5th Annual Winter Youth Retreat

Snow showers on the last day.

Table games!

Waiting for the syrup......

Setting the Lord's Table..

WHOOT! Sausage!!

We had a blast his year! The camp had gotten a nice snowfall and since the entire eastern half of the country had gone into a deep freeze over MLK Jr. weekend, the snow was still on the ground when we got there the night of the 16th.

The whole group got to stay in the Lakeview Lodge this year and after everyone arrived and got stuff loaded into our rooms, we went up to Alexander Hall to play games and have some fun. We played Donkey Tag until the Deer Valley Staff introduced us to a new game they call Survival. I had seen it once a long time ago when we still lived in Ohio and it is a wild game! You take tables and set them on their sides so that you make a pen out of them. Everyone gets inside this makeshift corral and on the signal, a ball starts getting pushed along the ground using only hands. If the ball hits someone from the knee down, that person is out. The game goes until one last person is standing.

Then, after we spent an hour or so playing games, we went back to the Lakeview for our first Bible study. David led the study this year and we looked at the passages from 1 Corinthians and Ephesians that teach about the gifts of the Spirit. We spent a lot of time taking an inventory and finding out what our most prominent gift might be. Several of us were surprised by the our personal results. Others of us were affirmed by them and now we need to look for ways to put them to work since we are back home.

Saturday was a blend of the Bible study, very good food, and excellent tubing!! The snow was abundant and powerdery and made for a chilling faceful on the way down. Only three people sustained injuries; one abrasion, one fat lip, and one truly spectacular flip over the straw bales. To be honest, I was very concerned about that one until the flip-ee began moving again.

On Sunday morning after breakfast, we gathered in front of the fireplace for worship where everyone participated by either doing a skit, singing and signing a song, or interpreting the Scripture passage through movment. I preached and two of our adult elders helped serve communion. Grant played his guitar throughout the service. It was nice.

After worship, those who wanted to went back to the tubing hill, and others started the trek for home. The kids and I left because I wasn't sure I would get up Mount Davis in my little car what with it snowing again. I was glad I left when I did because we did have a bit of a struggle on the steep incline. But through sheer will power and some well timed prayers, we got up the mountain.

Here are a bunch of pictures; most of them on the hill!