Lake Junaluska Confirmation

I joined the youth from church on a trip to lake Junaluska for a confirmation retreat this past weekend.   I had seen plenty of photos and heard about lake Junaluska, but this was my first trip there.

When we arrived I found that it's a beautiful place tucked away in the mountains.

Friday night we heard some speakers before the band got up to play.  I described it that night as a "rock concert, Christian style".  It was loud, but it was fun.

Saturday morning came quick and after breakfast we met for worship at 8am.  By 8:30 the band was introduced onto the stage. Everyone was kinda quiet and waking up as the band walked up.  Then they started playing. . . louder than they played on Friday night.  I think everyone was awake after the first song.  Still a good way to kick start the day!

 Here, our speaker, Duffy, built a human pyramid.  He asked the girl in the middle how she was doing and she said, "UNCOMFORTABLE!"

Most of Saturday was spent in various workshops and activities.

After dinner, I walked up to the cross with the boys took some photos.  This cross overlooks the lake from high up on a hillside.

We finished our walk by taking the long way back, following the trail all the way around the lake.

 Here's the dam holding back the water to form the lake.

There was more worship and singing before the end of the day.  We finished up around 9pm and our group headed back to the room while I walked back up to the cross.  The cross was lit up and and many other church groups had the same idea that I did.

 I walked down and sat on some steps just below the cross.  With the cross at my back, my view was of the dark lake with house lights dotting the shore.  Small lights in the mountains revealed the locations of homes under the stars.  The wind coming across was pretty cold, but I stayed for an hour before heading back to the room. That quiet hour hour below the cross was the best way to end the day.

Sunday morning was different than Saturday morning.  The band played quietly in the background as communion was served to all.


As we were leaving I thought about some of the photos and stories I had heard about lake Junaluska in the past.  It was one of those places that I don't think photos does justice to.  You just have to see it yourself.