By Alex Pasker (NCAI HS English Teacher)
On Thursday, September 27, the thirty-six juniors and seniors of NCAI loaded up two school buses and, along with their 8 chaperones, left school for the annual two-day Junior/Senior Leadership Retreat. Each year, NCAI takes time to intentionally pour into our upperclassmen through worship, teachings, and team-building activities. This year’s retreat took place during school hours over two days at Palabra de Vida—a missions and sports center just a few kilometers from campus. Students and teachers worked together to choose the retreat theme, 1 Corinthians 2:26: “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” The words of this verse are a poignant reminder of God’s call for us to live in complete unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our students explored this theme through worship and small group sessions lead by teachers. In one session, students discussed the results of a personality test they had taken prior to the retreat and learned how to use those results to care well for one another. A later session asked students to rethink their ideas about forgiveness and to take steps to, first, accept the forgiveness Christ has offered them, and second, to extend that mercy and grace to those who have hurt them. These and the many other activities challenged the juniors and seniors to take on their responsibility as school leaders to call the entire student body at NCAI into closer fellowship.
Published on October 9, 2018. Written by Alex Pasker. Photos by Will Van Zoest and Julie Kim.
