Catch the Wave Guam: Day 1

This year's Catch the Wave theme was Never Alone.  Our four sessions dealt with the topic that though we may feel alone, God is always with us.  

• Session 1 was an introduction to the top of loneliness along with definitions, facts, statistics, Bible verses, etc.  (Scripture focus: Psalm 102:6-7)
• Session 2 shared about how the Holy Spirit was sent to us after Jesus died, and how God is always with us. (Scripture focus: Acts 2:1-4 & Joshua 1:9) 
• Session 3 discussed how we had the family of God--not just those in our church but from around the world!  (Scripture focus: Ephesians 2:19-22
• Session 4 shared how we can help others when they are feeling lonely (Scripture focus: 1 Peter 4:8-11)

Our retreat was going to be a hotel stay at Pacific Island Club.  But when no one books the hotel and there's an aircraft carrier on island, no one is going to a hotel (or renting a car...or finding a parking spot...or getting a seat at a restaurant.)  The USS Ronald Reagan came to shore on Wednesday for a couple of days of R&R.  I'm sure those Naval men and women had a well-deserved break coming.  

We called a "family meeting" and took the problem to the kids.  They were super amazing. No one complained, and they all just went with the flow.  So we improvised.  Our hotel became the church.  Our restaurant the church kitchen.  Our beds the pews.  Our showers, my shower.  It was a blast!  (I am still tired)

Session 1 kicked off with a few rounds of Would You Rather followed by some really great music lead by Perry & the Guam Bunch.  (That is now the name of Perry's band...Perry & the Guam Bunch) 

With just a short break, we sent the youth pastor to buy groceries while we jumped into Session 2.  Nothing like a nice round of Hide & Seek with high school kids.  They had some excellent hiding spots! (I thought I took pictures. I guess I didn't.)

After Session 2, it was time to go find some supper.  We went out to get carry-out from Jamaican Grill.  And when you send the girls on a mission, we just might come back with 2 gallons of ice cream! 

After supper we had our third session.  We had 15 participants, and we are divided into small groups throughout the entire retreat.  Perry and I were the yellow group--the best group, of course. (These are probably gang signs. Islanders throw around a lot of gang signs. They have no idea.)

With three sessions down, let the fun begin!

We had games set up...

And continued to jam with Perry & the Guam Bunch

And we made forts to house more games...

And did more jamming with Perry & the Guam Bunch...

Then at about 11pm we kicked off the movie, I still Believe. It is the story of musician Jeremy Camp.  If you haven't watched it, it's a really good movie!

Thankfully, I had a pillow.  Most kids didn't. I used my beach towel for a blanket.  We had some creative sleeping set-ups.

The strangest part of it all, my Fitbit showed I slept more at this lock-in than I had in about six weeks.  I do not understand.  (We kind of didn't get up until 9am. ha ha)  But I still felt like I had been hit by the aircraft carrier that morning, so I'm not sure of the accuracy for my Fitbit. 

Day 1 was amazing. And honestly, not having a hotel was probably the best thing that could have happened.  Our entire retreat was Never Alone.  We needed to be building relationships and getting to know each other.  At PIC, we would have been going down waterslides and hanging in the pool. It wouldn't have been the same.  

Stay tuned for Day 2!!!