It happened a couple of days after Christmas. I received a phone call from someone I haven’t heard from in over a year—someone whom I never thought I’d hear from again. It was an old student wanting to have coffee and needing to talk.

Normally this wouldn’t surprise me, but the last time I had seen Jimmy was over a year ago. I remember that experience very well. It was just before our ‘07 snow retreat and Jimmy’s father was looking for help with his son. He was out of control and diving deeply into drugs. Jimmy’s father had heard about our weekend retreat and thought we could help. Jimmy showed up for the trip so incoherent he could barely speak. It was like having a child around, his brain was still fried by drugs. I spent a majority of that trip babysitting him. The volunteers and I prayed the whole trip for Jimmy.

The young man on the phone with me sounded very different than one I spent time with a year ago. He was sharp and articulate. Needless to say I was intrigued.

As we sat down for coffee Jimmy began to open up and share. For the last 10 months he has been in a rehab facility getting help for his drug addictions. During Christmas he was allowed to go home for a few days and he wanted me to know that he had changed his ways. He remembered the retreat and how people cared for him there. He remembered how we told stories about a loving God. He remembered about how Jesus offered him hope and new life. I sat there drinking my coffee watching the beginnings of a changed life in front of me. I was amazed, but that isn’t the end of the story. It only gets better.

When we finished our coffee, I invited him to attend this years’ snow retreat. Jimmy accepted on the spot.

A week later, he was so eager for the retreat that he showed up hours early. Over the weekend he shared his story with the other students. They listened and many of them who had been dabbling in drugs heard a stern wake up call. Every time we shared a message or read scripture, Jimmy was hungry to take it in. Any time we had discussion, he was the first one to share or ask questions. I was so excited.

Later in the weekend, we offered an opportunity for the students to pray to accept Jesus as their Lord. They closed their eyes and prayed. And with their eyes still closed, I asked if anyone had made the decision to raised their hand. Jimmy’s hand didn’t go up. I was excited for the students who had made the decision, but had hoped that Jimmy would have taken that step. We finished out the weekend in great fashion and I loved the time and the conversations I had with him.

A week later he called me up again. In that conversation he shared with me that he thought a lot about what we had talked about over the weekend and he decided to given his heart to the Lord. He wanted a new life and decided that Jesus was the only way. Then he informed me that when he graduates from high school, he wants my job as well!

I’ve always read about dramatic life changes, but this was the first one I was able to watch happen right before my eyes. From incoherent, to following after the Lord; God loves the prodigals.

His journey has just begun, and it won’t be easy, but he’s come so far already. The work God has begun won’t easily be diminished. Pray for this young man as he seeks the Lord.

Ah yes, the joys of Karaoke. Our youth love it and we busted it out on our last retreat. I’m quite famous in small Russian circles for my stirring rendition of It’s Raining Men.

Now weeks have gone by and I’ve begun to miss the spotlight, the smell of the mic, and the sweet sound of canned music. I was feeling down when someone emailed me a link to an amazing new online Karaoke service. You can sing and post.

So if you want to do karaoke any time go to…

http://www.ksolo.com/

[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 1.1] 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]

As most trips involving middle school students, it’s like pulling teeth to confirm the are going. A day before we left, I had 2 students flake out. 2 hours before the trip, I had another one bite the dust. To run the trip our minimum is 5 and the max is 10. We ended up with the solid minimum. But I fully believe that God had His hand in the dynamics of the group. It would have been so different if the others had come. Needless to say, God’s way is always best. So the group as it stands: 1 boy from single parent home, 1 private school girl, 1 Russian, 1 sheltered homeschooler, and 1 boy with lesbian mommies. Quite the eclectic group. So it begins a trip that will span 6 days, cover 15 miles of hiking, 7 miles of river, and 3 billion mosquitoes…[to be continued]