i love fall retreat x a million

Personal

Oh Fall Retreat…how I love thee. Let me count the ways…

This was my 8TH fall retreat with Radford’s Cru. That is just INSANE to me. I can still remember parts of my freshman year retreat with such clarity and it seems impossible that it’s been so long since the first time. Here’s the thing. This is my absolute favorite part of my job with Cru. It probably even goes beyond that. I look forward to this weekend every year because it is fun and more importantly, because God shows up every. single. time. He just does. It’s incredible. I don’t know how one physical place can hold SO many memories of God’s goodness and movement. I walk around Camp Powhatan and I can’t help but feel close to God because so many of my big life moments take their roots at Fall Retreat.

I can walk past the spot where I prayed and told Jesus that I needed Him desperately as an eighteen year old. I can stand in the spot where I met David for the first time. I can sit in the first place that I ever prayed, knowing that I was praying to God. I see the place that my sister and I stood as we cried over how beautiful Jesus was to bring us to Him. I could go on and on… Even more special are all the moments that aren’t “me” focused. I can go back to the spot where I prayed with someone to receive Christ. I can remember what it looked like when students were spread out across the field in the pitch black asking God to speak to them. I can remember long treks up and down the hills and stairs having deep out of breath conversations with students about where they were hurting in life. I can picture with perfect clarity what it was like to stand in a huddle with my small group girls and just praise God for his faithfulness.

I really could go on forever about the eternity shaping moments that have happened there. But just know this…it’s not the camp grounds that are special…it’s not the place. It’s the fact that God has come in, year after year, and showed up in our lives and the lives of our students. And it never gets old or grows stale. It’s a reminder every year that He is real, He is faithful, He is active, even when I forget.

And that’s why I can rejoice in looking back through the imperfect images from the weekend, because they catch a tiny glimpse of the joy and glory of the Gospel. And they represent lives that showed up and were changed by who God is.

We always spend the first evening on the lawn, doing a cookout! Even though it was raining all weekend, everyone was just happy to be together.

The easiest way to gather everyone together? Tell them to find Spiderman.

In the midst of me giving direction with a megaphone :]

The meeting room before everyone stormed in!

And after!

Everyone always looks forward to the dance party on Friday night and this year was 90s themed :]

We play a game called assassins all weekend and it makes everyone super paranoid! They get so into it!

It makes me a little uncomfortable when I think about how accurate these boys’ outfits were.

And there’s the bump. Baby boy really made his debut Fall Retreat weekend!

Breakfast shenanigans :]

Matt Mikalatos is probably one of my favorite retreat speakers to date. He’s such an excellent story teller!

One of my favorite parts of the weekend…we send the students out to spend time with God: talking to Him, praying, listening, reading, worshipping…whatever they want.

And the students’ favorite: homemade breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love that Greg on the right is just shamelessly going for it.

Another favorite! Women’s time :] My friend Krysta led us this year and it was so, so good.

Free time means football in the rain, running around the camp, and playing with our boss’s kids :]

The Saturday night meeting :]

And there’s no pictures that would be appropriate or relevant enough to describe what happens every year between the main meeting and the bonfire. But I will say this, God showed up, just like He always does. And we didn’t get to the bonfire until past MIDNIGHT because so many people wanted to share what He was up to.

These are two of my favorites! They came to volunteer this year with a whole host of other alumni and we couldn’t be more grateful!

Everyone’s super loopy by this time of the weekend. It’s wonderful. And on the top left – Marius broke his collarbone playing football and still came back to the retreat!!