17 year old finds God on a Tree of Life trek

We were running whitewater on the mighty Deschutes for five days. Awake at 6:30 and in bed at 11:00. It was tough work, but of course somebody had to do it. Tree of Life had five guides going through training along with a 17 year old participant on a trek who agreed to experience an intensified version of the young adult guide-in-training. The young man was raised by a very religious family and had wandered from the faith so to speak. He was at a tender point in his adolescence when identity comes into question. He had been challenged at home to share his true self. He replied, ‘pothead.’ Thus he came to visit us in Oregon.

Day one, day two, and day three had passed without getting anything serious out of him. He almost seemed in denial of why he was here. He enjoyed the rafting and he was good at it. Also a funny addition to the boat. We were there to disciple, though, and he didn’t seem to want any of it. He listened quietly to lessons and then wrote in his journal regarding personal matters.

One night during our training we were having a serious worship time outside. The guitarist played ‘Here I Am to Worship’ and everyone sang along. Our new friend was thinking about other things. Parents, school, friends, drugs, girls. He wondered, ‘Why can’t I just live how I want and still believe in God and have Him in my life?’ Finally, he was inspired to pray, ‘God if you really want me to change then show yourself.’ As his attention wandered from our worship he found himself looking up at the partly cloudy sky. Immediately, the clouds began to blow away and expose the nearly full moon. He couldn’t believe it. He looked around, but nobody else noticed. They were focused on worship. He told us about this later, of course, and our reaction was to begin a lesson of Holy Spirit power directly from Acts. His response was very typical of the rest of the trip. Back to square one it seemed.

We finished our time on the river and began traveling toward the Pacific. Before parting ways, two of our staff prayed together for our current participant. Their desire was for God to be directly present in his life; for Him, His glory, and His power to be revealed to him. Day six of our trek proposed to run only 12 days. Everyone had gone to bed around the campfire, snuggled into sleeping bags protecting against spring chill. The teen awoke during the night and couldn’t seem to pass out again. The fire had died out leaving only faint embers. Adding a log to the coals, he found a Bible sitting nearby. This wasn’t something that had interested him in the past, but something was stirring him to do this. After reading for a few minutes, the fire burst back to life. No flames immediately turned into large flames engulfing the recently added log. He was stunned. Recalling this later he said, ‘I couldn’t do anything except stare at the fire and pray.’ We again referred to Acts and continued our study of the Holy Spirit. The newly willing student took notes and completed a journal assignment.

The rest of the trip was a great experience for all of us. Often, the downside is the degree to which young people are willing to submit to God. It’s hard to give up control when the world appears to satisfy so well. In the near future, the young man found himself in trouble a few more times. He remembered his experiences with Tree of Life and referred back to them. Our hope is that he can always look back and remember his initial encounter with God on a trek when he was 17. As always, God and God alone, deserves the praise for a life turned around.