The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Nathan K. during the 2007-2008 League.
SSI Experience
Sunday, July 21st 2007 marks the beginning of a week at SSI filled with lots of hard work accompanied by loads of fun. The days before SSI were hectic. Our family had entered 4-H projects in the Fowlerville fair (it was the first year that our family had done anything like that) on top of getting everything ready for SSI. On the way over to Great Lakes Christian Collage I was thinking to myself about the nice relaxing week ahead of me-boy was I wrong! As our benevolent dictator (Mr. Muffet) said "You don't know what it's like till you come here!" Well he was right (again) - there was something going on every second of the day! The sessions taught by Mr. Muffet, Mr. Mailand, and Mrs. Briski, (just to name a few), were very encouraging to me as a young Christian. Mr. Muffet taught me to look at the government and the entire world through God's eyes; to be looking to Him for guidance whether I'm in business or working in government. Mr. Mailand taught me to be constantly going to God for the answer to problems I may encounter, no matter how big or small. Mrs. Briski showed me how easy it is to be led astray in this world where I'm constantly bombarded with lies, if I'm not continually seeking for the truth. The information she presented was powerful evidence to the truth of creation. Worship for me was a time where I could put aside all of my cares, all of the worries I had about the things that I needed to do, and completely surrender myself to God's will. It was truly a blessing to be there. The highlight of the week would have to be Friday. I woke up at around 6:30 as I still had some work to do on my speech. Once I finished, I got ready to go and went out to Bible study. I was the first one out there. As the guys filtered in you could feel the excitement in the air. Today was the day! After all the hard work, all the studying; everything we could muster was to be put into battering our opponents (sounds cruel but it's what we were told to do) in a nice and respectful way. It was a beautiful day, as we came up to the capitol building I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to work there. But the more I thought about it the more I came to realize that our view as human beings is so small and constricted compared to God's view. As we entered the capitol and climbed the stairs to the house chamber, I began to get a little nervous; not much, but a little. I had never spoken in pubic and didn't have a clue what it was like. When I did get up to speak all the nervousness that I had about speaking left me. It was awesome the way the microphone amplified my voice and seemingly carried it everywhere. It was an experience that I will never forget! During the closing ceremony Mr. Muffet told us that we were probably the most trouble-free group that he had ever seen! That was truly a blessing. My experiences at SSI challenged me, not only in the way I looked at government, but in my walk with God as well. I am looking forward to another great week at SSI in 2008!
