Gratitude.

Gratitude.

That was my word for this past weekend. I started a Facebook group in December of 2022 that consisted of people who all loved the same things I do- Jesus and the outdoors. I called it The Christian Outdoor Collective, and it has 797 members as I currently write this. I truly thought it was just going to be a fun community of people that would occasionally meet up and adventure together, and that's it, but it's turned into something more than I could have ever imagined. I'm not sure why the Lord chose me to be the one who would lead this community, but I'm ready and willing to do what He has planned.

We planned our first official event a few months ago, and it would be at a picturesque mountain backdrop camp site near Jackson and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Before I go into more details, let me preface this by saying that getting to Jackson is not an easy thing for most people. Some took planes from all the US, some drove from all over as well.

The weekend arrived and 43 people, more than I could have imagined, strangers for the most part, all joined together. We had people from Vermont, Florida, California, Indiana, Kentucky, Washington, Virginia, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, Idaho, and even Manitoba, Canada. I'm sure I'm missing a few states. We fellowshipped and worshipped together, as if we've all known each other for years. Lifelong friendships were forged during this time because we know as iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another. I'm not entirely sure why this trip meant so much to me, 4 days later and I still haven't fully taken in all that happened. I always figured that the group would have a huge impact on people, but little did I know, that the person that it would have the biggest impact on was me.

I'm so grateful at what transpired that weekend, my life was forever changed and I have nothing but gratitude and love for those who came, for those who helped get setup, for those I spoke to and had deep conversation with, and for those who made sure people were taken care of, and even for those who weren't able to come but were praying over us. I know the Lord is stirring up huge things in this group, and I'm excited to see just what those are.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭1‬-‭2‬

'Til the next trip...

(author's note: this was written on June 30, 2023)