Retreats!

So quickly getting you caugt up to present day adventures, here's what happened after training.

Day 1 - We left Helena in the morning - Spokane bound! Our plan was to drive to Spokane; then drive to Penticton, BC the next day; and finally Prince George, BC (PGBC) the third day to set up for our first retreat the fourth day. So that was the plan... And God had a detour for us. We stopped in Osburn, Idaho for a potty break (and because the Suburban, which we named Herman, was making some strange noises). The gas station bathroom was out of order (dang), so we had to use a port-o-potty (dang dang), and then Herman wouldn't start (SUPER dang). To top all that off - shortly after Herman died, so did my phone (bummer!). After many, MANY phone calls we finally got a tow truck to come and get us - but we had to wait 2 more hours on top of the 3 hours that we had already been in Osburn. Turned out, we were 6 miles away from Dave Smith Car Dealership in Kellogg, ID! Didya know that Dave Smith Motors is the A.) World's Largest Dodge Dealer! and B.) Northwest's Largest GM Dealer!..?
The tow truck took us to Kellogg and dropped us off at the dealership. We walked inside, scared the front desk lady... Think about it, 5 young adults walk in looking physically tired at 645 pm... it's a scary sight. Anywho, she calls over the Used Car Sales Manager - Lynn. After a few minutes of explaining our situation, and what we were doing (such as with Reach), he made some phone calls. He walks over to us and invites us to stay at his house for the night.

So we stayed in Silverton with Lynn and his family. And I can't forget about Tonka. Tonka was their 160 lb bull mastiff. Tonka was a BIG boy, but so lovable! He also knew how to clear a room with his stink bombs. The next morning, Lynn drove us back to the dealership, gave us a loaner car for the day until they could figure out a solution. We found out Herman had a couple of dead cylinders, and Dan (our director) had decided it wasn't worth it to attempt to fix Herman. So after some talking with Lynn, Reach Youth Ministry became the proud owner of a 2001 Honda Odessey Minivan. Her name is Sheila. So we packed up Sheila and hit the open road - quickly. We were due in Penticton that day, and we didn't leave until around 330 Mountain Time.

We then arrived in Penticton at our next host home (the Trautmann's) around 1130 pm, and had to leave the next morning for PGBC at 6 am! We made it to PG and stayed at the Raine's house for the next 4 days. Our retreat was amazing. There were 16 teens, age range of 13-19, and they were all so great! After our time in PGBC, we drove back to Penticton and actually got to spend time with the Trautmann family - and ate some of the BEST burgers ever! Props to Fred for his grilling skills! :)
The next day (have you been keeping track? It's Oct 5th!), we left Canada and drove back into Washington and stayed in Spokane at the Gallaways. Their neighbor has the cutest Dachshund puppie named Sophie! They were so great to host us as many times as they did through our journeys.
So after multiple trips across the Washington-Idaho border to get my phone figured out (yup! I went all week without a phone! Proud?), we met up with Brian Kraut, the youth minister from Coeur d'Alene (Cd'A) and he set us up with a wonderful family to stay with. The Wineingers. They were incredibly welcoming and their kids were such a riot. Our retreat that weekend was at Shoshone Base Camp - such a beautiful place. That's where I spent my birthday! It was such a great time with 40+ middle schoolers and 10 high school leadership youth.
After the Cd'A retreat, we drove down to Sunnyside, Wa to spend time with the St. Bernadette team at the St. Joseph Convent. We had dinner at Janae's house the first night, dinner with Mom the next night for my birthday, and then the third day we drove to Walla Walla and spent a couple days with Nic's family. We then drove to La Grande, Or for our third retreat. Our host homes were really nice - us girls stayed with the Jensens. They are a retired couple that made us totally feel at home, like we were with family. This retreat was a day retreat with only 9 youth ranging from 6th grade to 11th grade and they were totally open to everything we brought to them. An amazing group of teens. After our retreat, the team went to dinner and met up with Adam's sister who had just finished a soccer game at La Grande - what a coincidence! :)

To be continued...