Snow, service & a sleepless night -- The Kenya Retreat 2012!

      The Kenya Team is off to a fresh start!! We started off the month with a retreat up in Dylan's cabin up in Weber Canyon where we reviewed and planned for our amazing trip and the opportunities coming up. We met at the cabin Friday night and started the evening with a fabulous Lasagna dinner with salad prepared for us. We enjoyed each others company while we sat down laughing and bonding together. Soon after, we split up into our different committees and went over specific criteria and brainstormed more ideas for the trip.
      Later that night we were all ready to have some fun! Malee had put together a bonfire with some planned games for us to play. As we all gathered around the fire drinking hot chocolate we tried to learn each others  names and just mingled. Even though it was freezing cold and practically snowing, it was a well planned out activity which involved everyone to participate!

      One amazing thing about our Kenya group was how easy it was for us to warm up to each other. It literally took two times meeting together for us to be completely comfortable talking to each other and relying on each other. I feel like everyone's unified and willing to work together. We have a unique relationship and cohesiveness with each other already!
      We then set up all of our belongings and sleeping bags and got ready for bed. However, whenever you get a group this size with 95 percent girls, there is no such thing as sleep... But there is such thing as talking all night long. ;) It was a fantastic night.
      We woke up the next morning to a fantastic breakfast and a pleasant surprise. The original plan was to plant bulbs at the Community Action Center in Ogden, but we woke up to snow on the ground. However, we proceeded and went along with the original idea and planted the bulbs. We just had to accommodate the surprising weather condition. We made it work like always :) The dirt was still soft enough for us to dig. It was definitely workable. While half of us digger and plowed through the dirt, the rest colored pictures for the elementary kids.
Our service project was a success! Everyone was very willing to work and we were a huge help to this program.
We then donated used winter clothing to the Rescue Mission Bargain center in Ogden. They were in desperate need for some warm winter clothing. Each of us gathered together coats, sweaters, socks, gloves, etc to donate. This was much appreciated as well.
This retreat was a great experience for all of us. The cabin was an amazing environment for us to bond and spend some time getting to know each other while enjoying each others company by serving the community.
We would like to give a special thanks to Dylan's parents and family for the amazing hospitality and care provided to let this happen.