Our registration for IGNITE 2022 reached a record high of 93 people! Then the weather forecast came, and everything changed.
With a line of intense storms predicted, temps were projected to drop from the 80's on Friday down into the 30's on Saturday. The forecast included windchills into the 20's, intense storms, & tornado watches. Perfect camping weather as we like to say ;) .
So it wasn't surprising when 43 wise people cancelled going on IGNITE. What was surprising was that 50 crazy people elected to journey on into this wild & unpredictable weekend adventure (including staying in tents)!
We got up early on Saturday and removed all the tops off of the canopies, fortified the tents, and "battened down the hatches". Thankfully for us the intense storm line passed through quickly on Saturday morning. Unfortunately a couple tornadoes hit towns to the north of our location. We bunkered down in the Word of Life student cafeteria and ate breakfast, played games, and enjoyed our morning devotions as a group until the coast was clear. We were especially grateful that we had no damage back at the campsite.
The schedule was a nightmare from an Organizer's perspective. The weather impacted every activity we originally planned. So like a quarterback calling an audible when he sees how the defense lines up I had to keep changing the plan based on the conditions every 4 hours.
The participants were so flexible, understanding, & go-with-the-flow. And Word of Life was fantastic to work with (as usual)! We switched the climbing tower & ziplines till after dinner on Saturday night so the wall could dry out. We pushed the kayaking & swimming pool back till Sunday. We allowed people to just hangout around the campfire or do their own thing as temps kept dropping & winds picked up all day Saturday.
Sometimes the weather becomes the main event on camping trips and you just keep adjusting to whatever the conditions require.
Aaaaaaaaand because of the wind affecting frisbees, volleyballs, etc we opted to play a game we invented several years ago called TrashBall, but this time we used a soccer goal instead of a trashcan... and a soccer goalie instead of a hockey goalie with a jousting baton. It was a blast for all ages and everyone who played loved it!
Probably the biggest highlight for me was that Traci brought my parents again out to IGNITE! My Mom loves the campfire, and my Dad was thrilled that Carson was able to bring the smoker so he could smoke up 4 Boston butts & one spiral ham!! It was a huge hit for the group! Several people enjoyed helping Dad smoke the meat, and everyone LOVED eating the delicious pulled pork and smoked ham!!!
Jason Hebert kept the huge fire going all weekend long to everyone's delight! And the golf cart donated by Jerry Mullins was a big hit for kids of all ages... young & old!
Basically, we all had a great time as we adjusted hour by hour to the constantly changing conditions. As you can see in the pictures IGNITE is a popular event for many families! As inflation continues to rise and gas prices balloon I want to thank all of our amazing supporters and donors for their incredible generosity that allows us to do a weekend event like this for only $26/person!! So many families and young people have been blessed by these low priced events and so much good is coming from them. Our hearts overflow with gratitude for out small army of generosity warriors!!
We're already planning IGNITE 2023 as well as a HUGE camping retreat planned for Oct 28-30 in Ocala National Forest!! More details to come!
Check out our upcoming events!
And check out all the IGNITE 2022 pics on our online photo album.
To God be the Glory!
Going The Distance Adventure Ministry
God-awesome adventures since 1996!
