Leadership symposium On the second day of the World Camp, the students gathered at the Grand Ballroom by 6am. Students were able to forget about their sleepiness and wake up to the sweet melodies of the Gracias Choir. Students listened carefully as he read from2 Samuel, chapter 9, in which King David poured grace upon Mephibosheth not because he was a great person or because he did something well, but because of the promise David had made to Jonathan. However, Mephibosheth thought David was going to judge him because he was lame on his feet and because his father was the enemy of King David. In the same way, God’s grace does not depend on our abilities. Though we are lacking and fall short, God only looks upon Jesus who gave his life and took away all of our sins and only because of this we are able to receive mercy and grace.
IYF Academy Today was the first day of Academy and all of the students were very excited to choose their Academy classes.Every student had a class in mind already so they quickly filled up the most popular classes, which were: Sushi, Taekwondo, and Capoeira.The Sushi Academy had a very fun atmosphere as the students learned how to make beautiful and colorful designs with their sushi, taking pictures with their creations, and of course, eating it afterwards. In the Bible Theology and Healthy Eating academies, the students had a lot of interest and asked many questions regarding the subjects discussed. Up on the second floor, the ladies gather together for a demonstration on cleansing and applying makeup at the beauty academy. Others with the taste for survival join the CPR academy for the techniques on saving someone’s life. Because IYF was established in Korea, the Korean Culture academy is best way for students to learn more about the traditional games and the proper way of bowing.Walking through the Regency Hotel, one could feel how excited each student was to be learning something new and most were already thinking about which classes they were going to choose for the next couple of days.
Special Guest Lecture Today we had our first Special Guest Lecture featuring Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, Mr. Jordan M. Barry. The topic of his lecture was “How to be Successful Even When You Don’t Know What You Want”. Because many of the students are at that stage of deciding their next step in life, they were very interested in the topic and took notes throughout the lecture. Professor Barry explained to the students that a person who is successful is actually the person who has failed many times in the past and has gained experience through their mistakes.He gave the example of famous people such as Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Joel, Mark Twain, and John D. Rockefeller, who didn’t end up becoming what they thought they were going to be at first. He went on to say that even though people may have a set mindset about their future, it is good to be flexible and keep their options open because they never know what opportunity might arise.A person with an open mind towards change and an open heart towards others is the one most likely to become a successful leader of the future.Professor Barry’s engaging message inspired many students to open their hearts to others and the students were very happy as they gained hope in their hearts.
Performance and Bible Lecture Right after the academies, the students met up at the Grand Pavilion for relaxing performances and the bible lecture. Today’s performances came with a twist. The Lincoln High School students from Korea treated us to the traditional South American dance called “El Sol” and the Gracias Choir thrilled the audience with a musical performance of Disney’s classic “The Lion King” with a song called HakunaMatata. Their smiles and energy not only lit up the room but also the hearts of the students. Pastor OckSoo Park preached the gospel and once more talked about the world of the heart. If you don’t learn the world of spiritual life then you become arrogant and go down the wrong path. For this reason, many people fall. Their thoughts drag them and they are unable to break free from them. Once a person is able to learn about their hearts, they are able to discern precisely which thoughts trap them and they can only discard them. That is how a person becomes free.
Rhys Millen Before lunch, the students were excited to hear the guest lecture brought in by the Hyundai motor group, Rhys Millen, a New Zealand native. He appeared in the box office hit “The Fast and Furious” part 3, 4 and 5 as a stunt car driver. Having a dream of racing, he moved to America where his father had resided since he was 7. Later his dream led him to start his own manufacturing company at the young age of 23 making race car parts. Although he met many difficulties he continued to keep building his dream which has allowed him many opportunities he never dreamed of. The students were very interested in this lecture because many had seen the movies and really liked them. The speaker communicated well with the audience and answered many questions about his stunts during the movies.
Press Conference Today at 1:00 PM, the IYF held a Press Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Irvine and welcomed many members of the media. Among the guests we had representatives from: Azteca America, Sports Seoul, MBC, Phoenix TV, ICN IAVC, La PrensaEscrita, Distrito Casa, Global TV, CTI TV, SBS, Sky Link TV, and VNA TV. During the conference, they were introduced to the IYF and the many programs we offer for the youth. They got to learn more about the World Camp and many are planning to come back and cover this week’s exciting events.
Beach Trip After the performances and guest speakers, much of the excitement continued at the Huntington Beach in Irvine for some fun in the sun. The students displayed a lot of cohesion by gathering together and taking pictures for the photo contest. There were tons of fun-filled activities for everyone to partake in such as sports like volleyball and soccer but most of the action was in the water. As the participants for the world camp splattered with their groups along the shore, many students buried each other in the sand, made sand castles and some experienced being thrown into the water.
Gloria Nwankwo, a student and participant of World Camp commented on how much fun she had;“I enjoyed myself at the beach. We the students took a lot of pictures within a nice atmosphere. I played volleyball and met some new people.” All in all, the trip to the beach was a fun-filled one that allowed the students to bond with their groups and make friendships with new people.
Performance and Bible Lecture Tonight’s performances kicked off with something new. The students from Dallas performed a play called “Jolaman”. The special message was to break free from the bondages of your thought and follow the heart of God. Afterwards, the Gracias choir graced us with songs such as I Can Do Better and Italian Street Song. ZingizAzmanov, the violinist from Russia, performed an amazing solo called Lieblesleid. And then finally, the students heard an important message from Pastor OckSoo Park. During this precious lecture, we learned that there are two kinds of people: those who follow their own thoughts and those who throw their thoughts away and follow the heart of God. The bible tells us we should throw our thoughts away and enter the domain of the heart of Jesus Christ. He showed us John 8:1-11, the story of the woman caught in adultery to teach us this. As the students heard Pastor’s words and read these verses together, they wereable to learn the heart of God and gain much wisdom.
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