Glorieta has a rich tradition of being a church conference center
owned by LifeWay and recently purchased by Camp Eagle.. Glorieta 2.0 (This is
the camp I am working at and involved in the program at). This has been such an
exciting experience to learn all about this camp and get to know the goals and
agenda for the new campus.
So a little background about my own experience at Glorieta,
I have been on the site three prior times… once with my home church in San
Angelo, once with FBC Plainview and once with WBU University. It was during
these times that I saw the beauty and amazingness of this HUGE campus! Anyway,
so when I heard about Camp Eagle (a camp I believe in deeply) purchasing the
land because LifeWay could no longer manage and run their business there.. I
WAS ESTATIC!!!
Okay back to my trip!!! When we arrived, we learned that we
would be going on trail for one day because of the snow on the ground; we would
also be doing work projects and all sorts of other fun things. We would also be
experiencing a ski trip toward the end of the entire week.
ON TRAIL
When it came time to go on trail, we all loaded up our packs
and layers upon layers of clothes. Over the night it would get down to 10
degrees and I definitely knew I would want to be as warm as possible. We were separated
into girls and guys groups and would be spending time with those 4 or 5
assigned to our group working through the spiritual discipline of WORSHIP
(different blog).
So as we went out for the day, we had an agenda with our
group in which we were to not open the next envelope until we completed the
prior envelope. So… we trekked out with the groups and slowly started to separate
into our specified girls and guys groups the further we went along the trail. I
was a part of the second girls group, so we hiked about a mile or so until we
met our new location for where we would set up our own campsite. Just to serve
as a reminder… this is a snowy white area… not a real campsite with
electricity, benches, an awning, a campfire site, or a table. NO NO this was a
beautiful white patch of snow that had yet to be camped on! So we got the joy
of creating our own campsite and setting up camp in whatever way we decided.
My group, made up of myself and four other girls, chose to
put our tent on the left side of the trail and our kitchen to the right of the
tent. We also chose to put our campfire pit (yes we built it ourselves) down in
a small creek bed away from the tent. We first opened up our envelope #1 and
were instructed to gather all these ridiculous amounts of sticks, rocks,
boulders, leaves, and brush. So as girls, we did the best that we could and
guess-timated till we felt like we had the right amount of items. We then were
able to open up #2 and learn that it was time to eat dinner and start our camp
fire. Perfect because as the weather got colder, we were super ready for a warm
fire!
As two of us started the fire, the other two prepared
dinner, while one sweet girl just sat miserably cold J With many wet sticks, a few
dried leaves, some cardboard from a now empty match book, a working match, and
a shot of fuel… we NOW had a fire!!!We were very thankful and decided that
after dinner and after our final envelope #3 for the night (opened around the
fire) we would be jumping into the tent and not getting out.
It was during this third envelope that we were guided to
begin thinking about a project that we would be creating that would be something
that would bring awe, amazement, wonder and worship to the Lord. It seemed as
if no “thing” we created would be enough and we were side tracked by the 10
degree weather. We chose to discuss our ideas in the tent and some warm
sleeping bags.
Over the night, we had some fun, icey cold, and space
hogging experiences! We ended up skipping breakfast and not getting out of the
tent for over 12 hours because we were staying warm and being lazy. It came 11
am when I was tired enough of not doing anything and chose to climb out and
cook everyone lunch. It was during this time when the Lord really spoke to me
about our lack of discipline to engage in the tasks we were given.
It is the times that things seem so easy and meaningless
(collecting items, cooking breakfast, and starting our project) that the Lord
was really there watching us to see how well we chose to follow the directions
of our leadership. Sadly, we failed to do that for the most part. Our group
chose to do the least amount of work, while still doing what we technically
were suppose to “do”. Call us lame. We knew it…
So while cooking lunch, our leaders arrived with hot
chocolate and warm smiles. It is then when the other gals in the group perked
up, enjoyed some hot cocoa and moved forward with their day. We had one task
remaining that we had to do before leaving camp. We were to build this project!
So… you will see eventually if I am able to post the photo the creation I made.
I also plan on explaining our creation through my worship blog and how it
related my idea of worship to the Lord.
Christmas party and Work projects
So after our fun trail experience, we got to attend the
Christmas party for the Camp Eagle and Glorieta Camps staff. It was a large
party with over 75 participants coming from the camp in Texas and those who
were working there in NM. What a great experience to join two camps together
that work for one mission! The Lord is good!
We also go to begin working on different projects around the
camp that are being renovated and changing for the purpose of reaching those
who come out to Camp Eagle seeking outdoor adventure. So we had the pleasure of
tearing down walls and ceiling tiles in an effort to begin the building of the
camp store and coffee shops! It was a joy to work with my WA family members to
create the newest part of Glorieta!
We also enjoyed free time with one another in which many of
us enjoyed games of volleyball, spike ball, and board games with other full
time staff members! The last two full days that we were there, we were able to
go on a ski trip (snowboard J)
with our WA family and some TX and NM full time staff members! Don’t worry I
will post a blog and maybe some pics about this!
Glorieta was GREAT sweet friends!!! If you ever get a chance…
make your way out there.. Call them up! Enjoy walking the beautiful trails.
Enjoy
seeing Christ through nature.
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