Higher Calling Camp

High V

Today I just got back from a journey like no other. Literally. Higher Calling Camp is a religious retreat for any child, religious or not, to grow in their relationship with God. Its a ropes camp that is exciting, challenging, and has crazy surprises around every corner. The morning begins with Mass, followed by ropes, then a night time campfire. Everything you do relates to faith in one way or another.

Each year you go to Higher calling, you do a different set of ropes courses, each year being more challenging than the last. This year was my second year, so I got to do some amazing ropes courses like the catwalk. the Catwalk is a suspended beam 50 feet in the air. You have to climb a tree then walk across the log to the other end. Terrifying, but amazing! Another ropes activity I got to do was the flying squirrel. On the flying squirrel, your attached to a rope and harness with your team attached to the other end of the rope. you start running towards a shallow cliff with a river beneath it and just before you fall into the water your team hoists you up and you go soaring over the river. It is one of the most beautiful experiences i've been apart of in my entire life.

Vertical Junkyard

Although all these courses are fun, Higher callings crowning glory is the Leap of Faith. The leap of faith is just a forty foot pole with giant staples hammered into the side and a trapeze hanging out from the top of it. Once your harnessed in, you climb up the pole to the top, where you then must stand on the top, turn yourself, and jump off to the trapeze. This is no easy task considering the 9 inch diameter of the top and the poles endless shaking. But the jump itself is what makes it all worth it.

Leap of Faith

If you would like any more information on the camp, please feel free to ask any questions to me or visit their website at www.highercallingcamp.org. 

Promo Video-

If this doesn't load, you can watch it from the link above or on you tube by searching Ropes Camp Preview.

Bread!

Today, I was absolutely bored out of my mind. There was nothing to do! My parents were glued to the couch watching the masters...congrats Charl Schwartzel...and my sisters were at birthday parties. So I decided to bake some bread. Yep, you heard right. I made BREAD from SCRATCH. I feel like a baking expert:)!!!  So now I am going to share my fabulous bread recipe with all of you! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 Tsp. yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 Tsp. sugar
4 cups flour
1 Tsp. salt

First, combine your lukewarm water.....NOT HOT.....yeast, and sugar in a mixing cup. Let rise for about 15 minuets. This is what a website said to do, however mine did not rise or change one bit, but I was still able to make bread, so do not fear if it fails to rise!

(what the Yeast is supposed to look like!)

Next, in a separate bowl combine the flour and salt. After the liquid mixture is done rising, combine it with the dry mixture. If you stir these two together you should get dough!!

(My Dough!)

Now you kneed the dough until it's soft and round, like the picture above. Note, it should be one solid piece. Once your dough is in a round ball, place it in a pan for cooking. Leave it in this pan with a towel over it for two to three hours. I know this seems like FOREVER, but it will allow the dough to rise even more and it's well worth it!

Finally put your dough in the oven (300 degrees) for however long you think it takes...honestly the times will vary! Your bread should begin to brown slightly at the top. After that, Bon Appetite! 

My Bread!!!

 I even made a turtle! (he is kinda deformed!)

Oh, and the most important step of all...just have fun with it! If your preoccupied with it being perfect, it will fail! So just let yourself go with it, and be ok with deformities, like my turtle!!! ;)