Being oasis in the desert

Youth for Christ Middle East held its first YFC Middle East East Summit last 22-23 March in Dubai, UAE. It was attended by youth leaders and couple coordinators from Kuwait, Qatar and UAE.

Day 1 – Being the very 1st time to have ME Summit in UAE, I have no idea what will be the happenings and programs on this event.  A constant flurry of questions  flooded my head. ‘What am I gonna do?’, ‘Who’s going to be there?’, ‘What should I prepare for?’.

When I arrived, there was a funky and light atmosphere as everyone in the hall were dressed in their 70’s outfits. Even though I wasn’t dressed up, I could still feel the positive and fun vibes. It looked like it was going to be a great night...and a great night it was indeed! The palce were filled with fellow YFCs from all over the Middle East and close friends from my Area. I did not feel left out at all. Infact, I felt really welcomed.

At first, I assumed that it would be a formal,and stereotypical meeting, but I stood corrected. From the food, to the extremely talented liveloud band, everything seemed amazing. Nothing can be  perfect unless God is at the center of it, and His presence was surely felt. The opening worship & the awarding ceremony which involved specific awards for each country were truly extraordinary.

Before the day ended, one particular line from the song, ‘God of this City’, kept ringing in my head, ‘Greater things are yet to come..’ and up until now, it hasn’t stopped.  Greater things are yet to come through service, activities, and events.. But probably the most obvious was Day 2 of the MES.

On Day 2, everyone seemed to be sleepy due to the lack of sleep and the early morning rise, but it was all forgotten after the day began with a powerful opening worship. Teenagers and adults alike giving their all to our Creator, our God. It was a spectacle that never seemed to fail in inspring me, to be like Him, to grow in Him and to be a beacon of His love to our brothers and sisters everywhere.

The PFO Track and the ‘Count Me In’ session, led by Ate Shae from Qatar and Kuya Francis from the UAE, opened my eyes. It explained and brought out the whole technical side of YFC - that it’s not only household meetings, general assemblies or Youth Camps, but there are a myriad of other things that are left undone. And some things that I have never even heard of. It made me realise that God truly have great plans for us and that this journey in YFC only begins with our Youth Camp...it doesn’t end there; there are ‘Greater things yet to come’ and ‘Greater things are still to be done’

Over and over again, I was exposed to things that I was never aware of. I always thought that I was ‘updated’ and I knew most of what was happening in the community, but then I again, I stood corrected. ‘ANCOP’ which was aimed to bring Christ’s love to the poor;  ‘Greeneration’  which focuses and strives on influencing the Youths to become a greener generation;  ‘100% Free’ program which taught me how to live the Christian lifestyle by being pure inside and out, as well as keeping my body sacred as temple of God, and last but not the least, ‘YCOM’ which revealed the many different forms of media in which YFC is being evangelized, through Twitter, Facebook and even Youtube... After all of that, the phrase in my head rang again, ‘Greater things are yet to be done’ which meant that the CFC-YFC community is ever expanding and is always doing what they possibly can to bring the world closer to Jesus Christ.

Nico Mendoza with YFC UAE leaders

All in all, the MES was an unforgettable experience. It displayed the many different ways that God’s love has touched each and everyone in the Summit. Through their sharings and talks, and even the ways they layed it all during the worships, it was clearly evident that our God was speaking through them, and using them as instruments to inspire and to teach us more about Him as well as to help us and guide us with our everyday lives.

‘Young People Being and Bringing Christ Wherever They Are’ – the YFC Vision which hit me the most. Being one of the youngest to attend the MES, I realised that you don’t have to be old, experienced or wise to be able to make a difference in our society. All it takes is to be Christ-like, to show the world that not everyone in this world is a bad influence, to have faith and hope in God’s will, to never stop striving to serve him, to always trust in His perfect plan, and to continuously be an ‘Oasis in the desert.’

My experience of the 1st YFC Middle-East Summit

by Nicholas Mendoza, YFC UAE