Shift High School Action Retreat

so we just got back from our high school retreat. the thing is with this particular retreat, we didn't go anywhere in the mountains like a normal winter retreat. we stayed local. very local. only about a 10 minute drive from CCV. this was out high school action retreat, where a group of high school students went out and served the community that they are living in. and quite honestly, it was amazing!

we had two teams, one team went to a recreation center to do a re-model/re-paint of the entire place and the second team went to a house of a single mother of our church who desperately needed repairs to her house. i had the privilege to be at the house with a group of leaders and a group of students.

on friday night, we got there and did some pre-work, we filled up a GIGANTIC dumpster about half way just that night and started to see what we needed the next day because it was supposed to rain ALL day. and it did.

it was hard/long/exhausting/wet/cold. but it was well worth it. i have to say i was unbelievably impressed with all of the students. they worked their butts off, when when it was pouring down rain like no other, and at one point it was even hailing!

some girls did a huge cleaning and re-do of the kitchen, a new stove top was put in because the family was cooking on hot plates. their laundry was done for them. they got 2 brand new doors put in their house because the old doors had huge holes in them and cold wind would blow through. we put in a brand new window in their living room because their old one had a whole and creatures would crawl through. we mowed their lawn, pulled weeds, and re-did their entire back yard. it didn't look like the same yard when we were done. THE STUDENTS DID AN AMAZING JOB, WORKING AND SACRIFICING THEIR TIME TO HELP THIS FAMILY IN NEED.

this whole weekend was about serving. one of the passages that we wanted to look at for this weekend and have it be our main focus is Phil. 2:1-11. about how we should be like Christ in the aspect of service, to humble ourselves. we also looked at John 13:1-17 when Jesus washed the disciples feet. it was so moving. no matter how much Satan tried to make us stop working with the weather, we kept working.

one of the best examples of service was not from us serving the family, but the family, being so greaful, where serving us all day day. the were taking our wet jackets and socks and putting them in the dryer for us, the kids there were helping do yard work in the back. at one point, they even brought us McDonalds and started to hand us burgers in the pouring rain so we can have something warm to eat. it honestly was so touching. it was awesome. a true example of service.

overall, this weekend was great. today, after the rain, we went to a family's house who goes tot the church and they let us use their outstanding house and backyard to hang out all day and have a BBQ and pool party. which was so cool because we got to just hang out and play with everyone. it was not a "normal" winter retreat, but it has beat any other winter retreat i have ever done. God is good.