Trip to Colorado

With the technology grant given to the After-School Academy, we have been able to do many new and neat things. One of the benefits was that we received three digital cameras and three digital voice recorders. On our trip to Colorado, we split the group into three groups of three and gave each group a camera, a voice recorder, and the task of creating their own video about their trip. One can be seen below and one can be seen to the right in the sidebar. I have yet to load the third one into youtube.

Take 5 minutes, sit back, relax, and enjoy the narration, the photos, and the peacefulness of Colorado in the video below...produced by the Dallas-Salida All-Stars (Vanessa, Rocio, and Gustavo) about their trip to Colorado:



The video in the sidebar to the right was produced by D.C.N.(Dezaree', Checo, and Nazareth).

Maturing through a trip to Colorado

I've decided that the more diversity in a group, the better.

Our group of 9 consisted of 5 Hispanic, 1 White, and 3 Black teenagers; 1 college student, 2 entering college this fall, 1 Senior in high school, 2 younger high school students, and 3 middle school students. The maturity of the older ones encouraged the younger ones to step up...and they did. The positive ones in the group outweighed the negative ones...changing any inkling of a negative comment to a positive word of encouragement.

Whether it was putting together a tent...












Climbing a mountain...










Rappelling off the side of a mountain...











Or helping clean up...

The teenagers participated without complaint. Their positive and willing attitudes created an enjoyable trip for all involved (fyi...I haven't always been able to say that! :) )

Each evening, at our devotional times, Mr. Edd would ask them to reflect on their day. Their eagerness to reflect and apply what they were learning to their personal life was encouraging. On the rappel site, I had heard Nazareth telling someone, "You need to rappel...even if you're scared! If you do this now, you will realize that you can conquer anything. It will help you later." Each evening they each had something new to share.

We saw several shooting stars when we camped out...roasted marshmallows and made s'mores over a campfire...spent an hour and a half by ourselves being completely quiet, listening to the sounds around us, and reading our Bible...learned to fish (and caught some!) in a lake surrounded by the beautiful mountains...hiked a portion of Mt. Shavano...swam in a pool filled by the natural hot springs of the mountains...visited the quaint town of Leadville...learned neat facts about mining, the Stage Coach road, the names and history of the mountains...and realized that having new experiences can change the way we look at life.

Though we didn't get to do an audio blog about Day 4, below are some reflections about Day 2 and Day 3:

Wilderness Trek--Day 2

Nazareth reporting:



Wilderness Trek--Day 3

Nazareth reporting:

White Water rafting in Colorado

This has been an amazing week. Edd Eason, myself, and 9 teenagers left Dallas at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning to head to Salida, Colorado. Edd had planned a week of relaxation and reflection as well as a few challenging moments as well.

Checo started writing down all of the new things he has done and accomplished so far this week. His list looked something like this: camping in a tent, surviving a hail storm on the top of a mountain, learning to set up and take down a rappel site, rappelling, white water rafting, hiking in the mountains, and building a campfire...and we aren't finished yet.

They have been an amazing group with such great attitudes and such helpful and considerate spirits. They didn't all know each other before coming. But they have all bonded and are stepping out and creating new experiences together. They each have the ability to lead as well as follow.

What follows below is Nazareth's report of Day 1...our White Water rafting day.

Nazareth reporting from Salida

Wilderness Trek--Day 1 White Water rafting