2018 Summer Wilderness

*CEM’s annual 15-day backpacking trip serves as an opportunity for our students and interns to unplug from the responsibilities and distractions of daily life and experience the great outdoors. CEM has been leading wilderness backpacking trips since its inception over 40 years ago.

“On belay.”
“Belay on!”
“Climbing.”
“Climb on!”

​Our participants learned the importance of these phrases as they took turns ascending the rock face, some more than once. But rock climbing was only a small portion of their 15 day trip. On the first day of the trip, they completed some team initiatives that gave them a taste of what was ahead. During the remainder of the trip, our lean and mean group of eight learned the importance of communication, perseverance, and trust as they took turns navigating unfamiliar terrain to get to their camping spot each night. And though they unwittingly left their spice kit in their last resupply, they ate pretty well, too. 

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In my physical and emotional challenges, it was important to trust God and know that He wasn’t going to give up on me, so I shouldn’t give up on me either.

- Michaelyn

For the first time, I understood that all the people that had ever wronged me in my life were walking the same walk as me, with heartache, dangers, and daily struggles. I realized I was not the only one playing this ‘game’ and losing miserably - we all are. What everyone needs, and what our hearts plead for, is love. I only had to have the patience and will to do so...

​- Rocky

The belayer had to promise to hold the climber and never let go. This is how God relates to us; even when we fall, He always has the rope. When we give our lives to Christ, it is as though we are saying, “on belay”, and God answers “belay on” for eternity.

- Kelsey

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