We have arrived at Kalahari and everyone plus most of their luggage have made it to correct rooms. It has been a great first night with a powerful session of worship and message from God's Word by D.C. Curry.
The water park is a lovely 85 degrees and the slides are amazing. It is easy to understand how students are using this event to reach out to friends and invite them to hear about God in a powerful way.
Please continue to pray for your students. Nothing happens outside of prayer.
We apologize if you have tried to
reach us via email or the website over the past week. Our church server went
down taking away our ability to communicate with the outside world - we
couldn’t access our files, email, phone numbers, internet, or anything else
that would have enabled us to communicate with you. We wanted to shoot
this message out last week so you wouldn’t be in the dark - thanks for your patience
and understanding.
DEPARTURE
- Students need to be at the church - GRACE CHURCH POWELL, 7600 Liberty Rd Powell, Oh 43065 at 3:30 on Friday
3/5/10. Students will need to register in the church lobby and
load their luggage on to the luggage bus. We will be traveling up
on 4 school buses. The registration process will take a few
minutes. The buses are leaving at 4pm sharp to make our 2 ½ to 3 hr drive
up to Kalahari, so please do your best to make it here with time to register
and load your luggage. Don’t just show up at 4pm or you might miss the
bus.
Students are encouraged to eat a
snack before they load the buses. We are not able to eat on the buses, so
please don’t plan on eating on the bus. We will arrive at Kalahari by 7pm
- no supper is provided.
Students are welcome to pack a supper or purchase food items from the snack
shop. The rest of the meals are provided during the weekend with the
exception of Sunday; brunch will be served from 10-11am and students will then be
on the road and arrive home by 5pm on Sunday. Students may want to pack
some snacks for the weekend, but they will not be able to eat on the buses.
KALAHARI
– The middle school student to counselor ratio is 5
students to 1 counselor who will stay in the room with the students. The
high school ratio is 11 students to 1 counselor. Students must stay in buddy groups so no one is ever alone.
Students must sit together as a room during the sessions and check in with
their leader periodically during the water park time. Safety is our
number 1 goal and we will do our very best to make sure your child is being
supervised the entire time.
Modest dress is required during the
retreat. Girls must wear one piece
bathing suits or wear a dark colored t-shirt over a two piece. We do not
want to see any underwear during the retreat from guys or girls. Please use
discretion about tight form fitting clothing or shirts you can see
through. If in doubt, don’t pack it.
You may bring money if you would
like to buy things at Kalahari, however all your meals are provided with the
exception of supper on Friday night. There is a large game room and
multiple other areas to spend money, so this is a decision you need to make
with your parent. Please do not bring expensive items that might get
lost, damaged, or stolen. Cell phones, ipods, psp, and other electronics
are not permited at the retreat. You are welcome to bring them for the
bus ride up and back, but they must stay in your suitcase the remainder of the
retreat.
Please
bring your Bible, notebook, and pen to session every time. The speaker is going to be sharing from God’s Word, and we want
you to take notes and capture all that is shared.
RETURN
HOME - We are scheduled to leave from Kalahari at 2pm and
we should be back at the church parking lot between 4:30 and 5pm depending on
how long it takes the buses.
