Rich, Heather and Alana’s Blog

This weekend we had a youth campout at Fall Creek Falls, about an hour from Chattanooga. We had a blast, and I am always reminded when we get away with our students how much God uses those times. There is always a ton of fun and laughter, but our retreats with the kids tend to be exponentially more meaningful than a typical Sunday evening youth group.

Here are some fun pictures of our weekend…the weather was GORGEOUS, and at night it got down to about 40 degrees, so we were glad we had long sleeves, pants, and blankets!

For me, Saturday evening around the campfire was the highlight. We sat and roasted marshmallows for smores, and talked and laughed. Times like this remind me how much God created us for community - to genuinely care for others, to share in their joys and pray for their burdens. To know and to be known by fellow believers.

We listened while Josh impersonated Johnny Depp, Steve Irwin, and Jack Nicholson. He is truly talented and absolutely hilarious. At one point I couldn’t stop laughing! Then when it got dark we played Mafia and the townspeople won!

Here are Rich and I at the evening session before it got darker and the temperature dropped!

Then, Sunday afternoon was the church picnic. Now, I have always enjoyed the church picnic, but by the time we got there, we’d come straight from the campout with not much sleep and no showers in 2 days! Since I am a wuss and can’t handle more than one night without adequate sleep, I was feeling pretty low-energy and useless!

I mustered up enough energy to enjoy a big waterslide (see picture below) but other than that I just kept thinking of home and sleep and warm showers…

All in all it was a great weekend, and I am thankful for our church, our youth pastor (Kenny Engels, who married us), and our students, who impress me with their desire to know and please God.