2023 High School Ministry Trip Journal – Wednesday, August 9 – Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Today is Wednesday, August 9, 2023. Our day started off early, with a waking time of about 7:00. We were told by our boss, Sarah, to report to breakfast at 07:55. That part was a little rough today. Nonetheless, we all were fed and well by 8:30, just in time to report to Sammie for a day at the caves. Our adventure today was at Jewel Cave National Monument. Fun Fact: For a place to become a national park, it has to go through congress, but in order to become a national monument, only the president has to approve it. That fun fact was brought to you by our lovely cave tour guide, Megan. We all had fun looking at stalactites, flowstone, and cave bacon. The cave tour that we embarked on had a total of 734 steps. We had healthy challenges today as we explored the underground, a world that was previously unknown.
As we exited our tour, we sat in an unpopulated parking lot and got three life lessons from the astounding Sarah Iverson. I think that Sarah, Joanne, Robyn, and Steve’s gentle words have touched us all in one way or another. We then trekked back onto the bus and greeted our warm and caring bus driver, Sammie, who is now pretty much apart of our travel family. In case any of you caretakers are worried, Sammie is an excellent driver. He drove us back to our temporary home, Outlaw Ranch, and we arrived only about 15 minutes later than our regular lunchtime. We fueled ourselves enough to then have free time and play outdoor games like nine-square and a heated game of kickball. Our stuff is mostly packed, as Sarah ensured that we had 25 minutes to arrange and tidy ourselves and our luggage, which benefitted our present and future selves. Then it was time for dinner. I won’t bore you with too many details, but it was delicious. I do need to mention one detail, which was the apple crisp. I personally can’t wait for fall, and it was the perfect fix. As I sit writing to you for this blog session, we are having personal quiet time. I can hear girls laughing (probably visiting our goat friends), birds tweeting, doors opening and shutting, and what I can see is the most beautiful landscape I’ve ever seen while sitting at a picnic table. We were given a sheet of quotes, and I’ll include one that sums up our newfound reverence for nature. Beautifully put, “Mountains seem to answer an increasing imaginative need in the West. More and more people are discovering a desire for them, and a powerful solace in them. At bottom, mountains, like all wilderness, challenge our complacent conviction – so easy to lapse into – that the world has been made for humans by humans. Most of us exist for most of the time in worlds which are humanly arranged, themed, and controlled. One forgets that there are environments which do not respond to the flick of a switch or the twist of a dial, and which have their own rhythms and orders of existence. Mountains correct this amnesia. By speaking of greater forces than we can possibly invoke, and by confronting us with greater spans of time than we can possibly envisage, mountains refute our excessive trust in the man-made. They pose profound questions about our durability and the importance of our schemes. They induce, I suppose, a modesty in us.” – Robert MacFarlane, Mountains of the Mind: Adventures in Reaching the Summit. They have induced a modesty in us. We finished a beautiful day with a beautiful night of camp-firing, worship, songs, friends, and spoons. Goodnight, we’ll see you soon.
