The last CHIC pictures I'm going to post

Third Day opened our worship on the last night

Patrick and Lucas seemed to enjoy it

Spontaneous prayer among brothers in Christ is a beautiful thing!

Efrem Smith challenged us to live a changed life on the last night

Some main stage lighting

The president leads us in thanking the folks that made CHIC 2009 happen

We finished with a bang

Streamers and confetti

Now that they are tearing CHIC down we finally find time for a group photo

The girls enjoy so Good Will shopping while we hang out on Friday

Sarah finds a coat that fits just right

Michael shows us how it's done with some "down under" bowling

Melanie shows us how it is NOT done

recording the score keepers to keep them honest ;)

Lunch at Chili's

Watch out!

Killing a lot of time at the airport

Blogging was a popular activity

Now they are getting bored

A true ladies man

Did anyone get pictures of Tim sleeping ON P Bill and Mike on the plane?

Make sure you attend CHIC Sunday for more CHIC recaps. :)

Oh, and CHIC merchandise is on sale HERE (at great prices) through August, and then it's gone for good!

The rest of the students blog, and a couple blog again

Yo, this is Sarah D. I was one of the students who went to CHIC. Covenant High in Christ is a good way to describe this event. With over 5,000 students attending this event and knowing they’re on all in the same domination, it shows we’re in this together. First of all CHIC was amazing. There are no words to describe how amazing this event was. As we were being unraveled and UNDONE we, as a youth group, went into each other’s hearts to find the person we really are. As God searched our hearts and worked in us, we found some deep hurts that were dug so deep inside that we didn’t know it existed. Even though we were being UNDONE, it’s our job to rely on God to ravel us back together. This week I went to a seminar to find who we truly are. I found that who I truly am is a Child of God. I am made to be a woman of God and to spread the word of him. The things we do are not who we are. They are characteristics of who we are. As this week progressed, people opened up more and made new friends. I met several people. I saw old friends and I spent time with the recent friends. I met boys named Than(Nathaniel), Jay, Nick, Caleb, Jon, and other people. These people mean a lot to me even though I’ve only known them a few days. I also came to the conclusion no one can replace my God, my loving God. My best friend, and father. He has opened my heart and is helping me deal with the hurts and frustrations in my life. No one can replace him. The speakers we had were INCREDIBLE! My favorite one was a man named Shane Claireborne. He gave up a lot of things because he relied on God to provide for him. He relied on God when he was in a bunch of trouble and with this I admire him. I believe God spoke through him to get to me. On the night before we left, we had an emotional worship. People were crying and wanting to actually put their trust in God. While we were in small groups, everyone was crying but I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t feel any reason to cry or feel any reason to be “emotional”. As the night progressed, I just suddenly had a breakdown. I was upset because I can’t, or couldn’t, hear God speaking to me. I was upset because everyone feels God and is sparked with passion for him during these times but I didn’t. Usually at events like this or MUD (senior high retreat) I am on a God-high but these past couple events I didn’t feel God speaking to me or any sort of new passion. After talking to Melanie, while bursting out in tears, I understood that I wanted a deeper passion. Deeper than I’ve wanted before. I wanted my relationship to be so close to him that I could taste him or smell him by my side. I wanted to be able to feel his heart break whenever I did something wrong and wanted to be able to feel him “sweat”. Then Melanie made it clear to me that God has been speaking to me and she made it clear that he was speaking through me. God spoke through her to tell me I have what I wanted. The spark I was looking for happened. That deeper passion I wanted “clicked”. There are many more things to talk about and I appreciate all your prayers. We couldn’t have done this without your prayers and without God’s help.
Sarah D

CHIC WAS AMAZING! I learned so much had fun doing it. In everything that happened I just felt like God was there. I got to know everyone I already thought I knew better than I ever could have anywhere else. Through worship, and hanging out and even river rafting I learned who my friends really were and what their story is. I also learned more about myself, I learned that I’m not perfect but am completely undone with a long way to go. I realized that I need to put God as the head of my life and follow him no matter what, “Everything else is worthless when compared to the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians). One of our preachers was talking about putting others before ourselves and giving our best to the poor and that got me thinking on how I give. I’ve kinda always thought about giving as you give because you have to and to give extra if you can but now I realize that giving should be because you love to give. After watching the stuff about Thailand and how the students who went there were able to spend their time and their lives there I realized how flawed my perspective was. It wasn’t only me either that wants to give more; a lot of our youth group has been talking about going on missions trips and serving more. I am of all things excited to go home and start living a new life for Christ in which I love others and “Try to live in peace with everyone.” (Psalms 34)
Lucas V

