Cadie Colorado Confirmation Trip

Cadie spent July 25-30 at Sky Ranch, Ute Trail in Powderhorn, Colorado as the final step in the confirmation process. She made it through, but was not a big fan. She started crying the minute she walked in the door at home. She was cold, wet, and a rat in their cabin that they named Agatha sent her over the edge. DD and Big John joined them at Ute and traveled home with them so I was glad she had people around that love her. 

Tuesday Update from Anna Crumpler - "Colorado Day 1 Recap"

"We are having a wonderful first day here at Sky Ranch! We had an action-packed day full of kayaking, hiking, hockey, and fun! One of our favorite moments was when we all did a polar plunge into the Lake San Cristobal – see a video attached!  We have already been so blessed! On top of that video, check out some pictures from our day attached to this email.

 Tonight, our students will hear about Spiritual Gifts; how each one of them has been given unique talents by God to use to benefit themselves, the body of believers they are a part of and most importantly the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Pray for Anna as she prepares to deliver this message and pray that the hearts of our students are open to hear it.

 Other prayer requests for the week include:

1. Continued good weather! We were very blessed that the rain held off to allow us to kayak today, and we pray that the weather cooperates with us throughout all our activities this week
2. Continued bonding! It’s been so fun to watch our students create friendships and support each other. We pray that these continue to develop into life-long friendships!
3. Continued presence of God! The Lord has clearly been present in all our details this week. We continue to pray and welcome Him into our experience. We also pray that our students have eyes to see how God is working this week and cultivate deeper more meaningful relationships with Him through what we do here. 

Thank you again for sending your students with us this week, and for your continued support and prayer! We will check in again tomorrow."

Wednesday Update from Anna Crumpler - "Colorado Day 2 Recap"

"Hello All,

 God is continuing to move here at Sky Ranch! We have had an amazing day! We spent our mornings at the High Ropes course here at Sky Ranch and our afternoon White Water Rafting the Taylor River in Gunnison! We couldn’t have asked for a better experience so far! Check out some pictures from our day attached to this email.

 Tonight our students will hear about God’s Story from Savannah Pace. We will talk about the already/not yet of the Christian life, God’s story for all of history, and how we as a church and as individuals play a role in that story. Pray for Savannah and our students as we prepare for this important message and time together.

 Other prayer requests for the week include:

1. More prayers about weather! We barely made White Water rafting today and our big hike tomorrow is currently contingent on the weather forecast. Please continue to pray that the weather allows us to do our activities!
2. Opportunities for vulnerability! Throughout all the fun activities we do we crave moments of real genuine connection and conversations about Jesus. Pray that we that God creates space for those!  
3. That our students would seriously begin to consider what it looks like to be in Christian community. So much of what we are talking about this week is about what it means to be part of a body of believers and asking students to pray about joining the church. Pray they learn something about the church in this time and that they feel moved to become Covenant Partners at HP Pres.

 Tomorrow we take out on trail, so we will not be able to send out another update email. We look forward to touching base with you all when we are back Friday afternoon! If weather prevents us from hiking, we will update you on that as well."

Friday Update from Anna Crumpler - "Colorado Day 3 and 4 Recap"

"Hello All!

We are back from our hike! We ended up having an adjusted day yesterday with hatchet throwing/archery in the morning and then an adjusted hike to be safer and closer to camp in case of inclement weather. I know all of staff is so proud of the endurance and perseverance our students showed making it up the mountain. No way to experience God better than to be in the midst of His creation! Here is a picture from the top of our hike! Now we’re back at camp getting ready to surprise our students with a trip to closest town for ice cream and then a night packing and getting ready for tomorrow.

Tonight on our final night Daniel will be talking about what it means to be a Covenant Partner and invite our students to deeply consider making a commitment to join our church body at HP Pres. We will also be taking communion together and opening the floor up for students to ask any hard questions they have about the Christian faith. This is always a powerful night, so we ask you to join us in prayer that God will continue and culminate the good work he has started this week.

Other prayer requests include:

1. Questions night! Wisdom and discernment from the staff answering the questions and boldness for our students to ask the questions on their minds. Pray that God is truly revealed in this night.
2. Rest! We take off bright and early tomorrow and we are definitely weary. Pray for an effective night of rest as we prepare for a long day of travel.
3. Friendships! As we get ready to leave, it is my earnest prayer that these kids will remain close friends. Pray that these relationships are even more solidified today and into the rest of their lives.

 We will be in touch tomorrow as we travel back to Dallas. We cannot wait to be back with you and share about this awesome experience!"