Youth Winter Retreat: RECAP
Mars Hill’s middle/high school Winter Retreat took place on February 14-16th. Students from both the Fairhope and Mobile campus attended. The weekend was focused on building community in the church, school, family, and really anywhere we students interact with others.
Myself and the other Fairhope campus teens and preteens drove about 45 minutes to camp Baldwin where we ate dinner, unpacked and had our first group worship study. Afterward, to help us practice community and to discuss what we learned in the group lesson, all the students were broken into groups to talk, share needs, and practice God-centered community. When we were done we hung out until midnight playing werewolf or other games. On day two we had a morning devotional where everyone split up by themselves, then two discussion groups and a smaller group share time. But between that and the meals, we were given plenty of free time to practice community. Playing games in the gym, zip-lining, hanging out on the campus, and goofing around were all things we did during that time. On day three it was almost the same pattern, but we packed up and left around 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Some of my personal takeaways: from the group session that started on day 1, I learned that we need to be transparent and open with people. During this time I learned that people are a gift from God to other people, so while it is scary to open up and share with people, God made us need one another. We can't share every personal thing to the whole world, but we can choose a few trustworthy people to talk to. Even if I only talk to one person, it helps tremendously. Until very recently, I haven’t been able to share anything personal with others. I put on a mask and pretended everything was fine when really it wasn’t. At the retreat, I began to understand that not only was it unhealthy to keep everything inside but being open and honest with others helped build trust and made it possible for others to help me. While these trusted people may not be able to take my pain away, they can help me shoulder it. And if I can learn to trust and be honest with people, I can trust and be honest with God.
I was in a group of high school girls when we split up after the group class. The group was amazing because we could just open up and it was safe to do so. We talked about anything from our middle names or our pets, to more serious matters.
One of my favorite things we did during the weekend was at free time, we would hang out at the pier. Around 15 teens went to the pier one time and just sat and hung out. I think most of us connected to each other and became or furthered friends/friendship. I asked around to find out what some people liked about the trip and a high schooler said that she loved hanging out with people because she homeschools and doesn’t get much time to interact with others.
It was a sad time when the weekend was over and we all said goodbye. I heard many people either talk about how they wished it was longer, or there would be another one soon. I too will miss everything about the weekend. But in conclusion, I learned that simply hearing the message is not enough, we need to practice it. For instance: I have had two serious conversations with people I am close to and told them some personal things about me. It not only helped me, but it helped them to also open up and share some of their troubles.
– Laurel Burcham
Laurel Burcham is an active member of the Mars Hill Youth Group (Fairhope Campus)