What's up, everybody?

My name is Matt, and today I have Dalton.

What's up?

Dalton is one of my high school students.

He's actually not just one of my students.

He's been helping lead.

He teaches some middle school students, and he's just becoming a developing leader and ministry person in his own right.

And we are excited to talk today, but before we get to that, we will break.

So welcome to the truth Response.

Okay, so I'm going to pray.

Okay.

All right.

Father, thank you for today.

Thank you for Dalton and for everyone that's paying attention, listening to this podcast.

That's us.

That's.

That's helping us to get the word out for what we're doing here.

We pray also for Derek and his team who's in Honduras right now that just continue to help them bring glory to your name and your kingdom through these people that they help them in every way that you have willed for them to do so, Father, help them to return safely as well.

And for our second team, who's going to go to go down and return safely.

And just for everything that you allow us to do and everything you have coming up for any of us, help us to get there to glorify your name in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen.

All right, so, Dalton, it's your first time on the show?

It's the first time I've had a student on.

Oh, the first student.

Well, no, no, actually, that's not true because I had Luke on a few times, but he was graduating.

But you're right in the middle.

You're like, you're only two years in the high school, so you're a little more unique.

So that's cool.

So anyway, great, Dalton, you've had a pretty big transformation.

Yeah.

I actually wanted to get you on because of that, so I wanted you to talk a little bit about that today because when I first met Dalton, he actually.

I mean, he's not talking much yet, but he was that kid that kind of stood to the side and didn't really participate.

Really.

It was hard to even get him to speak a few words, except for, like, if we played kickball.

Right.

Because kickball's amazing.

But then, you know, a couple things happen.

Do you want to hit it?

What do you.

What are the big moments?

Yeah, I'd say like a big moment was move last year.

Help me get to meet everyone.

Help bring break down those walls.

First day was really bad.

I was self inflicted, but, you know, God shined through and the Holy Spirit broke down my walls.

And it Was a really good time, but I didn't read my Bible at all, which was not good.

Yeah, really helped me be more social.

You can ask anyone.

We went.

And then.

Yeah, you.

You were like, one of the highlights for a lot of people, because you kind of flourished.

Well, you said.

What was it like that first day?

You said the first day wasn't any good.

The first day it was bad because, like, I left my wallet in my suitcase so I couldn't buy anything.

And, you know, I didn't eat at all.

The whole 14 hour bus trip.

I didn't eat despite you and Clint offering me food.

I'm like, no, I'm good.

And, you know, my phone died.

I didn't have a blanket on me or a pillow, so I was, like, freezing and tried to sleep, but didn't really help.

And then when we got there, like, I didn't like being there.

Like, I just felt, like, unwanted, uncomfortable.

And I'm like, I just want to leave.

I want to go back to my sisters.

And I texted them that night and just like, hey, I really hate being here.

I just want to go back home.

See you guys.

They're like, don't say that.

Like, it's the beginning of the trip.

And I'm like, yeah, but it just hasn't been going well.

I told them, like, why?

And they're like, just pray on it.

We'll pray for you.

And I'm like, okay.

So I prayed to God that night, and I'm like, can you just, like, help this trip be more better?

You know, help me not feel uncomfortable and unwanted.

And the next morning, I felt very terrible because I didn't eat, you know.

You didn't eat all day?

Yeah, I didn't eat for, like, two days.

And, like, felt dizzy, nauseous.

I was gonna throw up.

And I just prayed to God that morning, like, and this was like, when we were about to, like, leave for the river rafting.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We hadn't even gone river rafting yet.

Yeah, it was when we were all gathered, like, I was sweating.

I don't know if anyone saw it.

I just kept to myself and I prayed on it.

And then, like, immediately, like, I felt better.

Like, my stomach was, like, feeling full, and I wasn't sweating, wasn't dizzy.

I was like, you know, I was feeling better.

So.

Yeah, that was only the beginning of day two.

Yeah, that was.

Yeah, we hadn't even, like, the conference itself hadn't even begun yet.

Yeah, so that.

That's.

That's different because, you know, it's one thing if the conference started and it started kind of rocky, but no, we hadn't even gotten to that point yet.

I think you know your story because you've told me this before and I think it just what a reflection of what it is for someone.

That was your, you know, that was two summers ago now, but that was dealing with spiritual warfare in a real sense.

Like you felt ostracized, you felt.

Not.

Accepted and that everything was telling you all you want to do is walk away from this.

You don't want anything to do with this kind of thing.

And yes, Clint and myself both.

I didn't know Clint did it, but I know I definitely tried to get you to eat sometimes.

That's what spiritual warfare does to us.

It puts us in that place of just feeling rejected or end wanting to reject and then it's cool.

