In full swing!

We left Monday morning to begin our 3.5 day drive to Washington! All went great and rainy! Thankfully once we got to the really beautiful parts of North Dakota and Montana, the skies cleared and we were able to see the mountains and vast skies. 

Leaving Virginia! 

Derrick saying goodbye to his pups at home!

Thursday afternoon as we arrived in Spokane, we settled into our "house", which is a glorified garage that has been converted into a house. It's really perfect for us! Tiny, but we love it and have made it our home. 

Friday came with lots of new faces, introductions, games, lectures, and fun. All 3 Peak 7 locations are here for the next few weeks of training, so it's a packed place around here, but it's going great. As we get to know everyone, it's pretty obvious that God's going to do great things through each staff member. 

Definitely a fan of this NP! We would highly recommend it!

I(Bekah) have a 3 day trip coming up in a week and a half at the Wenatchee State Park. Prayers would be appreciated as we prepare for a group of about 25 high-schoolers. During this trip, Derrick will be on ascent guide training! He is going to have a really awesome time and pick up on all the new skills he will learn super fast. All the new staff will!

Here are a few things on our hearts that we would love prayer for:

- for our Spokane team to bond as a really strong community

- for the adjustment time to go by a little faster- it's taking a little while to get in the groove of things

- for our hearts to desire Jesus more than anything

We are loving it here. The northwest is truly an incredible place with some amazing people, and we can't wait to meet all the awesome youth that are here in these cities!!

The Peak 7 crew all together! Spokane, Seattle, & Oregon... Here's to a great summer!

WE'RE MARRIED! And being married is more fun than we ever thought possible!! People keep asking us what we are going to do for a career, because apparently when you get married, you automatically have to have a boring and lame job as long as you make a lot of money, right? Not for us! Here is the answer for all who are wondering: we're going to travel and have fun while we are young and SO in love and aren't tied down to a single thing! No kids, no house, no
pets. Just us. We don't feel like we need a lot of money, enough to provide our needs and extra to give to others in need, so why settle down now?! We're finishing a semester of school at the local community college, Virginia Western. Derrick is a part time route setter and climbing instructor at a climbing gym downtown and a part time employee of Outdoor Trails, an outfitter by the Appalachian Trail. I(Bekah) am a nanny for 3 boys, ages 2, 4, and 6. We like our jobs, but they are temporary as we are on the go. 

First camping trip together! Douthat State Park- loving our Nemo tent!

We're heading back out to Washington for the summer again!! Peak7, here we come! We'll leave May 27 and stay until we have to come back to finish our senior year of college. We are SO excited to be a part of this ministry again. We have a 4 day drive to get there, it's one of our dreams to drive across the country! We'll be serving at-risk youth from the downtown Spokane and Seattle areas. If it's anything like last summer, I will learn more from the kids than they will learn from me- at least that's what it felt like! 
After our summer, we'll hopefully be able to evaluate where the Lord wants us after college. But, down to good old Greenville, SC for SENIOR YEAR!! We have missed all of our friends down there so much!

last summer at Mt. Baker in Washington

This blog is going to focus a lot on our journey this summer. We're raising support to have our needs met, and our main need is prayer. Please pray for us through the whole process. We both believe that prayer is very powerful and can change lives in dramatic ways. If any of you kept up with my blog from last summer, you will know how much I grew in so many ways. Now that we're married, we want this blog to reflect the growth of the both of us and to be a way to keep donors and prayer supporters updated. 
Here are a few prayer requests:
-Please pray for the hearts of the teens we will work with this summer. We haven't met them yet, but our ultimate goal is for them to know who Christ is through creation and through the guides. 

True ASCENT

-Please pray for the full time staff out in Spokane and Seattle already and are preparing for the summer. 
- Please pray for the other seasonal guides who have not worked with Peak7 before and pray that they will have peace(it was a very intimidating start for me last summer!)
- Please pray for our drive out there- 2,483 miles!

We will be praying for these different things very diligently. If you are praying for us, please let us know! It would be such an encouragement to know that we, along with Peak7, are being lifted up in prayer. 

And to conclude, check out this awesome documentary, True ASCENT, about Peak7  Adventures that was just released!! Derrick and I are in a few shots! This is a GREAT reflection of the organization!