This time 2 weeks ago I was preparing for Avalanche. I was super excited for a weekend with my Jcrew girls. Never in a million years could I have prepared for just how awesome the weekend could be.
There was plenty of snow on the ground as I loaded my car and headed to LCBC for the fun to begin. I had a TON of stuff because I was prepared for playing in snow and staying warm which included sleeping in a "cabin". That stuff takes up lots of space! Plus, I may have gone a little over board with food for my cabin.
What can I say… I was excited and was using my experience of less than stellar camp food to guide the amount of food to take. Everyone arrived, we loaded the bus and were off.
2 hours on a bus lead to some interesting conversations… including one that offered guidance to the girls for their future. Can I just say that the student ministries pastor at LCBC York gave some great advice to the kids about determining their future. I wish I had had someone to provide the same perspective to me at their age. Pretty much he said to find something you enjoy doing and pursue it. Don't worry if it means not taking the "traditional" college route- just make smart decisions/don't be a bum. And if college is your chosen path- check out options so that you don't come out with mounds of debt. He was loving the kids for who they are/want to be and not for what society says they need to be.
When we arrived at Northbay (the place we were staying) we unpacked and headed to dinner. All the girls crammed at one table and we had some of the best dinner conversation fueled by excitement for the weekend. Dinner finished and the weekend kicked into full gear.
Friday night included a teaching session and free time. After lights out the girls giggled and eventually nodded off to sleep. I finally understand what parents mean when they say they never sleep the same! I woke up in the middle of the night to a "sleep talker" who then turned into a "sleep walker." I wish I had thought to grab my phone and record it because it was priceless!
Saturday was our crazy busy day. Leaders started WAY TOO EARLY with a leader meeting. (Remember I do not like mornings!) By the time breakfast rolled around I finally started to appreciate the day. Our post breakfast activity was a photo scavenger hunt.
We made a human pyramid with some other girls. Played leap frog in the snow. Squeezed a speed round of duck, duck, goose in inside our cabin. Danced to LCBC Style at the bay. Made a mini snowman. And so much more. Sadly, the guys from York beat us.
We had some more teaching and then an afternoon of free time. (This is where all my cold gear was useful.) I piled on the layers, shared some of my extra gloves and such with some not as prepared girls, and headed out for an afternoon in the snow- aka crossing things off the bucket list.
I went zip lining. (There is photographic evidence but the quality isn't super.)
Then the wait began for the 3 person swing. This thing is like a ride at Hershey Park mixed with riding the Zip line. You are harnessed in, wearing helmets… and well- just watch the video.
The person on the end has to "chop" a blue cord to release the swing… I give you the moment after the chop:
We warmed up, and headed to the most awesome dinner ever!!! We had pizza by disco ball. A "DJ" (aka leader) provided us a rockin' good time. The band got things going on stage by "dancing" to Crank it Like a Chainsaw- complete with "rap solo". This opened the door for the YMCA, a conga line, Cotton Eyed Joe line dance, Katy Perry and Taylor swift sing along and a bunch of other craziness. It was inspiring to watch the kids drop their guard as they danced and sang along without a care in the world as to who was watching them. This was one of those times that you just had to be there to completely grasp how awesome it was!!!
After dinner was a teaching session. That wrapped up with cabin time followed by a dodgeball game or movie. Several of my girls decided to participate in the "open" league for dodgeball- aka they were the only co-ed team playing against teams of all boys.
Another night of talking and giggles- that ended much earlier. There are no fun stories to tell of sleep walkers. We got to sleep in and when we got back from the leader meeting- the girls had packed up and cleaned the cabin. I was impressed!!! Off to brunch and our last teaching session before heading home.
Let me dig in to a few things for you.
1- THE FOOD WAS AWESOME!!! And high school students served us as every meal. The girls were really impressed that the older kids cared about them enough to give up a weekend to serve them.
2- Worship time before each teaching session ROCKED. Jcrew at LCBC York doesn't have a band yet- so it was a new experience to see middle schoolers worship. They get into it! My girls were thrilled to sing Manifesto. And The song of the weekend was The Rock Won't Move.
Credit for this photo belongs to the LCBC Instagram peeps.
3- The teaching was impressive. "The Amish Man" taught- He used to be Amish, now he is the student ministries pastor at LCBC Ephrata. The focus was on reading the bible. It was presented in the most down to earth, practical way I've ever heard. They used a version of the Bible called the message. It was not a version I had encountered before- but will be purchasing as it is super easy to understand and apply. I made note of a few things throughout the teaching:
- The Bible is a love letter from God. If someone wrote you a letter you would read it. God gave us the Bible as his love letter to us- we need to read it. You will read what is important to you- if God matters to you- you will find time to read the Bible. (Amish Man shared that sometimes you will forget and that's ok- just don't always forget.)
- Reading the Bible takes baby steps. We learned of the process Kevin Durant uses called SOAP: Scripture (read it), Observe (think about what is being said), Apply (how should I use this in my life) and Pray. Reading the bible is something we tend to over think- if you follow these baby steps it will be easier to understand and apply to your life.
- Christianity is the only religion that is based on a Relationship first- a relationship with God. All other religions are based on Rules.
- The Bible was meant for you! The Bible gives you hope- knowing you are never alone even if your circumstances don't change. (I see this as going hand in hand with sometimes God says no. You might be in a situation you wish were different, you can pray that it changes, but even if it doesn't God is still there and still Loves you!
4- My cabin of girls were AMAZING. The insight they had during our life group time in the cabin was pretty deep. We didn't have a lot of digging deep, emotional time… but they provided deep thoughts that I couldn't even imagine thinking at their age. My favorite quote of the weekend came from life group time. Every imperfection we see is perfection in God's eyes. Wow- like I said deep. I know they won't remember this every second of every day- but the fact that they were able to even think this and share was incredible.
5- I Love that I can be a part of a church that Loves their middle school students! Too often middle school gets "missed". There is a great structured program for the younger kids, and high school has lots of fun events, but middle school kinds gets lost in the shuffle. Instead of allowing them to get lost- they single them out by providing a great experience like this- where they bring in other students to shower them with love and blessings.
6- Our teaching times started off with a crazy game. ALWAYS. These games involved ball pit balls, donuts on a fishing rod and chocolate milk in a funnel, whipped cream pies, finding random objects and other ridiculousness. Just a fun way to get kids excited for some awesome worship and open their hearts for God to work.
Truth be told now that the weekend is over… I think it's possible that the experience taught me just as much as it did for the girls. I went with the intention of making some girls feel loved. Instead they did that for me. I wanted to do some blessing of others and left more blessed than I could have imagined.
When we arrived back at LCBC, I had planned on staying for the 4:30 Jcrew session and the 6:15 gathering… yea about that… it didn't happen. I came home and CRASHED. (So much so that I also missed the chance to visit Matt at work.) I was exhausted. It was an awesome weekend that left me with a full heart.
I can not wait to do it all again at Shock Wave this summer!!!
Here are links to videos LCBC made throughout the weekend- they truly show the extent of a crazy awesome weekend!
Check out #Lcbcavalanche14 for additional pictures!
P.S. Special shout outs to my awesome neighbor and Lauren for checking in on Clara while Matt worked. And an extra special thank you to my hubby for funding my trip and encouraging me to follow my heart as I serve with Jcrew. Not to mention sacrificing a weekend of time together.
