Christmas Break

Before leaving for break we all had a few more small parties including a Christmas party for just the interns. It was a great way to get ready for Christmas and got us all in the spirit. All of us left on Friday for a week Christmas break. The time we had with our family and friends was certainly a blessing and has energized us and gotten us ready for the fast approaching winter meltdown retreats. Over the holidays the majority of us had to compete with the massive snow storm that hit the East Coast. Fortunately, everyone arrived safely at their destination without any unwanted excitement. The ranch was covered in nearly a foot and a half of snow leaving a very picturesque landscape.







All of the interns returned safely to the ranch yesterday and have all gotten hard to work today on preparations for the upcoming winter meltdowns and the few retreats between now and then. We have been working mainly in the Old Town Meeting Hall getting it ready to host the youth that are soon to arrive. Each intern also has their own special projects that they are getting ready for the meltdown. All the work being put into the meltdowns is sure to pay off and make it an amazing experience for all who attend.

Winter

Time here at the Ranch has flown by. We are already four months into the internship and have grown so much during that time. The retreats have all but ended for the winter and we are experiencing more of the discipleship aspect of the program. Many of the full-time staff have been working hard to prepare classes for us that include a wide range of topics such as retreat planning, Old Testament studies and many others. Much of our time has been spent working hard on the assignments from the classes and getting ready for the winter retreats coming up.

In the last couple weeks we have had several Christmas parties. One of the parties was focused on developing friendships with those in the community. We opened our doors to the community and invited them to come and eat with us while we provided exciting activities for the kids. Everyone had a blast and it really gave all of us the opportunity to share God's love to the community. The other Christmas parties were with the rest of the staff. They provided awesome fellowship and a time to relax after a few busy months of retreats.

We are eagerly looking forward to the next few months where we will be hosting the Winter Meltdown retreats. These retreats are typically groups of over 200 youth who come for the weekend to be a part of the program that we put on. It will be an amazing opportunity to affect the lives of these youth. Typically the program includes a speaker, many events and some awesome worship. It is sure to be one of the highlights of the winter and something that we will be working towards over the coming weeks.

As you can see the internship has been amazing so far and we are all excited for the new adventures that await us in the coming months. The internship continues to mold us and draw us closer to Christ.

Change of Seasons

As I am writing this, snow is falling and doing a very good job of covering the grounds at RVR. This proves that the fall retreat season at RVR has come to an end, leaving bitter-sweet feelings for the interns. We learned a lot this fall. We worked long and hard, and we had a lot of fun. This season brought many ups and downs, but we made it through the challenges and grew as individuals and as a group. Here are some things about the fall retreat season that we loved and will miss...

• Sharing our faith with kids and watching them disconnect from the world and connect with God.
• When guests realize that they are at a safe place where the staff freely express their faith.
• The busyness. There was always something that needed to be done and none of it felt like work.
• The view from Fort Roller when all the leaves were changing colors.
• Outdoor Education. Getting to see hundreds of kids every week, watching them have fun and having fun with them!
• Working in the rain.

With the first of four seasons behind us we can't help but feel a little sad. However, the winter season at RVR is coming and with it new experiences and challenges. We are looking forward to Winter Meltdown, bible classes and playing in the snow. Speaking of snow..... there is some outside that needs to be played in......

Until next time,
Sarah Brenneman
RVR Intern

Our trip to Gettysburg

It was a long and busy month of October for us interns. To celebrate surviving our first retreat season Matt planed a trip for us. Our first official GPS trip took us to Gettysburg, PA. A friend of Matt's father was generous enough to offer his cabin to us for a few days. So on Monday afternoon Matt, Michelle, Lilah and the six interns loaded up the van and the Merson's Subaru and headed to the mountains. The weather was great for our get away, and the scenery was beautiful. We had a great time relaxing, sleeping, eating, hiking, watching movies and playing games.


On Tuesday afternoon we drove up the road to Devil's Den and climbed, jumped and played on the big rocks. We also visited the Gettysburg outlets. We took several hikes looking for the A.T. that was somewhere behind the cabin and still aren't sure if we were ever on it. Our trip also contained several games of Settlers of Catan, a board game that seems to have become a quick favorite with the interns. We taught Matt how to play and I think it is safe to say that by the end of the trip he was successfully hooked on it. We were all having such a great time that when Wednesday evening rolled around we all couldn't believe it was time to head back to the ranch. But after a few days of "vacation" we are all ready to get back to work.



Until next time,
Sarah Brenneman
RVR Intern

New Kids on the block

We are now about two and a half months into our internship now and it has certainly been quite the adventure so far, so its time to catch everyone up on what has been happening here at the Ranch in the GPS program.

