Pacifica Stories

Last week, nearly every Pacifica student, teacher, and staff member piled onto five charter buses and headed to beautiful Lost Canyon, a Young Life camp facility in Northern Arizona. Each year, we take time out of a packed school year to step away from the chaos in order to focus on community, cultivate our school culture, and give students an opportunity to reflect on a bigger picture of faith and purpose. Amidst fierce competitions and unbridled fun, we carve out time for meaningful connections and space for vulnerability. 

Leading up to Retreat, the entire school is divided into four teams: Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Purple. Teams earn points beginning at our Morning Madness hall decorating competition and pep rally, all the way until the last night of Retreat. This year, games included field relays, a color war, pool olympics, riddles to find hidden treasure chests, a chalk-drawing competition, and more. While each team put forth their best effort, in the end it was the Yellow Team led by Brendan Ward who claimed victory and took home the coveted Pacifica Cup.

This year, students had the opportunity to hear Pastor Trevor DeBenning, who speaks weekly during chapel, give messages about their value to God. Throughout the week, he emphasized that God views each of us as tov meod, or very good (Genesis 1:31), and that we are more loved by our Creator than we could ever comprehend. Pastor Trevor also used Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord,” to explain the presence of sin in each of us, and the redemption of this sin through the person of Jesus. Students were able to work through these messages, ask questions about God, and grapple with how their lives fit into this larger story during cabin time. This is a time at Retreat where students gather with their peers in their smaller cabin groups led by a faculty/staff member to process the message and be vulnerable with their classmates. The final night of camp also includes a 10-minute period of silence under the stars where students can take a moment to sit with their own thoughts, and connect with God.

Students also had hours of free time each day to enjoy the beautiful camp and form relationships with their peers and teachers. During free time, students could use the giant swing, rock wall, zip line, pool, slides, game room, snack shop, frisbee golf course, volleyball courts, and more. Retreat concluded with a lip-sync battle between each team, and a night full of comedic skits performed by the Pacifica staff members.

Every moment, whether serious or goofy, came together to create a vibrant week defined by the members of the Pacifica community. We made enough memories to last a lifetime, including the long bus rides to and from Arizona! While one of our favorite school events is already in this year’s rearview mirror, we are grateful for the strong foundation that Retreat has set the school on for the months ahead.