Dorothy

So to start things off  I ALWAYS felt unwelcomed and unwanted, whether I was with my family, friends or at church. It was just something that I felt internally, nobody else knew about except me. I put off going to weeklong (and every other encounter retreat) because I didn't want to be alone. I was in a tribe and I knew most of the girls were going and it was going to be awesome but that still didn't make a difference , my tribe leader Justine kept pushing for me to go, I kept turning her down, it wasn't important to me, and I didn't care how many times she asked, I WASN'T GOING!  One day in the middle of class I received a text from an unknown number saying " if you don't take the chances I give you, how are we supposed to move forward?" in the middle of class in front of my professor I started to ball like a big baby!! I ran out and called Justine right then and there making an appointment to pay for Weeklong!!  I ended up going and it changed my life! I realized that I have friends who don’t care what I look like, and leaders that want to listen, people who love me for me!! God changed me in less than five days, he helped me forgive people who have hurt me in my past, he helped me understand so many other things as well , but for the sake of time, all that I want to  say is; YOU NEED TO GO!!! No matter what, no matter how you feel about it NOW, going will change your life and AFTER encounter you will feel 10xs better about everything and anything!

April 18th

Kenya

Hey guys , well I'm very happy about the changes God has done in my life. It's my first year in college and it's the year God has transformed me tremendously.I grew up as a church girl  , attended catholic school as a child and then became a Christian, I've always loved God and knew about him but I was never IN LOVE or ever really knew the Lord in a personal level. Elevate has really guided me to grow in faith and I've made friends that support me and have joined me on my journey with Jesus. I'm so blessed. I am so excited for this encounter retreat, I've never been to one and know it will help me grow spiritually. It overwhelms me and gives me happiness to know what a huge mess the Lord got me out of and given me a change of heart, I feel so free. God is good. Thank you Elevate!

April 18th

David

... I’m going to be real. I didn’t attend last year’s encounter retreat in its entirety -Due to the fact that I was basically a clown and juggling two jobs- but that doesn’t mean J.C. didn’t speak to me and all the peeps in attendance. God places door’s in my life that enter into his will, and it’s up to me to make the decision in twisting that knob and seeing what’s in his room. My bad if I beat you to unconsciousness (Reader) but I told you I was going to be real. Even though I had an appetizer of last year’s encounter God fed me what I needed. This upcoming Encounter is going to be the bombdiggity and the name speaks for itself, you WILL “Encounter” The King.

April 11th

Elizabeth

The Encounter Retreat helped me to get closer to God. It's a place where your able to focus on him and hear him speak to you. That's where I was able to encounter emotional healing from my past and taught me to forgive others. I was able to let go of so much that I was holding on to and to be able to receive the next thing that God had in store for me. It took me to the first step of being able to open up and let go of the pain that I was holding inside. The leaders were very understanding and they showed that they cared throughout the whole time. I was also able to listen to the leaders testimonies as well, which helped me to open up even more. I had such an amazing experience! Encounter Retreat is truly awesome!!

April 8th

Michelle

hey guys i just wanted to share something that happen at Redcon!!! well first of all all three days were amazing and in so many ways inspiring, although the preaching and the worship was amazing and blew my mind, something else more special happened. Since i gave my life to christ i have been praying for my family to draw near back to Him again and specially my younger cousins. the week before redcon i was just loosing hope and wondering what was going on, but redcon came and friday came and that day my brother and cousin were coming from nogales to the event. My brother had never accepted Jesus into his life and the time i would go back home he would start talking about the existence of God and that he ddnt exist., that broke my heart but never stop praying. That friday night God gave me the best gift ever my brother accepted Jesus into his life and , the felt so strognly in my heart that there was no turning back on the old ways my brother had, but God didnt stop there . My cousin also received her spiritual language and that just showed me how God is working in their life's and in mind. So i guess what i wanted to say never give up on praying for your family your friends or a loved one because when you least expect it they might be sitting next to you praising the same God you praise

March 5th