Reflecting on January's ICY-UK Conference

It does not feel like just a conference, or a week of lectures, or training when I go. However, it feels like a time spent with family where I can relax and feel free to by myself. During one of the evening sessions  the trainees were given a chance to share what they liked about ICY-UK and this sense of family was what was shared by every trainee. As this is one things that the leaders  have tried to instil in those who join ICY making this a great encouragement for the leaders. Not only that, the desire to stay connected between conferences was expressed by trainees also as it is family that trainees don’t want reserved for one week every two months.

I find that conferences are impacting, and the January conference was no different. What made this conference particularly impacting was how personal it was. This was due the first two days being spent by Bachelors students sharing their life stories for a Personal Formation module and also hearing the stories of many of the leaders during the morning and evening worship sessions. This was so helpful as relationships deepened as a result of these stories being shared and also gave opportunities for encouragement both leaders and trainees.

In addition to this during the time where the Bachelors students each shared their story, everyone in the class was asked to say one encouraging thing in response to each persons story. These kind of activities are usually good because they build people up. However, it can be hard in those situations to be able to say something encouraging and be genuine as it is on the spot. Despite this there was a real sense where what each person shared was genuine and sincere, this made the time even more encouraging for the student sharing.

Also for me the sharing time in the Bachelors class for me was particularly encouraging as this gave God an opportunity to show me the heart people had towards me. I remember a few of the comments people made, one sticks out my mind where someone said they felt angry about me being bullied at school. This was so encouraging as it was new to me and also thinking if this person feels like this its likely other people feel the same. In addition this opened doors for me to be able express later in the week to share other struggles that resulted from that period in my life. This has allowed me accept encouragement from others and more importantly accept truths about my identity in Christ.