As you probably have already heard, there was a huge flood at the ranch pretty recently. This flood occurred just two days before the interns arrived. So our first week at the ranch was dedicated to helping the cleanup effort. While it was certainly an interesting way to start the internship, it was also amazing to watch as the community came together to help the Ranch and how they have continued to stand by as we work our way to rebuilding from the flood. Since that time we have grown to see why so many people have such a love for the Ranch and have developed our own love for it.

The first several weeks of the internship were spent learning more about the program and trying to get acquainted with the Ranch. This of course included going down the zipline, going for a horseback tour of the property and simply getting to know each other. We have been busy working with outdoor education groups and facilitating the various high ropes elements. In addition to this we have also detailed frequently to make sure that the facilities are at their best so that the retreat groups can have a blessed experience at the Ranch.

While we have been hard at work, we have also had many experiences outside of work that have really helped us to bond as a group. In the middle of September the internship was given tickets to an Orioles baseball game and so all of the interns went and watched as the Orioles played the Devil Rays. It rained for most of the game, but was an awesome bonding experience. Unfortunately, it did eventually get rain delayed twice and thus we had to leave before the end of the game, but found out later that the Orioles did have a walk off home run to win... one of their few wins on the year.



About 2 weeks ago, 14 people from River Valley Ranch went to a Chick-Fil-A Grand Opening in the attempts to get the grand prize of 52 coupons for free meals. At a Chick-Fil-A opening you must actually get to the Chick-Fil-A 24 hours before the opening and be one of the first 100 to do so. Then you must spend the night there and make sure you get to all of the line checks to get your prize the next morning. So to do this we left the ranch at about 3 in the morning and got there at about 5:30. The morning began wet and cold and thus scared away many potential people who would have otherwise been there. All of us braved the elements and spent the day competing in the games that were put on by Chick-Fil-A and playing Settlers of Catan to pass the time. It was an amazing time had by all and to top things off everyone from River Valley Ranch were in the first 100 and thus we all won 52 coupons for free Chick-Fil-A.


As you can see we have been rather busy, but each of us have been growing in our relationship with God as we've been here. Our time in devotions have been marked with great conversations about deep spiritual topics and have served to strengthen our faith. Additionally, we have had the opportunity to talk with campers and teenagers who serve as workers about God's Love and have been able to serve as a witness to them.

Our time in the internship thus far has been marked with hard work, spiritual growth and good times. Each day we continue to grow closer to each other and find new ways of encouraging one another. God has been using this time to stretch us and has blessed us with the opportunity to see Him work in our lives. It is clear that this internship will really be a huge blessing to all of us and will help to shape our futures.

THE NEW RIVER GORGE, WV

the Lady interns!
On our relaxing spring trip...

Visiting a State park in NJ on the way home from Camp Edge

Camp Edge

One of our goals for the internship is community service. So we decided to help a camp who is in need and apart of CCCA. Camp Edge has 78 acers that they use to reach inner city youth. They rely heavily on volunteers and donations because there are only two full time staff. It was amazing to hear all the many ways that God has provided for the advancement of their ministry . They are not able to go out and buy materials and their campers can't even afford to come so they raise the funds to make their coming possible. If God is behind your ministry there is nothing stopping it's progression.
We moved lumber, helped build their office, filled pot holes in their rodes, did some landscaping, hung out with the inner city kids, cleaned and more. Jack (Director), Sue (Director's wife), Eric (volunteer), and Alley (intern) are the main people who work at Camp Edge and they are really doing a great job with everything that is on their shoulders to do. We had a blast serving them

Look out Baltimore, here we come!

A little while ago we took a trip to Baltimore. First we toured the oldest Catholic cathedral in the United States, the Baltimore Basilica, also known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (now that's a mouthful). We learned a lot about Catholicism from the tour guide, and we got to see all the beautiful architecture and statues. It is quite an amazing and awe-inspiring building.



Next we went to the Washington Monument (there is a different one in Baltimore). We climbed up the seemingly endless spiral staircase inside to get to the top. I got rather claustrophobic in the cramped staircase, but the view from the top was worth it.



We also went to an art museum and checked out artwork from all different time periods and countries.



