Photos from MAYA's 2008 Young Adult Retreat

I'm slowly making my way through developing my dozen rolls of film. For those I didn't mark down when I took the photos, I'm always surprised what I find when I pick them up. The photos featured today, I had completely forgotten that I took them. They are from the MAYA-sponsored Young Adult Retreat in March of 2008 at the Community of Christ Lewis River campground, just north of Vancouver, Washington. Enjoy.

This is me, acting goofy. Since childhood, I've always loved to balance something on my head. I guess it was my way of practicing the art of sitting still.

I liked this sign that I saw on the campground. Its actually the secret to life. Not just happiness, but life as well. Some people believe that arriving at your destination or reaching your goals is where happiness will be found, but then we miss out on the joys (and sorrows) of the journey itself. I've learned to enjoy the journey. The destination never seems to last, because its on to the next goal or place I want to be.

Some of the cabins in the woods of the campground.

A close up view of the cabins. Honestly, though, between the Lewis River campground and Samish Island campground, I much prefer Samish Island. I love seeing the water of the Puget Sound, the surrounding mountains, and that the campsite is on top of a hill.

When I saw the cross, I could not resist posing this way. Rachel saw me and joked about my "blasphemy." However, since I don't hold any sacred cows, everything is ripe for my amusement. Just don't accuse me of having a "Messiah complex"!

The main facility of the Lewis River campground. For the purposes of the retreat we held there last year, all of us slept, ate, played games, sang and attended class in this building. It actually seems bigger on the inside than what you see from the outside.

Lewis River, which is near the campground (across the road, actually). When Rachel told the group she was going down to the river, I asked, "to pray?" It was a joke. The song, "Down to the River to Pray" (from O Brother, Where Art Thou?) is a popular song among Young Adults in the Pacific Northwest. When I first heard that song earlier in the decade, I remember thinking that I would love to hear that song played or sung in church. When I moved out to the Pacific Northwest in 2006 and attended my first retreat, I was surprised when it was played in a special worship service. I loved that other Young Adults in the church think along the same lines as me (using unconventional song choices in worship service).

MAYAs didn't sponsor a Young Adult Retreat this spring because Rachel was busy with school, work and planning her wedding. We had thought about having one in Lincoln City (on the coast), but no one wanted to take up the work of planning it (and it is a lot of work, as I learned in my planned and then canceled Spokane Valley/Coeur d'Alene Retreat last year). Our Lewis River Retreat was pretty good, though.