Hey there! We made it safely and it is BEAUTIFUL here! We’re hanging out in our rooms and heading to dinner soon. Tonight’s theme is LISTEN for God’s voice. I’m so excited for this week… please continue to pray for our students this week. More tomorrow!

Anne

Well, it’s 2am in Indy and we’re in the middle of Nebraska driving through rain which is supposed to put us in the middle of a storm. Everyone is tired but pretty anxious to get home so there’s little sleeping occurring at the moment. Vicki and Tina are at the helm once again. We have night duty. We enjoyed a nice evening of rafting last night accompanied by a stay at the Virginian in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Nick read the students multiple bedtime stories a few hours ago and we thought they were asleep, but boy were we wrong. They’ve quieted down after a bathroom break but have yet to fall asleep. I am pleased to inform you, however, that all the sponsors (other than Vicki of course) are knocked out. Rick will be the next to take control and as I am told, Wesley will be his copilot. Well we have to check the radar to see how much longer we’ll be in this storm. We’ll see you all tomorrow (or if you want to get technical like Vicki, we’ll see you all today)!

The last picture was of Jarred & Marilynne right after hiking out of our backpack trip. This pic is when Tina made the worlds smallest s’more!

I decided to take advantage of the wi-fi signal at the Teton National Park visitors center!
We’re on our last full day of the trip – hard to believe it’s gone by so quickly!!
Yesterday we hiked as far into the Tetons as we could go before we hit snow. The rangers wouldn’t let us go farther because they have had a lot of avalanches in the area. But we still got to do a great 7-mile hike around Jenny Lake & up to Hidden Falls. They’ve had a lot of unseasonally late snow this year, and we found out that just a month ago, the Jenny Lake Lodge was under about 10 feet of snow! This group has not been able to do the amount of hiking that most groups get to do, but they have seen wildlife that no one else has seen! I lost count of the number of bears we’ve seen, but the last number I heard was 10! Yesterday along the trail, we saw a male & female moose drinking from a lake while a black bear played on the hill right above them! What a gift!!
Today we’re doing a raft trip on Snake River, then we’ll stay somewhere in Jackson Hole before hitting the road in the morning.
Keep praying for energy, as everyone is getting tired, and for continued spiritual growth.
Looking forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday!

Sorry the blog posts have been few & far between but cell signal is rare out here!

Yesterday we hiked into the backcountry of Yellowstone. We couldn’t do our planned hike to Mallard Lake because there is waist-high snow on the trail! But we improvised & were blessed with a beautiful trail in a part of the park that none of us have ever been to. We explored the mountainside, watched a sunset over the mountains, slept under the stars, & woke up to a bison hanging out about 100 yards from us!

We hiked a little over 4 miles back to the bus this morning, which doesn’t sound like much, but that included going uphill  500 feet in elevation in under 1/2 mile!  We were all pretty worn out but were rewarded with a gorgeous view of a waterfall!

We drove south out of Yellowstone today & are setting up camp in the Tetons. I have pictures to upload but I’m going to have to wait until I have a stronger signal.

The students are doing great & having a wonderful time. Thanks to all the parents for raising such fun, respectful, adventurous young adults. We are enjoying them immensely. And thanks for entrusting them to us for this special week!

More updates & pics to come as soon as I can!

Take a minute and check out John 6:16-21, and pay close attention to verse 19.

What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen? Seriously. What’s that “goto” story you tell that trumps everybody else’s? I bet yours is good. But the disciples have you beat. Let’s be honest, they saw some incredible stuff. But Jesus walking on water? That is near the top.

Picture it: the disciples are in a boat, three miles away from shore. They look up, and see Jesus literally walking across the top of the water like it was a sidewalk. Verse 19 is classic, “They saw Jesus approaching . . . and they were terrified.” Keep in mind, these guys hadn’t been with Jesus that long. Sure, they knew something was different about Him, but walking on water? It was enough to scare them half-to-death.

We have an advantage over the disciples. We have the whole story. We can read the Bible and see the big-picture view. The disciples were in that moment; they had the “I’m in the boat and I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” view. And although we can appreciate having the rest of the story, how crazy would it be if you were in that boat?

The disciples were scared and filled with awe. Are you filled with awe when you think about Jesus? What’s a moment you’ve been in simply “in awe” of the Creator God?

We’re having a wonderful time exploring the park. I have about 2 minutes to update this before I lose cell coverage again, so I just wanted to say hello from everyone & let you know we’re doing well. Hiking into the backcountry tonight, then heading to the Tetons tomorrow! Will update again when I can!

Take a minute and read John 4:45-54. Don’t miss John 4:50. 

Jesus worked some incredible miracles, performed amazing healings, and taught wisdom and knowledge that no one had ever heard. This story is no exception. A man who had a sick child approached Jesus and asked for healing. Jesus agreed to heal the child, and did so without even being present with the sick child. It’s a great story. But there is one verse that encapsulates Jesus and our faith relationship with Him.

Verse 50 is where we see Jesus agree to heal the child. He says to the man, “Go. Your child is going to live.” It’s one thing for Jesus to heal people whom He touched or saw; it’s another thing entirely to see Jesus healing people without seeing or touching them. Only the Son of God could wield so much power.

The second cool part of verse 50 is the man’s response. Jesus said He was going to heal the child. What was the man’s response? “The man took Jesus at his word.” Just like that. Jesus spoke, and the man believed. On the spot. No questions asked. Is your faith like this? Do you take Jesus for His word? Are you convinced Jesus is who He says He is, and can accomplish anything He wants to?