Senior Ski Trip 2023
By: Will Hoffman, High School Pastor
We had a great senior ski trip this year, as 23 of us traveled to Durango, Colorado to hit the slopes. Most of these seniors have been together since before Middle School, and it was great to get away before the flurry of graduations and celebrations are upon us. Most of the students have never skied or snowboarded, so our days were spent teaching and practicing these skills. The snow was amazing! We got eight inches in one night! Learning a new skill is immensely valuable as they are all about to walk into new seasons and areas of life. In the evenings we shared meals together, played games, participated in worship led by Lincoln (his first time to lead!) and took time to focus on each student and encourage them with words and prayer. Our small group leaders also had a time of one-on-one prayer and encouragement with each student. Jeff, one of our high school leaders and college pastors, was able to join us. We were excited to have him and hope to see students plug in with him and Samson in college ministry. This was a great time to connect, grow, and reflect on all God has done in the last four years of high school and get ready for the next adventure He has in store!
"Over the six days we spent together, I was able to bond with both my leaders and my peers. We had countless opportunities to grow in our community with one other as we supported and encouraged each other. I personally felt the Lord's presence as we worshipped each night. I felt as though that coupled with our communion increased my desire to know Him more and dedicate my relationships to Him. On this trip the weight of God's calling on my life increased and I feel empowered to move towards Him."
—David Marshall
"The ski trip was amazing. It was awesomely pretty. The worship was really cool, with only two instruments being played. It was mostly just people singing, which was pretty cool. Will talked about how Jesus made our sins as white as snow. And to think about that when we see all the snow, which was very impactful for me. On the 15th and 16th, we had words of encouragement, which was really good. It helped me to remember just how amazing my friends are, and we bonded even closer. The coolest thing was that after it, people were going up to each other to encourage even more. And it made me tear up a lot, seeing how much everyone loved each other."
—Titus Fisher
"Fourteen hours of driving, William Hoffman, smelly teenagers. I thought about all the trials I had come through, just to get to the top of this mountain of snow. Only to now realize that the biggest trial was still ahead of me, getting back down. Jeffrey Joens and I were sitting at the top of a double black diamond while I contemplated both this, and what Will had said at the beginning of the trip, “God sees us as white as snow (Psalm 51:7), every time you see snow this trip, remember that” See snow? I was about to be covered in it. As I plummeted, then cartwheeled, then practically ate the snow that I should have been skiing over, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the trip meant to me. This was a chance to not only be in God’s beautiful creation, but to experience his presence with a group of some of the strongest believers I’ve ever met. I was going to find out things about myself that cements the direction God had for me in life. There was no forgetting this one."
—Eli Wolfe
