Higher Power, Higher Calling: TRUMC Sr. Hi Retreat

I know you've all been anxiously awaiting the post on the Senior High Retreat I help facilitate this weekend! The Reader's Digest version: I survived and even enjoyed it! Read on for more details!

Ten students (ninth-twelfth grade), TRUMC's Youth Ministries Director and I set out for Saluda, NC on this bus late Friday afternoon. (Luckily, I have not received TRUMC training to drive the bus, so I got to ride shotgun!) I got a quick introduction to the kids, one of who said, "Hey, we're dressed alike. I like the way you dress!" This was a good sign!

Jillian, TRUMC's Youth Director, and bus driver extraordinaire.

Another, Morgan, handed out valentines to everyone on the bus, and even had one for me! The valentine included a cool "Hello Kitty" tattoo, which I put on the next day. Morgan also ended up being one of the girls in my cabin, and she was very cool.

We stopped at The Beacon on the way up, and I survived the firing line! The Beacon has a few more options now, so I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich, baked beans and unsweetened tea in this cool cup. Everyone else got the "a-plenty" option, which included a huge mountain of fries and onion rings. As some of you know, I haven't eaten a french fry in almost two years now. I didn't even miss them, but I stressed "a plenty" before we got there! By the way, the man on the cup is the one who actually took our order.


We arrived at Cabin Fever about 9 p.m. on Friday. My three cabin mates were Lacey, Georgeanne and Morgan. We were assigned to the High Top cabin. We had about 30 minutes to unpack and then went back down to the main cabin for the first session. Lights out at midnight, and was I ever ready!

High Top Cabin

The High Top Hotties

I was supposed to have my own room at High Top, but when we walked in, we saw that it was a loft. I think Georgeanne and Morgan thought it was really cool, but feigned concern for me to get it. Georgeanne said something to the affect that she knew her mom wouldn't want to have to climb up a ladder to go to bed, but quickly added that her mom was a lot older than me. I was actually more worried that I'd wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, forget I was in a loft and walk off the ledge, so I quickly gave up the loft!


This was my actual room at High Top. Aside from the cabin decor, it really doesn't look much different from my room at home. Messy and all.

And this was the living area. You can't tell it from this picture, but I started a MEAN fire Saturday afternoon that lasted all evening and kept us very warm!


Speaking of the weather, it was COLD! We got some snow flurries Saturday night and woke up to a dusting Sunday, but not enough to even crack somebody upside the head with a snowball!

This is the main cabin, where all of the sessions happened. What happens at the retreat stays at the retreat, but suffice it to say that it was thought-provoking and moving and a good time, too. The theme was Higher Power, Higher Calling. The Bible verse that we used as a theme was from 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

On the way home, we stopped at Fuddrucker's for lunch. I had a cheeseburger but again resisted the fries. (Even though I was tempted by a lone fry that ended up on my plate!) More tempting was the arcade that had Galaga. I talked one of the girls into playing with me and was amazed at how well I could still play after 20-something years! This is me with some Merlin fortune telling machine. I could only pose with him as I'd blown all of my quarters on Galaga!


We got home around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, and I quickly drove home and dove into bed for a long, late afternoon nap. But it was a great time, and I hope that I'm able to do more with the TRUMC youth in the future.