UPdate

Hey everyone! So it's been quite a week. Took a quick 24-hour road trip to Texas to visit a dear family after the loss of a great friend on Tuesday, then ended up having an unplanned adventure on Thursday. So here's the skinny:

Thursday, the youth & I took on Pinnacle Mountain. And it was awesome! Had a great hike up, enjoyed the views & loved the fellowship. The only complaint was the heat. The heat index was near 108, so it was pretty hot. As we were sitting there at the top hanging out, I smelled smoke. Then another group at the top yelled for some water. Apparently a third party had shot off some fireworks & left a fire behind. In a mad dash, Scott Mead & I jumped down some rocks to a ledge below & stomped out a bush fire. Smokey the Bear would have been so proud.

Yet in the midst of the chaos, I missed a student who had decided to lay down in the shade of a tree to rest at the top. I called for everyone to hike on down to go to lunch & the resting student fell asleep. So at the bottom, I of course noticed I was missing one & just took action. Sent a pair of students up the normal trail & I decided to take the long trail just in case he got lost or off track. And man was that trail LONG.

The 2-man rescue crew found the missing student pretty quick. But I told the students I would meet them at the top, so I continued. I never made it to the top. In fact, I was slowing down pretty quick. I didn't take any water with me the second time around, & I was paying for it. After about 2 hours, I finally made it back to the bottom. But I was in terrible condition. My legs were completely cramped, I was nauseated, & was freezing in 108 heat. I was extremely dehydrated & suffering from heat exhaustion.

Turned out to be a long day. I threw up well over 20 times & couldn't even hold down water. I eventually made it to the hospital where I received 2 liters of IV & nursed back to health.

All in all, lessons were learned. Drink LOTS of water. Always have a BUDDY system. And just like the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus will always go out & look for us. He will always love us. He will always do whatever it takes to keep us in His flock. He loves & cares for us that much.

Thank you all for your prayers & thoughts. A special thanks to the Forsyth family, the Porterfield family, & the Williams' family. Thanks for taking care of me & making sure I was okay!

JV