Camping in July

The most exciting thing to me about Generation Next is the pace at which relationships are growing. Friendships are developing right off the bat and quickly this group is becoming a close knit group of people. This was perfectly on display this past weekend on the camping trip.

Fourteen people participated in this weekend. Most of the people have only known each other for a matter of weeks. And yet, teamwork was evident. Camaraderie was high. The campsite was full of jokes, stories, airsoft pellets, smoke, but plenty of good attitudes.

It is interesting to see God working in people. One of my previous pastors used to say frequently that God wanted to move “in us, through us and as us.” This was very true this weekend. God was very much alive and moving in this group of people. You could feel Him by the way that every cared about everyone else. People felt safe with each other. God is gelling this group together very quickly and I am anxious to see what else is around the corner.

We had funny moments, mostly goofy times of bellowing out various showtunes or repeating once again the same Spongebob quote or relaying embellished most-embarrassing moments stories. We had down chilled moments, where there wasn’t much else going on except sitting and listening to a squirrel barking away at our boys. We had intense emotional moments, where hearts were laid open before the entire group and everyone participated in what God was doing in people’s lives. All of these moments added up to be just one great trip.

From Jeff’s tales of boyhood horticulturalism to the constant sarcastic needling of the kitchen crew by most all of the female entourage this was a trip to remember.

Hopefully, I will be able to get back up into the mountains one more time yet this summer. I will definitely be making camping a more consisten part of my life!