crooked creek ranch

Finally, my computer is well again. Here's to anti-virus software! I've been waiting and waiting to post pictures from Crooked Creek - I am cameraless (it's killing me) so all of these were bootlegged from other people on the trip. I was really lucky to get such good pictures with no camera in my possession.

These nine days were incredible - I would say without hesitation that the week was a delicious taste of what life was supposed to be like all the time. Just for a little background - I am not affiliated with YoungLife, or Restoration Academy, actually. One of their teachers was supposed to go on this trip with them but ended up leaving the country for the summer, so the counselor at the school asked if I would like to go. Of COURSE I jumped on it - I love Restoration Academy, and I love what YoungLife does. Turns out, YL is looking to put together a team for this school in Fairfield. Exciting stuff, really.

As you'll see from looking at the pictures, I really had to do some digging to access my inner youth group cheeseball, and that was probably my biggest challenge - not because I'm not a cheeseball, but because I don't think I ever had any kind of appreciation for youth groupy cheesiness. In fact, I've always kind of made fun of it.

But getting to know these girls was a treat - we're planning to do a book study on Kai'Ro: The Journey of an Urban Pilgrim, a modern rendition of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress written by the principal at Restoration. The book is great, and it's part of a broader vision called The Kai'Ro Project. Click here to read about it - what they are seeking to do and be a part of is incredible. If you are involved in any way with urban youth, you've got to get your hands on this book.

Ok, on with the pictures...

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales or the hills in a balance?

-Isaiah 40:11-13