Adventure Race and Family Fun Day

As you will be well aware we like to stretch ourselves and try out new things when it comes to fundraising.

The brain child of one of our esteemed volunteers - the "Adventure Race 2012" took place beneath a gloriously hot summer sky. A pentathlon style event which included climbing, archery, running, canoeing and cycling, teams of four at Windmill Farm Conference Centre for what was to be a very successful day.

For a little more insight take a peak at this

http://www.witneytv.co.uk/videos/adventure-open-day-2012

An Unexpected Visitor

We were blessed with a very special appearance today as the Queen herself joined us for our morning thought!

Ok, not quite...

We have been looking at the theme of 'priesthood' that features throughout the Bible and how it ties into the parallel role of sovereign leadership. That both are ultimately brought together in Jesus through whom we are then enrolled into the Royal Priesthood.

So why is Rachel dressed up?

Well, we took a timely look at the words used in the coronation (re-enacting it for the visual learners) and were encouraged at the Biblical imagery used and the emphasis put on the Christian faith in the role of our monarch.

Presentation of the Holy Bible

Our Gracious Queen, to keep your majesty ever mindful of the law and Gospel of God as the rule for your whole life and government of princes, we present you with this book - the most valuable thing that this world affords, here is wisdom; this is the royal the royal law; these are the living oracles of God.

Presentation of the Royal Robe

Receive this imperial robe, and the Lord God give you all knowledge and wisdom with majesty and power from on high; the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness and the garments of salvation.

Presentation of the Orb

Receive this orb set under the cross and remember that the whole world is subject to the power and empire of Christ our redeemer.

Presentation of the Sceptre

Receive the royal sceptre, the sign of kingly power and justice. Be merciful, execute justice but do not forget mercy. Judge the wicked, protect and cherish the just and lead your people in the way they should go.

Presentation of the Crown

O God the crown of the faithful - bless this crown and so bless your servant upon whose head you do place it as a sign of royal majesty; may she be blessed with your abundant grace and with all princely virtues. Through the King eternal Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

From the Mighty Moose to the Slimy Slug

As activity instructors our job is to give 100% on all of our activity sessions and to enthuse young people about the outdoors. While this is important and a lot of fun, for many of us the 'best bits' are the times when we get to spend time with people just hanging out and sometimes being a bit silly.

Last weekend three of us were lucky enough to head up to Quinta to spend a couple of days with a group from Cutteslowe, Oxford.

A summary of the weekend: 3 instructors, 5 boys, 2 leaders, 2 days, 7 activities and a lot of cake. And a special shout out to Helen, who came to help feed us all!

Definite highlights of the weekend include the animal game (hence the title of this post) with lots of strange 'animal' noises (I still haven't got the hang of an elephant noise), a variation of cops and robbers around the Quinta site in the dark, and Jon sharing with us from the Bible. They say you learn something new every day: I had never realised that when Paul wrote about us falling short of the glory of God, he was using an archery metaphor. Pretty exciting for an outdoor pursuits charity!


And the activities are still very important, of course. Canoeing was a favourite, even if everyone ended up quite a bit damper than when they started!

More photos from the weekend can be found on our facebook page.

Rafting Training

We do a lot of different activities here at Adventure Plus. Some of them are recognised by the Olympic committee. Others have National Governing Bodies through which you can gain qualifications. Others...well they fit into a category than can only be called 'for the fun of it'.

Raft building - not to be confused with it's distant white water cousin - comes in many forms. Or at least the rafts that are built do.

Today was about training the team in how it 'should' be done...and then putting them to the test.

The more observant among you will notice that there's a sixth handsome chap in these photos. But who is he?

More on that to follow.

Consolidation Not Consolation

 Sometimes things don't quite go as hoped.

Matt - having put an incredible amount of time and energy into the BEL expedition - missed out on it because of illness.

Sometimes you have to find another way.

Not wanting to penalise Matt for something he couldn't avoid, and in recognition of all the hard work he has put in, Josh checked his diary and set aside some time to take Matt (and Marcus) out for some time to catch up on what he missed.

Congratulations!

This year's team have really pushed for more. It's been clear from the start that they were keen to put as much into/get as much out of the year as possible.

The most recent example this is their success in Canoe 3*

Well done team!

We look forward to seeing you employing those skills in the sessions you will be running throughout the rest of the year.

DisTIL Youtube Channel

More videos have been uploaded so check them out.

Personal highlight of the week is this one from Matt - demonstrating how things don't always go to plan even before you've hit the water.

Enjoy!