Hey there!  Good ole Brandon Keen here.

So I am supposed to type a sweet little blog thing….that I don’t even know what that means…..but it is happening right now! So listen up! Or…..since this is a computer and you can’t really listen, just read well and very intently.  We Old Schoolers have really come a long way….

Backpacking was a very intense section for all of us.  We were all pushed to our physical and spiritual limits, but in doing so it has created a lot of room for growth with our own relationships with Christ.  Though we went through some tough situations and taught sessions, hiking the trail might have been my favorite thing to do.  Whenever we just hiked this super tall mountain, where the trail just seemed like it kept going up forever, and then we finally got to the top,  just looking out at all the mountains surrounding us was one of the most amazing things I could have ever experienced! Looking at those mountains, I knew that my God made them.  It’s a very intimate and beautiful thing to enjoy! And we got to enjoy it!!

Then the guys got to do our Nantahala section, while the girls went horsepacking!!! I wanted to go! Haha, just messin….but I mean for real that would have been fun.  Anyway the river was fun and the sessions at Spencer’s house were really good and very helpful for the guys in helping us to just love each other and put each other above ourselves.  And I mean now, I love to guide that river!  I hope I will get to guide it some this summer.  

Anyway, the guys went to West Virginia to raft the New and the Gauley Rivers!  This might have been one of the most intense moments in my entire life!!! I dove into a rapid called pure screaming hell and others, ha.  But this section did stretch all us boys to the point of getting frustrated with each other and then pushing through that to loving one another, and learning how to really just protect each other. I remember this one time when Daniel fell out in sweets falls and we didn’t know where he was at and I started freakin out! I was like where is Daniel!!! Haha its all good though, we found him J. OH! And this one time when Andrew was falling out and I ninja grabbed his leg…I was NOT letting go!  

Oh before we left for West Virginia we all did the Swift Water Rescue Training!  Which was an awesome section!! The scenarios were the best part,  for my teams scenario, we had a raft trap and had to get them out of the trap. Well, turns out we made it too difficult and they all started floating down stream…..bad idea!  (Haha) But then I swooped in with my magic cape and rope throwing abilities and threw two amazing ropes across the river and caught the victims! It was awesome if I do say so myself haha na the whole team did a really good job and we all worked together to save the people, it was really good team work which is why we are that awesome!!

Well after the river sections we decided that it was best to go rock climbing!!  Which was a ton of fun! I believe multi-pitching would have to be one of my favorite things to do ever…..except bouldering was a lot of fun as well….I mean I don’t know exactly which one was my favorite. They were all so fun!  After we rock climbed a few days we went somewhere closer to camp and went mountain biking, which was awesome!!! I had so much fun!  There were a few times while going down the mountain that I was going so fast on my bike and I just didn’t know if I were going to survive or not……but that is what made all the more fun.

Well after that section we came back and it was time to go caving……I may have been dreading this section for say, since the beginning haha, but this was a really amazing section for everyone I think.  It is really so crazy how there is like an entire new world underground!  I mean like just huge rooms that we would be in, UNDERGROUND!! It’s insane.  There was this one time when were in this one huge room and we all decided that we were going to play hide and go seek……best idea ever!!!!!  I mean it was so dark once everyone turns off their headlamps except the person who is it, and we can find the best hiding spots all in these little cracks and holes.  It was really creepy when me and josh decided it would be best to start making super creepy sounds with our Golem, from the lord of the rings, voices! Good times!

Then once we decided that we wanted to be out of the caves after being in them for a good four days, we came back to snowbird.  We did our wilderness first aid section, which the scenarios were a lot of fun again. Haha and then we started out primitive skills section that includes our solo section.  This is by far my favorite section!!!! I love to learn how I can survive in the wild! The shelters we made were so cool! And now that I know how to make a fire without matches or a lighter….im set.  The two day solo was simply amazing! Its really great to just sit back and just chill with only you and God.  Oh yea and when we all got back from our solo…..Josh had found a dog….which is just weird haha J

 

Then we went on our Asheville section. This was a really neat section where it was just so different from all the other sections!  It is just like everyday life again for two days and then we got to share the gospel to some people! It was really great! For me, God really showed me how awesome He is in that He completely knows EVERYTHING!  It was a really cool experience for all of us I think.

Then we did our SLE and now we are about to leave for sea kayaking.  This is going to be our last section and then the semester will be over basically.  Just looking back at everything we have done and at how everyone has just grown so much is just really super encouraging and exciting!  Im so stoked about God just sending each and everyone of us out on our own missions to the real world now…….its so awesome!!