They started out happy, this great group of campers/ scouters/ deacons and their fearless leaders. They arrived at their destination, the great Goblin Valley, set up camp, cooked some food, played around a little and then it started to rain.
And once it started, it did not stop. It rained and rained and rained. This was a hard rain. A steady rain. A very strong rain. And all of a sudden, these happy boys weren't so happy anymore.
Maybe because of things like this.
And this.
Oh, and this.
This was my boys tent.
They did think it was cool when they saw the flash flood and all of the debris it was carrying with it, but that was really the only cool thing about this rain and this camp out. (They actually closed the whole canyon down because of all the flash floods.) They were freezing, they were wet, they were tired. Some of them huddled in their ponchos. Some of them cried. Some of them gave up. But one of them decided to do something about it. One of them decided to say a prayer and asked everyone to join them. He hates to admit it, but my husband, the fearless scoutmaster was doubtful. There was no fix to this problem. No, not even a prayer could fix this one. But not even the doubt of the scoutmaster deterred these then determined, faithful, hopeful youth. A heartfelt prayer was given by a trusting little deacon that it would stop raining, that they could somehow enjoy this beautiful land that they had come so far to see.
And you will never guess what happened.
For a few, just a few short hours, the clouds parted, the rain stopped and the glorious sunshine came out.
And these scouters, these campers, these deacons used those few short hours to explore the beautiful red rocks of Goblin Valley. They dodged in and out of the little goblins, explored caves and climbed to the top of rock monuments. They took advantage of every last minute of those two dry hours before the rain started again.
They did have to cut the trip short. It wasn't possible to stay one more night because every tent and every sleeping bag and every article of clothing was sopping wet, but although it was short, it was a trip they will never forget.
The lesson learned: never underestimate the faith of a child, the power of prayer, the goodness of God.
Because, you know, whenever there is rain, there is always a rainbow.
