For the past 3 years, we have taken the teens in our youth group to Branson for a full weekend of building community & getting in The Word together. We find an Airbnb that can fit all of us (shout-out to my wife) and spend almost all of our time there. We play games, murder in the dark is a must, eat food, and just had fun together.
This year, we stayed in an amazing Airbnb overlooking Table Rock Lake. It had 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, a pool in the basement & direct access to a pickleball/basketball court - you can’t beat that!
Friday
We all took off from the church and made our way to Branson. I got the car with 4 middle-school girls - which was actually quite enjoyable. We shared songs, played car games, and made it first to the house… being first was important😊
Pizza, Basketball, Codenames, and Murder in the Dark filled the evening.
Saturday
To start off the day, I went on a run. I was able to get 3 teens to go with me and we took off on a 2-mile, 9-minute pace run… or so we thought. As we ran, we encountered this massive hill and began to run down it laughing and enjoying the view. At the bottom of the hill, we circled the parking lot and made our way back to the base of the hill. Oh, I forgot to mention, one of the teens was running in Crocs - Sport Mode. As we began the trek up, it was such a steep hill that it felt like I was walking, and driving my knees to my chest, just to gain ground. With every step, my quads began to burn more and more. We made it to the top of the first hill and took a breather, for Mr. Crocs to catch up. We made an agreement there, “No matter how slow you go just don’t stop till the top of the next hill.” Not even 20 seconds into this second hill and my breathing turns heavy. My quads burn. My mind says stop.
After about a minute of grinding, I call out, “DON’T STOP TILL THE BROKEN TREE!”
One after another, we pass by the broken tree and each of us lets out a massive sigh. Relief that the pain was over and joy that we accomplished the goal. Afterward, we finish out 2 miles on flatter ground. I was proud of everyone!
Living in a house with 21 people, 16 being teens, you can imagine how chaotic the rest of the day was. Organized chaos. Here is a quick list of the rest of the day:
Group Games. Winter Olympics Style.
Guy/Girl Time. Shopping for the girls and baseball on the “beach” for the boys.
Q&A. Ask any biblical question and we will do our best to answer.
Movie Night. Prince of Egypt.
Free Time. Basketball, pickleball, swimming, and more.
Sunday
We wrapped up the weekend by packing and heading home. Less eventful, but most kids were tired from staying up till 2 AM (sorry parents).
Over the course of the weekend, I was touched by hearing several kids talk about Jesus. One girl mentioned that she is learning about God because her friend reads her Bible. Another kid, new to the faith, said he doesn’t typically have quiet times, and getting to start his day that way was new, but he really enjoyed it. One quiet time led to a table-wide discussion on if God created evil - such a good question!
Now, home from the trip, there is much to reflect on. Our goal was to build community, to feel like family. I truly think we did that this weekend.
Shoutout to the grandparents for taking care of Mace and Penny while we were gone!😊
400-mile check-in
I plan to explain this more soon - but for now, here is a quick check-in for how this week went.
4 runs. 8.35 miles. 1hr 21mins. 390.7 left.
Thanks for reading along and I am excited to share next week what this whole 400-mile check-in means!
Grace and Peace