i have returned

i've returned from Acadia Summer Leadership Project 07. My time in Maine was absolutely wonderful. i loved nearly every minute and learned so much that i could hardly post about it in a readable chunk.

Our days were action packed. Each week we had a theme. The four themes were combined with 4 different activities. For my group the theme/activity breakdown looked like this:

1. Learning to bond with each other - Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail
2. Saying yes and no and respecting yes and no - Rock Climbing
3. Judgment and acceptance of good and bad - Hiking
4. Experiencing choices and consequences or moving into adulthood - Biking

By far, my favorite activity was rock climbing. Not only did i love climbing out over the ocean, getting the backs of my legs splashed as i prepare to climb 50 feet of pink granite, but i also loved seeing and being apart of the incredible growth our group experienced. The last day of climbing we took our students rappelling, which is controlling your own descent of a cliff with a rope and some equipment (it's fairly safe). We sat them at the top of a 165 ft cliff and said, "Either you all go, or you all dont. You have 25 minutes to decide." Try to imagine getting ten of your friends together and giving them an ultimatum like that. What would your friends decide? If someone said no, would you accept it or try to convince them otherwise?

Our team decided to go for it! i was shocked considering two of our group members were afraid of heights at the time. After half the group had walked down the cliff, one member said she couldnt do it. She tied the experience to her inability to make her own choices in the past because she was worried about her parents and her friends disapproval. She decided that God didnt require her to live like that any more and she knew she would still be loved after saying "no". This is the fly-by, quick recap of the experience. But as she was describing how she wanted to free herself from the approval of her parents and that she now felt freed by God to take responsibility for her own decisions, i felt like crying. It was absolutely beautiful, seeing her transformed at the top of a 165 ft cliff on a gorgeous sunny day.

The whole summer was filled with moments like this. Epiphanies were rampant, even in my own life. Please ask me sometime!!

Again, i've put up pictures. So many i havent even finished titling them!
Acadia Leadership Adventure Pictures!

Pictures from Acadia!

i am currently putting up a few pictures on my flickr account from Bar Harbour, Maine. There arent as many as i'd like to put up, but i dont have great access to the internet, nor do i have my own computer. But in my opinion, these are some really pretty photos because i am in a really pretty place.

flickr.com/photos/jugglingnutcase

Acadia Rock Climbing

i'll post again soon!

But i have about 10 seconds before i go rock climbing on Otter Cliffs near Bar Harbour. Wow! It is so beautiful. i'll put a picture up soon!

Thanks for your prayers!