I love that even on the first day that we were there, not the traveling day, but the first day that we were there, like if one of the first things you do is pray because you're not feeling well and God's like, alright, I got you.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, well then of course, I mean, the whole trip changed for you, right?

Yeah.

Do I explain that?

Yeah, go for it, man.

Okay, so.

So we went to McDonald's and like.

You do as a youth group, right?

Yeah.

And I bought my own order.

I was like, oh, wow.

I'm like being responsible.

I was like really proud of that.

And I was like so full that like my body just didn't like want to eat.

I like forced myself to eat because like I need something in my system.

And then we went whitewater river rafting and I went with Carla, Derek, Brooke and Dennis.

So I was a fifth wheel, but I liked it.

I thought it was fun.

Even though it was people I already connected with.

Not as much, but a little more now.

And it was, it was good.

And then like fast forward to like a couple hours later.

We're like in the auditorium for the afternoon service.

And like Alec, she just randomly like talks to me.

Like I sit by her, Maddie and Reno and she just randomly talks to me.

She's like, hey, you seem pretty cool.

Like, let's be friends.

And I'm like, okay.

And like, you know, I hung out with them.

And then like the sermon started and the theme was the rest of your life.

But I don't remember like what he was talking about.

But I know it was just something that applied to my life and like, you know, I just felt the Holy Spirit and like worship was really Good.

Like, and throughout the day, like the Holy Spirit was like breaking down my walls.

And you know, after the sermon, like when we went to our small group in the building, I was just feeling it like a lot.

And then like when we were talking about our day, I remember you said, like, if you want to share about your day, like, stand in the middle of a circle.

I would never want to do that.

Like, absolutely not.

But like the Holy Spirit was like forcing me to go up there.

Like I know it was telling me to.

So I'm like, fine, I guess I'll go.

And I couldn't even finish like what I was going to say because I just started crying in front of everyone.

And you know, cuz they're just so powerful.

Like so much happened in just one day.

And you know, like when I started crying, like Jackson came up, gave me a hug and then like after him just everyone joined.

Yeah, I remember that.

Yeah.

Well, you know, it's funny because it's, it's interesting to see the perspective you had versus the perspective of the rest of the group because, you know, to your perspective, you felt at first like nobody even wanted you there, nobody cared kind of thing where it wasn't the case.

Actually, a lot of people really wanted to see something good for you.

You know, they were hoping, you know, the kid that stands alone by himself and doesn't talk or doesn't do much, you know, it's not that people don't care.

I mean, they'll let you do that if you want to.

I mean, oftentimes you'll get crazy people like me that come up to you and go, hey man, don't you want, don't you want to participate?

But I tell you what, the joy that went through that room when you stood up and basically proclaimed the kind of day that you had and the breakthroughs you were already having, I mean, the hearts of everyone in that room just broke and just loved.

They just wanted to love on you.

I remember Jackson getting up, but then I remember everyone getting out of their seats to.

And it was like the biggest group hug we had ever had up until that point.

Yeah.

And it all started with Dalton.

It was awesome.

Yeah, I really liked it like that.

That like signified that like I was meant to be here.

And like the lies the devil told me was just like, not true.

And I feel like the devil's like trying to make me feel that way because he knows, like, he knows like what I'm going to go through at this movie trip, which is everything he doesn't want to happen for me.

Yeah.

So, like, that's why he just kept telling me those lies, and I really enjoyed it.

And then after that day, it just was fun.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You definitely loosened up a lot.

And we had a.

You went and did some of the gaming competitions, right?

I did three of them.

Three, yeah.

Yeah.

And I think you had a pretty good crowd follow you around to each of them.

Yeah, yeah.

You had your own cheering session, so that was cool.

But, yeah, I love that.

You know, one of the things that we hope for on a trip like that, you know, and we're starting to gear up, we're going to be promoting the next year's trip, and that's coming soon, so I'm excited for that.

But, you know, we always hope that, you know, there's breakthroughs that happen.

But, you know, yours was probably one of the.

I don't want to misuse the term, but was one of the most dramatic, not in a negative sense.

It was one of the biggest things that we saw on that first trip or two summers ago.

It was an amazing experience, and I know it left an impact on you.

Yeah, it did.

But talk a little bit about.

I know.

So the whole rest of the trip went pretty good.

And I remember you got right in with all the rest of the kids and you were in with a lot of the activities, and then even with going up to worship, that was really cool.

And.

And there was just so much there.

But the challenges, though, when it comes to coming back home and having to get back into the normal.

I know you had some challenges there, so.

Cause, I mean, I know there was.

You know, Clint and I were always trying to encourage you to keep coming to youth group, but, you know, life kind of made you feel like, once again, the enemy wanted you to feel ostracized again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

After the trip, like, I was just like, oh, I'm so on fire for God.

