Retreat

How did this happen? My last post was on the first day of October and here we are at the end of the month. Seriously...where does the time go?

This month has been pretty great. We've had lots of fun activities and have really gotten into our Genesis Bible study on Tuesday nights. It has been a great time of growth for our group.

This past weekend, though, was by far the greatest growth yet. We took our Fall Retreat to Lake Williamson. We stayed Friday through Sunday and it was really amazing to see how God worked in that short of time.

Our theme for the weekend was "Be the Change." We talked about what it means to be transformed by Christ and how we need to strive to transform others. One of the coolest parts of the weekend, though, we to see how our group was transformed.

We spent some time on Saturday doing team building activities. I would guess that this was most of the youths' favorite part of the weekend. We started out having quite a bit of trouble - lots of talking over everyone, not listening, voices getting lost in the shuffle, etc. But, when they took time to listen, to talk one at a time, and to think, they really got the ball rolling. I was so proud to see how much the group started working together. By the end of the weekend, everyone was commenting on how we felt like a family.

It was pretty great to hear. I want nothing more than for our youth group to feel like a family. That we are supportive and loving, not negative and clique-y. So far, we are on the right track. I pray that we will continue to be transformed by the love of Christ - so that our youth group will grow closer together, but also so that we can go out and change the world around us.

I am so thankful for this retreat. If you weren't able to make it this year, I hope you can next year! It was an unforgettable experience.