Family. What is a family? A family is a unit of people filled with love, charity, and selflessness. Venturing away from my own family for a weekend, I was rather nervous and unsure of what to expect. With only a few familiar faces, I began to worry. What was this weekend going to be like? Who are these people? Most importantly, is it going to be worth it? As I died on that very first night, my life changed forever. It was in that moment I knew it was all worth it. God had a purpose for me being on this weekend. I was finding who I am meant to be. My purpose here on earth is to spread God's unconditional love and beautiful word to as many others as possible. TEC 302 is an opportunity for a new group of candidates to experience Jesus first hand. Rising up through Jesus Christ...ahh such a sweet feeling. This weekend was full of realizations along with a strong sense of belonging. The feeling I have in my heart is beyond words. As I write this, I know there is nothing I can say to make anyone else feel the way I do. Nobody else will understand the change I went through on this weekend. Emotions flood my heart as I think about my TEC experience. My faith was strengthened as I was shaped into a new person. Jesus walked me through every step. We all have our own story. That's the beauty of it all. It's now time to welcome TEC 302 to our beautiful TEC family. Our family is centered around truth, acceptance, love, and most importantly, Jesus Christ. I'm so blessed to call these once strangers, my family.
-Testimonial from Caitlyn Hecht, Candidate TEC #301
I couldn't imagine when I made my first TEC, TEC 211 that I would have ever been directing one. All I can say is WOW! Being a director was much more than I ever could have imagined. The amount of prayers and support from the TEC community up to and throughout the the whole weekend for all of us was amazing. We could feel them and I couldn't be more thankful. To the candidates and observers thank you for coming and having an open mind to what God had in store for you on 299. To the team thank you for saying yes to Christ and choosing to serve others to bring them closer to Christ. I feel very humbled and blessed to have been on the weekend with all of you and to serve with you. You all thought me so much and challenged me to want to go out and do more in my faith journey. I pray each of you remember to be anchored in faith and that "you can do all things through Christ who give you strength." He is always there to "help you find it" whether it's strength for the day or peace for the moment, He's there.
-Testimonial from Caroline Wiewel, Director TEC #299
As an extremely shy person to say that I was hesitant about going to TEC would be a major understatement. After moving 800+ miles from home in September I hadn’t made any friends in Quincy so I generally spent weekends hiding in my room feeling sorry for myself. After my cousin Emma told me that she had decided to go on this TEC I figured I might as well go just to get out of the house for a couple of days. I am so happy I decided to go because not only was I accepted in a community who instantly cared for me (and for whom I now care for) but because I learned so much. Not only did I learn that God is like banana yogurt, I learned that he’s not going to leave me alone. Ever. Every day I think about how excited I am to come back as a wheatie so I can be as selflessly caring as y’all have been for me! I cannot thank the whole team enough for being there! Thank you TEC 296!
-Testimonial from Hope Glidewell, Candidate TEC #296