Like, there's no way, like, I'm going off this, like, mountaintop.

But didn't happen because, like, a couple weeks after Move, like, I started falling back into sin.

And, like, it, like, it really filled me with guilt because I didn't think that would happen again.

And, like, I just sat in that guilt and I let it, like, tear me apart.

And then, like, that guilt, like, sent me away from the church.

Like, I never went to Sunday night.

I didn't even really go to Wednesday night.

And I barely went on Sunday mornings.

I just secluded myself.

And it wasn't good.

Like, I was going in and out of depressive episodes.

Like, I just really did not like my life, but God helped me through it.

Like, the re.

Like, the only reason why, like, I want to keep going is because I know God's there for me.

But, like, I just didn't let him work through me, you know?

Cuz like, I was setting back, I was setting those walls back up and I wasn't talking anyone.

Like, I just secluded myself and then like.

Yeah, it was not good.

Yeah.

Well, you know, it's interesting because there's speaking with even adults, it's hard for sometimes for them to recognize those moments in their lives where they're falling back in.

And it's amazing that someone your age is also understanding, like, where guilt played a factor into that and how much.

I mean, guilt is an oppressor.

It's an oppressor.

It'll make you feel even worse and is.

It's like having a boss that just wants to beat you down.

It's a terrible thing.

And sometimes we give.

I honestly believe for the Christian, we give guilt too much power.

Like, it's.

We're not meant to have that anymore, you know, not like that.

But.

Yeah.

And it can make you feel like I can't.

Can't go back and I can't do that.

So what do you think was like, the hardest thing, the biggest struggle?

What was the biggest struggle during that time for you?

I don't know.

Just like, getting through it.

Like, you know, I just like, didn't do anything about it.

Like, I would sit in that guilt and shame and I just like, do nothing.

Like, I wouldn't read my Bible and when I did, it was just out of pure obligation.

Like, I would read John three chapters a day, would not even pay attention to any of them.

I would just read it so I can make God happy.

Oh yeah.

And it's just like, that's not gonna like, make him happy because, like, I'm not.

I'm not really like, taking any of these to heart.

Yeah.

When you're doing it begrudgingly.

Right.

Yeah.

I think that was the biggest struggle.

Just like me sitting in that shame and just like, not getting out of.

Took a long time.

I think it stopped when I actually started reading my Bible, which is July 2nd of this year.

I started reading Mark.

Like, I finished off with John.

I don't remember anything from John, but I reread it.

So now I know.

But like, at the time I finished it and then I read Mark and like, I was.

I was like, maybe I should like, take notes on These, like, maybe it'll help me because, like, I can't really focus while reading unless I'm, like, interacting with the words.

And, like, by that, I chose to, like, write down what, like, you know, stands out to me, and that helped keep my attention.

So I was like.

I read, like, the first four chapters of Mark.

Then I got a contusion, and I.

It's a real thing.

I get you.

Like, everyone's like, contusion.

Like, are you, like, saying the word wrong?

No, it's a.

It's a real thing.

It is.

Yeah.

And, like, I couldn't, like.

Like, I could not remove, like, my right arm at all.

So I couldn't, like, really read my Bible, take notes on it, at least.

And then, like, when it started getting better, I heard God telling me, like, okay, now that your arms better, like, you can, like, go back into your, like, motion.

And I'm like, yeah, but I don't want to really do that right now.

So, like, mind you, when I was reading my Bible, like, life was good.

Like, I wasn't falling into sin.

Like, I was happier.

I was really feeling God's word.

Like, when I stopped, like, I fell back into sin.

I felt that shame and guilt again.

And, you know, like, a couple weeks before move, like, I felt, like, the conviction to go to youth group, and I did, and I ended up liking it.

Like, we play werewolf.

Oh, yeah.

Like, werewolf.

I enjoyed it.

And then the Saturday.

Well, I remember going to the Prayathon.

Oh, yeah.

That was really fun.

Yeah.

Those are amazing days.

You know, I was glad that we were able to.

I think we upped the ante this year a little bit more because, like, the first year we did that pray a thon.

Okay.

So for those listening, but we were talking mainly about our big move trip, which is our big senior or high school trip that we go to in the summer.

And the Sunday before our trip, we get together and we call it a pray a thon.

And what's really cool about that day is, is that we usually will separate everybody into the groups they're gonna be in that day.

We have different activities and some fun stuff to do.

And it was.

I think the first year we did, it worked out pretty good.

I know you felt more awkward back then.

Yeah.

But this year, I feel like it went really well.

I think that.

I don't know, I just feel like it got better, for sure.

Yeah, it did.

