If ever you wait upon a sunset, you know the way that the world stops just as the day ends. You see how everyone takes a pause in the final moment to farewell the labor of the day and see its symbol disappear beyond the horizon. There’s a certain awe in that moment and an anticipation that it’s only just about to get better. Hues of pink, purple, orange and an ombre of  colors that can’t quite be named flood the sky in the day’s final presentation. These final days before our retreats are kind of like that. 

The labor is done. The fundraising is fulfilled, sponsors committed, packages delivered, housing confirmed, flight schedules consolidated, chefs prepared, surfboards waxed, our bags are packed. The details are done, but the masterpiece is only just beginning to unfold. We sit in that silent, hanging moment in the hopeful anticipation of something more beautiful than we can even imagine. And no matter how many times we’ve seen it, it’s just as awe inspiring and wonderful. 

In a few days, twelve young men will arrive in Del Mar for the third Forge Retreat. With hours to transition, we’ll step into the 10th annual Beautifully Flawed Retreat, hosting 24 girls and young women. With just glimpses of their applications or in knowing them in previous retreats, we anticipate the stories of hope, resilience and redemption that will rise out of the week and inspire lives beyond our own borders. 

For every dollar donated, every gift committed and every minute volunteered, we thank you! These retreat experiences are truly the orchestration of God’s grace, acted upon by our friends, family and strangers and it never falls short of a miracle. 

So what’s left to do? In some ways, it’s both nothing and everything. It’s that moment of waiting before the changing of the day in which you hold the ultimate anticipation in the same hand as you hold relief and release. It’s as tangible a sensation of prayer as I think I could consider, like it hangs in the air the way God invites a conversation in that moment. So we ask you to pray with us.