To the glory of God, Youth Evangelical Fellowship Africa (YEF Africa) concluded the final day of the 2-day retreat “Seeking the Kingdom of God” on October 9th 2021. For the second day, there were eighteen attendants in total with seven of the attendants attending the retreat for the first time, and ten of the attendants were new YEF Africa Bible Study students.
The second day was kicked off by a short time of praise and worship directly leading into the Special Lecture given by World Olivet Fellowship Africa Representative Pastor Walter Livingstone where he encouraged all the participants to seek after the Kingdom of God earnestly reminding them of Philippians 3:7-11, 1 Peter 1:8-9, and Jeremiah 9:23-24. Afterwards, there was a short time of introduction and greetings amongst the attendants.
The third Bible study was given by YEF Africa Representative Anu Samuel on the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. The members were encouraged to hold on to God’s promise of His Kingdom. “Do not look and focus on the situation that you are in now but truly look towards God and continue to walk towards the Kingdom of God. Remember that we as Christians should be the good yeast, changing the environment around us rather than being influenced.” Minister Anu shared. “The Kingdom of God starts small like a mustard seed but from it, a forest, a huge tree can grow and many birds, many people can come to know God.” she concluded.
The final Bible study of the event was given by YEF Zambia representative, Pastor Joanna Mwepu who gave the Bible study on the Parable of the Hidden treasure and the pearl. She encouraged everyone to seek after the important things, the things of Heaven, the things of God. “Ultimately, what does God want from us? he wants our time, he wants us to spend time living a life that is pleasing to Him. We shouldn’t put off the things of God, we shouldn’t put off seeking God but we should do it now and God will reveal himself to those who seek” She shared. She also shared a powerful testimony of how she came to know God more and pleaded for everyone to truly never forget to seek the Lord, to count everything else as loss.
Afterwards, the participants had a time of sharing and reflection:
“Where I stay right now I complain about my roommate a lot but during this retreat, God was able to touch my heart and I was reminded that as a Christian I should be the one who influences my environment and not the other way around.” One of the Nigerian students, Femi shared.
Bible study student Jeff from Kenya also shared “All the messages have truly blessed me today and I am very thankful I was able to join. We already have everything needed for the Word of God, that seed planted in us to grow, so let us grow well so we can bring others to God as well, thank you.”
YEF Kitwe Volunteer leader, Benson Mwelwa also shared “I thank God I was able to join today even though I am not feeling well, I have learned so much about Matthew 13 and how important it is for a person to abide by the Word of God, it may seem to be small at first but if we receive the Word of God with all our heart, it will bring about a great impact in us.
Additionally, Femi additionally shared after the retreat “I wanted not come for the event, but God convinced me and to God be the glory, I was really blessed… I pray that God will continue to re-anoint you and other vessels that he used for that program, may his name be praised.”
YEF Africa is truly thankful that they could be used by the Lord to share the gospel to the youth, they thank God for helping them to successfully conclude their first online retreat and giving them the courage to teach, host, and preside. Although they wished that many more attendants could have come, they plan that for the next retreat, to advertise more ahead of time and invite many more students. Glory to God for this glorious event in YEF History!