It was a good time.

Plus, we got to plan more.

We had a little bit more of a heading on what we were gonna do and what it was gonna look like.

So that was really good.

But, yeah, that was a good day.

So.

But then.

Okay, so.

And it's amazing.

Your.

Your testimony, like, is so amazing when it comes to what happened to you both before the first move trip and the between.

Between the first move trip and the second movie trip.

You know, it's almost like watching the story of someone's larger life of faith in a very small, like, made for Hallmark movie, you know, because, like, wow.

Like it.

I've seen so many people that are just like, they go to that mountaintop experience, like, move is.

And then they come back, and then it's easy to fall back into your old habits, you know, and this is for anyone, you know, adults are included.

But then for you to get into the Bible and then have that, well, God's saying, okay, now you can pick it back up, be where you went, and you're.

Now you're out of the habit.

It's like, but then that would mean I'd have to discipline myself to get back into it.

That is.

That's so real.

That's so real.

I don't know any adult that doesn't struggle with that.

You know, when you get out of the habit with something, you have to discipline yourself because it's so easy to just go, or, I don't do it.

You know, so the fact that you've had these happen to you, and, you know, you talk about it so openly, which is awesome, but it's real.

I mean, there's.

If there.

I believe there's listeners that are listening to this going, I've been there.

I've definitely been there.

So, okay.

But then, you know, pray a thon came.

And then the second trip came, and you seemed way more excited this year.

I remember talking to you ahead of time going, you're going to eat this year.

But you were more excited.

How did that kick off for you?

How did that feel?

Well, I really like talking about my second year because, you know, I was always excited after.

Even, like, in my depressive episodes.

I'm like, oh, I still can't wait for move.

You know, that's what I look forward to.

And I'm like, I thought what Melanie thought last year.

She thought, like, her last year that she wouldn't feel like it was better than first year.

So God said, then hold my communion cup.

Yeah.

And, you know, we got there, like, on the bus.

It was fun.

Got to meet Isaac and, like, her friends.

Got to talk to them.

Kennedy's friends.

I specify that yeah, just so Isaac's not a girl, that's fine.

Yeah.

And when we got there, I was happy.

But even before the trip, like.

Like a couple weeks before, when I started going youth group again, like, I just felt.

I just kept thinking about the chapel.

Like.

Like that even though I went one time last year and that I didn't even, like, choose to go, I just.

I just went because Luke wanted, like, me and a group of people to go.

So I'm like, okay, I'll go.

And, like, I just kept thinking about that, like, for weeks.

And I'm like, when we got there, I'm like, I'm so excited to go to the chapel.

Like, I want to go.

And I remember telling you our first day there, like, right when we got there, I'm like, hey, me and Olivia want to explore, like, chat, like, the campus and the chapel.

And you're like, oh, we can't leave our dorms tonight.

I'm like, dang it.

But I had a fun time.

Like, the first night was really good.

Definitely way better than my first night last year.

And I remember day two, it was whitewater river rafting.

It was way better than last year's because, you know, I wasn't a fifth wheel.

I went with me, Kenzie, Sage, Pamela and Olivia.

It was really fun.

Got to swim in the water.

I mean, Steven flashed us.

That wasn't very fun.

That was okay.

He didn't do it on purpose.

Yeah.

That was an accidental.

Pants fell down a little bit.

Yeah, it was something.

Yeah, just the backside.

It's fine.

That was terrible.

But the bummer that day was that my cross necklace fell apart.

Like, I was so sad because, like, I lost a piece of it on the bus.

I was, like, looking everywhere for it and I just couldn't find it.

And then, like, that day, like, I went to Walmart in my socks, which I thought was funny because, like, my shoes were wet.

And it's just like, I don't want to wear shoes.

Stinky shoes.

So it's Walmart.

You can get away with that.

You can also get away with socks.

Like, wearing socks.

Like, no one noticed.

Well, mom did.

She looked at me weird, but.

And you just kind of like, well, this is what I'm doing right now.

Yeah, just going with the flow.

Me and Alec were, like, shopping together.

It was fun.

And after that, I don't remember after that.

I just know it was, like, really good.

I think day three was the day I went to the chapel.

Or maybe it was day two.

I didn't, like, I know it, like, rained, like, really badly.

Like, I went there and, like, Lathan Jackson, all of them were there.

They were, like, recording around the chapel, seeing if it was haunted or just like, oh, goodness, you guys.

You know, you guys are distracting me.

Yeah.

Because I was reading my Bible and, like, I spent, like, two hours in that chapel and I was.

Well, it was because of the rain.

Like, two hours.

And I read two chapters because, like, I literally wrote everything down in my notebook from Mark.

And I really enjoyed it.

I prayed for the stained glass things.

