Montreat 2013

   WELL...
   I really don't know how to fit all of the fun I had in the past week into one post. Last week, I had the privilege of traveling up to the mountains in Montreat, North Carolina, with all of my friends from Dorchester Presbyterian Church for the Montreat 2013 Youth Conference! It was one of the best trips I have had in my life. I learned so much about God, myself, and my friends. We stayed in a cottage that was haunted and ate delicious food prepared by everyone's favorite youth leaders: Jon, Tony, Michelle, and Dorothy! We all woke up early in the morning to eat breakfast (sweet, delicious, sugar!) and prepare for the day. Then we walked to Anderson Auditorium for keynote- a fun morning service packed with energizers, music, and a message by Scott Phillips. After that, we walked to our small groups and made lots of new friends from all over the country through fun, team-building games and activities. We discussed lots of topics and shared personal stories. It's amazing how about thirty strangers can become a family in only a few days! When the morning small group session was over, I met my friends from my "back home group" at the gazebo by Lake Susan and we walked back for lunch at our cottage. We spent time together for a few hours and returned to our small groups for a second meeting in the afternoon. When that was over, we had the chance to participate in afternoon recreation events. Then we went back to the cottage and did more stuff with our back home group. After dinner, we went to worship, then another recreation event at night, and went back to the cottage for a meeting with our group to share our highs and lows for the day.
   Now that you know the basic schedule, I will share some of my personal highlights. First, the beauty of the landscape that surrounded us was absolutely breathtaking. I actually became an outdoors person for a week! It was so nice to wake up and see the mountains in the morning. I also liked the stream that meandered through the campus. Once, my friends and I were walking back from small group and we decided to have an impromptu bit of fun. We kicked off our shoes, put our bags and technology on the shore, climbed down into the stream, and climbed up the "mermaid rock" to sit and take pictures. It was neat! The rocks had a mineral that caused them to shimmer, so every time we touched them, our hands and feet sparkled for a while. I also enjoyed spending time with ALL of my friends- even the boys! Our youth group definitely became closer as a result of this trip. One of the recreation events was the Color Run: a brief walk/jog/run around Lake Susan while being showered in Holi powder. When it was over, all the conferees took a Dixie cup filled with the colorful powder and thrust it into the air. Colors were everywhere! It was so pretty! After that, I went rock hopping for the first time with my youth group. We took the bus up to a picnic area in the woods that Dorothy had reserved for us and while the leaders grilled burgers for us, my friends and I took time to hop and shimmy from rock to rock and try to NOT fall into the freezing cold rapids! However, for a couple of the boys, resistance was futile and they just jumped in and swam! It was so much fun and great to see all of us helping each other. Then I ate my third hamburger in my personal food-eating history. It was delicious. Worship was great, too! Our preacher, Amos Disasa, never failed to deliver an interesting, meaningful message that everyone in the room could relate to. I left the auditorium every night feeling inspired! I learned so much. The theme for the week was "Here and Be Heard." Before you start judging what seems to be a spelling error, know that it was purposeful! We learned how to let your presence be known by being passionate and caring (hence "Here") and how to listen for God and share His amazing love in the world ("Be Heard"). I also got some cool henna tattoos in my small group. That was really fun! However, all of these activities could not top my favorite thing we did last week. We hiked and climbed Lookout Mountain. It was a great experience for me. I spent the journey to the top reflecting on what I had learned and listening to the peaceful sounds of nature. The last bit had no trail; it was just a whole bunch of large rocks that you had to climb! That was challenging and exhilarating. When I reached the top, I had a short panic attack (I'm sort of afraid of heights, which is ironic because I have a passion for flight) but one of my friends helped me reach the peak and my Soul Sisters sat on the edge with me. As soon as I started feeling comfortable, this majestic falcon flew by and let out a long, beautiful noise. That moment was so amazing; I almost started crying but I stopped myself because I didn't want to embarrass myself! Another one of my friends also overcame his fear of heights that day. Kudos! We took a group picture at the top and climbed back down. On the last night, we left the auditorium after the sermon, gathered around Lake Susan, lit our candles, and sang worship songs. I really sensed the presence of God; the mood was completely reverent. As the candlelight and fireflies danced in the reflection of the water and we all sang quietly, I tried to take in the moment so I could describe it later. However, words fail to describe the pure camaraderie I felt among all of my old and new friends. It was like God's love was falling on everyone like rain and I found myself silently crying at the beauty of it all. We all extinguished our candles and that was it; it was over. I can't believe the week passed so quickly! Here's some pictures.

My friend Danielle and I sitting on Mermaid Rock.

My face after the Color Run.

Group picture post-color run!

Hanging out in a tree.

Pinterest pose on the train tracks!

This is my small group.

One of many pictures I took on Lookout Mountain.

My Soul Sisters! :)

One of my henna tattoos. Joy is sort of my "soul word"; it's what my name means and it usually describes me! I also got a small Jesus fish on my ankle so I can "remember who I am and Whose I am!"

A group picture on Lookout.

Finally, I leave you with a song; "On Top Of The World" by Imagine Dragons was one of our energizer songs and it also describes my experience at Montreat. I really felt like I was on top of the world!