When you see Rockbridge for the first time, it blows your mind. I remember thinking of what Young Life camp was going to be when I went for the first time in high school, and it was nothing like what I pictured. Rockbridge is a camp specifically designed for high school kids. It takes everything into consideration and defines excellence. It should be called a Young Life resort. We got there and our kids spilled out of the bus and got settled in their rooms before Ben and I took the guys and wandered around camp.
The next 36 hours are a blur. I wish I could detail for you everything that went on. As I look back a few weeks, and many big events later, there are a few big things that stick out; the first is club. Many of the kids we took had no idea what club was even about. They had never seen a club and when they asked us what Young Life was all about we told them to wait and see. They were blown away. We were lucky enough to be a part of one of the biggest Fall Weekends Rockbridge had ever hosted. Every bit of the club room was packed out. The look on their faces to see 700 other kids go nuts and sing Taylor Swift songs or cheer for games or laugh at program characters was priceless. By the end of our first club we had the privilege to hear for Cliff Wright.
Cliff is an area director in Fredericksburg. I can't guarantee I'm spelling that right. Cliff is a very, very passionate person when it comes to talking about Jesus. You can tell he is walking with Christ in a way that a lot of people aren't. It draws you in and makes you want to know what is different about him. A lot of our guys loved him right off the bat. One turned to me and said "I want to be that when I grow up". I'm not sure if any of them truly realized why Cliff was different but I hope that they will.
We got to have cabin time both nights we were there, where the goal is to just kick back and get real with the guys. It is where a lot of conversation happens and high school guys who rarely talk about real stuff open up. For us that meant getting to known one another. Coming in Ben and I didn't know all of the guys, and didn't know hardly any of them on a deep level. We got to talk about life, Jesus, Cliff's talk, etc. What I hoped would go at least 20 minutes ended up going over an hour and a half. By the time we looked at the clock again it was 2 a.m.
By the end of the weekend nobody wanted to leave. We had a quick area meeting sharing the vision for what club could be coming back to Franklin which a lot of kids were stoked about. The bus on the way home was a whole different story. We were all comfortable with one another talking like old friends. We talked about going back to camp in the summer and what club could look like. We arrived home tired but satisfied. It had been a good, good weekend.
As I look back on it there were a lot of victories for us. We got to see the spiritual landscape of kids in Franklin County. Most all of them have been exposed to the Gospel to some degree, most of them even go to church. However, they long for more. They understand that the way Cliff spoke about Jesus was different than they saw him, it was intimate, real, deep. They want that. It will be incredible for us to find out how to bridge that gap from wanting to living. As we move forward, we are more excited than ever.
The last four blogs have been a bit off the norm! For that I'm sorry, and I'm also sorry they're a bit late. Its been a wild time for us and for myself personally. As the new year comes and I have more time again to be consistent I hope to update every Tuesday on what is going on and how you guys can be praying for. I thank you for supporting us in prayer, we desperately need it. We love you so much!
More updates soon.
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