Converge is a retreat where hundreds of college students with all kinds of background willingly gather for a weekend to give praise to God and learn his word. Some friends from my home BCM invited me to go to Converge and they told me a lot great things about it and among those things they listed the series of fun activities that they have. Knowing how adventurous I can be, I knew that I wanted to go. I did go, and it was way more than what I expected.

Here are a few reasons why you should go to Converge if your state has it or maybe something similar.

1. There is no phone service.

I know — you hear no phone service and you think that the world is ending because you cannot go on social media or communicate with your friends or loved ones. But let me tell you, not having service was the best thing that could happen to me over that weekend, and if I had to choose again, I would do it all over. I got the chance to really develop a connection with the people around me and have conversations without the constant need of checking my phone to check on the people that are not besides me. I know you are thinking about emergencies; if you have an emergency that cannot wait you do get to talk to one of your leaders and they will help you get in contact with whomever.

2. You make friends.

You make friends that genuinely care about you and are ready to share the gospel with you. It's not every day you meet those kinds of friends.

3. It is a safe environment.

You get to share your story without being judged. Everyone around you is sharing their stories, and that pushes you to open up and be at ease and talk about things you would never talk about with people back home, because they wouldn’t understand you on a spiritual level.

4. No one forces you to do anything.

By not forcing I mean that our speaker Pastor Tom spoke the word, the truth, but he does not give you any orders in what you should do with your life nor changing your religion. Instead, he makes you see the way, he gives advice, he encourages you to read the word to nourish your soul, for only the word can change your heart and sanctify you. To me Pastor Tom was more like my Paul in 2 Corinthians 7: 9-11 "9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point, you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter."

5. You grow.

Not only you will grow on a personal level, but you will grow spiritually. I cannot begin to tell you how much those three days have impacted my life. Trust me you want to experience this for yourself.

6. You will have fun.

That was the main reason I went to begin with honestly, so you will definitely have fun. Whether you find joy in praise and worship, in talking to friends, or any outdoor activities, you will have fun. There were so many outdoor activities that I didn't even get a chance to do all of them so make sure you try at least one. My favorite was zip lining.

7. You might get a wake-up call.

Yes, you might (not to say you will). God has an incredible way of using his people, so you never know. It doesn’t hurt to give it a shot.

8. You get to explore nature.

You might already know this, but nature is beautiful. I went to one on the countryside of Kentucky where it was very peaceful. I honestly felt like I was outside of this world which is full of fear, hatred, and so much more. When it’s peaceful, it is better to meditate.

9. It is better than what I describe.

I can tell you all about my experience, but what you will experience if you go is nothing to what I tell because my friends told me about their experience and mine was totally different than theirs

10. You will never forget this experience.

Trust me on this one.

I really hope if you get to go to Converge you have a great experience as I did or even a better one.