Each chapter I finished, and it was really good.

And I'm like, man, I really enjoy this.

But.

Oh, I forgot.

Forgot one of the biggest parts.

Like, the second day, I remember we were doing our sailor cards.

And, like, we had to, like, think about, like, the card.

Yeah.

Like, at the very end of the card.

And I just, like, got random thought it was just like, oh, like, we can vision our lives as, like, Peter when he walked on water with Jesus.

And, like, you know, we can envision ourselves as Peter and, like, he was walking on water when he was focused on Jesus, but when he got distracted by the waves, everything around him besides Jesus, he fell in the water and submerged.

Yeah.

And Jesus pulled him up.

So I'm like, man, that's like, a really good comparison.

Like, we envision ourselves as Peter, and, like, we can, like, think of waves as, like, the worldly desires, and we can get distracted by that instead of Jesus.

And then, like, we fall in the water being sin.

And Jesus can pull us out of that sin.

Yeah.

If we, like, reach out for him.

So I'm like.

And then I talked about that at our group, and, like, everyone's like, wow, I never even thought about that.

Yeah, I remember you.

You said that in group.

And I remember Clint and I just looked at each other like, there he goes dropping bombs again.

Because you have this incredible ability to take some amazing Bible truths and put them into ways that just hit real great, you know?

And that was.

We loved that one.

I'm trying to remember.

I know the first year you did it, too.

You hit something really on the head.

I remember it.

What was it?

It was, God spent six days to create the world, but he took nine months to create us.

Oh, yeah.

See, that's what I mean.

This dude is awesome at making things.

Just incredible.

And so.

Yeah.

So we were just waiting for another truth bomb.

But that one was so good.

I remember that.

And that was that morning.

That was what, day two?

One.

Yeah, I think it was day two.

Yeah.

So day two so the first day we went whitewater rafting and then we had an evening session.

And then day two, we had a morning session.

And it was right after morning session that we did the selah cards, which were prayer cards for better lack of word there, if you don't know what selah is.

And then we had group time.

And then that's when you dropped that bomb.

And I was thinking about that all day.

Like, that was just.

That was on my mind all day.

Like, man, that Dalton's dropping bombs.

This is great.

And I remember we were right before evening session.

Oh, yeah.

And I saw you, a couple of us.

It was me and I want to.

Say, Clint, it was all.

It was you and all the male leaders.

Yeah, a few of us were just.

Yeah, we're just sitting outside of where the evening session was just kind of relaxing.

And you walked up and I was like, alright, so listen.

Yeah, I remember it.

I was.

I was exploring the campus.

And then like, I was like, oh, it might be time for evening session.

Because, like, I finished like dinner early.

And I'm just like, okay, I'm gonna use this time to explore the campus.

And I did saw some places I've never seen last year.

It was really cool.

And I took some pictures.

It was fine.

And then like, I came back and I saw you guys, I'm like, oh, I'm just gonna hang out with these guys.

And then like, you came up to me and you're like, hey, you've like been dropping all these truth bombs.

And you were like, like, I feel like God spoke through you at this moment because he's like, he said, like, have you ever considered joining, like, going into ministry?

And like, I never considered that before.

Well, I remember, I said that.

I can't remember verbatim, but I remember basically I said, I believe that you've been given a gift.

I said, but I don't believe it's for you.

I said, I believe you've been given a gift to use for God and to go out for the other people because of the way that you're able to bring in information and then bring it back out in a way that, you know, people can digest.

And it hits them hard.

You know, as I told you, as a communicator myself, you know, my number one job as a pastor and a teacher and a preacher is I want to take scripture things and make it so people can understand them.

I said, so with that kind of gift, I said, I think God wants to use that.

I said, I don't know How?

And I don't know when, you know, I didn't say right away, but like, I did say, like, you know, I think you should look into that.

And I kind of like just kind of left it.

Yeah.

After you said that, like, thought never left my mind.

Like the entire trip there, like every single day, like, the thought just kept.

It was just always in my mind.

And I'm like, is that something I should actually do?

And like, I was like, so confused on it because it's just like, I keep thinking about this, so it must mean something.

So like, I prayed to God, I'm like, have the Holy Spirit guide me into what you want me to do.

Like.

Cuz I'll do it.

Like, just tell me what I need to do and like, I'll do it.

And I just kept going to the chapel.

Like, it was so crazy.

It was a contrast.

It was a huge contrast last year because last year I loved going to the rec center.

I loved doing the tournaments.

Like, this year I did not like being in the rec center.

I didn't do any tournaments, like, because I'm like, you know, I'm in the rec center, but I want to be in the chapel.

And like last year I was in the rec center.

I didn't even think about the chapel, so I just thought it was like, huge contrast.

