Frontier Ranch 2013

A couple weeks ago, I once again had the incredible opportunity to return to Frontier Ranch as a Young Life leader. As many of you know, Frontier Ranch is by far one of my favorite places on the planet. Frontier Ranch is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains surround by 360 degrees of nature’s beauty. The most incredible aspect of Frontier Ranch is the ability to see and feel the Lord’s presence everywhere you look. I was a leader alongside my good friend Caroline Mace. We got to lead and show 11 amazing girls just how much Jesus loves them.

All 13 of us were in a small cabin named Massasoit. Massasoit is hard to pronounce and it literally took half the week to remember our cabin name. Frontier Ranch is designed in a special way that starts out with lots of activity at the beginning of the week and eventually slows down by the end of the week. Each night, the 13 of us would sit down for cabin time. During cabin time, we discussed our struggles, trials and feelings. Each night ended with a discussion about how the God of the universe can transform our sufferings into a strong and faithful relationship with Him.

Every girl in the cabin inspired me over the week. From their humor to their struggles, each girl opened up and showed me what they have been through in their short time here on Earth. So this blog post is dedicated to the 11 of you. Below contains a short description of what I saw in every girl during the week at Frontier Ranch.

Rachel – Rachel immediately stood out to me as a go getter. The kind of girl who fears nothing and goes after everything. She showed vulnerability on the ropes course. The same vulnerability appeared on top of the repel tower.  Instead of giving in to her fear of heights Rachel conquered the ropes course, repelling, and eventually went on to ride the screamer all on her own. Rachel was full of excitement the entire week and really showed me how to be on fire for Jesus.

Lauren B. – Wow this girl is probably one of the sweetest girls to walk the planet. Lauren has the type of smile that lights up the room. She is quiet but fierce. I really loved getting to know Lauren this week. She is quite the competitor when it came to Octoball and kicked my butt when walking up Mt. Crystallite.  

Sarah – What a blessing this girl was to me during our week at camp. Each day Sarah and I would get to know each other better and better. She was my buddy while climbing Mt. Crystallite and was a source of inspiration for us to get to the top of that mountain together. I will always cherish the conversation and memories we made during that hike.

Jasmyne –Jasmyne literally made me smile the whole entire week. She would raise her hand like she was in class during cabin time. Jasmyne is strong and smart. Her comments and articulate contributions during cabin time were insightful. Jasmyne is very mature for her age and her ability to comprehend God’s love was inspiring. 

Shea – Shea is strong and powerful despite being incredibly tiny! Her smile and laughter echoed throughout our cabin. Shea is a fighter and this was apparent to me day one of camp on the ropes course. She was absolutely terrified to jump off the edge, but did it anyway.

Casie – Casie is the definition of how we should all overcome our struggles with such joy and an infinite amount of enthusiasm for life. Casie is so kind and so sweet. Getting to know her during camp was such a honor to me. Her willingness to share during cabin time about the amount of loss she has experienced really gave me a new outlook on how to handle life when our loved ones are no longer with us.

Alex – Alex is a sassy red head on fire for life. Her humor and ability to make everyone laugh was such a blessing during the week. Alex is young, smart and ambitious. Her quirky and sassy personality really make her one of a kind.

Jamie – I have known Jamie for over a year now and really did not know what we were missing out on regarding our friendship. Jamie is such a light when this world can seem very dark. She is probably one of the funniest people on the planet. She taught me a lot during our week at camp. From teaching me how to twerk, to not be afraid of looking goofy, to appreciating the friendships we’ve been given. Jamie is fearless and her fearlessness helps me be less fearful.

Lupita -  Just like Jamie I have known Lupita for over a year and at camp I realized how much I had been missing out on not having Lupita be more present in my life. Gosh, Lupita is so genuine and down to Earth. She is just easy to love. And the love she has for others is what inspires me. Lupita is just a class act, but can still have you laughing so hard where you feel like you are about to pee your pants.

Katie – This girl is absolutely beautiful on the inside and out. Katie has such a positive out look on life despite being in a word that seems to be negative 95% of the time. Katie is caring and kind. Her smile and sweet soul really make you want to get to know her better. Katie is also courageous. During our week at camp, Katie really showed me how to be courageous in every aspect of your life.

Lauren G. – I have also known Lauren for quite a while, but once again I was missing out on an incredible friendship. Lauren is tough. She does not back down from a fight. Seriously, she has a tough exterior, but is still so sweet. Lauren is just one of those people you want to be around. Her personality is contagious. You just want to laugh and smile when you are around Lauren. During our week at camp, Lauren really showed me how to not let the bad aspects or relationships in life get you down.

I am so thankful for my week at Frontier Ranch with each of these girls and Caroline. The memories we made will never be forgotten. I am looking forward to spending as much time with them during this next semester. Because of our time together at Frontier Ranch, every girl has changed or altered my life in some way. Every girl has showed me how to love life and love Jesus in different ways. Each girl is an inspiration to me to live life fuller and laugh more.

To the ladies of Massasoit who end up reading this, I want you all to know how much I love each and every one of you. I encourage each of y’all to keep exploring and growing in your relationship with Jesus. Because man oh man, living life with Him will fulfill and alter your life forever. Love Life. Love Y’all.

I will leave you with this passage from Cold Tangerines:

“What writing teaches me, over and over, is that God is waiting to be found everywhere, in the darkest corners of our lives, the dead ends and bad neighborhoods we wake up in, and in the simplest, lightest, most singular and luminous moments. He’s hiding like a child, in quite obvious and visible places, because he wants to be found. The miracle is that he dwells in both. I knew he dwelt in the latter, the bright and beautiful, because I had been finding him there for years, in the small moments of beauty and hope that poke through the darkness of our days.”