- Vivian T. -

After a long week of getting adjusted again to our busy school schedules, our long weekend and sophomore retreat finally came. Friday night, we kicked off the weekend with a message from Pastor Ed at First Pres on the beginning of Genesis, learning about how God creates form and shape from chaos. It was great to be with our A2F and MakeNew peers, who we will get to see more often this year!

Then, we packed ourselves into our caravan of cars and headed to Sky Mountain, playing games on walkie talkies and making McDonalds stops for orders of 80 chicken nuggets and a medium fry here and there.

We arrived at the camp late at night, looking at the stars, in awe of how many there are in the sky (we don’t get to see that much in Berkeley!). After a night of rest, we woke up to the peace of nature and headed to the bustling cafeteria to share breakfast with one another. We continued learning about Genesis and our relationship with God, as He is creator and we are His creation. We headed outside and divided into ten teams for an epic couple of hours of basketball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and canoeing. The sophomores beat the staff at Ultimate Ultimate (like ultimate frisbee…. but more ultimate) and it was amazing.

After some capsized canoes and dinner, we listened to some testimonies, learning more about peer relationships, being convicted of sinfulness, and ministry. Warm instant noodles were slurped and we gathered around the campfire to sing, have some soph-s’mores, and witness Nick’s amazing Hamilton remix.

The last day of retreat, the juniors and seniors joined us from Sierra Lodge for Sunday Service. We packed up, took some pictures with the beautiful trees, and packed up our caravan for the trip back. It was a great way to kick off the beginning of sophomore year with all of our peers. It’s going to be a great year to learn to love one another because God loved us first!

🌲 In the Beginning (of Sophomore Year) // Sophomore Retreat