High School Retreat

A week ago, I was riding in a van full of people on the Autobahn heading towards Lenk, Switzerland, for the High School Retreat.  What a blast to spend 48 hours in the Alps with a couple hundred teenagers!

The first activity of the weekend involved creating silly skits with our small groups.  My small group girls do "silly" pretty well...  Here they are ready to perform in the skit as ninjas and cowgirls!

It was also refreshing to just enjoy God's beautiful creation -- sitting in front of this window for my morning devotions, catching glimpses of snow peaks during worship, breathing in the fresh mountain air.  I was so thankful for time away from the "normal routine" to rest, learn, and build relationships.

There were four main worship and teaching sessions over the course of the weekend.  The speaker and worship team, who were visiting from North Carolina, really challenged the students and staff to take our faith seriously.  One song, "Never Once," was a good reminder to me that God is our ever-present Provider: "Never once did we ever walk alone / Never once did You leave us on our own / You are faithful, God, You are faithful."  The sessions were about sin and repentance, pain and suffering, perfect love, and using our gifts.  The speaker did a great job of addressing these somewhat familiar and sometimes overemphasized topics in a fresh, challenging way.

Needless to say, there was a lot to process after each session.  We split into our small groups (the same groups that meet every Wednesday night) to talk about these topics more.  My sophomore girls and I spent that time journaling, sharing our what was on our hearts, and praying together.  It was special to have that time together -- all of us in the same place at the same time.  These beautiful young women are thirsty for more of Christ, and it is truly a joy to pour into their lives and grow alongside them!

One weekend wasn't enough to think about these big ideas!  So, we continued those retreat-related conversations at our small group time this past Wednesday night.  I put out four objects that represented the four sessions, and the girls could pick one of the items to start a discussion on that topic.
-- broken mug = our brokenness over sin
-- medicine = pain in our lives
-- candle = partial love now compared to perfect eternal love (an analogy the speaker used)
-- gift bag = gifts God has given us

Thank you for your continued prayers for my small group as we seek the Lord together!