The Deschutes River: A How-To Guide to Surviving (and Enjoying) a Week of Whitewater Rafting with Eight Teenagers.

Step #1:
Co-Lead the trip with one of your good friends and mentors.

For Greg and I, this is the 3rd river trip on which we've worked together during my two years in Washington...and we have a 4th trip next month. So--it's beginning to feel breezy spending six days in the backcountry with smelly teenagers and 800 pounds of gear. (Okay, maybe not a breeze, but at least we know each other's strengths and weaknesses well.)

When it's day six, and you're dirty and exhausted, it's important to have a co-leader you can be honest with and depend on. On the last night, when I'm at the end of my rope in dealing with a difficult student, I can go to him and be encouraged. I say: "Kenny doesn't want to come to group time." He says, "Well. Let's pray about it. It's the only thing that will make a difference anyways." Nice.

Also, as two sarcastic adults, we mutually agree that it's nice to have another Christian brother or sister you trust there to say, "Hey. Quit being a jerk."


Step #2:
Develop creative and seemingly rule-breaking methods to entertain the students on the long van ride.

Within five minutes of stepping into the van on Day 1, I said, "Hey. I rode in this van to Sacramento last fall, and we discovered that if you put a gum wrapper into the air vent in the last row, you can time it. It's fun."

The kids loved the idea, and within a few short hours and a stop at the dollar store, the game had developed beyond a gum wrapper game: it began to resemble some sort of elaborate Mardi-Gras-type of entertainment. Shreds of crepe paper were blowing all over the van by the handful.

Too bad they had to pay the consequences of a stopped-up air vent a few hours later. Then all I heard was, "Heather, it's hot back here. Why did you let us play that stupid game?" My response: "Does anyone want to play Electronic 20 Questions?"



Step #3:
Be Energized by the Small Things.

On night two, I was beside myself because dessert consisted of Pound Cake, Fresh Strawberries, and Fresh Whipped Cream. This was ridiculously glamorous compared to the backcountry desserts I'm used to (trail mix, instant pudding, or jelly on tortillas.) My overjoy with the situation proved just how important it is to fully appreciate these luxuries when they're there.

In the absence of showering or morning espresso, I greet my backcountry day with joy each morning thanks to foaming face wash and a lexan french press. Somehow, washing your face and making fresh coffee every morning off sets any of the seeming uncomfortabilities. Washing your face and making coffee in the backcountry is like becoming a whole new person. I think I might write a song about that...about how foaming face wash and a french press can save your life...well maybe not your life, but at least they're centering.


Step #4:
Invite along a few of your favorite kids.

This is technically my last hurrah in student ministry with Arlington YD as Arlington YD staff (before I move into a new position as Communications Director on July 1st.)

Fortunately, I was able to spend the week with two girls I've worked closely with over the last two years. It was so good to realize that my two years in full-time ministry has amounted to something significant where they're concerned. Our relationship has grown so deep! I was talking to our river guides about the students, explaining where they were at in life and what they're home lives are like. I realized that I was saying, "I've known these girls since they started high school." I suddenly knew I was a bigger part of their story than just a fleeting friend or mentor.

Even more exciting was that another week together on the river only deepened our relationship, and I'm confident that our mentoring relationship with continue even after I'm in my new position. I have so much energy to continue investing in them and discipling them.

Step #5:
Value your sleep.

Good sleep is a mandatory prerequisite to enjoying your week. All of the following situations will result in bad sleep and grumpy leadership:

1. setting up your bed on a slope. (you'll end up four feet below the tarp, or worst-case, in the river.)
2. setting up your bed in a rocky area. (this sounds obvious, but when your other option is "tall grass full of snakes," it's sometimes an enticing option.)
3. bringing along a sleeping bag that doesn't wrap around your head. (you need it to double as a bunker in the event of a windstorm. it needs to effectively guard your head on all five sides while still allowing adequate ventilation...otherwise, the inside of your sleeping bag gradually develops a fine layer of gritty sand as the night wears on.)
4. forgetting to check your self-inflating thermarest sleeping pad for holes before the trip. (otherwise, what you get is a really flimsy piece of foam that gives off the impression that you're enjoying backcountry luxury while you actually feel like you're sleeping on an anvil.)
5. forgetting to bring your ear plugs. (on night one your kids may wake up at 4am and start talking loudly and refuse to shut up, which directly result in three hours of sleep for you.)

