Life Teen Leadership Conference 2010 Testimony

The Life Teen Leadership Conference that I was blessed to participate in was so much more than it was made out to be! I’d heard from people that had gone before me how amazing it was, but there is really no way to put into words the experience that you go through during that week. It was amazing how every single talk or reflection always seemed to be so prevalent in your life. This whole trip has completely renewed my faith, which for so long I had felt was just gone. I had stopped feeling anything, praying was hard, and I just wasn’t into it. Now I’m back, because of the amazing experience that I had.

Going into the Conference, all I wanted was for it to renew me, but the closer we got, the more worried I became that it wasn’t going to do that. As soon as we got to the first session, all those fears went away. Seeing 500 kids there who were totally into everything that was going on, singing and praising God with everything they had, really set the mood. You felt an immediate comradeship with everyone there, and it was a great feeling to know that there were other kids out there like that. The music and the teens were all great, but they were only a footnote compared to the things I got out of this conference.

During the trip, we were given lots of time to journal on various questions. And the one thing that really stuck out to me was that we are supposed to give our everything to God, which I felt like we hear all the time, but never really take seriously. But as I sat there thinking and writing, I realized just how true it was. If I would just let God work in all parts of my life, I would be so much better off. I realized that many of the things I struggle with and problems I have are caused because I refuse to allow God to take control of that part of my life. It’s one of the most difficult things in the world to do, but it was fantastic to finally realize what I needed to do to get back on track.

But the experience that touched me the most happened during adoration. Right before we went, we heard one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever heard, Ashley’s story. Ashley was a teen who went on this same trip a few years ago, and came back totally on fire for God. She spread it to all of her friends, making them go to adoration with her every Friday. Then one day, inexplicably, she passed in her sleep. The doctors could never figure out why, because she was perfectly healthy. But her parents know that she was simply brought up to God. She was ready. That story really touched me, and it helped me during that time of adoration. During that time I thought about her story, and about all the things we’d heard, and about what I needed to do, and during that, I felt God. I felt him come over me, like so many of the other teens did, and it was an amazing feeling. That night just completely renewed me, saved me and saved my faith. And during the groups talks that we had afterward, I could see that it affected everyone else in the same way. Everyone was so brutally honest and opened, and so on fire and blessed, and it was unlike anything I’d ever done before. I feel so close to those people now, closer than my closest friends. Love you guys!

-Kyle Koser