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All girls trip...
Summary for those who do not want to read a rather long explanation:
We had 8 girls and 2 leaders come down for 6 days. One girl made a solid commitment to Christ, and one girl recommitted her life to Christ. This was probably the most incredible trip I have gotten to be a part of. Thank you for your prayers!! The difference an army of saints in prayer makes on a trip is absolutely immeasurable and invaluable!
For those who would like to read the more detailed version:
I have been looking forward to being on this trip since I worked with these girls last year. Several of the girls I have gotten to build a relationship with, which is a unique experience for me at YD Adventures where we usually meet the kids the day we start their trip. I talked to Shari, the group leader about 10 days before the trip was about to run and she filled me in on the girls who were coming. Here is a summary:
Angela: Did not know a ton about her. Her mom is in prison, her dad died when she was 6, she has been sexually abused by a step father who is no longer in the picture, and is currently sexually active with her boyfriend trying to find acceptance somewhere. Angela told Shari that on this trip she hoped God would become real¦
Kristen: Kristen was raised in a moderately catholic home. Her dad died 4 years ago and she is still extremely hurt and angry and does not understand why God would let something like that happen and is not particularly interested in following a God who would allow this to happen.
Kayla: Just committed her life to Christ 16 months ago. Incredible story of hurt and healing. Very loud. But that is just a shell to cover a lot of hurt. She also just graduated after her 5th year at the alternative high school so this will be her last YD trip.
Brina: Just got kicked out of her Mom home. (I have worked with Brina several times and love this kid. It is like working with myself 9 years ago if I had not have been adopted by the parents I have been so blessed to have.)
Cameron: Just began her first intimate dating relationship. She has been around YD for awhile, but has not made a commitment to Christ.
Maria: Made a commitment to Christ but has some shaky theology. 19 years old, going into her junior year of high school and getting married in 2 weeks. When I met her the first time she had a mow hawk and a smile.
Jade: Only one of the girls who has not and is not sexually active. Grew up in the most functional home of all the girls and made a commitment to Christ a year and a half ago and has gotten somewhat involved at a local church youth group. Shari is not really sure where she is at right now in her journey.
Sarah: just off probation after her 4th trip to juvenile hall.
*girls names have been changed to protect YD Adventures.
My staff:
Erika Mench: My best mate on staff at YD Adventures. We call ourselves partners in crime and that is usually what happens. We definitely feed off each other and support each other through a lot. We both love to have fun and make things fun�Erika is definitely more exciting about it than I am�
Lisa Backman: 24 years old and has been married for a couple years. Lovely, sweet, wears pigtails, and encourages everyone with a sweet and gentle spirit. Lisa works with me year round here at YD Adventures.
Brian Youd: All girls trip right? We did not have a female oarsmen available for this trip (to oar all our camping gear and food down the river with us while we kayaked and camped) so Brian came with us. Brian is a huge prayer warrior and extremely caring. I was glad he was there.
My prayer for my staff on this trip was:
If you remember anything: These girls need to be loved. They need the love of Christ more than I could ever express. He knows exactly how each girl needs to be loved, exactly the words each girl needs to hear, and exactly the experiences each girl needs to have. As we run to Christ and find refuge in Him, He will love these girls through us. Let him be big.
My prayer for us as a staff
Philippians 2: 1-2 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
The trip:
Monday:
Shari (the group leader from Moses Lake) called me from the road gleefully saying All the girls are in the van!!! (historically, a couple of girls who sign up for this trip end up deciding last minute not to come.) The girls arrived at camp at 8pm the first night of their trip. The were all excited to be there (a huge blessing all in itself!) Lisa did a group initiative; we went over medical release forms, chilled out for a bit together and headed off to bed.
Tuesday: Up early.we have breakfast. We are taking the girls rock climbing today. We climb in the vans and drive up near Mt. Hood to an incredible climbing site. We let the girls climb in the morning, had lunch, then set up the repel for the afternoon. This repel site is incredible and the girls have the opportunity to lower themselves backwards off the edge of a 100 yard cliff. We always do a repel talk, which Erkia gave this time, and then let the girls try it. Repelling to me embodies what it is to trust Christ. It feels like the scariest, most unnatural thing we could do, but it is the safest place we could possibly be. And the most incredible experience¦ The way our repel system is set up is actually the safest place the girls could be in the entire 6 days they are with even safer than their sleeping bags. Powerful.
So the girls one by one lowered themselves off. Erika was tying the girls into the system and I was sending them off the edge. I cried twice sending girls off. Once was with Kayla where we shared an understanding as sisters in Christ as to what we get to experience trusting Christ. I still get tingles thinking about being up there with this scared girl who knew she was going to do this thing and trusted the safety and the experience to be incredible.