Step #6:
Pick a river with sweet whitewater.

85 miles of river can have some very high high's, like when you're hitting fun Class III rapids like Boxcar (pictured here.) There can also be times of flat, slow-moving water with wind pushing you upstream faster than the current is pushing you downstream.

The real highlight of a week of whitewater? For all of the girls, it turned out to be an unexpected swim!

On our final day on the river, the boys boat had planned to flip their boat on purpose. They chose a "stopper" wave on a Class III rapid named Colorado. They even did two practice flips in calm water and pawned off all of their excess gear, which was loaded in the girls boat.

Plans went awry, however, when the girls pounded through Colorado first and executed a textbook move termed "royal flush" where the entire boat is emptied of all passengers, including the guide, but the boat itself manages to stay upright. Somewhere between the time when I saw students flying through the air towards me and the moment when I actually planted myself back in the boat after some strategic kicking to keep us off of shallow rocks, I laughed at the irony of it all. We had no intention of flipping, yet we had, and the boys had to miss their planned flip because of the need to round up all of the gear that was strewn across the river (most of which was theirs.) By the time we were all safely back in the boat, we were all laughing hysterically. The girls thought it was incredibly fun, and it became their high for the week!

Unfortunately--we will never live down denying the boys their flip which, "could have happened and should have happened if they hadn't had to take care of all of our gear." Somehow, we all felt very empowered by the warrior princess nicknames we had given each other earlier in the day. There was something sweet about hearing the boys say their highlight was doing a "practice flip" and hearing the girls say their highlight was "catapulting out of the boat on that sweet hole in Colorado!"

Step #7:
Always remain confident that God is in control.

On a week-long trip, something's always gone to go "wrong," and it's always going to be a significant moment.

On Day Four, we had to hop a shuttle to portage around a Class VI rapid (Sherar's Falls.) It wasn't until we were leaving camp the next morning that we discovered the oars for the gear boat had never been unloaded from the shuttle trailer. Suddenly, we were without any way to move our hundreds of pounds of gear. So we prayed. Then Greg climbed a mountain and got a wee bit of cell service, enough to contact the shuttle driver and get the oars sent on their way. In the meantime, the kids were playing games.

I settled down on the beach to read my Bible. Kids started gathering around me, and it was distracting my reading, so I asked them if I could read aloud. I was in 2 Corinthians, so I started explaining about Paul. Kids started asking questions. Within ten minutes, we were entrenched with a deep, theological discussion on the nature of Christ, the Holy Grail, the early church, the validity of the Bible as a historical document, Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees, and on and on. The conversation lasted several hours, continuing during most of the morning's float down the river. It was the most significant spiritual discussion that happened all week, and it was a direct result of forgetting the oars.

So...sometimes when we think things are "wrong" we end up being exactly where God wants us.

Step #8:
Praise God that He has called you to a place and a time where you can do all of this as service to Him!

One whole week in the remote pieces of God's creation always provides plenty of time for spiritual rejuvination for me personally. When I'm out tackling the rapids and voyaging through canyons, how can I help but praise Him?

And when I'm feeling that strong of a connection to the Lord, how can I help but share it with the students?

So, thanks to Greg, Dave, Laura, Anastasia and Zach for co-leading a great trip down the Deschutes. And thanks to our eight students, who braved the wilderness with us.

Please be praying for them as they continue forward after this small piece in their own spiritual journeys!