rise up! - october 2-4, 2009
Rise Up!, our annual Senior High retreat, was this last weekend. We had a special visit from someone who's usually just present for Rise 'n Shine (our Junior High retreat) ... the snow!
On Sunday (the snow really arrived Sunday), there were snowball fights galore and I took a picture through the kitchen window of them. It was cold. I was a chicken. Ashley and Sandi interpreted the snowfall as an opportunity to take crazy pictures.
We played Bible Smugglers again on Saturday night. I was canoed our teams of smugglers, and on one of my return trips from the hidden dock, as I was approaching the main dock where the smugglers meet for their trips across the pond, I was met with a huge splash. My first thought was, "that's super mean, smugglers! It's cold out! I don't want to get wet!" But, as it turned out, the smugglers had not thrown rocks into the water to splash -- rather, there was an angry beaver swimming around my canoe. It was pretty exciting. The evening ended safely for all smugglers, paddlers and wildlife.
This is going to be our last game of Bible Smugglers for a while. We want it to remain an amazing experience, instead of letting it become old hat to our campers, staff and retreaters. Stay tuned for what will take its place ...
We had a 97 youth and sponsors at Rise Up!, which is awesome ... one the biggest Rise Up!s we've had a while! We like a full dining hall!
And of course, chapel is a huge part of any Rise Up! weekend. Vicky, Eric, Krista, Mike, Joel and Andrew led our worship through music, which was great (see the picture below). We were blessed to have Sid Koop with us as our speaker. Sid challenged us to stand in our faith (see 2 Timothy 1:7). We can stand in our schools, we can stand by sharing Jesus with our classmates and teammates. And we need to remember that servants don't ask "can I serve?" -- we should know that we can! The question is, "how can I serve?"
It was a great weekend ... and we're looking forward to seeing you next year!
On Sunday (the snow really arrived Sunday), there were snowball fights galore and I took a picture through the kitchen window of them. It was cold. I was a chicken. Ashley and Sandi interpreted the snowfall as an opportunity to take crazy pictures.
We played Bible Smugglers again on Saturday night. I was canoed our teams of smugglers, and on one of my return trips from the hidden dock, as I was approaching the main dock where the smugglers meet for their trips across the pond, I was met with a huge splash. My first thought was, "that's super mean, smugglers! It's cold out! I don't want to get wet!" But, as it turned out, the smugglers had not thrown rocks into the water to splash -- rather, there was an angry beaver swimming around my canoe. It was pretty exciting. The evening ended safely for all smugglers, paddlers and wildlife.
This is going to be our last game of Bible Smugglers for a while. We want it to remain an amazing experience, instead of letting it become old hat to our campers, staff and retreaters. Stay tuned for what will take its place ...
We had a 97 youth and sponsors at Rise Up!, which is awesome ... one the biggest Rise Up!s we've had a while! We like a full dining hall!
Top row, left: Bergen's very own Pam, Megan, Rebecca and Sydney
Top row, right: Staff and volunteers (Joel, Jyle, Olivia, Carey, Jasper, Ashley and Sandi)
Bottom row, left: Linden boys, led by Seth, so happily cooperating with my demand that they pose for a picture.
Bottom row, right: Heather, Kurt and some Dalhousie Dutch Blitz players (btw, did you know that Dutch Blitz has its own website?!)
Top row, right: Staff and volunteers (Joel, Jyle, Olivia, Carey, Jasper, Ashley and Sandi)
Bottom row, left: Linden boys, led by Seth, so happily cooperating with my demand that they pose for a picture.
Bottom row, right: Heather, Kurt and some Dalhousie Dutch Blitz players (btw, did you know that Dutch Blitz has its own website?!)
And of course, chapel is a huge part of any Rise Up! weekend. Vicky, Eric, Krista, Mike, Joel and Andrew led our worship through music, which was great (see the picture below). We were blessed to have Sid Koop with us as our speaker. Sid challenged us to stand in our faith (see 2 Timothy 1:7). We can stand in our schools, we can stand by sharing Jesus with our classmates and teammates. And we need to remember that servants don't ask "can I serve?" -- we should know that we can! The question is, "how can I serve?"
It was a great weekend ... and we're looking forward to seeing you next year!
Comments