Trust Fall

Trust falling is something we do here at The Oaks. It's part of the team building exercises our staff lead with guest groups and campers. Here's what it looks like:

One person out of the group climbs up onto a pole. The rest of the group stands below, clasping hands and arms tightly to make a net in which to catch the weight of the falling person. The person on the pole has his back to the group, crosses his arms across his chest, closes his eyes, and falls backward to be caught by the waiting group members.

No one has ever gotten hurt doing this exercise, because the strength of the group members arms woven together is always enough to catch the weight of the person falling. Each group member takes turns falling and being the safety net. The point of the exercise, as you probably have guessed, is to strengthen the trust and cooperation of the group members' relationships with one another.

When observing groups doing the trust fall, it is always obvious which members have trust issues. They fall tensely, bodies rigid, making it more difficult for the rest of the group to catch them gently. They do not seem to enjoy the exercise one bit. (This was me when I participated in the trust fall several years ago...I hated it!) The ones in the group who trust easily are relaxed and actually enjoy the fall, allowing group members to easily catch them.

The difference between those who trust easily and those who don't? The ones who trust are convinced that they have nothing to worry about, and even if they did there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. Their job is to fall and to trust. The ones who don't trust are convinced that they don't have to give up their control of the situation. They think that somehow, they are in charge of not only falling in a safe way, but also catching themselves (which is impossible to do when you are falling backwards off of a tall pole). They rely on themselves for safety instead of relying on their group members.

The theme for this summer's camp program at The Oaks is "Time to Trust." Kids from the inner city can have major trust issues. Long histories of family problems, violence in their neighborhoods and sometimes within their own home, and abusive relationships within the family can cause them to shut down and try to handle everything on their own at a very young age. Its no wonder that this often carries into their relationship with God. If there's no one in this world they can trust, then how can they learn how to trust in their loving Father? When they come to camp at The Oaks this summer, we are going to dive into these issues with them. We're praying that when they leave here, they will have a better understanding of who God is and why He is so completely trustworthy. And, like in the trust fall exercise, we pray their lives will become free of fear and control and filled with freedom and security in Jesus Christ.

Once again, the summer theme has already come into play into our family's life. On January 9th, soon after we returned from a fun Christmas trip to Indiana, we got a call about a four-week old baby girl who needed a home. This little (4½ pound!) baby had been in the NICU since birth because of her prematurity (she weighed only 3 pounds at birth). We had about ten minutes to decide if she was a good match for us. I was scared to death to take in such a small, fragile baby that would require constant, intense care. I was even more scared that we would end up loving her and losing her like our foster-adopt situation last summer.

But then Jared reminded me. "Honey, just this morning you said you were ready to get a call and say yes to a baby today!" Had I said that just hours before? But I didn't know it would be such a tiny baby! And that the family situation would have some major unknowns that would make adoption seem like a far-off dream! And...

After praying about it we realized what more important things did we really have going on that we couldn't love and care for such a precious, helpless, little life right now? And why were we worrying so much when the God who called us to do this would be going before us every step of the way?

So... we said yes. And fell into trust. And though some days have felt like they could not possibly get any crazier, indeed God has carried us through every step. Baby Karis now weighs 13 pounds and has come so far in the four months we have had her in our home. She has learned to love and attach, which is exactly what she needs right now. We love her like she's our own. We still don't know if her situation will lead her to stay in our home forever--right now we can't consider that as an option until some other things are ruled out. But our God is trustworthy and will do what is good in His sight.

Karis had been in our home about three months when we found out we're pregnant. Surprise! And we fell into trust again. Our next little one is due to arrive around December 4th (sneak preview below).

Day by day, I am learning to let go and enjoy this fall into trust. The out-of-control, always-be-flexible feelings still feel annoying and uncomfortable at times. But day after day my Safety Net catches me before I hit the ground, and I am reminded and overjoyed that this life is not about me at all.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him

and he will make your paths straight."

---

In other camp ministry news, next week is the last week of this spring's Outdoor Education season. The season went great! We served seven different schools over a two month period. With the extra help of our camp interns, Jared was able to delegate more teaching responsibilities, resulting in an overall richer camp experience. 

Last weekend was our second annual Cruise Across Camp 5K fundraiser held at The Oaks, and it was a huge success again this year.  Due to the generosity of so many supporters, participants, and sponsors, we raised over $14,000 for the Leaders in Training program. We added a one-mile Kids' Run and a military Ruck March to this year's events which added to the fun. My mom and dad even came all the way from Indiana to support us in person! Thanks to all of you who supported or participated in this event! You can view photos by clicking here.

Summer staff will begin arriving in a couple of weeks which means the whole camp will turn its focus to summer camp! Please pray that God will use this summer's theme to change the lives of campers and staff. 

Joey and Micah exploring the hills around camp.