Hello all!! So it's taken a while to compile the adventures we have been a part of here at Peak 7, but now that we are both back from our first ascent trip, it is a little easier to share all that has been going on!
It has been so long since we have written.. I feel like I need to do a general overview of what has been going on out here. This summer has been an internship for the both of us, so any free time we have is spent on homework and papers which means the blog has been put on the back burner. But here we go:
Staff training finished up the middle of June and Derrick headed off to Sahale for a week in the mountains for staff training while I went over to Wenatchee/Leavenworth to begin the rafting extravaganza. Multiple raft trips went out every day along with a few 3 day trips here and there. While D was mountaineering in freezing temperatures, I was setting up our "home" in a field. We lived there for 3 weeks, Derrick joined me after a week in the snow. His words to me when he returned were, "wow, you're tough. I can't believe you did that last year." I wouldn't go too far as to say I'm tough, but I sure am glad he now knows I wasn't exaggerating when I said I was scared out of my mind half the time! He ended up raft guiding, which was a pleasant surprise. If you know Derrick at all, you know he loves the whitewater- no matter how he is in it!
We came back to Spokane at the end of June and found out that one of our ascent trips had been cancelled. We were both disappointed, but it gave us a week to recuperate and spend time with one another before we would split Mon-Fri every week. We went to visit some friends in Portland during this time of relaxation, and Derrick got to do some kayaking. This was an awesome time for us to be able to just chill out before the madness hit. After the R&R, we had a scouting trip to the location where we will be taking most of our clients called Okanogan. It is a mosquito filled area, but the beauty makes it worth it. It was good to see where we are going to be taking kids and it was good for the Spokane guides to get some bonding time together. We came home to the news of the death of one of Derrick's close kayaking friends, so our time off before our trip was spent grieving the loss. We knew we would miss a lot back at home by coming out here for the summer, but the memorial service for a friend wasn't something we anticipated. We do have peace in knowing she was a believer.
After this little adventure, we geared up for our first ascent trips. Both Derrick and I were heading out of Seattle for these trips, so we ended up in the Olympic National Park. BEAUTIFUL. Some of the most beautiful parts of the country I have ever seen. And there were MOUNTAIN GOATS! We had never seen mountain goats before! But besides all of the cool things we saw, we got our first 5 day kids. It was an open trip, so basically anybody could sign up. I had two at-risk girls, and all of Derrick's boys were at-risk. Most didn't want to have anything to do with Jesus, so it was awesome being able to talk to them about creation and challenge them to think about where it all came from. One of my girls came into the trip wanting nothing to do with Jesus, and left with hope that there might be a God out there who loves her. It was a huge step. A couple of the other girls got a reality check and realized that not all people are going to give their life to Christ by quoting scripture at them every time they cursed. It was a mix of girls, but they bonded really well and there were lots of tears when they parted from each other the last day of the trip.
This upcoming trip heads out tomorrow. Derrick and I are both lead guides for the boys trip and girls trip, so we get to kind of work together, yet we won't actually be together- just in the same area. We head out at 8 in the morning, and some kids are still not sure if they want to come or not. If you read this within the next 12 hours of posting, please please pray for the kids to make up their mind that yes, they want to come! Also pray for a new open trip that we just added. Derrick and I have some youth in our neighborhood, and we would love to build some kind of relationship with them and invite them on the next open trip.
Until next time with love,Derrick and Bekah
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