On the 10^th of Sept, 5 brave youth set out for an adventure up into the mountains. Not to be scared off by a little rain, they quickly set up camp before taking shelter from the storm to have dinner and worship. That night, lead by Barb Panata, the youth dove into the scriptures to learn more about the unconditional love and forgiveness that God holds towards us.

In the morning, the diehard campers were spoiled by the home cooking of Juan Panata and his French toast and potatoes for breakfast. After filling their stomachs, the teens gathered around the camp fire for a discussion of the three Sabbaths: the Lords, the Jewish and the Papal. Even the adults joined in with tails of only wading in the water as kids.

As the sun warmed up the air, the youth made their lunches and gathered their packs for a beautiful hike. After setting out on the trail, the path wound its way through trees up the mountain. Though the trail (and life) may have challenged the teens, Owen remembered who his God is, “While trekking the three miles hike up the mountain, when thoughts and feelings started to overwhelm my mind, I looked at the enormity of the mountain ahead and remembered God was even larger!”

After getting to the destination, the teens explored the beauty that God created. Hiking up the water falls they were able see just how powerful nature can be. And how much more powerful the creator of all of it is.

That evening the youth lead out in worship with a skit that retold the classic story of Daniel and the Lions Den. In the light of the fire while marshmallows were roasting, Pastor Farr lead everyone is songs that spoke to our hearts. With the sweet melody of the crackling fire as accompaniment, we worshiped our Lord in the midst of His creation.

On the morning of the last day, the teens gather around with their warm breakfast (just oatmeal this time) while Pastor Farr shared with them about one of his favorite books of the Bible. “I really enjoyed the Pastors talk on Ecclesiastes in our morning worship, “ Alli recalled as she thought about the hope the Pastor shared with the teens.

After packing up the campsite and loading up the memories, the teens set out on their next adventure of go karts and mini golf (where rumor has it that a few hole in ones happened).