:: greatness is a life well-lived ::

two trips and a fall

I must admit, the forecast did not look promising, but the 20-somethings group of sojourners threw caution (and everyone's scoffing at our plans) to the wind and went on a camping trip this past weekend. The 7 of us had a great time getting to know each other, bonding, bantering, laughing, enjoying God's magnificent creation and the beauty of Northern Michigan in autumn. I think it got down to 26F (below 0C) Saturday night...but a roaring fire and endless conversations kept our spirits warm and happy, despite the cold. Hiking on trails covered in a carpet of thousand-coloured leaves, rafting on a gorgeous winding river framed with blue sky and fluttering leaves, star-studded night sky, sunrise and sunset in the woods, hilltops with a vista of Northern Michigan autumn scenery, campfire smoke, tents and sleeping bags, frost and snow on the ground...was it worth it? Each pinch of a muscle sore from rafting or hiking, every yawn from lack of sleep, and each flit of memory of laughter, conversation and enjoyment...they tell me it was worth it. Very much so.

This Wednesday I'm taking another trip, this time out west to Idaho, to visit the headquarters of Mission Aviation Fellowship. It's a ministry I absolutely love and think highly of what they do around the world. I'm going on assignment as part of my job to help cover MAF's Operation Access training. It'll be so great to get to know MAF a bit more, and also to be out West near mountains. It'll be an adventure and new experience for me. Very excited for the trip.

And finally, here's a funny story from camping: It was late Saturday night. John and I sat chatting and warming ourselves by the fire. The fire was dying out a bit, so (being the pyromaniac that I am) I decided to stir it. All of a sudden, something in one of the logs exploded and chunks of flaming hot coals shot out in all directions. I naturally reacted by trying to move away. Well, I must have jumped back so forcefully that the plastic chair I was sitting in flung backwards as well. I felt myself falling and grabbed at an empty chair next to me, which did no good because that was an even flimsier lawn chair. So I tumbled backwards with my arms flailing, flinging chairs, the fire-poker stick, and myself far from the original sitting place, and making a very loud racket in the quiet of the night. Being the humourous situation that it was, I started dying of laughter as I lay there on the ground trying to figure out what just happened and how. John helped me up, and, as we found and smothered random hot coals spread about the campsite, we couldn't stop laughing. So that's definitely a highlight of the camping trip...still laughing whenever I think about it.

Two trips and a fall…a fantastic few days in mid-October.

posted by FaithChristine @ 22:25