It was up and at ‘em before the sunrise.  We were on the bus about 6 am and arrived at the Elizabeth Place Crisis Pregnancy Center about 2:00 in the afternoon–later than we anticipated.  However, the kids stepped up to the plate and did all the work she had prepared for us in about half the time. 

One crew sorted, boxed and labeled children’s clothes by gender, size, and season.  The rest were taken to another location where one group sorted labeled boxes by gender, size and season to make them easier to utilize in a disaster relief situation.

The remaining group of kids moved other boxes from the drop off point to the foot of the stairs, then forming a huge assembly line boxes and storage tubs were hauled upstairs for storage. 

It was truly a team effort and an exercise in logistical organization.  When our work was finished, we toured the center’s facility which our kids helped work on two years ago during the choir tour.  Of course, we couldn’t leave without singing and praying for Christy Ann, the center’s director.

The evening was spent at Living Stones Church attending their youth service.  They were even asked to sing on the spur of the moment and true to form the kids were ready, willing and able.  They sang “Psalm 91″ and afterward Caleb led the whole group in singing, “Marvelous Light.”

Today we visited the Permian Basin Regional Training Facility.  It is a very unique facility which trains firefighters and emergency service personnel from across the country.  We received a very hospitable welcome and were given a tour through various emergency staging areas.  We also watched firefighters in training and saw a demonstration of a propane explosion as well as a rescue from a smoke filled building.

The facility was founded by a family who lost 12 family members in a tragic gas explosion at a time when there were no trained emergency personnel to assist. To honor their memory a memorial is located on the grounds.  We gathered around the reflecting pool and sang “America, the Beautiful” and “Psalm 91″ for the founding family members.  Needless to say, they were touched by the message of comfort found in God’s Word.

The remainder of the day was spent driving to the west Texas metropolis of Ozona where we spent one very short night.

“Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, BATMAN!”  Woops!…wrong bat cave.  But it was a batty day!  Three different groups going three different directions all winding up 750 ft. underground and finishing the day off watching a real bat flight as the sun went down.  That’s right, today we were at Carlsbad Caverns, not one…not two…but 12 hours. 

As I said, we divided into three different groups going on three different ranger-guided tours.  The Left-Hand Tunnel Tour was the first to depart on their adventure.  A small group of us explored an area of the cave on unpaved trails using candlelit lanterns.  The largest group made their way 23 miles down the road and hiking one mile up the side of a mountain to explore Slaughter Canyon Cave with flashlights.  The last group was made up of the graduating seniors (and one college freshman…oh, and Aaron) touring the Lower Cave which found them descending and climbing ropes and ladders through tight spaces also using flashlights for illumination.  Everyone ultimately also took the natural cave entrance and toured the big room below.

One thing that was common to all tours was reaching a place where all lights were extinguished.    The darkness was so deep that you couldn’t even see your hand in front of your face.  The guide warned us that some may want to sit down because some people get dizzy and lose their balance in the dark.  It was horrifying to think about being unable to light our candles and make our way out of the cave.  I couldn’t help but think about the spiritual parallels.  Colossians 1:13 says, “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.”  Now we have a much better understanding of just what Christ did for us.  I was also struck by how quickly the darkness was dispelled with just the flashlight of the guide.  How much greater the light became as one by one he lit our candles.  John 1:9 says, “The true light [Christ], who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”  The arrival of Jesus through the virgin Mary was like the guide lighting the flashlight.  Even though at that point each of us didn’t have a light of our own, the way was made somewhat clear because of his flashlight.  We could see our surroundings and the path.  The very coming of Christ has illumined the way for mankind.  And His light grows brighter and the way becomes clearer as His Holy Spirit indwells each person who comes to Him for salvation and rescue.  There was simply no better teaching opportunity for all of us than what we experienced at Carlsbad Caverns today.

At the close of the day we gathered with a crowd to witness the bat flight as they left the cave for the evening.  While we were waiting for the bats to fly out we sang “America, the Beautiful”.

Finally the bats entered the mouth of the cave, true to their custom of spiraling seven times before taking flight out across the mountains.  It was a day to marvel at the wisdom and wonder of God’s creations.