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In the crisp November air about an hour west of San Diego, we gathered at a rustic campground called Lake Morena in the small desert hillside village of Campo, to ponder "We Are Not Alone". This was the start of the first teen retreat in San Diego in a very long time. But it was not the start of the adventure for teenager Celie and I. We arrived in San Diego in the wee hours of Friday morning after a horrific travel adventure starting in Portland, Maine which involving delayed flights, missed planes in Newark (even though we made it to the connection 5 minutes prior to departure, grrrr), flying to Los Angeles instead of San Diego and driving a one way rental car down with a most unusual guy I've dubbed Hawaiian Doug (and his girlfriend). In any event, Celie and I made it to my Aunt Pearl's house around 1:30 am and did finally get a nice night's sleep. Friday morning Celie and I went with my Aunt sightseeing around northern San Diego, viewing the beach areas, scenic hilltop overlooks and doing a little shopping (Celie's new peach sun hat!). We went over to the Swedenborgian Church of San Diego for a early dinner late Friday evening to meet up with the other teens from San Diego. Here we met Gio, Genette, Michael, Eugene, Irene and Jonat along with some adult leaders, Rev. Carla, Fernando, Mark and Austin (part of the team of night vision sky watchers with Greg and Dejuti). From here we drove west up the hills to Campo to join our other leaders, Peter and Barbara who coordinated the renting of tents, sleeping bags, and pads from REI, set everything up and provided the food for the weekend. We hastily unpacked, bundled up in some warmer clothes, then set our eyes upon the starry sky. With the aid of some high tech gear including night vision scopes, viewing screens and magnification we watched for ufo's and looked at Jupiter and it's Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. We did spot a few strange lights in the sky th
at traveled faster then normal satellites and showed some erratic movement. Aliens, space junk or other flying objects, I cannot be sure, but it did make for some interesting viewing and discussion. At the rising of Orion, we retired the space gear, gathered for a warmup around the campfire with stories and songs, then snuggled into our bags and blankets for a chilly evening's sleep under the heavens. We awoke to the early morning bright sunshine and the rustlings around the campground to a crisp, refreshing morning. Thank you Peter for the espresso in bed! Grilled Einstein bagels over the campfire (a theme that perpetuated the entire weekend as Barbara secured a garbage bag of them for free!) and the warming effects of desert sunshine led us to a short walk to our morning session among
the giant rocks along the reservoir that is Lake Morena. Here Rev. Carla introduced us to the presence of angels through readings from the Bible and Swedenborg and the teens responded with artistic work reflecting the love of the Lord and the angels. We returned to the campsite for lunch bagels on the grill and a bit of relaxation. During our afternoon session, in the heat of the midday sun under the leafy canopy of a Highland Oak we stretched to the farthest reaches of what it means to be truly human. We watched video about incredibly powerful and free energy sources, discussed time travel and how we might interact with aliens from a distant planet if they introduced themselves to us now. The teens put on a quick non-verbal skit demonstrating how they might communicate what it means
to be human to a completely foreign intelligent life form. The skit focused on human emotions and each of the seven teens worked together to convey a different emotion through gestures, body language and facial expressions. After recreation which involved some more familiar and identifiable flying objects (Frisbees), and a dinner of dogs and not-dogs on the grill, we began our evening program. Rev. Carla prepared a soul satisfying outdoor candlelit communion service under the stars, then we returned to the campfire for music and S'mores. Peter, Jonat, Gio and Celie kept us singing all weekend with their wonderful guitar playing and we enjoyed a great guitar and drum sing-a-long this Saturday evening that lasted late into the evening. After the teens departed the circle for a little "tent talk", I sat and stirred the fire awhile and enjoyed the stillness of the cool night and the rising of the winter constellations, before closing down the camp and retiring myself. Sunday morning we woke early again and quickly ate our bagels as Gio created a new campfire recipe - the roasted banana graham cracker marshmallow breakfast sandwich. After packing up and rolling the sleeping bags (thank you Barbara and your neighbors for all your help with the gear), the teens just had enough time to practice a couple of songs to share at the Worship Service back at the Swedenborgian Church of San Diego before driving back to the city. They decided to play, "Hallelujah", "Let It Be" and the popular song, "I'm Yours" (view their performance on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krqGUiNilDs). The teens also shared angel readings and some of their artwork that they created with 
the congregation. After the worship service, we said our good-byes to most of the teens, then Celie, Jonat and I wandered around Balboa Park for a couple of hours. After dropping Jonat back home, Rev. Carla met Celie and I and took us out for dinner, sightseeing and souvenir shopping in Seaport Village. From here, Celie and I headed to the airport to c
atch our red eye flight back home to Maine. Exhausted, but feeling most fulfilled and joyful, we found ourselves back home early Monday morning without any major airport delays this time around. So, now home, I take time to reconsider, our theme, "We Are Not Alone". While I am not entirely convinced that beings from another world re
side here on this planet we call earth, I am certain that we are not alone. The teens in the SCYL prove to me every day that friends are nearby to help us, to hold us, to comfort us, to forgive us and to love us. The care, the smiles, the laughter, the music and the understanding that the teens show to each other in this church helps me to remember what is truly important. I know that the friendship they share is from the Lord, the one God that made the heavens and the earth, as well as the entire universe. As long as I keep that single truth in my mind, I am never, ever alone.
