6.20.12
Well, my apologies for such a great amount of time between updates...but as you will soon read, it has been quite a busy week...or two?
 |
| Initiative Games |
After backpacking, we got a few toned-down days that consisted of learning logistics of the Adventure Center (where most of the gear is kept) & food prep training. We also got a walk-through of the challenge course and had a whole day dedicated to facilitating initiative games. All of this training is important so we know how to prepare & arrange the program for our groups.
Then we were able to spend a day digging into the Word through a few evangelism sessions and another day going over the oral Bible storytelling method. It was super cool to add these tools to my repertoire to use for a long time come.
After the morning & afternoon of storytelling (Saturday), we were debriefed on our next assignment: orienteering. I was put in a group with Kevin & Jeff (our team name was “Jevan”!). We set out around 7pm & didn’t make it through all the checkpoints until it was almost 11pm. You might think 4 hours was a little long? It was actually a 6 hour course & we had extra daylight on our side to help us along. All in all, I had an awesome time! It was super hard, but my team quickly figured out where each others’ strengths and weaknesses were, dos we built off of that. Jeff was our eyes: he spotted the checkpoints from really far distances. Kevin was our bearing man: he made sure we stayed on track & led the team incredibly well through the dark. I helped with orienting from our map to field and vice versa. It was definitely a highlight of training for me; such an incredible experience to navigate across fields, a couple mountains, a marsh, & down to the river all in one night with a compass and map.
 |
| Orienteering |
 |
| Kevin & Jeff at our first checkpoint! |
 |
| The sunset |
Monday through Saturday was our rafting week! I honestly can’t recall details of each day because it was such a whirlwind, but I loved every minute. We were quickly put on the guidesticks to practice working & instructing crews. Each day consisted of 2 or 3 floats down the Wenatchee river & usually an evening session on hydrology, hypothermia, or other pertinent information about raft guiding. I was taken off the river on Thursday in order to seal the deal on my rock assistant training & I was certified!  |
| As a tradition, all the new certified assistants go down to the Icicle river & dunk their heads in the water. |
 |
| Our very special guest paddlers! |
Friday I was back on the river & a bunch of my family & friends were able to come as guest paddlers! That was probably the best part of my week, just showing off my impressive guide skills for them (haha, ya right!). I’m so proud of my momma for coming out & being a good sport: what a blessing & encouragement she is to me:) Saturday we had more guest paddlers & practiced flipping boats. Flipping the boat was definitely another highlight of training for me...so much fun! After our run, we stopped by Rusty’s to celebrate Chris’ level 2 guide certification!
 |
| Time to celebrate! |
 |
| Flippin boats |
I took off on Saturday evening, stayed the night with the family, then went to church with them in the morning. Sunday afternoon, Rick took the summer staff up the Icicle to have a few hours of solo time. It was a wonderful time to spend reflecting on the past few weeks & pray for the future that God would use this training as a way to serve Him. I used a couple hours to read a book my dad gave me called “The Explicit Gospel.” Great read, I highly suggest it.
 |
| View from my solo spot |
Monday we wrapped up some raft training and debriefing. We also spent time finishing & reviewing our back country tests (certified! Woop!). We debriefed training on Tuesday morning, then went straight into working on our support. It is really great that we are given days in our schedule throughout the summer to work on raising our funds for the season, helped me to focus for sure. Tuesday night, all the Stonewater Ranchers & their families came over to the lodge (where summer staff lives) to eat dinner & hear our highs & lows of training. What a beautiful family the Lord has given me here!
Today was spent odd-jobbing around to get ready for some groups (put up a giant wall-tent...super cool!). Some people even got to buck hay! Stonewater Ranch is a truly beautiful place & I’m so blessed to live & be a part of the mission here. Pretty soon this place will be bustling with people from all walks of life & I get to meet them! I will enter their story & they will enter mine. Wow.
 |
| Class in a boat! |
Pray for boldness in our team & for the Spirit to work through us.
 |
| Rafting team, giving it some heat! |
“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Matthew 10:20
No comments:
Post a Comment