Just now getting to write about our trip with the high school students at our church! Over President’s Day weekend we loaded up on 6 buses with 240 students and 40 adults to head to Pennsylvania! I had the worst day of work ever on the Friday we were leaving and I am no exaggerating. Anything and everything that could go wrong that day did! So as Pat and I pulled into the church parking lot, I still was upset from the day I had. All it took was a couple of smiles and hugs from some of the other adult leaders and my mood changed quickly.
The bus ride there was funny…Pat and I were on the same bus so we of course got teased, more from the other adults than the students though! We finally arrived to the camp around 2:30 that night and headed straight for bed! Saturday started off with a great message from one of our pastors at church, Chris Jarvis, and then led into a game they played called “Survivor.” The adults were stationed throughout the camp and we each had a task the teams had to complete. These ranged from putting someone on a sheet and carrying them to sticking your feet in a nasty mixture of stuff in a bucket to pull things out of the bucket. It was hilarious! I was glad I wasn’t running around with them though cause it looked exhausting!
The whole retreat centered on a family theme. For several weeks the Wednesday nights have been focused on family and all that goes into family relationships. So the retreat was the “end” of that series with Chris focusing on how God has made this huge family of brothers and sisters all around us, not just what we consider “our immediate family,” but everyone we’re surrounded with. It was great for not only the students to hear but also us adults! After both of the evening messages we had small group time. Basically pairs of adults have anywhere from 10-30 students in their small group that meet on a regular basis, guys and girls separated. Pat and I have had a blast with our small groups but still were struggling with really connecting with the kids in our groups. The retreat opened up that opportunity so much! Both of us were able to take part in the small group discussions and really get to know them better! During free time Pat was goofing off with his guys and I was laying around chatting with the girls in my group. It was great!
We went skiing on Sunday but both Pat and I opted to stay inside with the adults/kids who weren’t skiing. After seeing the slopes I really wanted to ski but I had a horrible headache that morning and just didn’t think it was a good idea to be out in the cold. Next year hopefully we’ll ski though!
We got back on Monday night and were completely exhausted. In fact, I think Pat and I are still trying to catch up on getting some rest and it’s a week later! But it was well worth it…to see how God is working through the youth group to touch so many high school students’ lives!
After we got back our whole week was a whirlwind of late nights working and trying to get things ready for Kristi’s shower and bachelorette party at our house this weekend. We were up till 3 am on Friday night cleaning our house since we hadn’t been home long enough to do it in about 2 weeks! The shower went great and about 25 people showed up for it! I think Kristi had a good time, which is the most important. Now we have a ton of leftovers from it and the bachelorette party…so if you need a snack, come on over!
Hopefully I can get some pictures posted up here of the retreat soon!