We've had a relaxing, yet busy summer. I've taken a break from projects and tried to enjoy more time outside or weekends away. I'm sure the projects will ramp up once the weather starts to cool down again and we're more prone to being cooped up inside. In the meantime, I thought I'd share one of my summer adventures.
The second week in July I was fortunate enough to be able to lead a group of newly graduated seniors on a Young Life backpacking trip. The area that I have been involved in leading for the last 9 years has a tradition of taking the seniors backpacking as their last hoo-rah before heading to college. They were in need of another leader and I was fortunate enough to go. We packed up 3 12-passenger vans with a total of 26 kids and 6 leaders and headed down I-35 for the 16 hour drive from Minnesota to Buena Vista, CO.
First off, if you haven't heard about the Young Life ministry, check it out here. It is an amazing ministry that reaches junior high, high school, and even college kids. The purpose of the ministry is to introduce kids to Jesus Christ and preach the gospel in a way that kids can easily understand it. I have seen many kids' lives transformed through the ministry and have such a passion for supporting the ministry!
The company that we do our packing through is called Noah's Ark and it is a Christian outdoor adventure company. If you're ever in the Buena Vista area, I would recommend checking out their whitewater rafting, rock climbing, or adventure park. And if you can afford the time of a few days in the mountains, I highly recommend their backpacking trip!
We spend the first day whitewater rafting down the Arkansas River and then headed on the trail for 4 days, 3 nights of backpacking. Here are a few pictures from our peak to the Continental Divide!
While we were out in the wilderness, we studied the book of Philippians. I am so impressed with these high school girls' passion and excitement for digging into scripture and discussing thoughts, observations, and questions from the bible. I have two favorite passages from Philippians that I would like to share:
"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7
"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:13
The first verse is something I think we often forget about in our busy lives. How often do we take a moment to step back and give our worries to God instead of trying to take it on ourselves? And the second verse is what I would call my life verse. This verse has gotten me through the highs and lows of life and this passage has so much truth to it. God won't give us anything that we can't handle or that He won't see us through. This verse sure was helpful during some of the tough mountain hiking that we did too!
So that's one adventure that I went on this summer. Stay tuned for more:)
