Monday, August 20: Final Reflections

We've made it home... I imagine everyone is catching up on sleep now.
I'll post some pictures and thoughts from the end of the trip sometime in the next day or two. But for now, enjoy these reflections from two members of the team!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrian

Hi, my name is Adrian and I’m an Anglican from Kamloops, BC. This trip was an amazing experience for our youth group and others that accompanied us on this trip to the great city of Saskatoon! CLAY wasn’t just a “fun get together”, it was also a great religious eye opener for me, for I thought that religion was only about God but I realized that it also has a lot to do with the people that you practice it with. This new understanding made me open up my eyes to places and people that I see God in and the workings of God in. Another thing I learned was that not only Christians worship God but Muslims worship our God too but they heard it from another source, this forum was my favorite by far from the rest of the forums and it was also the most meaningful to me. This gathering made me feel like I could do anything with the guidance of God, but it also made me feel sad that only Lutherans and Anglicans can go to this. But my overall feeling toward this youth gathering was positive.   

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mathias

Hi there, my name is Mathias Imeson and I am a Lutheran from Kamloops B.C. I go to Hills of Peace Lutheran Church. This is my second time going to CLAY and it was as fun as I remember it being. It was in Saskatoon this year. The bus ride from Kamloops to Saskatoon was pretty awesome. This CLAY was based around how teachings of God can go viral and how easy it is to understand the readings of the Bible. My favorite large group gathering was with Bishop Mark Macdonald. I really enjoyed this gathering because he talked about how we break down walls in our church to help people worship and understand God. He talked about how hard it can be to get into a church as a new person. God needs to be able to talk and communicate with all people.

Another thing I really enjoyed at CLAY was the forum Bull with Bill. Bull with Bill is a Q and A session with R. Bill Cliff, the minister from the chapel at the Huron College Chapel. The way Bill answers questions is amazing he doesn’t just answer the questions, it’s almost like he offers the answers as advice to the people who are asking his questions and he gives us solutions to problems we have in our life. If I could change anything about CLAY it would be to open the gathering to more races and religious people. I’m so happy I made so many new friends at CLAY, because they not just my friends, they have become new additions to my family. I feel like all these new things I learned will help me understand and become closer God in my prayers and worship.