Branson, Shopping and Noah's Ark! :)

I've been on a youth trip in Branson for the past four days.This trip opened my eyes and tested my patience more than once. It was a trip filled with high-fives, a few tussles, a lot of laughs and even a couple screams. We left Sunday afternoon and arrived that night just in time to check into our rooms and make our way down to the pool. We got up early Monday in order to be at Silver Dollar City by 9 o'clock. This was my first trip to Silver Dollar City and I rode a few rides that I never EVER thought I'd ride...which is where the screams come into play...oh and lets not forget about the laughter that poured out of the rest of my group as they saw my facial expression. Anyways, Tuesday we all got up and headed out to the Branson Landing for a morning full of shopping. We only stopped for a wonderful lunch at Olive Garden :) to only continue the day afterwards with more, more, more shopping! However, I didn't buy a single thing the whole trip...wow, I know!! Even though the shopping was great fun my favorite part of the day was Noah the Musical! It was an incredible experience. I don't want to give much away because if given the chance I would encourage everyone to watch it. Oh and before I forget to mention it...a lot of the animals were REAL!! :D Ahh...horses, lama's, Camel's, pigs and all other kinds of animals running up the aisles to get onto the Ark...INCREDIBLE!! :)

It was eye opening to sit there and watch as Noah had to leave his brother behind and how his son's wives were made to leave their families. They were mocked and ridiculed. People thought they were crazy as they built the ark yet they got through it and the ark was built. However, then i was challenged to think about how it must have been to live on the ark for a year. Some of the struggles could have been fighting over how much to feed the animals (due to not knowing how long they are to stay on the boat), also getting tired of feeding and taking care of the animals...i mean can you imagine living next to the giraffe quarter's? I can't! Yet, it did however get me to think! Imagine your mother, father and siblings laughing at you and calling you crazy because you are helping you husband and his father build an Ark. An Ark for a flood...a flood that no one had ever heard of. How hard would that be for you to leave them, once they realized everything you said was true. Noah and his family had faith that I can only one day hope to have! Faith I strive for! Faith in Jesus whether its the good times or the worst times, whether your family is on your side or against you!

I made some new friends on this trip and got to know some others better!

[top left: Bro. Skip and Tyler, top right: me, Charla, and Miss Elizabeth...

bottom left: Me and Mrs. Christal, bottom right: me, Courtney, Aubrey and Elizabeth]

[Charla and Michael...two new friends] :)

Overall, this was an incredible trip which i enjoyed! I learned a lot about Skip's youth and a lot about myself considering some of his youth like to test my patience. haha. ;) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading about trip and i encourage you to re-read the story of Noah and place yourself in his shoes and think about it....it's hard but will be rewarding...by making your faith stronger!
Thanks for reading,

God Bless! :)