Lessons from OLD School

1. God has a mind of His own. What I mean by this is that when I applied to OLD School I did it because I wanted the experience and to gain many outdoor skills that would look good on a resume. However, God had something totally different in mind. (Read below for His reasons)

2. Because I entered OLDS for selfish reasons, I was distant and wanted very little to do with those around me. When we reached the part of the semester where people either run to God or run from Him, all of us students ran to Him. Suddenly I found myself surround by brothers and sisters who wanted to walk with me through this journey. Had I been open from the start I would have seen that they were there all along.

3. Another thing God taught me was that He already knows how much of a sinner I am and does not need to be constantly reminded. This was perhaps my favorite lesson because I was able to finally sit back and allow God's love to pour over me. I realized that He knows I am a sinner in need of His help, that is why He sent Jesus. The only response I had to this overwhelming realization was one of awe and silence.

4. Lastly, I learned that God speaks through His creation. It took some time for me to finally hear God but once I started it seemed as though He was everywhere. Whether watching the sunrise while sitting on top of a mountain far above the clouds, listening to the waves crash on the shore as I fell asleep, or hearing laughter over the crackling fire it seems God is always using creation to draw us to Him. Even now thinking about it I feel myself being drawn to Him.

Just a few more of my favorite pictures:

Out of the Woods

Hey Friends!

What a semester it has been! (and that is an under statement). This semester I have been mostly living in the back country with 9 other students and 2 proctors. We formed a very unlikely and united family. Over the period of about 13 weeks the 12 of us did so much together and spent almost every minute with each other.
Let's take a look at what we did this semester.

Our first section was Backpacking:

Just girls :)

All of the students

Fish Hatchery, our final destination

Whitewater training and guiding:

Learning how to guide the river

We had a lot of fun...

...even though the temperature dropped into the low 40s at one point

Rock climbing:

Table Rock, NC

That was the day that we climbed to the top of a MOUNTAIN!!!

I still can't believe we did it! It was so amazing and beautiful!

Caving:

Cora walked into a rock that was at head level, oops

Night Climbing!!!!

Wilderness First Responder:

Fake injuries can be fun unless...

... in a litter. It was all for education and because I was the smallest person in the class

Sea Kayaking (one of my favorite sections):

We saw all kinds of animals; dolphins, sea turtles, raccoons, fish, sharks and more

The tide was interrupting our dinner plans

A beautiful sunrise on our last morning

 

 

Honduras:

We went on a mission trip to Emmanuel Orphanage in Honduras and our main job was to spend time loving on the kids. Some of the ways we did this was by playing with the kids (often soccer), tag, "throw me in the air until your arms fall off", talking with the older ones, playing paint ball, using a zip-line, and our Snowbird team built a three man swing for them.

The three man being tested for the first time

The first Hondurans on the swing

Paintball with the older girls :)

Sisters

We had such a wonderful time in Honduras and through out the whole semester. I hope you enjoyed the picture blog. Next and hopefully very soon I will post about my experience at OLD School and the things I learned through out the semester.

Happy New Year! :)