Viva La France

Hello all, Jason here. I am fresh off the plane from Grenoble, France (by way of Paris and London) and am hopelessly losing the battle over jetlag. But it has certainly been worth it--both the going and the coming home.

Quick recap: I went with six others from my church to be a counselor for 12 days at an English-speaking high school camp in France. This has been my second time at the camp, though last time the camp was for college students. As with all trips like this, recapping it all in one small blog post is impossible. So rather than try to give any kind of comprehensive summary, here are a few snapshots of my time there.

-We had an almost-daily small group time with 8-10 of the students, in which we discussed the Bible teaching for that day. Those meetings were a highlight of the trip for me. The students were all very bright and we had some great discussions. We talked about lots of things, like how we should view money, the nature of heaven and hell, and our self-image as "good" or "bad" people. The students challenged me, and hopefully I did the same for them. Hooray for Team Barney!

-During our big group times we had a message and music worship. Jonathan and I got to participate in the music as musicians, and I was able to play drums most days. I am very much a neophyte on this particular instrument, so it was fun to join in and get some experience. It seemed like the campers really enjoyed the music and were able to connect in worship during the group times. It was a privilege to participate.

-We had several off-campus days, one of which involved the high ropes course. If you've ever seen The Return of the Jedi, imagine dozens of ropes, cables, and ziplines tied to the little platforms in the Ewok village. We spent an afternoon climbing and ziplining from tree to tree in the gorgeous foothills of the Alps. Incredible.

-One of the best things about leaving is the part when you come home. I am so blessed to have a beautiful, loving wife who came to the airport to pick me up and has spent the last 24 hours or so just wanting to hang out with me. It was tough being away from her, especially since she would have enjoyed the camp so much. The trip was fantastic--if you want to hear stories about Thunderball, "You've Got a Friend in Me", or my role as "The Beast" in a stage production, please ask--but coming home has been wonderful. I have been abroad a few times now, and have learned that having a succesful re-entry into Southern California depends on the people you come back to more than anything. It's nice to know that with a wife like mine, I can't possibly fail.