Free day Friday

It's Friday!  

Happy free day from Camp Jabez!  Believe it or not,  everyone got out of bed and ate breakfast together. .. of course they all went back to bed with the exception of two.  ;-)

We left the camp at 11:45 and drove to Whitewater express for lunch,  touring of their facilities and the high ropes course.  It was a rainy day,  but it cleared up right when we needed it too.  Everyone who wanted to try the course got to do it.  Taylor conquered her fear of heights by doing the rock wall and Michael conquered his with John's encouragement by doing the rainbow bridge. I was so proud of all of them. .. the ones who choose not to do it were great cheerleaders for those who did. 

After the ropes course we visited the chapel and when we were there the skies let loose!  We danced in the cabin and played until John and Ed brought the vans to us. We still got wet but not near as soaked as if we would have walked to the cars in the lot.  We drove through the monsoon and just as we made to downtown Blue Ridge the rain stopped again.  

We were able to walk around the town and eat together at the Serenity Garden Cafe. It was super yummy and the teens were especially grateful to John for picking up the tab. (For that matter,  so were the adults.) After dinner we headed back towards camp and stopped at the sugar shack for ice cream.  (Thanks to our festival tips,  the teens didn't have to pay for that either! ) The owner talked to Christine and I about the great blessings that he had received from being friends with Doug (the owner of Camp Jabez). He asked us to take a group picture and putt it on his Facebook wall. He said,  "I am a dinosaur when it comes to technology,  but post it anyway". (He cracked us up. )

We made it back in time for the dance party and bonfire. The teens hung out while the adults cleaned the vans and pre-packed. After we finished packing we made skyline dip to share with everyone (because we are from Cincinnati you know. :-D) and presented Adam with his shirt. He seemed really pleased and grateful.  

Emily,  John,  and Ed took the teens back to our cabins while Christine and I cleaned up. By the time we got done,  the girls were all asleep! Amazing!  Good thing though. .. because they have a lot of packing,  rafting,  and playing to do tomorrow.  

Thanks for following along with our trip. The next post should be finished from home. .. please continue to pray for our safety on the way home. .. and know that we hold you in our hearts and prayers as well!