Stories
One of the first lessons students in a Christian Science Sunday School learn is that God is always with them, protecting them, no matter what seems to be happening around them. Last summer, a seasonal staff member at the A/U Ranches, Astrid – as well as campers and fellow staff…
One summer morning, Shane Witters Hicks found himself running a new route that took him through mountain neighborhoods to a scenic, natural overlook of his hometown of Golden, Colorado. While taking in the majesty of the moment, Shane was hit with an “indescribably strong and passionate feeling” that gave him…
I was overjoyed to see the beautiful transformation that took place in my son Jackson. He was exuding confidence, calmness, maturity, ease and a great sense of peace.
When Nette Bemis and her church – First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Elyria, Ohio – reached out with food and clothing to families in a low-income apartment facility, they also offered to take one of the girls to Sunday School. Soon, this student started to bring her friends. It…
In the third year of the National Leadership Council program, teens go on a service trip to gain a broader perspective on what it means to be a global citizen. Brooke, who graduated from the NLC at this February’s All Class Retreat at the A/U Ranches, says she experienced “one…
In the beginning, it was all about skiing for Samantha. She had never participated in a DiscoveryBound Outreach activity and was apprehensive about the 2015 New Hampshire Winter Weekend. “I didn’t know anyone else going other than my cousin and wasn’t sure how the weekend was going to play out,”…
Like all of the summer camp majors at the A/U Ranches, Horsemanship pushes its riders to put their whole trust in God and overcome limitations. Grace was pushed in an unexpected way last summer. A Sky Valley camper, she had barely settled onto the back of her mount when the…
“Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest. Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.” The quote above from John Muir is where Adventure Unlimited’s mission originated almost 60 years ago. The following story is a…
At a DiscoveryBound (DB) Outreach Winter Weekend in New Hampshire a few years ago, Ben and his sister, Jessica, didn’t know anyone. They had never participated in a DB event. They didn’t know how to ski. But the moment they arrived, they were eagerly welcomed by a swarm of other…
Michael moved with his family to the United States from Great Britain when he was 13 years old. The family relocated to Boston because Michael had been the subject of what his mother described as “very bad bullying” at three different schools. In her letter of gratitude she goes on…