We were once again able to take our Youth Leaders on their annual Youth Leader Thanksgiving Trip. This year we decided to drive up north and visit Lake Mineral Wells State Park. The point of this trip was mainly to scout the park for a potential future rock climbing summer camp. Not only did we scout out the place, the youth were able to bolder on the rocks and test it out. The week we spent at Lake Mineral Wells State Park was extremely fun and eventful. Not only did our youth leaders bolder rock faces but also went hiking, played football, played some friendly card games. The youth even decided they wanted to go swimming, let’s just say they didn’t last very long.
Seizing the Day
On one of the days we went hiking the youth were able to meet a couple of horses on one of the trials, there seemed to be more horses on the trail then people, but the youth weren’t complaining. It’s nice to see something different than people on the trails. The Park was exceptional with all the beautiful scenery and lake right behind our camp site. If it was warmer, I know the youth would have taken full advantage of that. All in all, the youth took as much advantage of the park as they could. This could be a park we visit during the warmer months in the future.
Look who joined us!
In other news we have hired on a new male and female facilitators! Their names are Kingston and Kona, and they aren’t your typical facilitators. They are equipped with four legs, a tail and an enormous heart. The youth seemed to really love the new facilitators after meeting them only once! How crazy is that? We haven’t always brought our four-legged friends on our trips, but we know there are many benefits that come from it. They provide laughter, comfort, protection and great pictures. Given the positive feedback from out campers, we will probably continue to do this for the remaining trips.
What an amazing Group
Our youth leader trips are very fun and action packed trips. Our Youth Leadership Program helps prepare a select group of youth to continue developing skills through a variety of great events. In addition to the usual programming, our youth leaders attend additional events with the intentions of volunteering and helping run events. They attend farmers markets, park clean up days, community volunteer events, and non-program ropes courses. Again, all these events will allow them to keep growing as individuals and our leaders of tomorrow.
