Beautiful thoughts from Elise Low, former summer staff/intern, on the lasting impact a week of service at Mountain T.O.P. has on you and your youth.
Though I wasn't able to attend the Gathering this year, I was able to participate in the 30 Hour Famine with the youth group at Saline UMC. While many were gathered to celebrate another year of ministry on the Mountain, I had the privilege of seeing first-hand the year-round, life-long impact Mountain T.O.P. makes in the lives of youth and adults all the way in the suburban semi-tundra of Michigan. I've heard a lot of Mountain TOP stories from the youth since I've returned to Saline -- after all, who doesn't walk away from a YSM week with a few stories to tell?! Yet, as I spent 30 hours in prayer, service and reflection with these teens, as I watched them plan a worship service, and as heard them share eloquent, powerful words with the whole congregation, I had to step back in awe of my God.
Student after student shared with boldness and authenticity stories of God at work in their lives - overcoming fear, understanding His grace, learning to embrace the humbling journey. One such student shared specifically of God meeting him and transforming him at Mountain T.O.P. one Friday night this past summer, filling him with the love of God in a way He had never known, a love that overwhelmed him, transformed him, and spurred him on. And that transformation did not stay on the Mountain -- it is alive and well in Saline, Michigan. It is alive and well in the hearts of students who go 30 hours without food - joyfully- for the sake of their neighbors and for the glory of God. It is alive in well in the hearts of youth who ask important questions and seek to learn more. It is alive and well in the hearts of students who seek to love not just in word, but in action and in truth.
What a humbling privilege to experience the very real ways that Mountain T.O.P. is truly more than just a vessel for one-week experiences. This ministry matters. But this kind of transformation is the kind of thing that Mountain T.O.P. could never orchestrate. It's the kind of thing the most dedicated youth minister could never orchestrate. It is absolutely the result of God at work. He is at work at Mountain T.O.P. He is at work in the valley below. He is at work in Saline, Michigan. But most of all, He is at work in the hearts of His children. Thanks be to God!
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