"During the trip I bonded with NLCC members from Temple City and people from the Chicago church. I met some really cool people. What amazed me was that in spite of the many hardships in their lives (family problems, abuse, etc.), they were still joyful. They are living testimonies of God's grace and love. It actually made me feel bad about how much I complain about my own life.
I also saw numerous visions and pictures in which God revealed to me things on His heart, as well as things that He wanted me to do. In addition, He reminded me that time is a gift from God - not something I own - and that He is the only thing that can satisfy us. Since we have freely received such abundant grace from God, we also need to give it out freely, because there is a world in desperate need of Jesus. Through the eye-opening messages and experiences, I became even more convicted about the importance of spending time with God. It's more important than anything else in life. He is not only our hope and strength, but the source of every good thing.
Ever since the conference, I've tried to be consistent in spending time with God. I praise Him because even when I've felt disobedient to His voice, felt weak or dry, He poured out his grace on me, helping me to follow through. And so many cool things have happened as a result of this renewed commitment to faithfulness in my walk with God!
Many youth in our group received tongues. We also learned more about
other gifts of the Spirit, such as prophecy. Having the gift of tongues
has helped me so much in times when I didn't know what to pray, and had
not words to speak. [Our speaker] Quoc has said that tongues was the
perfect prayer. God gave me a deeper revelation of His passionate,
unfailing love, and His desire for intimacy with me - which is really,
really awesome."
-Anonymous
"The Uprising was a really good boost for me in my relationship with God after the China mission trip. I learned how to spend time with God - even with a completely packed schedule - and I also learned about the gift of tongues. The whole flying-over-from-California-to-Chicago part was just fun since we'd never done anything like that with our whole youth [group].
I thought the afternoon activities, like jousting, was really fun for everyone, and it was cool how people opened up their houses for us to stay at that week. It was good that we stayed at people's homes instead of a hotel for the late night talks, and just the fun in getting to know the Chicago youth. This way [we weren't as] segregated during the Uprising meeting.
I really enjoyed being with the youth from CASC - we all bonded really
well over the gathering. I'm extremely glad that I was given the chance
to go on missions this summer with some of the CASC youth members and
to meet them again at Uprising. I hope next year will be even better,
with even more [spiritual insights and blessings] for everyone to leave
with."
-Connie
"Wow, where do I begin? The Uprising was life changing
for me!!! God helped me to believe that I am more than what I seem to be.
He gave me more than what I'd asked for, which amazed me. Through this
trip, I received the gift of prophecy and the gift of tongues, which I
thank Him so much for. I also met some pretty amazing people that I
will never forget. Thanks for the best experience of my life."
-Andrea de la Rosa
"I have two sons. Charles is seventeen, and Andrew is fourteen. Charles was ten years-old when he was baptized. The same day when we had dinner, I told him that we had to pray for his dad so that his soul would be saved, or he would be burned in hell. Right then, Andrew started crying, asking, 'What about me?' I told him, 'You need to accept Jesus as your savior. You need to be baptized under Jesus' name.'
Every year since then, every time there was a baptism, I've asked him if he wanted to be baptized. He always said no. Although many of the kids his age and younger continued to get baptized, he continued to refuse.
Now it's 2007. This year, we had the first Uprising event, and I saw the Holy Spirit's work. Those youth kneeled on the altar, crying and praying. I also saw Andrew, crying and praying for those kneeling people. This is really God's work, I thought.
The Sunday after the event ended, we had another church baptism. I
asked my son again if he wanted to be baptized. He shook his head. But
that Thursday sister Le Wah called and persuaded Andrew. He barely
understood her, she was talking so fast, but he said yes, and the
following Sunday he was baptized. Thank God for his grace. If any of
your families have children, I hope that they won't miss the feast God
prepared for them."
-Shu-Fenn Lee