How to Fill a Beyond Trip: A 12 Step Program

Its game time.  You are just a few short months from the mountain.  We got this today from a leader who has brought a bunch of trips in past years.  12 great ideas for filling your upcoming trip. 

1. Pray!

2. Get in the zone: Lace up your hiking boots, slide into some poly-pro, put on your backpack and start drinking from a Nalgene.

3. Get information: Call the Beyond Malibu office (206-525-0791). They will set you up with anything you need and answer all your questions. [Booking info]

4. Brainstorm: Make a list of the kids you want to invite; have a couple kids help with the list.

5. Involve your kids: Think of some kids who you can encourage to reach out to their friends. Read Mark 2:1-12 with them, and explain that they are the mat carriers; ask who they want to carry – aka: invite on the trip, and help them come up with a plan to do that.

6. Promote: Make a Facebook event and post some SICK pictures! (Contact the Beyond office if you need some sick pics).

7. Go Big - Email and call parents:  They usually have huge influence over the decision-making in this process. Help them to see the benefits of this trip and ease their fears.

8. Inform: Host a meeting for kids and their parents. Bedazzle the meeting with food, some fist pumps, a Wooot wooot (or another enthusiastic phrase), a short slide show, and a story. Also, give specific information about the trip: dates, itinerary, cost, etc.

9. Connect: Call the Beyond office and ask if a Beyond Guide can come to your meeting and share; this is a great way for the kids to get excited and feel connected to the program.

10. Create some urgency: Set a deadline for a $100 deposit so that you know you have commitment from the kids and their parents. Offer a gift (such as a Nalgene, a pair of wool socks, or a sticker) for everyone that gets their money in within the first week.

11. Take a hike: Invite kids from your list to go on a hike, and after you have an incredible day, pitch Beyond Malibu.

12. Pray again!: This trip has the potential to change your kids' lives. It can't be missed!

Water Taxi Fundraising - Join in!

Join us in a grassroots cause: Beyond Malibu needs to buy a water taxi to transport our participants and staff. I would like to challenge you to consider donating $100 dollars toward this water taxi purchase. If each friend donated $100 ($10 a month) we would raise over $50,000 towards the purchase price of this vessel. Follow this link for more information and to donate.

Why a Water Taxi?

Canadian Maritime regulations require Beyond Malibu to transport hiking trips in groups of 12 or less to and from trailheads. The size and speed of a water taxi makes it the ideal vehicle to deliver trips around the inlet both safely and efficiently.

Currently Beyond shares a water taxi with Malibu Club. Schedule restrictions and increased transportation demands in both camps make water travel a limiting factor in providing a professional and quality experience to participants. This vessel will be used to address all of Beyond's transportation needs and also be available to supplement Malibu's growing need.

Please prayerfully consider partnering with us to continue provide a quality Beyond experience for years to come.

The Adventures of Eight Women

I heard about Beyond from a friend.  My sister and I have been doing adventure holidays for awhile now, and this looked like an adventure we really wanted to experience.  So we worked at trying to get a group together.  Unfortunately it wasn't going too well, but with the creative assistance from Beyond, we managed to add three women from Minnesota to our group bring us to 6.  With the guides we had 8 and were good to go.

I loved the times of sharing, because we were an all women group, the intimacy was great.  Everyone felt good opening up and maybe sharing some details about themselves that they had never shared before. 

I really felt the accomplishment when we reached the peak.  It was incredible!  The time of prayer looking out at the mountains surrounding us was breathtaking!  For me personally the trip was a great opportunity and accomplishment as I had just recently had surgery for cancer and had just finished my radiation treatments just before leaving for the hike.  I had wondered if I would be able to do the hike, would I be strong enough?  I had seen some women who were not doing so good during their treatments.  But God blessed me richly, I am cured and blessed to have been able to participate in this incredible hike with my sister and niece and get to know some new friends from Minnesota as well as our guides.  Friends not only for that season, but to enjoy as friends going into the future. 

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to participate and experience this hike for myself, my sister and I felt like this could be our Everest, and it lived up to our expectations and exceeded it in ways we never thought to imagine. 

Thanks to all of you that work in this incredible ministry, it was such a blessing to us!

