We bravely ventured up North for this annual camp, hosted by John Rothwell and Judith Hainsworth for youth groups and clubs to go for a week of fun, food and teaching! ( http://www.livit.org.uk/ )
We were camping (wahey for some of us, not so wahey for others…) which meant cold nights and early mornings, with leader’s showers at 6.20 and the day kicking off with breakfast at 8, going right through to Livit Up Late finishing around 11.30 - we spent almost every minute with the young people there which was awesome and meant we could really get to know them and build up relationships, but meant we were absolutely exhausted by the end of the week having barely had a moment’s respite! The morning and evening sessions were jam packed with sung worship, games, teaching and the all important Mix Dance, and in between were acadamies (music, drama, sport and craft) and a variety of Q&A sessions and one-to-one chatting. It was a truly amazing week and God moved so powerfully, not just in the kids’ lives but in some of ours as well. Ben spoke one night about what we base our self-worth on and it really spoke to me about the way I’ve felt for most of this year and how the important thing isn’t what I am, or who I’m not, but rather who I am – that’s who God loves me for, He made me like that – and ‘He loved us first’. We saw kids give their lives to Jesus and commit to following Him – I spoke to one girl who was so excited about the plan God had for her she just wanted to get out there and do it, even though she didn’t know what it was yet!
Tuesday saw us take a trip to local ‘theme park’, Lightwater Valley. Now for someone who hates rides, this didn’t look set to be a good day, but at the influence of my two boys (Jack & Ben) I ventured onto some ‘proper’ rides and actually enjoyed myself, until they took me on ‘Black Widow’s Web’ – a fast, spinning wheel which, for me, is my idea of hell. I didn’t actually throw up, but 2 hours later I still felt sick. It was great to have a bit of a break from work but still hang out with the young people and enjoy ourselves 
.
By Thursday (home-time day!) we were all absolutely exhausted and desperate to get home to our beds and baths, but also sad at having to leave behind the wonderful young people we’d got to know over the week. It was such an incredible event and I wish I could go back next year!
Thank you for all your prayers, please pray for these young people that the work God started at Livit won’t die out or go to waste.
Much love
xxxx
