This year for our fall youth retreat we took a small group of youth out to Aldersgate for a weekend full of survival fun and learning about how Christ can help us survive in this crazy world.
We taught them survival tips for when out in the woods. How to find water, shelter, use what they have on them to not only survive but thrive in the wilderness till help comes. They learned knots, built boats using gum as their glue and hiked. They went to the top of Natural Bridge and went through a cave. We built fires using what we had and cooked all our meals over a fire. Through the weekend they grew and learned many life skills. They also learned to trust each other and ask for help when they couldn't do it any more. "Help me survive this" was said a lot towards the end of the weekend as they figured out it was okay to ask for help.
Friday we made fire and Gregg told the youth his testimony. We talked about what it means to be a survivor.
Saturday morning we read a survivor story, Bethany Hamilton. She not only survived a shark attack that took her arm but she survived the rehab and a fear of water. She tells her story of surviving to other teens. She shows us someone who outloves, outserves and outlives.
We took them to Natural Bridge, on the way we showed them how to make knots and on the way back we put together boats using gum and string to hold them together. Their next challenge was to see if they could float.
After we floated our boats in the creek we took some time to relax. The boys went hiking and to a cave while us girls stayed back.
We played find the zombi in the furnace and learned about buildings and needing a good foundations.
We made taco soup over the fire and then made smores for dinner after our long day.
On Saturday night we started our worship time walking through the prayer labyrinth. They were to pray for all the things that were going on in their lives, the dark things. Once they got to the middle where our Jesus candle was they were to go back through and thank God for all of things He has given us. We then went to a shelter to finish our lesson where we learned about how to outserve, outlive and outlove.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Outlive - 1 John 5:4
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Outlove - Romans 8:37
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
We are more than conquerors through Christ. We all have tough situations. Some of us struggle with the way we look at ourselves. We can conquer the thoughts of the world and the evil thoughts that Satan would have us think through Christ our redeemer. The one who wants nothing more than for us to depend on Him and to look to Him to help us survive this thing we call life.
