Engage 2011 part 1

This past Sunday, we had the privilege of taking some mind blowing adult leaders and some awesome students to Paul B Johnson State Park, which is around 10 miles south of Hattiesburg, MS, for our 1^st ever spring retreat called Engage. The purpose of the retreat was for students to “disconnect” from their everyday lives, and engage God and each other, returning home refreshed and refocused.

Planning for an event of this nature takes approximately 6-8 months. So we started planning for Engage in early August 2010. At first it was difficult to find a place for us to “retreat” to. Then we stumbled upon Paul B Johnson State Park. It was a good location because it was a 2 hour ride from church, and plus it’s the woods….the woods are awesome!! So needless to say a lot of planning went into Engage, but it all slapped us in the face the week leading up to Engage. That’s normally when things hit you in the face, weddings and graduations to name a few. So as we worked like busy little ants, I was amazed that I hadn’t lost my “shalom” yet.

So as Sunday March 6^th rolled around, we were ready. We loaded up the school bus we normally use for all events, and met in the youth room for a “rundown” of Engage. Just looking at the students all in one place, I knew God wanted to do some amazing things. So we spelled out some brief rules and expectations and before long we were on our way to Engage.

While traveling north on interstate 59, we ran into our first snafu. The lovely Ms. Pam’s van tire blew out. So we turn the school bus around to see what we could do for Ms. Pam. As we were driving towards her I was thinking “great, our very 1^st Engage and this is how it’s going to start”!! I could hear my wife's, Simone, words ringing in my head…Grant you are so pessimistic!!! Maybe it was God convicting me….who knows!! But I made a decision, this is not going to set the tone for this retreat. This will not be the “staple” of this trip!! So we arrived, changed her flat, and we were back on the road in about 20-30 minutes. I could feel God while changing Ms. Pam’s tire….He was with us….because He isn’t some “thing” on a list, He is a life that we live!!

So we finally get to the park and I mean the view from the cabins were beautiful…they were right next to a lake. We unload the bus, get in our cabins, and wait for dinner.

After dinner was the gathering, good worship lead by Emily Martinez, then a good message by Chantal Trosclair……..

But that’s for another blog!!!!