In September this year, the first ever ‘Esgyn Plus’ Youth Weekend for 16-21 year olds was launched. Sioned Graves gives us a small glimpse of the weekend…
“At first, I was terrified – and genuinely thought I was going to die! But then I prayed, and kind of… surrendered to God, and then I wasn’t so scared anymore! After that, each time a wave towards me, it was like I knew I was being held in His hands, and I was safe with Him!”
What happens when 9 young people from 3 different churches go for 3 days to somewhere they’ve never been before, do daring things they may never have had the chance to do before, and ask questions they may not normally ask in their day to day lives?
“Then I prayed, and kind of… surrendered to God, and then I wasn’t so scared anymore!”
What about when they go with the intention of going deeper in their journey with Jesus? The answer – if you asked some of those young people – is that God seems to show up!
In September this year, a crew of young people and leaders did exactly that, and turned up to St David’s for the first ever Esgyn Plus. Esgyn was first launched in 2024 by a bilingual team formed from across the BUW family with the intention of giving young people the space to have a great time together, to build friendships and to explore the adventure of knowing Jesus.
This ‘exploring’, it turns out, does not just include encountering God through great times of teaching or worship or group activities, but has always included some pretty amazing (and sometimes terrifyingly intense!) experiences in the Great Outdoors, where it seems the Lord still loves revealing His glory and His goodness – long after the disciples experienced something not too dissimilar in a Galilean storm-tossed boat!
Esgyn Plus was no different – with the distinction of it being a time dedicated to 16-21 year olds who want to go deeper in their journey with Jesus.
One of the songs that was sung on the final day of Esgyn Plus was “My Jesus, My Saviour”. The words “mountains bow down and the seas will roar” took on a whole new meaning for 14 of the young people and leaders who a day previously had ventured out to the coast of North Pembrokeshire with a team from TYF Outdoors to literally experience the roaring and tossing of the sea as they were led over cliffs and through sea to navigate the bays of the St David’s Peninsula.
It seems the Lord still loves revealing His glory and His goodness – long after the disciples experienced something not too dissimilar in a Galilean storm-tossed boat!
That being said, Esgyn Plus wasn’t all intensity! The weekend at St David’s this year included experiences as varied as: marshmallows and guitar around the fire, times of stillness and reflection in a wonderful venue, being welcomed by the leaders of the local Y Groesfan Church with home-cooked lasagne, heading to the local beach (7 mins away!), and wandering around St David’s with an ice cream.
The times that were low in intensity were certainly made up for in quality, and in the young people’s genuine desire to explore more of what it means to live as disciples of Jesus in this generation. We were incredibly blessed to not only learn from some of the real-life experiences within the Esgyn team, but we were also able to hear some of the amazing perspectives and experiences of BMS World Mission, as we heard from Orla, who was there representing BMS.
Some of the richest, and most wonderful times of learning over the weekend, however, was when the young people were able to freely share and explore their own thoughts on how God was speaking…
Some of the richest, and most wonderful times of learning over the weekend, however, was when the young people were able to freely share and explore their own thoughts on how God was speaking to them – through the Bible, through times of worship, and through some of the amazing experiences had during the Coasteering on the Saturday.
That was when we heard from some of the young women – who had never done anything like this before but (literally!) took steps of faith to overcome their fears, discovering in the process that the Lord really meant what He said when He said that when they would “pass through the waters” (Isaiah 43:2)… He would be with them.
Was Esgyn Plus a weekend to remember for those of us who were there? Certainly.
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