Raymond Duncan, the American poet, bluntly stated: “A lot of parents pack up their troubles and send them off to summer camp!” Luckily, and due to the fact that we are young mature adults, we packed up our own troubles and boarded them on LIVF’s annual summer conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, where we found comfort in God’s presence, rest in His teachings, and blessed fellowship with His people.
It was Tuesday night 25th of August 2015, when we, students and leaders, embarked from Beirut airport to reach our destination- John Calvin Center- and began our conference with a short prayer and ended it with a longer one, thanking our Father for showering us with His generous blessings. In between the two prayers, friendships were formed, challenges were overcome, and our Lord was glorified. Besides the leaders, we were 40 participants amongst whom were mainly university students from different Lebanese universities (Lebanese American University, American University of Beirut, Lebanese University, Haigazian University, etc.) and G12 students to a lesser extent. Indeed, it was a great opportunity to spend time together and share our struggles and lift them in prayers which resulted in a strongly bonded friendship. However, it was an inviting time to challenge ourselves in receiving new topics like planning your life, chasing the truth, masks and personality disorders and above all the study of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
On the spiritual level, our Lord had prepared for us a heavy meal! Our main topic was from Romans 12:2 and God challenged us not to conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed to discover His will for our lives. We would split up to groups twice a day; once to study His Word, and the other to share personal experiences and challenges and pray for each other. We had a praise and prayer night on the seashore as well. On the other hand, we had some recreational time; we went for a boat ride, visited different cities and had time to enjoy God’s unique creation: The Beach.
Finally, the conference’s title was “Uncover – Discover”! We uncovered “Masks”, challenges and dark places in our hearts and discovered new friendships, God’s love and care, and His will and plan for us. Shortly, we were transformed, and He was exalted!