Retreat

We had a great time in Estes Park on the youth group retreat. The theme was Desperate and while it was great, I think the concept was a hard for the kids to grasp. We talked about how God was desperate for us and a relationship once Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden but that with Jesus' sacrifice his despair was removed. He has done his part so now we respond by being desperate to be in relationship with him. One of the examples that Josh used through out the weekend was having an asthma attack. When someone (he used the example of me) is having an asthma attack they are desperate for air, nothing else matters but being able to take a deep breath. One of the things he had a few of the kids do is to do 10 jumping jacks and then try to breath through a straw with their noses plugged. It's pretty similar to asthma - try it sometime just for the experience. That's a super short recap.

Besides all of the lessons we had a ton of fun playing various games and activities. The weekend was a blessing for everyone involved. I know that God was working through the lessons and small groups. Another interesting thing was that by Saturday morning I had completely lost my voice and was feeling pretty sick. I mean, I could (still can) barely whisper. I hated not being able to sing during the worship times but my lack of voice definitely added humor to the weekend. Enjoy some of the pictures....


Hanging out


some of the girls after dinner


One of the small group times


Evan with the Expectation Goblins - they will get you if you don't follow the rules/expectations.


The whole group