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The following report appeared in the Winter 2006
issue of the Aierdi Advance magazine. It was by Ashley Cure, one of the missionary teens going
off to college and therefore missing the next MTRs.
 I had been anticipating this trip for months and had no idea what to
expect, but I knew as we approached Aierdi that God was going to do great
things. Walking in I got that strange nervous “camp feeling” as I saw many
kids that I hadn’t spoken to in months and others I had never met. The
first few moments of course are always awkward. I wanted to speak with
everyone, but was unsure how to get started!! We eventually split up into
separate rooms and began to introduce ourselves.
As I sat there listening I realized (though we had come from different
places and homes) how much we all had in common. We were all so relaxed
with each other and it didn’t take long for people to begin conversations.
It seemed as if we had all met before and had known each other for years.
The fellowship was so important that weekend at Aierdi. Most of us had
come from churches where there were very few teens or where WE were the
youth group. Our service that night was fantastic! I hadn’t heard a group
of teenagers sing in English since leaving the states. You could feel the
energy and excitement when we all sang and the challenge that night was
such a blessing. I had not heard a message directed towards teens in over
a year and it was good to get re-focused.
That night I realized how rugged the farm house was- there was no
running water or heat. I finally gave in and made the trudge down the hill
to the bathrooms with the other girls. It was very dark so flash lights
were necessary. It was difficult to be there with only the dim glow from
your flash light and a line of girls outside waiting! Leaving the
bathrooms, we came up to where there was a light outside on the porch and
a trough with a fountain. We all got our tooth brushes and stood outside
and went at it! I believe that night was the coldest I have ever slept in
my life. We had two kerosene heaters, but could only keep them on for a
while and then they had to go off. There was plenty of room for everyone
to sleep separately, but we were so cold we chose to lie like sardines in
a can! Even though we would have all liked a warmer area I never heard one
complaint. It was going to take more than this to make us unhappy!!
Every day we played games or had other activities. Because of the
weather we had to pretty much stay inside, but there was never a point
where I was bored and if you just wanted to sit and chat the most popular
place was near the wood stove! By the end of retreat we had all played and
worked together and had become a unit. No one was ready for this time
together to end. On our last night we had a time for testimonies and it
was evident that the Lord had been at work. Each person expressed
thankfulness for the great amount of time and effort put into the retreat
by the staff, and for having had the opportunity to come and participate.
Many said that one of the most important things was the fact that they
could really fellowship with people there own age. The fact was, we all
knew what it was like to be without good Christian companions. Many of us
still stay in touch and it has been interesting to see what has come out
of a four day retreat. We thank God for the opportunity to come together
at Aierdi and we look forward with anticipation to what the Lord will do
in the missionary teen retreats to follow. (AC) |
