All In Retreat

ALL IN Fall Retreat By: Delaney Lim

“All In” is the Senior High youth group here at Abiding Hope. This last fall, we participated in a day-long retreat with another youth group from Bethany Lutheran. The retreat started with “break-the-ice” games at Abiding Hope. Then we drove over to Ikea and divided into teams for a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt asked teams to do things like buy a stuffed animal and give it to a kid, or buy a couple of shoppers an ice cream cone. We were also expected to work together to find various rooms or items. After the scavenger hunt, we ate dinner at Ikea. Next, we drove to Bethany Lutheran to do a small worship experience and play some games. Finally, after saying our goodbyes, we drove back to Abiding Hope, taking with us the new friendships formed and a surging strength from our community.

The theme of the retreat was “I am enough.” Many times in my life, I have felt that I wasn’t enough. I wasn’t good enough, strong enough, or smart enough. These are the narratives that many of us hear from the world. However, something about coming together in a community and simply loving each other and worshiping God, redirects your vision. We are all ENOUGH in the eyes of God. This retreat built new friendships, and especially shifted my perspective to once again remind me that God loves me. The most beautiful thing is that this community truly showed me the face of God and what it means as we all try to live as children of God.

In the wake of this retreat and this year of transformation for many of us at Abiding Hope, I challenge you all: push yourself to be present with the communities around you. When you simply participate with the community, some radical changes can occur in you and in the world around you. You might even have some fun along the way! Push yourself to step out of your comfort-zone and engage in a different way. Push yourself to be “All In” with the community around you.