Sunday Recaps: October Adventure 2nd edition :)

The weekend of October 15-17th was hands down one of the best weekends of my life. Let me tell you about the things that happened and when I summarize it it doesnt sound that great, but it was just what I needed.

That weekend I went camping with the College Center from UT Knoxville with Bethany Vann. There were about 40 of us who went camping at Gee Creek Campground which is close to the Hiawasee River. We stayed in tents and froze to death. Friday night, Bethany and I got there late. It was totally my fault(for the most part). I took the wrong route to get to Knoxville which cause me to hit traffic in Nashville, Cookeville and outside of Knoxville. On top of me being late, on the way there we got lost. We pulled off to side of the road, turned on the hazards, and realized we were in the middle of no where. A massive truck pulled up behind us and we started to freak out. It ended up being a real nice country boy just trying to help us out. Once we finally met up and got to the campground it was already dark. Everyone was standing around a camp fire so B started to introduce me to people, but it was already dark so it was kind of pointless. After everyone else got there(there were people later than us) our speaker, Don McLaughlin, did a devotional. After the lesson we were standing around talking and cracking up. By this time it was close to 11:30. There two guys B and T(I dont know if these boys want their names used) that decided we need to a break up a relatively large lof that had cause several people to trip. We B and T were two of the biggest hicks I have ever met. They were from West TN, loud, and hysterical. First B and tried to break the log by using blunt force. That was an epic fail. Second they tried to push the log between two trees to break it using leverage. Well this ended worse than the first time. The log snapped and it cause Travis to fall on his face which made all 40 of bust out laughing. Very loudly. Then because that didnt work the boys broke out a hand-saw. I mean who carries a saw with them to college? Seriously? These boys did. They decided the hand saw was "their only right option." We were all rolling wiht laughter which ceased quickly. A Park Ranger wcamp up and chewed us out because we were being loud. This caused us to realize two things 1. It was after midnight and quiet hour was at 10. 2. There were boy scouts and little kids all around us. Needless I say, we hushed rather quickly. For the rest of the night we hung out the fire, whispered, and giggles as quietly as possible.

Saturday: To start the morning off we woke up shivering in the tents. It was covered with frost. The bathroom was a good quarter of a mile walk and I had a stomach bug which made for a very long night. We had breakfast and Don presented another lesson. Don McLaughlin is a wonderful, moving and motivation speaker. I cried at almost every lesson. He spoke and it was everything I needed to hear. His words pierced my heart. After his lessons, those of us who were going rafting loaded up and took off to the Hiawasee. When we got there we were divided up into groups; my group consisted of B, MJ, Corey, and Wesley. Let me just say we were not a match made in heaven. A trip that was suppose to take 2 hours took our dysfunctional group 4 1/2 hours. At one point we got stuck and I got out to help us. It was the worst mistake ever. I got out and shoved the raft off. It took off without me! So for about 1 mile I was tossed, flipped and drowned by the lovely Hiawasee. By the time I got back into the raft my legs were bruised and bleeding and my nose was busted. I looked a hot mess.

Once we got back from freezing and battling the Hiawasee, we had lunch, a lesson, and just chilled for a while. There were are group of playing soccer, B and T were part of this group. T kept kicking the ball ridiculously hard and there were groups camped everywhere around us. B told T that if he hit his truck with the soccer ball he had better run for his life. Well about an hour later T did the unthinkable and hit B's truck. They took off like Duke of Hazzard boys. It was so funny. B was sliding across the hoods of cars, they were jumping over the camp fire, and running on the table. We were all laughing so hard we were crying. After free time we had supper and another lesson. After the lesson I talked to Don one on one about some issues and he gave me some great advice. While we were talking I notice everyone running to the road but I thought something stupid was happening so I didnt cut off our conversation. Once we stopped talking, I found out that the mountain we were staying on had caught on fire. Reassuring right?
State troopers were called and the fire was being contained. That night we hung out by the fire, sang, and talked. I had some of the most awkward moments of my life that night, but they made for great laughs.

Sunday: We woke up, had communion, broke down the tents, and packed up. I didnt want the weekend to end. We had one more adventure before everything was over. We were going white water rafting on the Occoee. My group had a lot of fun and one girl fell out. We laughed for hours about that. It was amazing.

I wish that weekend had never ended. In spite of the stomach bug, hike to the bathroom, freezing temps, bruises, getting lost and the mountain catching on fire, it was hands down the best weekend Ive had in a long time. It was what I needed spiritually and mentally. I thank God so much for bring the CSC into my life. They are amazing and I thank God for the way they have helped B grow.

Thanks for reading, Signing Out
God Bless You!