So I'm like, you know, like, just have like, Holy Spirit, just like guide me and what you want me to do.

And like, I remember one of the sermons was about ministry, so I'm like, okay, but.

And even before that, like, the morning service was still about it.

And I'm like, I have a feeling this night's gonna be like, really powerful.

Like, I just.

I just think it is.

It's gonna be life changing.

And evening service.

Oh, and that was also the day you guys all left me.

You guys all went to go get ice cream.

Oh, well, that was.

That wasn't even my idea.

That was someone else's idea.

But I. Yeah, I was like, all right, yeah, let's.

Let's go.

I didn't realize you didn't come.

Well, I didn't realize you got left behind that you wanted to come.

Yeah, I was like, who all wants to go?

Let's go.

And then.

Yeah, anyway, so I was in the.

Chapel and then I came back.

I'm like, where is everyone?

I text the group chat.

They're like, oh, we're all getting ice cream.

Like, brah.

Like, I don't like ice cream.

I don't want to eat ice cream.

I Just want to be there to hang out with you guys.

And, yeah, evening service came, and, like, I was, like, shaking a little bit, and I'm like, I felt this before, this Holy Spirit, because, like, I was shaking before.

Like, I walked up in front of the middle of the circle and, like, you know, shared how my day was.

I knew I was Holy Spirit.

And I'm like, okay, well, I feel like I know what he wants me to do, but I felt like, Gideon, I'm like, I don't know.

I need another sign.

And.

Yeah, yeah.

And like, he's like, the preacher said, like, if any of you are, like, wanting to go into ministry, like, stand up.

Like, I was shaking like crazy when he said that.

So I'm like, okay.

So I sat down my stuff, and, like, I stood up and I'm like, wow, I cannot believe this.

Like, I just took, like, a huge step, and it's just like, now, like, I have to be committed.

No more slack in.

Well, so here's some things that night.

So that wasn't the same night I talked to you.

That was a different night.

But I will say this.

That night was an amazing experience from my perspective, too, because in the early part of the day, our leaders meeting that morning, they told us they were going to do that, right.

But we were just keeping it to ourselves.

And then Hannah was one of the students that.

She actually came to me at dinner.

She's well around dinner.

She's like, hey, can I talk to you at dinner?

Yeah, okay, sure.

And at dinner, she was like, I think I'm supposed to go into ministry.

And I was like, are you serious?

She's like, yeah.

And so we had this whole conversation, and I was like, all right, listen.

So I think they're going to do something tonight.

I said, just be open to it, you know, if you're feeling this.

I said, then just see what they do, and then see how you want to respond.

And I kind of just left it in her court.

And I didn't know.

So, like, I had in my mind, I'm like, well, Hannah might stand up when they do this.

And then I was thinking about two other students in the group that I thought might stand up.

Okay.

And I did not realize that you were going to be one, so you weren't in the three that I was thinking of.

And so the time came, and it was the night that they.

We were doing the handing off of the batons, right?

So I am on the side and I'm holding a bag full of batons, and I'VE handed some out to the other people.

And it's like, this is gonna be great.

And I know.

I'm like, there's a good chance I'm gonna hand them one of these batons to Hannah.

So I'm like, I'm ready for that.

And I will say this.

So time came.

Hannah stood up.

I was like, okay.

So she did accept it.

Okay, great.

And then one of the students I thought might stand up didn't.

Another one did.

But then somebody suddenly grabbed me and said, dalton stood up.

And I was like, mind blown, like, oh, man, are you serious?

Because honestly, I didn't know at that point you and I hadn't talked about it that as much, because I know I talked to you on that day right before evening session, and I just threw it like a, hey, you know, this might be something in your future kind of thing.

I wasn't thinking about anything that was going to happen later in the week at all.

I was more like, you know, you should probably at some point explore this gift of yours kind of thing.

So when you stood up, I was like, oh, wow, that's crazy.

I mean, good crazy, but I wasn't expecting it.

And.

No, but that was an amazing moment in time.

I was taken aback by that whole thing.

It was just, what a night.

And.

Yeah.

And you have.

You still have your baton, don't you?

Yeah.

You got your baton.

I have one that I kept as a souvenir just so I can, you know, remember that moment.

I love having Ebenezers.

I love little things to remind me of stuff that has happened.

I always like to call them, like, things for my rainy day file.

But when I can look over and I see, oh, this is representing the day that this happened.

So, for instance, like, we just did a day of baptisms at the beach.

I have a rock that I got.

From the beach that's unique.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I have a unique one for that.

I've got one for when one of my students came to Christ.

And I have a baton for the time that you and your two comrades stood up.

And comrades might not be the best word, but anyway, so like, I keep things like that just as little reminders.

