the great outdoors 🤍
we started out at lake fort smith and hiked up to white rock. over the course of 4 days we hiked 18 miles with an elevation gain of 2,923 ft. the view was worth each and every step.
our theme for this trip was 'what does God call you?' and our verse was Ezekial 34:25.
our guide was one of our ranchers and she did an amazing job ! we were very proud of her :)
day 1: a sign said that we couldn't camp until after mile 6. we thought we were going to hike that far ... but at mile 5 there was a sign that said camp. we were very glad. we had to cross some water called froggy bayou that was up to our knees and kind of swift. ms. jenna tied some rope from a tree, but it only reached half way across.... she crossed first and then helped some the ranchers across .. two of them fell in, but no one was swept away. one of ranchers noticed how after reaching the other side the sun came out :) once we had our tents set up, water filtered, and the tarp hung; it started to rain. we were thankful. we all huddled under the tarp and cooked supper, had prayers, and went to bed.. everyone was not in their happiest mood.
day 2: it rained off and on until 10ish ... we all did not come for breakfast until the rain stopped .. we packed up and headed down the trail again .. it was windy. we got to experience seeing trees fall.. i had never been that close to a falling tree.. it was majestic. one of the ranchers was having a problem... she used the trees as an example.. when she is having a bad attitude, it not only brings her down, but also the ones around her.. just like the trees we watched fall.
we hiked 5 miles. it had some uphill that meant we got to push ourselves. when we got close to where we were going to stop, we met a gentleman that was setting up camp .. he said he had worried about us since he hadn't met us and it was getting late. he had talked to mr. todd . he said there was a good camping place not too much farther up the trail or we could cross the creek and there was one on the other side. some of the others were not to sure about him. ms. jenna came and talked to me. we went back and talked with him. he had met mr. todd at white rock ... after we chatted with him abit .. everyone felt better.. we wondered if he was an angel ? ms. jenna had wondered if we would find water ... so we wondered if we should take a rest day and then finish the last of the journey on sunday. we asked this guy about water and finishing all in one day .. he said there was some water along the way ..
day 3: while we were eating breakfast, the gentleman came and talked to us.. we started the day out with crossing a creek.. i'm thankful that ms. jenna was concerned about where to find water and she was watching for where we could filter some.. we did some bushwacking to camp this last night .. i was sitting on this fallen tree .. and slowly some of the girls came and sat there with me.. made me smile.
some random thoughts from the trip:
*mile 9. it won't be forgotten. it was a really special moment for one of the ranchers and i got to be there with her. 🤍
*i got to be the nurse on this trip. (i got told i should become a wilderness doctor.🤷♀️ )
*prayer does help. we hadn't prayed in the morning of day 3 .. it was mid afternoon and the spirits were down and there was negativity. we had a prayer, and ms. katie had commented how it truly had helped.
*each night we put our food/trash in bear bags and i tied them in a tree... the last evening, one of the ranchers had forgot to bring her trash bag before they were to go to their tents .. it did not make me very impressed.
*i have not received my name from God yet ...
*something i thought about on this trip was how strong i am...
april 3 - we cleaned up our backpacking gear ... and had authorities meeting.
april 4 - the girls had counseling with ms. lora ..
april 5 - a girl came for an interview to be a rancher.
april 6 - the ranchers left on home visit. in the afternoon i went and started mowing the front pasture. we went to ms. lora's for pie irons...
april 7 - ms. katie, ms. jenna, and i went to branson for the day. we watched the imax 'legend of the ozarks' , went on a 5D ride, and went to the sight and sound queen esther play. (ms. wanita had booked these tickets for us 🤩) i would definitely recommend if you are ever in branson !
april 8 - ms. jenna built a fire and i made homemade grilled bbq chicken pizza .. we ate out by the fire. we tried inviting some girls over .. but it didn't work for them to come..
april 9 - happy easter ! we went to walker for church and then to mr. marjo's for lunch. in the afternoon we went with their kids to stockton lake :)
april 10 - we went to counseling with ms. karma.
april 11 - i went and gave blood... then went paddle boarding with alicia, which was so fun ! in the evening we mentors, ms. lora, ms. sharla, and ms. anna marie went to the springtown house and spent the evening hanging out, played rook on rook off and had snacks.. i laughed so hard. then we mentors and ms. lora stayed for night..
april 12 - we all gathered and had breakfast on the porch :) in the afternoon i mowed in the pasture and helped ms. sharla with chores. in the evening, we had hamburgers with mr eric's by their creek.
april 13 - i got up early and went with ms. lora to the indoor pool. i finished most of the front pasture and around the house and washed the car. three of the girls arrived back in the afternoon. i cooked supper and did evening duty.
april 14 - i cooked lunch, made cinnamon rolls, washed ms. sharla's car, made supper, and did evening duty. in the evening, we soaked our feet in epsom salt... i was very tired when this day was over ..
april 15&16 - had coffee with the teachers on saturday ...
ok. that is all for now. bye.
xoxo,
ms. brooke
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