Saturday

Today we started our morning with a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, and tater tots.  Our morning session started with playing games including spike ball, corn hole, Kan Jam, and blanket volleyball.  We moved our session inside and talked about our stressors, stressed is desserts spelled backwards.  What are our high and lows in our personal lives? What aspects of our lives cause us the most stress?
We made sheets that listed our highs and our lows during prayer cups that fit in a travel mug.  Then we cover it up with a sheet with our theme for the week reminding us that God is greater than all of those things.  After lunch, we visited downtown Boone which was crowded in preparation for their home game.  We played some games before dinner and then enjoyed Lasagna and some really good Fried Zucchini! The evening started with the senior skit and our annual broom hockey game followed by a discussion about what we can do to be leaders in our community, how can we turn a low into a high?  We closed the evening with Senior Spotlight and some late night games.

Friday Night Pictures

Senior High Friday Night

Tonight we rolled in a little later after rain slowed us down on the way up.  Once we got settled in we began with a game of musical chairs with a twist.  Next Luke led us in the inaugural Valle Crucis decathlon.  Games included mini putt-putt, war, nerf darts, marshmallow building competitions, and basketball.  Group Four one with 20 points total.  We then introduced our theme God is Greater than the Highs and Lows using Romans 8:39 "Neither height nor depths shall separate us from the love of God".  We then picked from an assortment of coffee cups our favorites and discussed why we picked them and highs and lows of the week.  Laura showed us a video "Life is Like a Cup of Coffee"  - you can watch it Here . We talked about how we should always savor the coffee and not worry so much about the cup it is in.  We ended the night with coffee and dessert.  

Valle Crucis - Saturday Afternoon & Evening

We finished our previous post before we headed to the waterfall. Everyone hiked up the mountain to the waterfall, and some youth (and adults) polar-plunged. It's always a fun activity for everyone, and is a beautiful place. After the trip to the waterfall, we all got changed into dry clothes and headed up for dinner. After dinner, we started our evening session off with some music, including a rousing rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" to the beat of the cup song from "Pitch Perfect". Next, we played some games in the dark, including a game in the dark where we all had balloons tied to our ankles and were trying to pop other people's balloons while protecting our own, all illuminated by a strobe light. Then, we put on blindfolds and created a Lego version of something that reminds us of the light in small groups. Then, we talked about the darkness in our lives, and how sometimes we need the darkness in order to be able to see the light of Christ. We talked about situations that might put out the light of others, and how we can act in those situations to make sure that we keep the light of Christ shining. Then, we turned out the lights and did our traditional zilch prayer, which was amazing as always, and had impeccable timing with the song that we listened to, "Learning to be the Light" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqs24i1RBQo). Then, we had the 8th grade spotlight, where we highlighted each of the 8th graders for their faithfulness and the special qualities that they each bring to the youth group. After the spotlight, we had a snack break, and then took a group up to the graveyard for spooky stories. :) Now, we're heading to bed since we've got an early morning tomorrow of breakfast, clean up, worship, and heading down the mountain for home.

Valle Crucis - Saturday Morning

This morning, we got up early and got ready, then headed upstairs for breakfast. Here is the sign from the breakfast board this morning. 

After breakfast, we came downstairs for our morning session. We talked about making choices in our lives, and played several fun games about making choices. We played "Let's Make a Deal", where we were offered $1 or the choice of an unknown prize behind one of three doors. We also played "Would You Rather", where we were asked to decide between one of two "interesting" choices (for example, would you rather be really smart or really attractive?) Then, we headed outside and played beach blanket volleyball and gutterball, where we had to work as teams to achieve our goals. After that, we talked about the different pressures that we face regarding making good decisions in our lives. After the conclusion of our morning session, we headed upstairs for lunch and then back down to go to the candy store. We enjoyed visiting the candy store and the Mast General store, and playing outside. Now it's free time, and we're playing games, relaxing, and getting ready to go hike to the waterfall. 

Love,

The 8th Graders (Eryn and Bryson)