Yesterday, I headed off with a student for an overnight camping trip to Coal Lake. He needed some time away to refocus and refresh his perspective on life. And as it turned out I did too. We hiked in 3 miles to the Coal lake and set up camp. Our theme for the trip was Mark 1:17 when Jesus called out to some fishermen and told them to “Follow Me.” So we discussed what it meant to follow Christ.

Kierkegaard said that, “The difference between an admirer and a follower still remains, no matter where you are. The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, he is inexhaustible about how highly he prizes Christ, he renounces nothing, gives up nothing, will not reconstruct his life, will not be what he admires, and will not let his life express what it is he supposedly admires.”

We discussed how Jesus doesn’t want admirers. He wants followers. We really got into sobering discussions about how in both of our lives we follow in some areas and others areas we don’t. The scriptures say, “Come follow me, he said to Simon and Andrew. At once they left their nets and followed Him.” What will we decide? To drop all we have and follow Him? That’s what we’ve been called to do.

We ended our discussion with a poem by Steven James:

the path is narrow,

my heart is hard,

guide my feet.

break me, God,

for I will not bend.

and I’m not shaped as I should be

anymore.

Both of us left our trip challenged and convicted of the places where we’re not fully committed to Christ. Jesus doesn’t want part of us. He wants all of us. The cost is great. We’ll endure hardships, heartbreak and trials. No one ever said life was easy. No one ever said following Christ would was for pansies either. It simply comes down to a choice. Will I be known as an admirer or a follower?

Oh and here’s a shot of my new pair of Chacos I was breaking in on the trip. They’re the most amazing shoe/sandal known to man. I’ll give you the complete review later.

[Continued from 1.3]

After the sleepless night we really needed something good to go our ways. It was a fresh day and we were miles down the trail. To keep moving past the mosquito haven, we ate breakfast on the trail. It was a quiet hike. Most were either sleepy, tired or itchy. But before we knew it (after about 2 hours of hiking) we dropped down into Merritt Lake. It was sweet relief. The shoes came off and we all waded around in the lake.

Half of us found shady spots and took naps, the rest vegged with their feet in the lake. Soon we were (those of us who were sleeping) awoken by the sound of visitors. Our guide had called for back up. Some of our adventure staff guides (YD Adventures) hiked in a different trail to bring us needed supplies. The calvary had arrived bearing tents and more. The tents were so we’d have relief when we slept. They also came bearing ice cream. I’ve never experienced eating ice cream in the backcountry, but it is truly amazing. We all broke out our spoons passed around the cartons of strawberry and mint. It was straight up majesty.

We slept well that night. [to be continued...]

[continued from 1.2] So we made it past the first hurdle. Then we hiked on to our destination point. We were all relieved that we were done for the day. To pack light, we weren’t using any tents. We were just camping under tarps. Camp was set up and then dinner was prepped. We all ate at a pretty sweet view point watching the sun go down. Everything was perfect.

Then we got back to camp. The sun went down and the mosquitoes came out. And these weren’t normal skeeters, you could saddle these bad boys. So quickly, everyone got ready for bed, put on bug nets and then got in the sleeping bags. We were safe or so we thought.

I soon learned that mosquito nets only work if they’re a few inches in front of your face. When you lay down, the net lays next to your face and they bite you through it. We also learned that the sound of them swarming around your ears can keep you up all night. To make matters worse, it was a hot night. So we had either two options. Roast in your sleeping bag and get bit lets or venture out of the bag and get bit more. We all opted for a combination of the two. It was a sleepless night.

In the morning, I realized that I had been feasted up and one of my eyes was about swollen shut. Another boy had (and he counted) over 200 bites from his wrists down on both hands. So needless to say, once the sun came up we were packed and running down the trail. And yes, I mean literally running down the trail trying to shake off mosquitoes… [to be continued]

[continued from 1.1] We arrived late in the evening. The first night was total cake… we slept in a cabin. The rest wouldn’t be so nice. That night the guides issued gear (40lb. packs per person) and confiscated all watches and cell phones. It was going to be all down hill from there. We went to bed early and woke up early (I’m assuming due to my lack of watch) the next day.

There was some early groaning from the group as we begun our ascent. They weren’t used to carrying packs this heavy and really weren’t used to hiking at all. The first day was a pretty gnarly hike. Five miles in with 3,000 feet elevation gain isn’t a cake walk. Each student was assigned 2 water bottles to last them for the first day and a half. There was no source of water for the first part of the ridge. They were told to take small sips of water as we made our way up the trail. We hiked on and the day grew hotter. It peaked at 105 F with no breeze.

As we stopped for lunch the guides did a water level check on everyone. To our dismay, most of the students were about out of water. The sips had turned into gulps. The two guides and I prayed as we set forward, assuming one of us would have to go and retrieve water from further down the trail (about 3 miles beyond our first day’s destination point).

Continuing up towards the ridge, the pace began to slow. They weren’t used to this much physical activity, especially not thirsty and in the heat. Then we entered the forest of desperation. It was a mosquito breeding ground. We had already eaten lunch, but evidently the mosquitoes had not. Thus began the feast. The only plus to the bugs were that our pace quickened. We knew once we made it out the other end, there would be relief. Huffing and puffing along they made their way through. We took our last water break (and downed the rest of our supplies) then pushed on.

Soon the sight of the top of the ridge was in view. It pushed us forward. Then we experienced one of the most wonderful sights known to man. At the top there was a snowfield. Evidently there was enough shade to keep it from melting this late into the year. Everyone dropped their packs and rolled in the snow. We literally were laughing and rolling in the snow. God had provided.

We dug down deep to find the cleaner snow to fill our water bottles. In our packs we had some Gatoraide powder, with that we made slushies. There was a quick turn around in morale from despair to relief. They relished the moment, but it was only short lived… [to be continued]

Shaved the beard. Sporting some newly cultivated back-country redneck scruff. Ready for a weekend in the outdoors with a bunch of middle schoolers. Camping. Rockclimbing. Whitewater rafting. Sharing the Gospel. Does it get any better than this?

Keep us in your prayers for safety and good bonding time with these students.

I’ll give ya an update with pics on Monday.

Enjoy the weekend!