Patten 1

Sydney Patten
Mrs. Byers
Developmental Writing
18 March 2016
My Immersion Experience
Shoulders aching and armpits sweaty, I trudged through the sand, still wondering if I had
made the right choice by coming on this trip. The sun beat down on my unprotected face, as if
insisting that I had made a mistake. Even so, I persisted. Looking back, I think that somewhere
deep in my mind I knew this experience would change me for the better and become one of my
most treasured memories. Over the next week, I would experience incredible fellowship, I would
see awe-inspiring change in myself and others, and I would become part of a tight knit group
entirely made of people that I had never even known existed before that week. A week without
my phone, friends, or family seemed like the worst thing I could do in the middle of my
enjoyable summer, but I will never regret choosing to go.
I wasnt at all excited for the upcoming experience, so you can probably picture my bad
mood when I arrived, packed and loaded, to the sign-in. It was the first day and already I was
pushed into several conversations with people I didnt know and had the inclination not to like.
After putting my duffel bag and 60-pound camping backpack by a ginormous oak tree, I was
ushered into a forming circle of strangers. My mother seemed to smirk at me, blew me a kiss,
and left. One of the adults in the circle, a leader I assumed, spoke, Alright, everyone! Im
Jordan, for those of you who dont know, and Im so excited to see you here. He was greeted
with a sort of awkward silence, which comforted me, because it showed that most of the other
kids also felt slightly uncomfortable and anxious about being there. Another leader joined in,

Patten 2
Hey guys, Im Kelsey! she proclaimed energetically, Were gonna play a little game now,
alright? Everyone get in a circle. Make sure everybodys got room! Okay, now were gonna go
around in a circle and say our names and an irrational fear that we have. Great, I thought
jokingly, now Ill get the chance to talk about my totally real fear of the aliens living inside our
eardrums. Of course, when it came to be my turn, I wimped out and said ladybugs instead. The
first impression I made was less funny than I had hoped it would be.
After everyone had said their names and I had successfully forgotten every single one of
them, it was time for us to organize into our families for the trip. Each family had at least one
leader and about four or five students. We were told that we would be eating, praying, and
basically living with these people for the next 7 days, so we had better get used to them. I was
put in a group with two leaders and three other kids. The leaders were Chelsea and Chris, both of
which are very talented people whose lives are devoted completely to God. Along with Chelsea
and Chris came my fellow students. The three lucky teens joining me were Rylie, Jon Jon, and
Luke. All together, we formed the Big Lilliputians, which was our family name. It was Jon Jon,
of course, that knew what lilliputian meant in the first place. It means tiny or trivial. Our family
was a living, breathing oxymoron, which I found simply hilarious.
Seeing that the family supply of food was all packed and our water bottles were filled and
ready to go, the leaders started to usher us into their plethora of vehicles so we could travel two
hours to the camping site we would be staying at for the next two nights. Me and three other kids
all piled into the cramped inside of Chelseas little white Jeep. I could go on and on about these
kids as well, but that would take another half page or so. Linds, M-Stow, Netzel, Chels, and I
spent the two-hour trip jamming to the radio and talking. We also played rock-paper-scissors
with other cars in our group, all while driving over the speed limit on the highway. We like to

Patten 3
consider ourselves to be a dangerous and daring bunch. Halfway through the drive, we stopped at
Meijer in order to use the restroom and we have a little parking lot pow-wow. Everyone laughed
and joked about the rock-paper-scissors, and we ended up switching out Netzel for a girl named
Lexxy. We then continued onward, rock-paper-scissoring, jamming, and sometimes dozing off.
I awoke with the sound of rocky gravel grinding beneath our tires; we had arrived. We all
unloaded, ready for the adventure awaiting us. Before us lay an expanse of woods separating us
and the shore of Lake Michigan, which took us what seemed like forever to hike through with
our 60 pound backpacks. We struggled through the annoyingly shifty terrain of loose dirt and
sand, but we eventually got to our campsite. There was no plumbing out there at all, so we had to
wash up in the lake (or not at all) and pee somewhere people wouldnt see you. I prefered the
side of a dune. Peeing on a dune was sort of exhilarating; however, it is definitely a feat for a
woman to pee while squatting over the ground and not get urine on or in places its not supposed
to be, Ill tell you that much.
Other than the inconveniences of less-than-civilized society, it was a marvelous three
days spent in nature. Every day consisted of worship, devotional time, a game or two, meals with
your family, swimming, and sitting around the campfire with everybody whilst talking of deeply
emotional subjects. Before this trip, which is called Immersion, that is not something I would
have qualified as a good time, but, as I said: Immersion changed me. There was a certain comfort
in waking up at seven in the morning on my own accord, putting some sweatpants on, crawling
out of my tent, and walking over the dew-covered sand to get to breakfast. It was the best way to
wake up, with my family that was also tired and sore from sleeping on the hard surface of sand.
Waking up was only the beginning, though. The rest of the camping trip was a mixture of
worship, self-discovery, and fun. I got the opportunity to tell my life story to my fellow group

Patten 4
from Crossroads, which was an incredibly emotional experience. Im so glad that trip gave me a
chance to be around people who understood what Ive been through and were willing to pray for
me and talk with me in order to help me. Their compassion and attentiveness led to me becoming
a more compassionate, helpful, and attentive person, even if I may not show it sometimes. The
camping portion of Immersion was when I changed the most, learned the most, and made bonds
with the most people.
Phase two of Immersion was located in the middle of the West Side of Grand Rapids.
This part of the trip was less important to me: it didnt impact me like the camping trip did.
Because I wasnt constantly surrounded by chances for people to pray for me and me to pray for
them, the city part of the trip didnt affect me that much. I did, however, accomplish amazing
things while in the city. I worked hard with a few other people, and we were able to create a
walking trail in the woods for the residents of a Grand Rapids nursing home. That experience
was very gratifying and made me want to help more people.
Eventually came the last day, when many tears appeared and goodbyes were said.
Everybody was hugging and saying that well see each other soon enough. It was especially hard
for me, because I knew that, living in Grass Lake, I would always be at least two hours away
from the people with whom I bonded so much. Those are the people that helped me become
more confident in who I am and that gave me a new and fresh view of life. Camping in the
woods with my family is probably an experience that Ill remember the rest of my life, and Im
very glad to say that I will be experiencing it again this coming summer. Hopefully I will get the
chance to meet and bond with new people, work on a new project to better the West Side, and
have more chances to talk with and pray for people. Just like Immersion 2015 changed me for
the better, Immersion 2016 will teach me new things about God and myself.