This entire week has been the best week of my life!! It is hard to say what the most memorable or most effective from CHIC. From day one I started to become closer to the lord. The first time we went to main stage I learned that we all have a dream, but it isn’t our dream its Gods dream he has planted in use While in are mother’s womb. I have not figured out my dream yet but I will soon. Every time I went to main stage I learned something new that helped me get closer with God. The third time was the night I had accepted Jesus into my heart, fully. YAY!!!
When I went to my first focus group I learned about our true identity. The teacher had us draw a mask of what we thought are identity was. I drew a white super hero mask (usually black) with the eyes blacked out. The meaning for the blacked out eyes was because I was blind and couldn’t see what god was throwing at me in plain site. The mask is white because there is hope for me still. Now I can see what he is saying because I have allowed him to enter my heart and have Him in my life.
Love always and GOD BLESS!
Garion N

Today is a sad day. CHIC is officially over. The week went by too fast! Everyday Mainstage and focus groups got better and better. Same with the music! Flyleaf? AMAZING. When we were doing “Feed my starving children” Flyleaf was doing their sound check. When we left Feed My starving children, it was pouring down raining. I have never been rained on so hard in my life, it was fun! But my phone was in my backpack and it rained so hard, that the rain soaked through my backpack, and broke my phone! Haha, oh well I don’t need it…. I only need JesusJ
Stephanie


Hey viewers!!! I have been on many youth trips before and they have not really impacted me I mean yeah I would get this God high from it but then my world will come crashing down on me and I give in to temptation. This time its different yes I am more “on fire for God.” But I am really on a God high. I feel that I have the ability to teach others in Christ, our Savior. I feel that I have gotten closer to all my church friends and I am glad that I now have accountability partners. They are going to help me with some of my sins for example lust, smoking, chewing, drinking, stealing; all the bad things I do. lol Well, I am on the plane right now and I am in an uncomfortable spot so I am going to go now. Oh one more thing it was really kinda funny, so we all are going through the security and I go through and I get told to stand aside and I do. Guess what? I get patted down and then when he was done he said, “now just think Paul had to go through a lot worse.” Wow I was blown away.

Patrick

As I reflect on this trip and chic. I have learned so much about my life and who I want to be, and who am I as a person. I believe who you are as a person is a big deal because you know what you want and your needs and who your friends are. A lot of the speakers had a lot of really good advice but the one that stuck out to me was Shane. He spoke in a way that High schoolers and understand. Like girls are like cars and stop carjacking them meaning taking their virginity and or getting in their pants. I just can’t understand why guys would do that. Then I realized I’m kind of like them in a way. I am I big flirt with most girls and I hit on them, so I could see where he was coming from. The second to last night I just broke down crying. I came to the conclusion that I was meant to be here at CHIC. I have done things in my life that I regret so much and wishing that I have never even thought I would do. But God put those challenges in my life for a reason and I’m glad they came or else I wouldn’t realize the thing I was doing was BAD. The coolest thing that we did as a group was work for FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN. It was a really great experience and even though I was just sticking labels on the food bags, but if it wasn’t for the people labeling then we wouldn’t be able to give them food. We packaged close to 500000 bags of food. I know what you’re thinking WoW right, but that’s not all, all of Chic raised 109000 dollars for the people in Thailand. Also they wrote a little over 2000 letters to Congress to Stop Human Trafficking, what brings up my next point. There are over 27 million people in Thailand and ever were else in the world. Theses Males and Females are a forced or pressured into Human Trafficking and Sex slavery, they start at young as 5. All I’m asking you to do is just get the world out and tell them about these young males and females that their lives are destroyed by this, they need your help. Just spread the world please!!!! As we leave this place we have to fight are own battles in the real world and not fall back to the stupid mistakes that we made back home before coming here. I’m one of those I have made a lot of mistakes before I came here but I just ask God to heal me and just not let me get temped into falling back into those mistakes. I know this experience has changed me and I want to keep this change. It feels great and I want to be closer to God and spend more time at church and give my feedback or point of views that come up in the church. This is the generation that it going to give meaning to spreading the word. I know I want to help and go on missions trips and go out of my way to help people in need. Well god is love. Thanks for all you prayers and just ever thing and thank you sooooooooo much you guys don’t know how much this trip meant to me. We’ll see you Sunday I hope you guys didn’t miss me too much lol. I’m coming home UNDONE, but not all the way as I go on in life I will enjoy fife more and more with god present in my life. I’m glad that I was pressure into coming witch I’m really great full. I just want to thank ever one that bought stuff at the CHIC action. You guys are really special to me because you guys want the youth to experience this magical event and get to know Christ more. This whole week is like a full year in church and or youth group but it’s thought in a way that it easy to understand and take in. I love Chic and I Love God and I can’t wait for 2012. I also can’t wait to tell my story to ever one it will really touch, at least I hope. I’m glad that I came to this church it means a lot to me. I love being in the presence of you all. Chic just really brought me back to the way that ever one should be and I’m really enjoying it. So im really just happy that I was able to come to this church and be able go on youth events like thunder even though I’m not a junior higher but oh well I still need to experience Mud but that will me nothing like chic but that doesn’t matter because it will still be a youth event that talks about Christ and ever thing like. Well I guess it’s time to stop thing blog since I’m on the plane from Atlanta to home so I love you all.
God Bless,
Tim :P

