I guess it is about time for another one..

My time here in HP is winding down slowly. I'm here for less than two weeks.
I feel bitter sweet about that.

I guess the most exciting thing that has happened recently was the Lake Trip/Retreat for the youth group that we just returned from last night.
Patty the youth pastor has a cabin in the Catskills and 16 people (10 youth) went up for a three day retreat.

It was beautiful.

The retreat was unlike anything I have ever been on before. Not bad, different.
I just have to say that because sometimes when you say unlike anything I have done before you jump to negative.

It was a great time.

What was different was that their was no programing, so she dual, nothing planned, no lights out. Just whatever the youth wanted to do.
There was a lot of canoing, kayaking, berry picking, swimming, fishing, (all foreign to these city kids) hiking, hanging out, card games, camp fires, food, loud pop music :), and movies.

It was really funny to stay in a tiny three room cabin with 16 people, 12 crammed into sleep in the living room. The youth stayed up watching movies all nights both nights. I opted to sleep the second night.

It was a good time. I got a little sun burned. I really enjoyed hanging out with the youth. I have had a hard time connecting to them at all in the other short situations we have been in before. I still have not felt like I fit with the group exactly, but I really enjoyed the connections that I made and continued.

It was a little hard for me to not have any kind of program. No discussion as to why we were on a retreat. The model of ministry for the youth group is pretty Andrew Root strictly relational with not strings attached. And although I get that discussion that push religion on the youth are understandably out, I feel that when going on a retreat there is a good opportunity for discussion about what that could mean, why it is necessary ect. ya know. I think that discussions like that are what really build the kind of relationships that relational ministry is strongest during....


Well. That's my two cents.

Here are some picture.

T-minus 12 days to home.