward and I kind of wanted to join the disco, lol). But after a little while I left Judy and Viv to the disco and went over and just stood by her and started praying for her. After a while she collapsed (caught by a friend behind her - unfortunately I had just moved around into a position it was more difficult to catch her from) and was lying on the floor shaking and I just sat down and continued praying for her - her friends went to join the disco after a while (they did stand fairly nearby and let me know in case their friend 'woke up'). It was quite funny praying for someone with 'Greased Lightning' and 'Living on a prayer' in the background but I felt strangely at peace. Once she stopped shaking and started to sit up her friends came back over and I went away (when you come out of a praying state, I think you really want people around that you know, not random strangers, to talk to). I later went back to quickly ask her name (Kirsty) so I'll be able to pray for her by name in the future. I still don't even know what she needed prayer for - I just started with 'general' prayers and then began praying in tongues. But I felt very peaceful and serene afterwards, I'm glad I did go over and pray for her :).

You are the way, the truth and the life
We live by faith and not by sight for you
We're living it all for you

Sorry, just listening to the song, lol.
Yes, so this is definitely something I would advise any teenage christians to go to (I didn't go to any of the adult worship and seminars so I can't comment on that but I'm sure it was just as fantastic), it's great for reviving the spirit. Fill us up and send us out.

Right, now I'll put some stuff on a more 'practical' side of things - camp life etc.:

Good things to bring:
  • A small torch or lantern to put in your bag and use so you don't trip over tent strings when you're coming back to the tent at 11pm.
  • Wet wipes - always useful to wipe your hands etc.; I seemed particularly talented at dripping sauce on my hands and clothes and I found wet wipes very useful.
  • Tissues - same as above but dry, useful for cleaning up any spills inside your tent etc.
  • Anti-bacterial hand gel - if you don't have time to go wash your hands this is a useful alternative.
  • Mints (I chose tic-tacs) - even after brushing my teeth my mouth felt funny so was useful to get a fresh taste in my mouth.
  • Hair clip or scrunchie to keep your hair off the back of your neck in the heat.
  • Skirts or shorts in addition to/instead of full length trousers - I only had jeans for the first couple of days and got really hot (we went home in the middle of the week and I grabbed some skirts which I wore the rest of the week) - skirts are cooler and if it rains they dry quicker than jeans as well.
  • Water-gun - If you've got some other friends bringing them they'd be lots of fun for a water fight - I saw a lot of kids running around with water-guns, great fun.
  • Shoes suitable to wear with skirts (if you're a girl) - I only had my Doctor Who shoes (well, this is how I refer to them, mine are actually basically a Tesco version of converse - the short ones, not high tops) so I looked 'quirky'. Not necessarily a bad thing (I kind of liked it) but it's always useful to have the choice. If nothing else bring some jandals or sandals to quickly slip on as you go on your way.
  • Phone charger - I didn't bring mine but found that you could charge up your phone for a small fee at the Tearfund venue.
  • Camera - It'll be a time to remember.
  • Lots of money - lol, not totally necessary but I did end up spending quite a bit at the marketplace, they had some really awesome stuff!

  • So yes, here is my New Wine blog. Can't wait for next year!

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