One Long Bus Ride

This marks year two for me as an adult volunteer, and I've managed to make it both times to the winter retreat. I was a little better prepared for the chaos that is two hundred plus students swarming Grace, all clamoring to figure out what needs to be done, where they need to go, and who they need to talk to.

The bus ride also presents an interesting challenge. Eight hours of driving to reach our destination in a small space can quickly turn into a nightmare if things go poorly. But by God's provision, everyone seems to get along and be genuinely courteous to each other. Our amazing bus drivers also were very patient with us (can you imagine driving a coach bus with a load full of high school students?).

This trip included two rest stop breaks (20 minutes for 200 or more students is no small feat!), quite a few snacks, and two and a half movies. We watched Ratatouille, which was a fun movie. Next we watched Evan Almighty. While I think they took a very liberal approach to a lot of the concepts, it really helped set the tone for this weekend. Evan keeps looking for an explanation why things were happening the way that they were happening, and God simply kept telling him to keep making the ark. We don't always get the answers that we want. Is that because God isn't answering us, or because we are missing the way God is answering?

The campground sleepily greeted us at two in the morning. We unloaded in the cold and transferred all of our luggage to our respective sleeping locations. Most of us got to bed after three in the morning. Wake up time for many of us was around seven thirty or eight.

Albeit sleepy, there is an urgent sense of excitement among the students. There are wonderful lessons to be learned, friends and memories to make, and life changes to be had at this winter retreat. Pray that God will work in a powerful way!