Sadly, one of us didn't make it. But she is doing much better now :)

Ending March and crusin into April

We have been out recruiting for the summer (recruiting campers and staff). Besty, Katie, and Morgan are in Ocean City right now!
Ben, Melody, and Matt are at the Ranch setting up for open house on Sunday. This is where people in the surrounding areas come and check out our facilities to see if this is a summer camp they would like to attend or send their kids. So, we've been cleaning to make sure the facilities are looking GOOD!
This Monday and Tuesday are going to be full of Outdoor Education groups. Wednesday we will be at WRBS, 95.1, taking calls for their share-a-thon to raise support in our low economy. Then we have a retreat group coming this weekend; so there will be alllll kinds of work for us!
The interns are going through Philippians on Tuesday mornings. We all rotate giving everyone a chance to teach a section of verses. And we are working on memorizing 2:1-11 together as a Group. Thursday nights we are watching the DVD series called the Truth Project put out by focus on the family.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself..." Phil. 2:1-3

We are busy and enjoying all that the Lord brings to each day...

College Credit and Masters Degree Credit

Just keep snowing, just keep snowing, just keep snowing, snowing, snowing...

Well, we finally got more than half an inch of snow, so what do we do with it? Make a snowman of course! The snow was just right for packing, so two of us rolled the three snowballs, while the other four gathered the various materials we used to turn a stack of snow into a snowman. As you can see from the pictures, we didn’t have any coal or carrots, so we had to get a little creative. Sadly, our snowman only lived for a few days before he got sunstroke and died.
R.I.P.

HIKING THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL FOR COLLEGE CREDIT

This classes is called Leading in Active Learning Environments.
Dwight Peterson, the Prof for the class, teaches a learning cycle for spiritual growth. They use the AT (an unfamiliar environment, strenuous hiking of steep inclines, 40mi.) to break you down and show you who you really are...a people pleaser, controlling, manipulating...etc. Who you are surfaces on the trail and through the learning cycle that is taught you can realize that your daily purpose is off (going through your day making sure that the people around you are happy). The point is for you to see and live out God's purpose for your life by asking yourself the right questions, and then seeking the Lord for change.

College Credit and Masters Degree Credit

HIKE the APPALACHIAN TRIAL for COLLEGE credit!
Betsy and I are taking classes through PER (Pilgrimage Educational Resources) and BBC (Baptist Bible College) in Clarke Summit, PA.

Ice Ice Baby!!!!

We have begun a new season at River Valley Ranch! Snow has fallen and the air has become more brisk. We have enjoyed skating across the pond, random snowball fights, and root beer snow slushies. Our responsibilities have altered according to the weather.

Though 4 out of the 5 interns are from the south that doesn't stop us from shoveling snow! Some of our recent responsibilities have included cleaning camp and clearing the ice from the roads within the ranch

Winter Meltdown

Winter Meltdown has begun! As interns we have now experienced an entire week of summer camp in ONE weekend. Winter Meltdown is a weekend where churches bring their youth groups and the River Valley Ranch Staff runs the program. It is full of fun and energy. We have set up for games and been a part of different skits and dramas included in the services. The kids have really seemed to enjoy reflecting on their “journey” with God. It has been an awesome opportunity to see and be a part of a programmed retreat. We have also had worship led by the band Ashes Remain. The interns actually put on a skit to a Lifehouse song "everything". In the skit a girl is a tempted by several of the things of the world and yet when she cries out to Jesus he is there to take on all the temptations and offer redemption.

Zack is in the role of Jesus. Melody plays the girl who is tempted, torn, and redeemed. Morgan's role is as a tempter with wealth and success. Ben and Betsy demonstrate the temptations of drugs and alcohol. Katie symbolizes vanity and distortion of self image. Biz is a demon who tempts with cutting and suicide. This drama illustrates the struggles that keep youth in bondage to sin and the fight for freedom.

Sandy Cove and our New Intern Director

The intern crew went to Sandy Cove in late January.
Sandy Cove is a retreat ministry where the Christian Camp and Conference Association gathered for their annual meeting. It's located in east Maryland and all the camps located in the mid east coast area who belong to CCCA show up for a time of networking, encouragement, time of renewal and listening to God's voice, talking to other camps, getting new ideas for ministry, great food, and group meetings on various topics applicable to camping ministry. Sandy Cove brought us time to have some good conversations and get to know our intern group more. We had time to talk about different things and hear from God in our personal lives.

Matt Merson is our new Intern Director. Chad decided it was time to move on with his family, possibly to Tennessee - we're excited for what God has in store for him and his family. Matt has been involved at the Ranch for a few summers and knows a lot about Christian camping- we're excited to have him with us for the remainder of our time here.
Our goals for the rest of the internship:
Unity (group prayer, vulnerability)
Humility
Purposeful Time
Community Service

We'll be writing of how these go.
So far we've been cleaning together instead of splitting up. Also no ipods - instead we try to talk and hang out while we clean. We also meet for prayer every morning before we begin the day. We have started back the Thursday night Bible study and are going through the Truth Project put out by Focus on the Family- it's sweet!