Beauty From Ashes

Chapter 5

"Amen...."

"I. Can't. Hear you! Did you agree?!" Curtis said, teasing them.

"YES AND AMEN!!"

"ALRIGHT!!! So, for this last night, we're gonna do things a little bit differently. You've all been studying on the words and wisdom that I've been sharing with you. But tonight, let's get a little more personal. So I want you all to sit down, maybe sit with your friends and just take some to reflect on what's going on in your life. Really think about it for awhile and I'll come back in about an hour and explain what we're gonna do next. Got it?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright good. As you were!"

Now you might be thinking.......why are we here? Why are we ignoring the fate of our main character who was caught in a car accident in the previous chapter, to be introduced to this random youth group in California?
Well that's because, there are some important characters who are going to be connected to Cheyenne's testimony, one of whom, has been referenced in previous chapters. And now, it's time to meet him.

Curtis turns to the two men who whistled out. "Good job Pastor Tanner. You too, Albert."

The two men begin to sit down on the ground and relax as Curtis stays past them. The younger of the two is a 6'2 man with medium length brown hair, has bright cerulean blue eyes that are covered behind a pair of glasses, he has a shaved face, and is wearing blue slicky Adias pants and a red-black flannel-hoodie. He sits down close to one of the five giant logs that are used for seating, he takes his guitar and lays it down behind him and smiles as he looks around, observing everyone while reflecting on his week.

This is Albert Johnson, one of the worship leaders and main organizers for this youth group. He is 22 years old, has a golden heart that's on fire for Jesus, and this is the guy who's going to be our Secondary Protagomist, our lead guy throughout this story.

Albert's POV:
Tonight, we are about to close the book on another awesome adventure. For the past six days, I have been capping off the end of my summer vacation with a week-long camping trip within the woods of California's King Canyon National Park. No TV, no internet, no video games. Just me, my youth pastor, my best buds, and of course, my church buddies- a large majority of the youth group that I work for. There are at least 160 of us in total.

There's me
Pastor Curtis.
My Three Amigos: Vinnie, Wes and Johnathan.
Me and the other worship team musicians: Phoebe, Mark, Miranda, Mason, Isaac, CJ and Felicia.
Me and my fellow volunteers: Duncan, Patrick, Spencer, Philip, Ryan, Big Ethan, Abby, Kristen, Joseph, Piper, Carly, Peyton, Madelyn, Nat, Jules, Ronnie, Josh, Darcy, Aria, Devon, Chandra and Mallorie.
Me and our frontier-men (members who do the heavy packing/lifting): Drake, Zechariah, Zhane, Brandon, Dana, Jessie, Zeke, Gage, Jordan, Alec, Alexander, Tyler, Brook, Doug, Chance, and Chris.
Me and the evangelical committee: Cindy, Danaica, Emmalyn, Fiona, Sherry, Tess, Skylee, Nathanial, Stacey, Shane, Noah, Tracey, Natasha, Wayne. Juan, Hannah, Lexi, Railee, Kris, and Caleb.
Me and our K9 tots: Harris, Lance, Jimmy, Bridget, Manuel, Elliott, Kendall, Casey, Austin, Alyssa, Clare, Sawyer, Paul, Heidi, Maya, Isabel, and Destiny.
And of course the rest of our members
Timmy, Louis, Lawson, Ashton, Asher, Tyson, Richie, Coy, Leonard, Mike, Gabe, Kian, Molly, Jack, Steven, Lisa, McKenna, Mady, Dustin, Sabrina, Jonah, Eddie, Ravi, Arjun, Anuradha, Joey, Nigel, Kaden, Wanda, Storm, Trevor, Brianna, Breanna, Raquel, Dean, Shonte, Alice, Mary, Jay, Jeannie, Angel, Carson, Alex, Dave, Martha, Kossi, Wendy, Tanner, Flynn, Robby, Kendra, Carol, Jake, Milo, Asa, Anya, Jonathan, Marcus, Emily, Darlene, Max, Sylvia, Reggie, Cory, Goodwin, Dieter, Frank, Aurora and Adam.

Nearly everything I do with the youth is so much fun, but this camping trip especially, was an absolute blast. It's had everything you could ever ask or want out of a camping trip, we've had all kinds of sporting activities and contests, we went on hikes, we did scary stories by the campfires, we kayaked, you name it. And of course, knowing the people I serve alongside and the three best friends of mine who came along, we made up our own wild games.