That's probably the biggest because it's like a full size thing, but yeah, that was pretty amazing.

But you.

After that, man, I remember we talked that night afterwards.

We did?

Yeah.

I don't remember.

I know, like, we talked, but I just don't remember.

Yeah.

And you were like, I think I just need to do this.

And I was like, okay.

And like, great.

You took a little seed that I thought I might have planted for later, and that thing just blossomed, apparently.

So.

That was wild.

But.

Yeah, but so amazing trip, right?

Yeah, it was awesome.

It was better than first year.

Yeah.

I honestly didn't know you could beat the first year, but you did, so that was well done.

You know, and you're right.

Like, sometimes you're like, well, this student had an amazing this year, you know, and we hope that every student has an amazing time every year.

But, you know, you're like, well, this.

Maybe they won't have quite the same experience.

Maybe they'll just maintain.

But you definitely have gone above and beyond.

But then since we've gotten back, you're like, on it, man.

Like, you have been.

You've been doing.

So we have an app thing.

It's like a mentorship thing that we're doing.

You're meeting with Pastor Nick and doing mentorship that way.

Obviously, you're on this podcast right now, but you also.

So you have jumped in, and now you've also been leading on high school.

I have high schoolers that teach lessons to middle school on Sunday mornings, and Dalton has stepped into that role as well.

Which is a little outside of your comfort zone to start.

Yeah.

But already showing improvement.

This one here, of course, as I had no doubt.

So what's that like for you?

What is it like to be home and then, like, have this new.

This new thing to drive?

Well, the last day of move, like, the day we were leaving, it was a terrible day.

I did not enjoy that day because it was mainly because of two reasons.

One, we were leaving, and I didn't want to leave because, like, I love being at move.

I love being at Lee University.

I love being around my youth group.

You know, it's really good.

And then my main reason was because I don't want to do what I did last year.

I don't want to, like, feel mountaintop, just to, like, tumble back down, you know?

Am I scared?

Like, the thing I'm scared of a lot, and I still am, is drifting away.

Like, that's one of my biggest fears, just drifting away.

Because, like, when I drifted away, like, that was like, one of the worst years of my life, if not the worst.

It's cuz all because I drifted away.

So, like, that day was just terrible.

And, you know, like, after that, I'm just like, okay, I'm not gonna let that happen.

I'm gonna do things, like, I can, like, keep me on track.

I won't Be on the mountaintop, but like I won't be at the bottom.

Like I won't be at rock bottom.

So you know, like, I was like trying to like get things working through in the church.

Like, hey, like we should do like internship meetings, you know, because it's like Carla talked about the day, like I accepted the call and I'm like, okay, like we should do that.

And like I was like trying to like meet with like you and like other elders so like, I can just like, you know, stay on track and like be held accountable.

During my Bible, I was taking note notes and I didn't even do follow through until like later on.

Yeah, well, I mean it's all going on now, so.

Yeah, I was doing a lot, you know, like, like I was feel.

I was like doing so much.

Like I was like getting like a burnout.

Not with like the Bible or anything.

It was just like me trying because like I, I should have understood this at the time.

But like, you guys are really busy, you guys still are.

But I didn't like really understood that.

And like I was just like feeling like, like alone again.

Cuz it's just like, you know, I'm like, I'm trying to like reach out but like, you know, like no one's like really like coming back through.

So like I was like feeling that period of alone.

My other sister just like works like forever and I don't even like see her barely.

And so I was really feeling alone.

And like I also do prayer walks, which really helped me.

I love going on prayer walks because I just talk to God about anything, like literally anything.

And I remember like couple nights, like I would just like cry the entire like hour walk, hour and a half walk.

And it was just like like, I like, I need you.

And you know, he was there and you know, he made like all these things happen.

And now like that I look back on it, I'm like, okay, I was kind of being a little selfish because, you know, I need to understand, like other people are busy too.

And it's just like, you know, I'm not always gonna get like what you know, I need or what I want, you know?

Yeah.

I tell you when it comes to, I mean, even in just a regular faith life.

And faith requires you to be patient at times.

It requires you to slow down and realize certain things aren't going to happen just because you want them to or when you want them to and such like that.

It's always something that's hard to learn in any circumstance.

But ministry Is that way too ministry.

There's a lot of.

Sometimes there's hurry up and waits, which is interesting.

Like, you feel like you get trained up and you're ready and then.

And nothing happens for a while.

And sometimes it does.

Sometimes you jump right into something.

There's a lot of that.

And you're right.

I mean, you know, the team.

Most of the teams volunteer, so they had regular stuff, you know, their jobs to go do with their families to take care of, you know, and then ministry goes all week long.

So we.