Pictures - Sunday night thru Thursday afternoon

Waiting for our first meet up with our base camp

Meeting our new "Mount Logan" friends

The first mainstage opened with an AMAZING on stage rain storm

The projected pictures onto the wall of water

The CHIC band leading worship Sunday Night, Erwin McManus

Erwin's "little girl," Moriah, with her band Blaring Rockets

Tim gets "profiled" at the introduction of our "others" day experience

Blue hair helps you jump better

What assumptions would you make about the people in the box? What judgements do you make about people every day?

Garion profiling the people in the boxes

We learn whether our judgements were correct

Melanie, Melinda, Emily, Lucas and Kali had a blast going rafting for an excursion
With our talented guide, Zach

David Crowder Band

The students who went on the trip to Thailand update us live via satellite about the ministries our Thursday offering will help

Shane Clairborne challenges us to love and serve others in radical ways

The ladies are ready for our "Unveiled" lesson on lust free living

One thing she teaches us is that if we put God into our lives first, the other things just fall into place around Him

Then we all did an experience dealing with our self. It looked at how the world and we see ourselves compared to how God sees us

We took labels with promises of who our identity in Christ is and placed them on pictures of us. Claiming the verses and God's promises for ourselves

Israel Houghton and New Breed lead us in worship

Steven Furtick tells the guys you can't take a girl on a "test drive." She isn't your car, that's CAR JACKING!

Our Mount Logan base camp group that includes 7 church groups from all over the country

What do you thank god for?

Praising the Lord at our "God experience" day

The students spread out to do a little reflection and time with the Lord

Melinda found a nice perch for her quiet time

Some girl silliness during free time

Yes, Sarah C is dying my hair

Let's make them look pretty!

Umm, I said "pretty."

Good thing we learned about our identity in Christ and that it doesn't matter how the world sees us!

We all served at "Feed My Starving Children" for a couple hours, packaging meals for those at risk of starvation

Here they model some "hair net sass"

That is Flyleaf warming up on the stage right by us

Stephanie, Tim, Emily, Garion, Patrick, Sarah D, and Melanie placed cooking instruction labels on the bags before they were filled

Kali, Melinda, Sarah C, and Lucas had a smooth system going to fill those bags with chicken flavoring, dried veggies, soy and rice

Mike took full boxes of bags and taped them up to be shipped

In just four afternoons 1,900 CHIC-goers worked together to fill 1,980 boxes of food. Those boxes held 427,680 meals, enough to feed 1,171 children one meal a day for an entire year.Flyleaf tried to blast the walls down

The Jesus Painter assisted in our Wednesday night worship

Many in our group are feeling the affects of not enough sleep, even during amazing worship

Wednesday night featured an invitation to accept the Lord for the first time and HUNDREDS of students made that committment! It was amazing to see all the work the Lord is doing in the hearts and minds of our students. We are all being Undone.

Judy Howard Peterson made the invitation, encouraging us to be real with each other and not hide behind masks or make-up

We took communion and worshipped more after some youth group time

Today we focused on the neads of the World. Especially looking at the systems that make slavery and human trifficking a reality still today

Over 2,800 people wrote letters to senators or parliment encouraging them to raise awareness and end slavery

While some students went on excursions and some hung out with new friends from other places Lucas, Melinda, Kali, Patrick and Melanie enjoyed lunch together

We leave tomorrow! It's gone so fast! We'll try to update more and get the rest of the students to type a blog before we get home. Pray for our travel and be ready to be impressed by the undone work of God in these students!