Last night as I was laying in my bunk, I was thinking about the day and praising God for how far our teens have come already!  As you know, we had quite a storm on our way up and then another roll though late at night while we slept in our cabin.  With only screens on the large windows, the wind blew in, the rain fell hard, and the thunder cracked loud!  In reflection about the day and the conversations we had with the teens about life, it made me think about Casting Crowns song, I’ll Praise You in This Storm.  The chorus sings, “And I’ll praise You in this storm.  And I will lift my hands, For You are who You are, No matter where I am, And every tear I’ve cried You hold in Your hand.  You never left my side And though my heart is torn I will praise You in this storm.  I remember when I stumbled in the wind You heard my cry to you And you raised me up again.  My strength is almost gone, How can I carry on If I can’t find You.  But as the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain, “I’m with you.” 

God is with each of us, when things are good, and when things are not so good.  The tough part is finding the strength to praise Him in the storm…not just when things are good.  L.Q. told the group last night that he wanted to build a better relationship with his Mother, and with God.  What a powerful statement from a teenager!  M.T. was the first to raise his hand last night and pray over our spaghetti we cooked out on the trail.  He asked God to protect his parents back home.  He wanted God to give them peace to know he is ok.  WOW!  An 11 year old who is more worried about his parents and making sure they are ok, than himself. 


Last night after dinner we walked down a trail and dropped each teen along the way to have some alone time.  While there, they were given a sheet of paper and brought their bible along.  Each was asked to write down what is going through their mind and what they want to tell their family back home about what they are learning.  After about 30 minutes, K.R. came walking up to my position on the trail.  We had a great talk about what it means to have “True Change.”  Not just “checking a box” or repeating what he heard from the judge or from home.  We talked about what it would take for him to truely change the way he looks at life. 
I saw the teens come together and REALLY work as a team for the first time….when a mouse ran up one of the walls in our cabin and across the rafters.  First, they all ran and threw shoes at it.  Then, one at a time, they started searching for it.  J.B. & A.D. took the lead in finding it and getting it out of the cabin!  J.O. stepped up today and decided he needed to sometimes do things he didn’t like too much in order to get to do those things he really likes to do…he understood that this way everyone gets to do things they really like at some point. 

Keep the prayers coming!  We are beginning to come together and the boys walls are coming down…they are opening up and beginning to see how they can grow while they are here.