River of God Kayak Kamp: Day 5: Delaware River

Today we began our final day with a Bible story from John 7:37 when Jesus attended the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. One practice of this feast was to remember how God provided water in the wilderness as well as remember the prophesy of Ezequiel 47 about the River of God flowing from the temple. So the priests would carry water from the Gihon spring and pour it in a trough where it actually flowed out of the temple down the street of Jerusalem. As this was happening Jesus stood up and said."If anyone is thirst, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit whom those who believe in him were later to receive." We were reminded that as rivers and water brings life so Jesus brings life and can now live in us so we can bring life to others as we live in him. 

 On our way out we stopped at DeJong Iron Works to meet Jerry DeJong and all the men who made our kayak/canoe trailer 3 years ago. We thanked them for their great work. Then we traveled out Route 80 to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. We dropped Mr. Erics car and drove about 8 miles north.

We stopped for lunch about 4 miles downriver at the campground launch. Mrs. E. did our lunch teaching about the kind of language we use that does not please God. We prayed for God to help us use our tongue to bless others and not hurt them. We also took a little swim at lunch time.

The final rapids was alot of fun and we bounced through the water and got a  little wet. While Pastor John & Mr. Eric went back upriver for the van Mrs. E. took some of the group on a swim across the river to Pennsylvania. On the way home we had a flat tire on the trailer but were able to fix it quickly. We arrived home a little late for our final ceremony and award presentation. We sang Happy Birthday to Jahod & Roget who have birthdays this week and Jahods mom brought some treats for all. It was great to be together this week as we read God's BIG BOOK of creation, learned how to work together and had alot of fun.

River of God Kayak Kamp: Day 4: Hackensack River & Meadowlands

We began our day today with devotions from Ezequiel 47. This was a vision of a river flowing from the throne of God that was given to Ezequiel at a very difficult time in Israel's history. The temple had been destroyed and they were in captivity in Babylon. But this vision showed a river that brought life to death. It flowed into the Dead Sea and made it alive with fish and plants. This is what God is able to do. Bring life out of death as Jesus demonstrated in his resurrection. We also said thank you to Jamie VanBuiten for helping us the last two days. Tomorrow she leaves for her senior year at Calvin College.  Then we headed off for the Hackensack River. We put in at Mill Creek Point Park on the eastern side of the Hackensack in Seacacus. The tide was low so the lauch was very mucky. We also met some fishermen catching "killies" which is a small fish used for bait. 

 After a short paddle in the marshes we proceeded to cross the Hackensack. This is "big water" compared to what we have been in but all the kids did great. We could see Giant Stadium, Izod Center, Empire State Building, Freedom Tower, NJ Turnpike. This is urban paddling at its best.

 You can see the mud flats that show at low tide. Although the look yuckie and stink a bit too they are actually full of life and stimulate alot of bird and fish life.  This was a small creek that we paddled up along the river.

 We then paddled downriver to River Barge Park. This is an amazing new park of the NJ Meadowlands Commission.  They have a wonderful low dock for kayaks and canoes that make it very easy to get in and out. They also have picnic tables, bathrooms and very educational displays. These taught us about the amazing provision of God's creation that even out of the mud comes life. Mr. Angelo of the Meadowlands Commission met with us and shared some of the history of the park and river.

 After lunch we paddled upstream and although the wind was against us the tide was with us. That combination of wind and tide made for some pretty nice waves in crossing the river.

 If you look close at this next picture you can see the new Freedom Tower in the background.  We had a wonderful day and enjoyed the new experience and place of paddling.

River of God Kayak Kamp: Day 3: Passaic River

We began our day today with devotions led by Mr. Eric. He read Psalm 46 and reminded us of how God is our "refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble". That means if your flipped over in the water and every other time in our lives. Our River of God theme text is also taken from vs. 4 of this Psalm "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall." We believe this is true for our city of Paterson and the Passaic River makes us glad. We also has Ms. Jamie VanBuiten join us today substituting for Mrs. Englehard. Ms. Jamie just returned from a mission trip and is heading off to her senior year at Calvin College on Friday. We appreciate her help. Here are some pictures of all our paddlers.

Justice

Dominic

Zy'Nasia

Joseph

Victoria

Henry 

Naomi

Tieshmere & Malik 

Roget

Jahod

Mr. Eric

Ms. Jamie

We put in the river at the Hawthorne Ball Fields launch and part of our goal today was to clean up the river. Everyone had a small trash bag and we picked up bottles in the water on the way. Here Tiehsmere  & Malik use a net to collect some debris.

               At the Elmwood Park Marina we picked up what little trash was there. The last few weeks Mr. Rick Rodriguez has been on a campaign to clean up the river and did alot here by himself. It looks so much better than it used to. Thanks so much Rick.

 We landed on "Ricks Island" for lunch. This is just above the Rt. 46 bridge.

 After lunch Mr. Eric did another lesson on taking care of God's creation.

 Then Mr. Rick came by and told us of the work he has been doing to clean up the river and the island. He hopes to make the island a picnic grove and even a place where people can camp.

 He brought some rakes and we had extra bags and worked for awhile cleaning up the island and clearing an area near the landing. It really looks great now. Stop by and check it out.

 We ended as the sky began to turn dark and we could smell the rain. As we paddled back it continued to get darker and just as we got back the skies opened up with a downpour. All of us got soaking wet loading up the trailer but once your wet your wet and can't get any wetter. We ended our day with a treat at Guernsey Crest Ice Cream - the best kept secret in Paterson. We thanked God for another wonderful day in God's good creation and with each other. We padded about 5 miles.

River of God Kayak Kamp: Day 2

Today we began our day with devotions from Genesis 3 entitled "A Tale of Two Rivers". Between the Tigris & Euphrates River, in a perfect world, God created a perfect placed called the Garden of Eden and created Adam & Eve. However they disobeyed and rebelled against God and brought sin into God's perfect world. This is the cause of all of the sin in our lives and all the brokenness in our world.  We see this in how people treat each other, crime, diseases and even they way we pollute God's creation. Yesterday we saw the trash people left at the Wanaque River falls. Adam & Eve were ejected from Eden however God began a plan to send Jesus to save us from this sin. Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God here and now, although it won't be complete until He comes again.

Today we paddled at Lake Wawayanda State Park in Upper Greenwood Lake NJ. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful lake. Everyone enjoyed God's creation and did great paddling.

 We especially enjoyed paddling through the lily pads that had white and yellow flowers.

 We stopped for lunch at our usual spot and after eating Mrs. Englehard led us in another faith lesson about cultures and civilizations and what characterizes each of them. We also learned more about what happens when we rebel against God and stay stuck in sin. We paddled back to the beach for a swim before heading for home. A great day was had by all.

Here's a short video of today if I can get it uploaded - sorry it didn't work :(