Our First Ever InterHigh Retreat!
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Written by Nathalie L.
There was no better way to celebrate the anniversary of the first year of InterHigh, than kicking off with our very first InterHigh retreat in Austin! There were 16 student volunteers who led different aspects of the retreat, which included praise, workshops, games and a skit. We began by gathering at our 605 house, as we ate dinner and had a time of icebreakers to know the 16 InterHigh students. After dinner, we were packed and ready to head off to Genesis Ranch, near Canyon Lake. For most of the youth, this was their first time going to a church retreat - so the cabins, the great outdoors, and even the bunk beds excited them.
As soon as we arrived at the lodge, we did not waste anytime. The first night was filled with fun-filled games like "Steal the Bacon," which proceeded with even more activities, as well as a trip to Canyon Lake the following day. We spent the afternoon basking under the Texas sun playing games, catching clams, splashing around the lake and even had a chance to ride around in our pontoon boat. After being sunburned, well for the teachers anyways, the anticipation for our praise and worship time, followed by the 4-man skit and messages were finally here. Teacher Maurice gave a total of four messages, which followed our theme "Dare To…" He gave us four dares to think about: "Dare to care about Truth," "Dare to Think," "Dare to be Real," and "Dare to Respond." During the messages Teacher Maurice taught us how to really investigate the truth as we thought about the pressures and temptations we are faced with, as we keep our identities and try to stand up behind Jesus' sacrifice for our sins on the cross. Aside from the messages there were also four workshops, which answered many of the students' questions - Science and Faith, Tough Questions, Biblical Manhood and Biblical Womanhood.
On our last night we had a time of fellowship around the campfire. We roasted marshmallows, ate banana boats, and sang campfire songs from the top of our lungs all night. We feared that we would get caught under thunderstorms, but it was miraculous to see that they were just off in a distance as it circled around us, but never really close enough to reach us. Overall, the retreat was a great blessing and memorable time for everyone who attended. We had a chance to witness the students have a deeper understanding of God's love and even have many students make salvation decisions to following Jesus. We really pray that our students continue to be daring enough to follow this path of investigating the truth for Christ.