I was a scholar this summer at Candler's Youth Theological Initiative 2008.

YTI was a transformative experience. I experienced the presence of God in profound ways, and saw the divine at work throughout the community. In worship services, in fellowship, in service activities, in morning prayer. and in all the other happenings of the program, I was blessed to be a witness to God's power.

At YTI, my intellect was pushed and my ideas were stretched. I came face to face with the realities of the world we live in, and my eyes were opened to the needs of those around me. I was confronted with harsh truths and was pushed forward in my calling as a Christian to serve and to transform. The program was the best three weeks of my life, and it has shaped the way I look at the world, at society, and at myself.

I made friends I will keep forever - friends who confronted me with stories very different from my own, friends who challenged me to see life in a different way, friends who demonstrated the diversity of God's love and truth. We formed a community like none I had ever experienced before, and one I am unlikely ever to see the likes of again. We were (and remain) a community united in our differences, blessed through our diversity, and shining as a light all the brighter for our many hues.