What a great day… Today we drove to the Rio Grande Gorge and went white water rafting – an experience packed with memories from beginning to end: 8 vans caravanning for the 4 hour round trip, eating a sack lunch on the way there and Little Cesar’s pizza in the van on the way home, all 60 of us getting fitted in life vests and helmets and practicing rowing on dry land – these snapshots fill my mind… Lots of laughing… Lots of memories.

We could have taken the kids to the Swiss Alps or the moon and had the same reaction to the experience of being on a raft in a river – they were so thrilled and enthusiastic!

The rafting experience gave us some fun questions to field: “Who made this river?” “Will we just keep going until we get back to where we started?”. We had one girl who, over every single rapid, let out an excited, “Wheeeee!” Another had to be reminded by the guide that the paddle needed to actually be in the water for rowing to be effective.

Then there was the critical work of being on the raft together. On a raft, everyone must quickly learn to work together as a team. The guide teaches various commands that the team practices in anticipation for later in the trip. It’s a 3 hour trip with a total of about 25 minutes of intensity, but during that intensity it’s vital to remember what was taught and work as a team. It’s at those pivotal moments we must have each other’s backs.

Such a great example of life.

Much of life can feel hum-drum, but there are crucial times when we need our team alongside us. I’m so proud of the staff of Amarillo Children’s Home and the team they form for each other and for our kids.

And THANK YOU for being a part of our team as well!