I could not believe a couple of girls who actually did it! Every girl ended up doing it. Brina took 45 minutes. She fell off a 3 story building as a kid. One of her highlights of the trip was repelling, because I was scared at first, but a good friend talked me through it. (that wass me! A good friend!)
I wish you could all understand the power of this experience and see these girls but you will have to just trust that God used this day and his fingerprints were everywhere.
That evening I had decided to take the girls to the pioneer graveyard about a mile from where we camp. We used this area to get the girls thinking about their stories andhow will they turn out, what do they want them to be? In no way was the graveyard used as a manipulative tool. Erika, Lisa, and I each shared our testimonies and it was truly a time where God made our words and stories extraordinary to these girls. A couple even told me that this was their favorite time because it made them really think.
Also this evening Erika ended up spending about an hour talking with AngelaÃ. more later!
Wednesday: Shari shared her story in the morning. Shari was also sexually abused as a girl, but has an amazing story of a God who loved her and healed her�We long for these girls to have their stories turn out the same way.
We started off for the river�kayaking�I can�t imagine anywhere else in the world I would have rather been for those 3 days�
That evening we had dinner, played around�I was a bit tired, but chose to be available�I ended up sitting down on a tarp under the stars with Angela. She really wanted to tell me her story�I didn�t do much besides listen, let her cry as she told me her story and talk to her about not having to walk alone again. It was one of the first times Angela had cried over her story. Stories like that shouldn�t happen to little girls�Angela�s mother is in prison (drugs) and her dad died when she was younger. After a nightmare experience with her step father she is now living with her grandparents�
Thursday: More Kayaking! Erika shared in the morning and kayaking was a blast. One of the girls (Sarah) had been on the trip with me on 2005 and her desire in life had been to become pregnant. She wanted nothing to do with Christianity and was terrified to kayak. Last year she was so scared that she was practically paralyzed with fear and therefore didn�t paddle her boat well at all. She took a nasty swim and I had to rescue her�this year she was a new girl! She was up in front with me �scouting rapids� happy to be there, wanted to be around me, and every time she went through a wave or a rapid I would hear this little voice behind me �Yeah!!!!! I did it!!� (You just don�t typically associate �yeah!!! I did it!� with girls right out of juvenile detention. Pretty sweet!)
That evening was the night set aside to present an invitation to accept Christ to these girls. Shari and I talked about it before I started�She challenged me to be purposeful about how I extended the invitation. I ended up asking each girl where they were, then presented the gospel, then asking each of them directly if they wanted to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. Definitely a new level of boldness for me�but I really appreciated the challenge Shari brought. If that relationship with Christ is what matters most to me, and if it�s what I want them to have, why wouldn�t I ask them if they want it? We use an analogy at YD Adventures�if Christianity is the boat, and Jesus Christ is the guide of that boat�where are you? Have you climbed in the boat and made him your guide? (He knows the safest and best way down the river of life�) Or are you in the water next to the boat�checking it out�are you on the shore not interested�I asked each girl where they were. 2 were in the boat, a couple were in the water, one was playing with sand castles on the shore. I then dug in and shared the gospel with these girls�then we went around the circle again and asked where they were�if they wanted to climb in the boat. It was a sweet time of clarity�but no one was quite ready to climb into eh boat. Angela said that she wanted to climb into the boat but just wasn�t quite ready and couldn�t quite do it�her foot was caught on something�
That night Lisa overheard Angela talking about going to heaven. She asked her in the sweetest most un-intimidating way as only lisa could� �Angel, how do you know you are going to heaven?� Lisa and Angela then spent the evening going over everything that I had spoken about earlier. Angela went to sleep that night wanting to climb into the boat, but just not quite ready.
The next morning Angela woke up and said �I had the most amazing dream�� I asked �Was it about getting in the boat?� She said �Yes, my dad came to me in a dream and helped me into the boat. He told me it�s better here! I climbed into the boat!� Awesome�(since that day Angela has gone home, ended her dating relationship in which she had been sexually active, started counseling, stayed in contact with Lisa, and had a meeting with the pastor of her grandmother�s church. She no longer walks alone�what a sweet thing!)
That day we had a glorious time kayaking. I gave the girls a word of the day �righteous� These girls had a blast and I heard echo�s of �THAT WAS TOTALLY RIGHTEOUS� all the way down the river on Friday. That night we camped at the mouth of the Deschutes river, where it empties into the Colombia river and the next morning the girls went home. My prayer is that they each continue to grow closer to their creator