When we woke up inside the student center of Peninsula Covenant Church in Redwood City, all of us were brimming with energy. We were running to the showers, talking excitedly, and even juggling a soccer ball right out side the door. Soon, Mike called us in for our next mission, and we rushed in to see what we would be doing. For today we would be heading to the Presentation Conference and Retreat Center in Los Gatos. Here, we would be experiencing a day of silence and tranquility, while at the same time looking deeper inside ourselves.

When we first arrived at the center, it looked like one building, surrounded by dust. As we stepped out of he vans, some more detail fell into place, but not much. Mike went inside the yellow, dust covered building, and soon reemerged with an very nice little old woman. After introductions, this lady showed us around the property, and in doing so, we found that this retreat center was much more than one building and dust. The whole place was filled with green forest, vividly colored flowers, and many tranquil animals. The main building that we had seen before also had much more to it than what we had perceived at first. Inside we found that the entire thing was made eco-friendly green.

Moving into the day, all of us split off to start the silence. Some went into the shade to cool off. Some went down to the lack to stare at the green water. Others stayed at the pool to lounge. Either way, the quiet was calming, and the surroundings were soothing. All the way around the day was amazing. By two we were swimming in the pool, and then by three we were back out into the silence. This time there was a twist though. Mike handed all of us letters form you, our parents and told us to go back out and reflect on those words. In the end, the entire experience was quite emotional and absolutely great.

After the silence, our next mission came at us. As Mike put it, “In sharp contrast to the quiet and solitude you’ve experienced, head to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for an evening of loudness.” Just from that, you can tell that the night would be extremely fun.

The Boardwalk was filled with games, rides, food, music and people, (As you will see later, Jordan had a great time on the roller coaster!) Blue Oyster Cult played on the beach, and the food was just as greasy as the stuff at Sterling fair back home. All in all, the night was a blast, and I know all of us will remember this day.

After the fun, our next mission came out, saying that we were heading back to Peninsula Covenant Church for a good, and long nights sleep. Now the trip is almost over, and all of us are torn between the want to stay and the want to go home. Either way, see you all soon.

~Jake~

This entry was posted on Sun, Jul 27th, 2008 at 3:50 am and is filed under Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.