CWE365 & Youth Strategies Journey to Colorado (part 1)

The following was written by Springdale Ozone Director, Erin Wiltse.

Bulldogging: to wrestle a steer to the ground by holding its horns and twisting its neck.How did I get to a place where I took part in an activity known as “bulldogging?” Let me tell you where all this began: the Jones Center parking lot at 3:30am on a Monday morning, ready to board for our van journey to Yampa, Colorado.  Yampa. Where’s that?  The same thought kept running through my mind as I wondered what exactly I had gotten myself into.  Traveling with 7 high school students on a 16 hour trek across multiple states can be an overwhelming experience when you have little expectation.  What I learned is that at times no expectation is the best expectation to have.

These Camp War Eagle students work together for the organization Youth Strategies (to learn more about the vision of Youth Strategies, please check out their website).  Having worked hard since the beginning of April, the trip to Fish & Cross Ranch was a reward planned to build the students both as a team and in their personal relationships with Jesus Christ.  

And so it began...

Lots of singing, eating, talking, reading, game playing and sleeping defined the road trip, and it was great!  The trip became increasingly intimidating as we entered the mountains during the last five hours of our journey.  Signs stating things like, “Falling Rocks,” “Avalanches Possible,” and “If your brakes fail, keep going until exit is available” can be stressful as you take the wheel (trust me on that one).  As the Lord’s faithful hand guided us safely though, we made it to our destination.  Greeted by cows, horses, dogs and a bunch of friendly faces with dinner ready on the table, we knew we hit the proverbial jackpot of great places in the United States.  That first night we sat around a fire and were asked to throw in a log.  Before we could make the blaze erupt with the addition of our logs, we had to explain what the log represented. It had to be something in our lives, something we wanted to leave behind or be rid of.  Whether it was a lie we believe but shouldn’t, a temptation that easily leads us to sin, an unnecessary attitude, a relationship problem, or something else. We shared openly with one another as our hosts helped bring the goal of the week into focus. The goal was simple: allowing Christ to bring us freedom as only He can.

Stay tuned for parts 2 & 3 of the CWE365 & Youth Strategies Adventure!