Parents!

I am so excited about our High School Winter Retreat to the mountains of North Georgia. This year, 45 of us are making the trip, and it is going to be a great chance for us to continue to connect as a community of believers.

This weekend is about taking some time to cultivate the vital relationship we have with Jesus by looking into His Word. Jesus calls His people to follow Him, to live differently, and then to help other people follow Him.

The theme this weekend is: NOCTURNAL - we want to be awake (alert, aware, ready) while the world around us sleeps (misses opportunities, deceived, lazy). It may seem dark now, but the Day is coming! We have 6 sessions of Bible Study planned to help us dive into these ideas.

We will be leaving Friday, Feb 15 @ 3pm. Please eat something before you arrive; we’ll eat a light dinner in Helen once we get settled. We will provide all meals on trip but you may want to bring some money for snacks or souvenirs if we go into town. We will be back on Monday, Feb 18 @ 3pm. The cost is $75 and can be paid the day we leave. Please bring the attached Permission Form with you Friday as well.

The responsible adult chaperones and teachers for this trip are me, Rodney Eslinger, Craig Tognarina, Jonathan Murphree, Anne Marie Andrey, and Lisa Meyer. We will be staying at cabins in Helen, GA. Guys and girls will be sleeping in separate headquarters.

Here’s what we’ll be expecting from our students while we’re gone...these guidelines will help us as we strive to create and maintain an atmosphere that glorifies God by honoring Christ with our group witness. Maybe have a chat about these as a family before you send your kids my way!

•Our youth will participate and contribute
•They will show respect to all adults
•They will respect the personal property of others
•They will not possess or use controlled substances
•We don’t want to be immature, impure, or negative

Here is a quick ‘what-to-bring’ list:
•Clothes: we will be both indoors and outdoors so be prepared as it could be cold. Make sure you have shoes for hiking. The cabins also have hot tubs so you may want a swim suit.
•Personal Hygiene Items: shampoo, deodorant, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste.
•Life Items: Bible, notebook, pen, guitars, music, ocarinas, Eno, etc (but don’t bring inappropriate things that will get you hunted down by The Law).
•Bring some of your own snacks if you are picky or are a bottomless pit of hunger.
•Bring a towel and pillow just in case.

I’m really looking forward to a great trip!
Call me if you have any questions.