There's always a lot going on, so it can be difficult.

But, you know, the faithfulness, like I said, it comes in that waiting where you have to get a little uncomfortable and thrive through it.

I mean, faith is shown even brighter when you can remain faithful even though nothing's happening.

It's hard.

That's a hard thing to learn in life.

How many times, even when something bad's happening, to hold on to faith during those moments when you're hoping for something better, when you're hoping for a turnabout, when you're hoping for help and it doesn't seem to be coming.

But to be able to remain faithful is beautiful in those moments, to be able to look back and go, you know what?

I never let go of it.

I never let go of my faith.

I read something recently.

When it comes to the Book of Job, which is an amazing book.

My wife and I have different opinions on the Book of Job.

I think it's amazing and great.

I think Job would be proud of it now.

But she's like, he went through so much.

Yeah, he did.

But what's amazing about the Book of Job is that I read that somebody was like, yeah, Job pleased God all the way to the end.

Some people might be put off by that because Job spent some time grumbling and complaining, and his prayers sometimes were a little messy, such like that.

But Job never gave up on God, Even in his anguish, even in his complaining, even in his fact that he wasn't pleased with God, he was frustrated with God, he questioned God, but he never turned his back on God.

Therefore, Satan is defeated.

That was an amazing thing to think about.

I loved how that was said.

It's in those moments where we have to just be faithful.

Yeah.

You know, that it's a good lesson, you know, and it's amazing to see you taking on some of these big faith life lessons, you know, already.

And, you know, I hope that, you know, for our listeners that are tuning in, that they maybe hopefully got something out of Your story and, you know, are inspired by a design.

I'm inspired by it because, you know, even as someone who's, you know, already in a position to see someone, that God's obviously been working amazing things in your life is inspiring.

And it keeps.

I'll tell you what it's motivating for.

Like, I know Pastor Nick and I are very motivated by.

Because, like, we love seeing God move to begin with, but, you know, it just pushes us to keep pushing because we, like, well, if God's working in one of our students, let's get more students.

If God's working in one person in our church, let's keep going.

Let's, you know, try for another.

It's really awesome to see.

I know that.

I'm sure that God's got something.

I don't know.

Like I said, I'm not.

But I can't wait to see what he does through you as time goes on and the kind of impact he can make.

I can't wait to see your gift come to more of a fruition and used in a way that, like, people are just like, man, who knows?

Maybe one day it'll be like, well, you know, Pastor Dalton, he said it in a way that I could understand it.

You never know.

But it's going to be great.

And I know you're a writer and you write a lot of stuff down, and I think I said something like, maybe you need to write a book.

I don't know what it is, but I'm looking forward to seeing it.

And I think a lot of people listening are going to be excited to see it, too, because you're only, what, 50?

15.

15 years old.

Yeah.

God is just.

That's amazing.

That is amazing.

So, any other thoughts?

Well, like, I was like, I want to continue on, like, what you were saying.

Yeah.

Like, I am waiting, like, I'm being faithful because, you know, God still hasn't answered, like, my call in ministry.

Like, he, like, called me into ministry, but I don't know, like, what field I'm in.

Ministry I'm doing, and I feel like, you know, like, a sermon I did in Illinois and, you know, me preaching middle school was, like, giving me better understanding, like, what I should do.

I just don't know what because, like, I need to separate, like, what I want to do compared to, like, what God wants me to do.

Yeah.

His will, not mine.

Right?

Yeah.

I got you.

Yeah.

That is hard.

Sometimes ministry feels like you're in a hallway and you're like, is this the door?

And no that's not the door.

Is this the door?

No, that's not the door.

And eventually God goes that one.

And so that'll be fun to see.

Yeah.

Well, Dalton, I want to thank you for coming on the show.

I hope everybody enjoyed having Dalton on as well.

Remember to like and subscribe.

We have.

I think.

I think I have one more week without Derek here.

He's still, like I said earlier, he's in Honduras on a mission trip, and he's there for the longer period of time than some of our other missionaries, so we look forward to him coming back.

I'm sure he's got a lot of cool things to tell us, but we also know that God is there with him, so we don't necessarily need to rush him back because we know he's doing the Lord's work and that's where he needs to be be.

So, yeah, remember to, like, subscribe, share, comment, especially on YouTube.

And we need to gain our YouTube viewers.

We need to get our subscribers up on YouTube.

I know we're trying to get to a goal of 100 subscribers on YouTube, so any help with that is great.

I know Dalton's gonna be a new subscriber because I'm gonna bug him, but no.

Yeah.

So just keep spreading the word, helping us get this out there, and that's it.

So thank you and God bless.

Hey, thanks for joining us.

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You.

Thanks for joining us this week, and God bless.