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By Pastor Kevin Albright
God's blessing upon our 2022 Chicago area Easter Bible conference at Camp Wonderland on Easter weekend was abundant. Our theme was "Touch Me and See!" which our Risen Lord said to his disciples. The 5 conference messages came from Luke 15, 23, and 24. J*osh Perez of Triton opened our conference, inviting us to touch Jesus in faith and experience his healing, transforming power in our lives. Then we heard 3 life testimonies from C*hristopher Hoffman (Indianapolis UBF), A*laa Young (Chicago UBF) and A*nastasia Perry (DuPage UBF). On Saturday morning, C*urtis Rodriguez (Indianapolis UBF) spoke on Jesus' words from the cross, "Forgive Them." We wrote and shared testimonies on this passage. He cried a lot in preparation and gave a heart-moving message, which he fully memorized. During the Saturday evening program, we heard a testimonial message by C*arlos Ocasio (DuPage UBF), "Alive Again!" -- how he was like the prodigal son. This was followed by 6 beautiful life testimonies from P*ia Arcila (Indianapolis UBF; she was also baptized), D*anny Morris (DuPage UBF), A*manda Sullivan (Indianapolis UBF), T*heodore Woessner (Chicago UBF), G*race Min (Chicago UBF) and B*ahati Kimondo (Chicago UBF).

We had 3 campfires for CBF with parents, HBF and the rest of the conference attendees. On Sunday morning, E*rick Lopez spoke on Jesus' burning heart Bible study with the 2 on the road to Emmaus. This was followed by A*linne Tapia's closing message on "Repentance for the Forgiveness of Sins Preached To All Nations." We had Communion as well. One noteworthy thing was that all 5 messengers were between 24 and 32 years old. Praise teams and special music were well prepared. 48 people led group Bible studies for those in person (35 groups for about 250 people), and there were 13 online groups for about 100 online attendees. We also had BBF (Baby Bible Fellowship), CBF (Childrens' Bible Fellowship), and HBF (High School Bible Fellowship) programs to supplement the main conference from time to time. We thank God for this first united in-person conference since the start of the pandemic. May the Lord continue his gracious work in us, among us, and through us.