The Cumberland Presbyterian Youth Conference is held every summer at the NaCoMe Conference Center near Centerville, Tennessee. It is for Senior High youth who have completed the 9^th grade and it serves as our Senior High camp. This year ECPC was represented by 6 youth and 2 adults who had an "awesome" time! We would like to share with you some of the memorable moments (both good and bad) that we shared.

First, for the not so comfortable things like the heat and the bugs which really weren't that bad. But, there was the 20 degree water ? Ok, so maybe not 20 degrees - but no more than 40!! We found out that seesaws still can bruise if the other person gets off suddenly. And rules still follow you - like curfew and saying "please" and "thank you". And the ultimate ? no cell phone signals. We did find that, as the week went on, we weren't as bothered by those things as we were at the beginning of the week. Of course, the first thing most of us did when we left the camp on Friday afternoon was to see how many bars our cell phones had!

CPYC has been an important part of our denomination for at least 32 years ? that's how long it has been at the NaCoMe Center and how long our friend, Frank Ward, has directed the camp. He is definitely one of our best memories. Others include powerful worship services (with our own Pastor Mark delivering a sermon), wonderful drama's, daily praise singing and energizers. We loved the activities like the dances, creeking, the talent show, the annual East vs. West softball game, and swimming in that "COLD" water. Daily small group study helped us to feel God's presence and to understand what it means to listen for God's call, and Communion on Thursday night recommitted us to our covenant with God. We made and renewed 200 friendships and celebrated the 4^th of July together with a fireworks display provided for us by the camp staff. We learned a lot about the Cumberland churches in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and Columbia through our global partners who shared the CPYC experience with us. And, we are so proud of Scarlet Staggers who was elected to a 3 year term on the Youth Ministry Planning Council. And ? chicken rings!!!!! You can certainly see how the word "awesome" is an appropriate descriptor.

Grace and Peace

Bentley, Scarlet, Mary Beth, Kelsey, Katie, and Cory