During the period of Nov 20 - Jan 10 GTD will have minimized office work weeks. We will only be working on essential end-of-the-year requirements as well as private group event bookings for the upcoming year.
We know this ministry is all about fun and travels and adventure and seeking God, but believe it or not, all of these things take a lot of hard work. A lot of our adventures trips are so packed full of physical exertion that it often leaves our participants (and staff) physically exhausted. As one group leaves to go home to recuperate we are scurrying to prepare for the next group that is about to arrive, and then we go-go-go hard for the next trip many times week after week. Our work days are usually 16-18 hours long without a day off for weeks at a time. Sometimes our peak season lasts 2, 3, 4, and sometimes 5 months long with very little (and sometimes no) rest or recovery. We are often away from home and the office for up to 5 months out of the year and then have huge amounts of administration work piled up for us upon return. Those piles usually take a few months to get caught up on as we also work to plan out the next season of events (and at the same time run our current events). We typically fall behind on our closest relationships with family and friends. None of these are complaints. We love what we do and we are beyond blessed to be able to do what we do where we do it and with the caliber of people we get to do it with. It is an amazing blessing. But, the schedule is very difficult on stress levels, rest, recovery, sleeping patterns, relationships, church attendance, life group participation, working out, eating healthy, and the list goes on. The easiest way to put it is that we live a "binge life". For 3-4 months we binge on new year's goals and spring events. For 3-5 months we binge on summer events. For 1 month we binge on events out west. For 1 month we binge on our banquet event. For 2-3 months we binge on piles of office work. And now we are planning to binge on a protected and vital 7 week off-season that will promote rest, recovery, relationships, balance, and help prevent burn-out. Just like the Sabbath was designed, this off-season will be a time to cease from striving so that when it comes time to strive again we are ready to run with all perseverance towards the goals God has set before us. So for end of the year we won't have any events planned.
So I amusingly encourage you to not plan on a God-awesome GTD event from mid November thru the beginning of January! We will be on our off-season... and loving every minute of it =)
God Bless You! Happy Thanksgiving! Merry CHRISTmas! And Happy New Year! See you next year (Lord willing!!)
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