Greetings and Salutations,

    We returned Wednesday from a week and a half of climbing, and it was quite a trip.  The section started with a lot of training as far as, how to tie knots, belay and rappel techniques, and basics in how to climb. By the time the trip ended we had climbed cliffs that were over 400 feet tall.  Needless to say everyone learned a lot of new skills, and gained a lot of cool experiences during the climbing section.

    Not everything went according to plan, especially in the beginning of the week when 3 of our climbing days were all but cancelled due to rain.  But I believe the Lord challenged us all in this to realize that this trip wasn’t about climbing, but rather about growing to be like Christ.  We didn’t let the cold rain get us down too much as we spent a lot of time playing games and just hanging out around a nice warm fire.

    The days we did get to climb were definitely a blessing from the Lord.  Most of our time was spent at Table Rock near Boone, NC.  Table Rock is in the Linville Gorge area, which is the prettiest place I have ever been too.  Everyone had the chance to do climbs ranging from simple 10 foot high boulder problems to half-day long 400 foot multi-pitches.  Most of the crew tackled fears and everyone faced challenges of their own this section.  It was an awesome time for the whole crew.

    This section we covered Spiritual Disciplines and challenged everyone with the idea that if we love God then self-discipline should be a joy rather than a task.  It is very humbling and convicting when we can say we love the Lord, but we realize that our actions don’t say what we do with our mouths.  We were also challenged with the idea that Spiritual Disciplines are not tools of the spiritual giant, but should be practiced by every believer.

    I know I speak for everyone on this section when I say thank you so much for your prayers.  The Lord kept us safe, gave us beautiful weather, and gave us some crappy weather, but I believe all this was according to His sovereign plan.  Please continue to pray as the OLD Schoolers just left for caving today and will be out until Tuesday.

 

Thanks,

Harry