A letter from a student at Furman

The Illusions Conference changed my life, hands down. Before I had had a
few bad experiences at various retreats, and at the last minute I was
convinved to come, and I really feel like it was God's hand guiding me
there. I had spent the first trimester of my college experience drinking
and partying, beginning each weekend on wednesdays at a bar and ending it
sleeping till 2 on sundays. I felt very empty. I tried to find
fulfillment in other people, party friends and boys, but none worked, I
even began smoking weed. I saw nothing wrong with my behavior, but I just
couldnt understand why I felt so depressed all the time. Even when i
thought i was having a good time partying, that would only last a few
hours. I had gotten drunk and high the day before I came to conference.
I had such a wonderful experience at Conference, it was so amazing. My
roommates were so supportive, but at the same time asked me the hard
questions, like had I acknowledged Jesus as my savior. I struggled with
my desire to continue partying throughout the whole weekend, thinking what
would i possibly do when I returned to FU. But the beauty of it was that
through the talks, activities, and time spent together I made so many new
friends, and strengthened other relationships that would keep me in line,
and help me up when I would fall, or have doubts. I learned so much at
Conference, and realized so much about myself, my sin, but most
importantly about the magnitude of God;s grace. I am so much more
comfortable talking about God now, and praying(which I had never really
done before at all), The talks also shattered my perception of the world
we live in, and especially about myself, that I would not lose my identity
when I became a christian, but i would in fact become what i was meant to
be by becoming closer to God. It was such a great environment, because
everyone sppoke freely and frankly about God, and helkped me realize how
He has been pursuing us, and how He love us all. I could go on for pages
about all the amazing things I learned about God at Conference, but one of
the things that most stuck with me was letting go of my problems, For
years I have been trying to control my own life, but once I surrendered my
life to God, everything began to fall in place, and for the first time in
about 2 years i was genuinely happy. My heart flutters even thinking
about it now. This is the first time I have truly felt God's love,
because I acknowledged Him as my Savior the last day of Conference.
I also absolutely loved the Concert on New Year's Eve, and Pastor Duce
was fabulous. It was the first time the lyrics made sense to me, and i
finally understood their gravity-We are the Redeemed and in this life we
are Free! We belong to Jesus! I gave up drinking and smoking, and have
tried to maintain the friendships I made through it, but I plan to stay
away from parties for awhile, until I grow stronger in my Faith, because I
am still a toddler in that sense.
Conference changed my life. I am looking for a church now( i tried
Mitchell Rd this past sunday and was so excited that I got to hear Andy
Lewis speak again), and am having pretty regular quiet times, attending a
bible study, and I have gotten even closer to the friends i made there. I
confessed my partying sins to my mother, and have grown even closer to her
in the process, and I have been trying to spread the Gospel.
I hope you all who were on staff realize how thankful I am for The
Illusions conference. I feel so blessed to have had such an opportunity,
and I can't even express my gratitude for all you have done- you are all
truly blessed by God because I heard him speaking through you.
Thank You!