Dear Tapawingo,
I want to thank you so much for the amazing four weeks I had this past summer. The CIT experience changed me, stretched me, and grew me. The four weeks of CIT Session 1 were the most impactful weeks of my life. I learned how to be still and listen to God's voice and what that actually meant. When I arrived at Tapawingo, our leaders told us that we were going to be studying John 10: What it meant to be a sheep and to listen to our Shepherd's voice. I was a bit in shock, to say the least. This subject was something I had been wrestling with for the past few months at home, but I hadn't been able to find any clear answers. I knew right then that God put me on our little island of joy, in the CIT Program, at the time that He did, because He knew that I needed to hear those messages. On July 8th, Mr. Jeff Quinn spoke at vespers about "responding to things". This was one of the most impactful messages I have received. One of the things he kept repeating was, "Do whatever it takes to bring you closer to Jesus." This really hit me and I have in a sense made it my life motto. I knew that for me this meant making changes in my life back home and that was one of the hardest realizations of my life. I am so thankful for my counselors who said what I needed to hear, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear, in so much love. I am so thankful for the friendships I made with the other CITs, counselors, and administrative staff. I admire the strength in Christ I saw in each one of them - how they challenged me to continue to grow – and are still challenging me to grow. The last thing I heard from a staff member as I was getting on the boat sobbing was, "He's the same God out there as He is here." That was so encouraging, and I keep reminding myself of that every day. Thank you for making CIT available to girls like me. It's such a life-changing experience and I'll never forget the life lessons I learned through it.
~Kaitlyn Davis
