Spiritual Retreat

Dear Friends,

I was a cabin counselor at our High School Spiritual Retreat, September 29 – October 1, at Camp Hammer; a beautiful facility just outside Big Basin State Park. Four things stick in my mind:

1. We have great students at Contra Costa Christian High School! We have a wonderful mix of personalities and backgrounds. I really like each of the young men that I got to know over the three days. One learns things when one sleeps in the same room with seven young males for two nights….. The goal of spiritual retreat is to build student relationships and foster spiritual growth. That happened without distraction. As principal, I handle discipline challenges. There weren’t any!

2. CCCHS has a staff that engages! The camp director was so impressed to see our teachers, administrators, and parent volunteers engage students at every level of involvement. I guess some school staff members drop off students and head for the coffee pot. Our staff was with students literally 24 hours a day.

3. Students love stories! The Bible story that supported the message of the speaker was the story of David before he became King. The speaker mixed the Biblical stories with stories of his own life as an adolescent and young man. The love of a good story does not lessen as our children get older. High school students love stories.

4. A message from our seniors, “Stick it out….!” At the traditional last night bonfire, many seniors stood up to give a message to the younger students. Many of the messages followed this pattern, “When we were freshmen, we didn’t like each other very well. Now we are best friends! Stick it out, things change, and you will be blessed to have life long friends!” To hear students give a message of tolerance, patience, and perseverance, was music to my ears. I wish you could have heard the song.