DG Camping Trip 2023
July 19-22 2023 | Our first DG camping trip was a great success!! ⚡️
Drive, Arrival & Set-up
On Wednesday we loaded our bus with all kind of camping gear and 10 of our DG boys. Everybody felt excited for a new adventure together. For some boys it was their very first time going camping on their own without their parents! 🏕
We arrived at the campground and the boys were impressed with the private space we had found for them. We had the campsite all to ourselves! We set up the kitchen, built our own outdoor bathroom station, and built two giant, king-sized tents for the boys. We did a walk-through of the campsite and went over all our safety rules, expectations, and our 3-day's itinerary.
Adventures and Talks
We had three adventures to nearby lakes and trails. On one trip, we went to Manzanita Lake and enjoyed the refreshing water with kayaks, tubes and water guns. 🛶 The boys had a lot of fun connecting with each other and exploring the scenery. 💦
The second day we did a hike in the Thousand Lake Wilderness to Lake Eiler. We conquered mosquitos and a climb of 800 feet with a total round trip trek of 5.8 miles. ⛰ The big reward at the end was getting to swim in a beautiful big lake that was completely our own. 💧The boys enjoyed the water a water gun battle game.
On Friday we drove to Butte Lake and easy fun in the water. 💦 The boys built a float out of five tubes, attaching them each to the other with strings. Then they paddled out to the middle of the lake with their hands. They succeeded and had fun time together mastering this adventure. 🎉
Back at the campsite, our nights were relaxed as the boys roasted their own meat and make s'mores 🍫 🍖
Campfire time 🔥
Our evening sessions were a powerful time of encounter and conversation where David spoke about the character of God and getting to know the Holy Spirit more deeply. Our themes were The Goodness of God, Peace Like a River, Forever Faithful, and we ended with a night of giving prophetic words led by the Holy Spirit. We talked about the stories of Abraham, Solomon, David and Job. It felt impressive to hear the knowledge and wisdom from each of the boys as they shared about their experiences with the Bible and God. 📓Everybody felt so encouraged as they gave each other prophetic words. Everyone participated and felt included. The Holy Spirit Showed up powerfully one night too, and we could even see a holy dove descending in one of our photos! Check it out!
Highlights
Some of the best highlights from the trip were the food and the clearly organized campsite created by Delfina. She made a beautiful space and atmosphere with attention and care to a lot of details so that everybody felt welcomed, safe and loved. 💐The variety and excellence of the plated food 🍽 drew out words of celebration from the hungry boys! 🥩🌭 🍔
And it was amazing to see how helpful the boys were in their daily tasks & assignments. They from collected wood🌳, made the fire, carved sticks for food roasting, got water💧 from the nearby creek, helped to prepare food 🥪 and even cleaned the kitchen!
The boys always had something to do. In their free time they played Kubb, read a book about special facts of the world, built a bunker, went fishing, made ice cream in special ball, and just simply sat around talking by the fire. 🎉 The boys were filled and had plenty opportunities to enjoy their time around the camp.
Throughout all of our adventures the boys were fascinated by the animals in nature. 🦅 We saw an Osprey diving from an high altitude into the lake, tiny chipmunks jumping around the lava rocks, big fat minnows swimming around the lake, and then the boys even caught a small snakes and lizards and different insects. The boys felt a lot of excitement to find, catch and release the animals into nature again. 😃
Overall it was an amazing, powerful time for us and the boys. Everybody left changed by God with new revelations and beautiful memories. All of us will never forget this trip. We will do it again! ☀️