In the crisp November air about an hour west of San Diego, we gathered at a rustic campground called Lake Morena in the small desert hillside village of Campo, to ponder "We Are Not Alone". This was the start of the first teen retreat in San Diego in a very long time. But it was not the start of the adventure for teenager Celie and I. We arrived in San Diego in the wee hours of Friday morning after a horrific travel adventure starting in Portland, Maine which involving delayed flights, missed planes in Newark (even though we made it to the connection 5 minutes prior to departure, grrrr), flying to Los Angeles instead of San Diego and driving a one way rental car down with a most unusual guy I've dubbed Hawaiian Doug (and his girlfriend). In any event, Celie and I made it to my Aunt Pearl's house around 1:30 am and did finally get a nice night's sleep. Friday morning Celie and I went with my Aunt sightseeing around northern San Diego, viewing the beach areas, scenic hilltop overlooks and doing a little shopping (Celie's new peach sun hat!). We went over to the Swedenborgian Church of San Diego for a early dinner late Friday evening to meet up with the other teens from San Diego. Here we met Gio, Genette, Michael, Eugene, Irene and Jonat along with some adult leaders, Rev. Carla, Fernando, Mark and Austin (part of the team of night vision sky watchers with Greg and Dejuti). From here we drove west up the hills to Campo to join our other leaders, Peter and Barbara who coordinated the renting of tents, sleeping bags, and pads from REI, set everything up and provided the food for the weekend. We hastily unpacked, bundled up in some warmer clothes, then set our eyes upon the starry sky. With the aid of some high tech gear including night vision scopes, viewing screens and magnification we watched for ufo's and looked at Jupiter and it's Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. We did spot a few strange lights in the sky th
at traveled faster then normal satellites and showed some erratic movement. Aliens, space junk or other flying objects, I cannot be sure, but it did make for some interesting viewing and discussion. At the rising of Orion, we retired the space gear, gathered for a warmup around the campfire with stories and songs, then snuggled into our bags and blankets for a chilly evening's sleep under the heavens. We awoke to the early morning bright sunshine and the rustlings around the campground to a crisp, refreshing morning. Thank you Peter for the espresso in bed! Grilled Einstein bagels over the campfire (a theme that perpetuated the entire weekend as Barbara secured a garbage bag of them for free!) and the warming effects of desert sunshine led us to a short walk to our morning session among
the giant rocks along the reservoir that is Lake Morena. Here Rev. Carla introduced us to the presence of angels through readings from the Bible and Swedenborg and the teens responded with artistic work reflecting the love of the Lord and the angels. We returned to the campsite for lunch bagels on the grill and a bit of relaxation. During our afternoon session, in the heat of the midday sun under the leafy canopy of a Highland Oak we stretched to the farthest reaches of what it means to be truly human. We watched video about incredibly powerful and free energy sources, discussed time travel and how we might interact with aliens from a distant planet if they introduced themselves to us now. The teens put on a quick non-verbal skit demonstrating how they might communicate what it means
to be human to a completely foreign intelligent life form. The skit focused on human emotions and each of the seven teens worked together to convey a different emotion through gestures, body language and facial expressions. After recreation which involved some more familiar and identifiable flying objects (Frisbees), and a dinner of dogs and not-dogs on the grill, we began our evening program. Rev. Carla prepared a soul satisfying outdoor candlelit communion service under the stars, then we returned to the campfire for music and S'mores. Peter, Jonat, Gio and Celie kept us singing all weekend with their wonderful guitar playing and we enjoyed a great guitar and drum sing-a-long this Saturday evening that lasted late into the evening. After the teens departed the circle for a little "tent talk", I sat and stirred the fire awhile and enjoyed the stillness of the cool night and the rising of the winter constellations, before closing down the camp and retiring myself. Sunday morning we woke early again and quickly ate our bagels as Gio created a new campfire recipe - the roasted banana graham cracker marshmallow breakfast sandwich. After packing up and rolling the sleeping bags (thank you Barbara and your neighbors for all your help with the gear), the teens just had enough time to practice a couple of songs to share at the Worship Service back at the Swedenborgian Church of San Diego before driving back to the city. They decided to play, "Hallelujah", "Let It Be" and the popular song, "I'm Yours" (view their performance on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krqGUiNilDs). The teens also shared angel readings and some of their artwork that they created with 
the congregation. After the worship service, we said our good-byes to most of the teens, then Celie, Jonat and I wandered around Balboa Park for a couple of hours. After dropping Jonat back home, Rev. Carla met Celie and I and took us out for dinner, sightseeing and souvenir shopping in Seaport Village. From here, Celie and I headed to the airport to c
atch our red eye flight back home to Maine. Exhausted, but feeling most fulfilled and joyful, we found ourselves back home early Monday morning without any major airport delays this time around. So, now home, I take time to reconsider, our theme, "We Are Not Alone". While I am not entirely convinced that beings from another world re
side here on this planet we call earth, I am certain that we are not alone. The teens in the SCYL prove to me every day that friends are nearby to help us, to hold us, to comfort us, to forgive us and to love us. The care, the smiles, the laughter, the music and the understanding that the teens show to each other in this church helps me to remember what is truly important. I know that the friendship they share is from the Lord, the one God that made the heavens and the earth, as well as the entire universe. As long as I keep that single truth in my mind, I am never, ever alone.
