Backpacking & I Need Prayer

Hey all you wonderfully supportive people!  I just want to tell you really quick... I love you.  Yep, I said it.  Now you know.

So, last weekend we went backpacking and it was strenuous, marvelous, and a learning experience... all at once.  We spent two nights camping in two different places.  The first was an actual campground with a complimentary firepit.  It was great!  The second place we camped in was... well... the woods.  After a good day of hiking, we came upon a small clearing (and by that I mean the trees happened to be father apart than the rest of the trees in the woods).  It was near a stream where we could purify water to fill our camelbacks.  But, putting up tents was the worst.
1. There were trees in the way, so it became a game to fit the tent like a puzzle piece into exactly the right spot.
2. I hadn't assigned myself to this tent (tepee) building task until now, so I only knew as much as the others did.  It took us 5 tries before we successfully put up that massive tent.

But once the tents were up and the fire built, we sat around the fire making dinner and hot drinks.  My cohort roasted bread dough on sticks... it was a delicious new experience for me.


The first day of hiking was fantastic because we got to take a lunch break at this really long waterfall (apparently the longest in Missouri).  It flowed down over tiers of massive rocks, which we gladly took the opportunity to climb.

The second day, we were already pretty worn out, so the nine miles we hiked were a bit strenuous.  But I took the time to get to know my friends better by exchanging testimonies and singing classic veggietales and disney songs.  Later, we found a tiny lizard which my friend, Jake, named Juliet.  Then our leader, Scott, ate her... ok, so he actually just put her in his mouth and pretended to swallow, but it was still pretty crazy.

Overall, it was a good time of fellowship, survival training, exercise, crazy pictures, and beautiful mountain views.  Praise the Lord for backpacking.



HOW YOU CAN PRAY:

1.  As I and other students are becoming closer to the Lord and actively living and sharing the Gospel, we're being spiritually attacked, distracted, and tempted by the devil.  I've seen it in myself and others have mentioned some struggles too.  Pray that God will deliver us from these distractions and temptations, and that He will build us and develop our patience through these trials.

2. Pray for Amanda and Jack and their kids.  They need Jesus, the true Gospel, to impact their lives and renew their relationship.  Jack says that their marriage needs strengthening.  And Amanda needs Jesus to be her joy.  Also pray that the Holy Spirit will give me and Jeremiah the words and wisdom to share the true Gospel with them.

3. Pray that we as brothers and sisters in Christ will remain strong in our faith in God and be devoted to prayer.  Some of the students here have families who don't accept their Christian beliefs.  And some students have friends they love dearly, but those friends won't open their eyes to see the truth of the Gospel.  We talked about it a lot today and committed to pray for each other and remain strong as a community in the Lord.  Praise God for these people I have here.

I praise God for the support and prayer I'm so blessed to have from all of you.

Thank you SO much!!