Home again

After about 48 miles in the canoe 7 miles with it on my head, 5 billion mosquitoes, alot of sunshine, a bit of rain and a week with a great bunch of guys, I am home again. It was tiring but great. One of the guys said jokingly that next time we plan a backpacking trip we are going to leave the canoes at home. I agree with him. The 7 miles with the canoe on my head seemed much longer than the 48 in it. It was great to be able to spend time together and with the Lord. It is a real joy to be able to sit in the tent and talk about life's struggles, verses of encouragement, and God's work in our lives. I found out some of the real truth of the Proverb "As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. " I am praying that each one of us came home sharper then we left. I was very burnt out and tired before I left but I came home excited about life again.

Some of the sights are just unbelievable. In the evenings when the wind would go down the water would become like a mirror. The ragged pine trees would be reflected in the glass smooth water. Not as sound could be heard except the birds getting ready to go to bed and the water lapping gently against the sides of the canoe. As the sky would begin to darken the words to the old hymn, How Great Thou Art echoed through my mind and heart as I took all of this in. "Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed When thru the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze Then sings my soul My Savior God to Thee How great Thou art How great Thou art." Another one of the great sights was when We climbed a hill that had been burnt off by a fire several years ago to take pictures. It was well worth the climb because the view was great. We also climbed some other cliffs that were about 30 feet above the water in a different spot. You might be able to guess the rest of the story from there. The water was about 25 feet deep below the cliffs so we could not resist the opportunity to jump off into the water. I can tell you that there is alot of time to think when you are falling 30 feet into the water . The trick with convincing yourself to jump is don't think too hard about how high the jump is before you make it. It was great to watch some of the guys try to convince themselves to jump off into the water. When the mental battle was over they would jump and pop out of the water "Yelling that was great!!!!" only to repeat the process next time.

I have added many pictures to my album so take a look.