winter youth retreat weekend: part two

Anyone want to guess who the guest speaker was; anyone *cough*?  Have you ever heard of Relient K?  Well, Jonathan Schneck, the guitarist in Relient K, was our guest speaker!  He is really nice, really short (sorry!), and is a speed Rubik's cuber!  He did a puzzle right in front of all of us at the retreat and it just blew my mind... I was speechless.  It looked like we were watching a video of him, and the video was sped up really fast... yeah, that fast!  Jonathan brought his wife and two adorable children (boy and a girl).  I really liked what Jonathan was saying at the retreat.  He asked us what worldview means?  We all grew quiet.

Worldview just means how you understand and think about the way the world works (I'm sure most of you knew that already, I just wanted to clarify that).  Most of us are that way, some think that way is fine or just normal; like relying on something more than... well, God!  Then Jonathan asked what a Christian worldview is like.  Again the room got quiet (we aren't stupid teenagers we just wanted to hear what he was going to say).  A Christian worldview is someone who lives for God!  They don't care what others might say about how "religious" they are or how un-cool they are.  They... live... for... God!  As should we.  Jonathan's challenge for us was to live from a Christian worldview and not just a "normal" worldview.  Don't live for anything but God!  Jonathan said, "Go and be in Him." meaning (you guessed it) live for God!  I loved that!

While a little over twenty of the forty girls got to sleep in the meet/eat cabin, the other girls had to trek less than a quarter of a mile (up an icy, snowy hill) to our cabins... that had no bathrooms or showers what so ever!  So I quickly partnered up with Kylie and our luggage, and started following a group, that was headed for the two cabins, up hill.  I had a fifteen pound backpack on my shoulders and a forty-five (or more) pound suitcase!  You can imagine how hard it was to go up a snowy hill in the dark, carrying a fifty pound bag, and not knowing where to go in the first place...right? 

I don't think the group ahead of us could see us following them, because they were already up the hill and we had no clue how to get up without slipping.  I tried to sound really dramatic, "I think we're lost!", I said while heaving for big gulps of air.  We waited about thirty seconds until we saw another group behind us going in the same direction as us.  Someone had made snow steps up the hill so it would be easier for us to go up the hill.  I was slipping anyway cause I had no clue where I was going even with the snow steps.

Six girls,including me, finally made it to the Squirrel Cabin, our home for the next few days.  At this point of the trip, to many things had gone on for me, and the retreat hadn't even officially started!  I thought I had made a huge mistake!  I felt like crying but I didn't want to embarrass myself; so I just put on my pj's and got my sleeping bag out and just crashed for the night... it was past twelve-thirty am.

Eight am... wake up and head down for breakfast.  I haven't woken up that early in months.  It was a Saturday morning and I was used to sleeping in 'til ten in the morning, then play video games with my brothers... unless Zack had a basketball game.  I was tired and was so not ready to deal with the snow!  After getting dressed and balancing my way down the snow steps that I could actually see, the girls and I made it down to the meet/eat cabin.  I wasn't hungry; I was still full from the shake and fry that night.  But one of the main rules were, YOU HAVE TO EAT AT EVERY MEAL!  They were serving massive pieces of french toast, sausage and peaches.  Everyone took three pieces of french toast and sausage; except me.  I took one piece of french toast and a half of a peach... and orange juice.  I ate everything I put on my plate but I felt like I had just eaten the shake and fries with it.  Don't get me wrong, the food was good, but I was not hungry.

After breakfast, we did worship and listened to Jonathan some more.  Then it was God Time!  I really liked God Time!  We all just got to read our Bible's and pray and just pour our hearts out to God... well, I poured my heart out to God (I'm sure others did too).  I felt like I needed Him right then and there, that He was the closest friend I had to talk with.  I just told Him that I wanted to feel Him with me for the whole weekend... and for my whole life!  After God Time I felt as though I could talk more freely to people... just a little.  I connected with the other girls in the Squirrel Cabin and with our cabin leader, Deborah.  We had about an hour of free time and then it was lunch!  The meals seemed to come way to fast!  Then it was another hour of free time.

So about a quarter of a mile from the meet/eat cabin, there is a drop off that has this amazing view of mountains, and trees, and blue sky (that's what I had heard)!  Ten people were going up to see that view for there hour of free time.  I wasn't thrilled about the fifteen foot drop tubing area as some others were, so I decided I would go and see the pretty view.

Our "leader" for this trek, was a canine that looked like a bear rug that you might see at a museum!  He smells but he is the most adorable, loving, dog anyone could have...well my dogs always come first in line but right then he was the closest dog around.  Sheih-Mu (shay-moo), sorry if I didn't spell his name right, was probably over one hundred fifteen pounds!  He was so big!  But so kind and gentle.

I was very cautious of how I was walking because the snowy path was slick and I was not in the mood for slipping in front of everyone.  After about two minutes or less of walking, we came to this pretty, snowy meadow that we would be walking across.  We would've walked almost half way around the meadow and we would've gotten to a path that lead us the same way (if that makes any sense), but walking across the meadow would be easier instead of going around...or so we thought. 

A couple of girls ahead of me dropped into about two feet of snow, and then a couple of the guys did the same, and then me.  It took us all by surprise!  Every few steps we took, one of our legs (or both) would plunge into the cold, icy snow.  I was wearing jeans and the snow had gone up my legs and I felt tiny sharp pains up and down them.  I thought it was the snow just getting to me.  We were half way across the meadow and we would've been across the meadow if we had gone on the path!  My legs felt so tired, having to bring up my legs two feet then dropping them into the icy snow.  It felt like I was on an advanced elliptical!  When we got across the meadow, I felt like my legs were going to give in; but everyone ahead of me were still walking and I did not want to be the whiny girl in the group (Then what are you doing right now, Allie?).  Nine minutes or so later...

We had made it; and what I saw was beautiful!  I will describe it in another post... = )

*Allie*