Spiritual Emphasis Day is a big event that many students look forward to. It’s a day where we take a break from our day-to-day classes and have sessions to focus on our spiritual life. There are many sessions that focus on different areas of our life, with several speakers like parents, teachers, graduate students, and special guests. This year we had the amazing opportunity to have Jon Lilley and 16 other people come down, including Mone and Kayla, who came last year. They have won over the hearts of our student body and have become the highlight of the experience, bringing life, emotion, and excitement to such a great event. This year we had a band that included talented singers, and many instruments like guitar, violin, cello, piano, and even a saxophone.
This is such a special event that we are very lucky to experience. We all have our own insight, perspective, and expectations of what we think or want SED to be. But what do the people that came down hope to achieve from this event? We interviewed some people who have been working on this for a while, and we would like to share what they think and want from this event, as well as some general questions for them.
Jon Lilley:
- How did you first hear of NCA?
“From an alumnus teacher here named David Russell. He told me how awesome this place was and that I needed to see all the awesome people.”
- What’s your favorite part of coming down?
“There’s too many to choose from. But if I have to choose, I would say talking with students after the worship session breakout and connecting with them on their heart for worship for God.”
- What is your goal for SED?
“Sometimes it’s easy to see SED as just another day without class and a long chapel. And I hope that every student that comes actually realizes this is a day my soul could be fed, I can be restored and renewed, and it can give me life for the rest of the school year.”
- What are some fun ideas you would like to do in the future?
“So Mrs. Adams actually gave me this idea. Maybe next time we have a worship breakout session entirely in Spanish, that really invites people whose heart language is Spanish to worship with us. I hope we get to do that.”
Mone and Kayla:
(These responses have been paraphrased at the request of the speakers for conciseness)
- How did you first hear of NCA?
Mone: From Jon, actually. We got hired at the church about a month and a half, two-ish months before, and we got presented with the opportunity to come down to Nicaragua. We got offered a teaching opportunity, I talked about it with Kayla and God led us to be here.
Kayla: The first weekend we went to Wood Creek Church, I heard a sermon that Jon Lilley was preaching about the Book of Amos. Afterwards, he talked about how he was taking a team to Nicaragua, and I wanted to go. I’d never thought of Nicaragua but a little spark lit in me and I decided I wanted to go. So I coordinated with Mone and we managed to come.
- What’s your favorite part of coming down?
Mone: One of the coolest things that I loved the first time and also the second time was, of course, seeing God at work. There’s such a beauty at NCA that you can’t really replicate anywhere else. That comes from the students, the staff, and the culture—it is just very beautiful in general. NCA is one of those special places in our hearts.
Kayla: The students—without you guys, there wouldn’t be an NCA, and we wouldn’t be here. We love hanging out with you guys, playing basketball, and just being able to share our love for Jesus alongside you all. But it’s definitely spending time with you and seeing you grow. It is so cool.
- What is your goal for SED?
Mone: To grow closer to God. I feel that as we teach these messages, we’re not only teaching to you guys, but God is really teaching us, and we just have the privilege and the honor to share from our perspective. We feel equally as encouraged, if not more, doing the same thing for you guys as well. And also to spur everyone in their relationship with God or to spark that desire to start that one.
Kayla: I would say spiritual refreshment. There is so much we can gain when we come together and celebrate and commemorate what God has done in all our lives. And so, SED to me is like a designated time for us to reorient ourselves to God and to be intentional about it. Part of that reorienting requires us to be expectant of spiritual refreshment in our own lives and in the lives of our friends.
- What are some fun ideas you would like to do in the future?
Mone: Go volcano boarding with everybody. Or just have a big day trip for it, like Amplify at the laguna. Also, maybe more prayer, like big group prayer time. It is pretty far out there, but I would love to do evangelism, like a serving day.
Kayla: I would love to take SED to a retreat. Laguna sounds so fun too—like ,of course, talking about God, but also jumping in the Laguna or having a bonfire. Separate from SED though, getting you guys an ice machine. Or a theme for every day, like wearing our pajamas on Wednesday. Also, what about a ball instead of Amplify—where we dress really fancy and have lots of fun things.
In the end, SED was amazing. Many people were moved, and it was an amazing time. So many people came to Amplify, both inside and outside of school, and it was a great time to grow in our bonds with each other, our relationship with God, and our wonderful guests. Thank you to our guests and we can’t wait to see what happens next year!