Madelaine Snell
Beyond Malibu Trip 2009

Visual Reminder 2

Our year in Seattle is more than half over.  Let's just say we're pretty stoked to see this view again.

(Click on the image to get a full size version for your desktop).
[Updated]

Why Beyond?

We recently asked a number of you the simple question of Why Beyond?  Here were a few of your responses.

So, Why Beyond?

There are many reasons why I keep going on Beyond trips. To some extent I know what to expect, but each trip is unique and rewarding in its own unique way. Without a doubt, a week in the mountains on a Beyond trip can be one of our most physically challenging experiences people ever experience. Understandably, some folks are daunted by the prospect of going into the mountains with everything you need for a week in your backpacks. However, we always return to base camp with the same people!

I love all aspects of Beyond – the boat ride to base camp, orientation, putting the pack on and taking it off, hiking, setting up tents, trail talk, the physical challenge, the views, the shared sense of accomplishment when we summit and arriving back at base camp. However, one thing I find extremely rewarding year after year is the community created within a small group of hikers and guides in such a short period of time. Sharing of life stories, laughter, tears and the physical experience creates a fellowship that binds us together in ways we couldn’t have imagined when we arrived at base camp. While I know something like this will happen every year, each time it is difference. In a sense, Beyond is some kind of spiritual therapy or renewal for me.

 Ernie Fraser, Victoria, BC
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We started this tradition years ago and it stuck.  We start selling it to campaigners when they are freshmen and by the time they are seniors, they cannot wait.  Beyond is an amazing experience like nothing else.  It challenges them in ways they are never challenged, both physically and spiritually.  It provides a way to escape life back home and enjoy God's beauty.  We pose tough questions and have great conversations that help them get to know themselves better and their friends, while growing closer to Christ.  Beyond also does a great job of preparing them for life after high school.  I like to use the analogy of Beyond being a journey, our kayaking is a journey, just like high school, college and life.  Beyond is amazing and everyone should experience the realness it provides.

Heather Hene, Atlanta, GA
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The things I appreciate most about bringing kids on Beyond:

• It is a chance to take kids completely out of their normal lives and allow them to examine life in a new light.
• The long days of hiking allow for plenty of time for significant life conversations.
• The Beyond experience gives kids a unique adventure:  Difficult challenges in a magnificent setting.
• Beyond is a truly new experience for kids who have seen everything Young Life camping has to offer.
• The trip gives kids a profound sense of accomplishment.
• Without distractions, the evenings are a perfect for long and thoughtful conversations.
• Kids come home saying it is the best trip ever. And they continue to say it.
• Beyond Bars.

Rick Wilson, Scottsdale, AZ

Photo Contest Results

We received a bunch of really sweet photos from folks after our last Route Notes email.  Here are a few of our favorites.  A big thanks to all who submitted. 

  

First Place: Ian Marriot, Livermore, CA

  

Second Place:  Bill Hamilton, Phoenix, AZ

 

 Third Place:  Erin Griffith

As always, we'd love to see any more pictures you have.  Send any more photos our way to beyondmalibu@beyondmalibu.younglife.org.  Who knows, maybe we'll use your submission next.

A few quotes from 2009 Beyond Participants

“Every trip gets better and better.  I want to tell more people about it because there is so much potential and so many people need this ministry.”
-Deon Human, Trip Leader from Powell River, BC, Canada

“The life stories were great!  They made us think more of our lives and how God is included.”
-Karl Williams, Trip Leader from Forney, Texas

“The most valuable thing I learned this week is that I am beautiful and people really do care.”
-Camper from Mesquite, Texas

“The trip was a time for us to connect deeper than we could with all the distractions of the outside would.  It gave us a time to truly reflect and learn about God; it helped us learn to work as a team.”
-Brittney Kroon, Trip Leader from Wasilla, AK

“I see God in a bigger way after this trip!  He says the mountains are good—but we are very good!  I have a bigger perspective of God.”
-Monica Zylstra, Trip Leader from Lynden, WA

“I feel like I’ve come closer to God over the past week.  I’ve realized his love for us and also the changes I need to make in my life in order to better serve him.”
-Camper from Raleigh NC

“This trip brought me a million times closer to Jesus; before, I never truly understood or cared about a relationship with him.  God is an everlasting constant in my life and he will always be there for me.”
-Camper from Donsman, WI