Lovell Bible Church youth enjoy trip to Ark Encounter

“It was huge! There were 6,800 animals on the ark.”

The Bible Church youth group from The Point recently made a trip to Kentucky to visit the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum as well as a few other sites. Six adults accompanied 19 teens on the eight-day adventure. 

It took two long days of travel both ways crossing seven states, many of which the travelers had never seen. Some of the teens had only been in Wyoming and Montana, so that in itself was an exciting experience.

The youth leaders, Dave and Lori Scheffler, plan this trip for the young people, hoping to build in them a deeper understanding in God’s word and a deeper relationship with Jesus and how much He loves them, they shared. 

“We hope to build a strong Biblical foundation with experiences that will last a lifetime, while creating long-lasting friendships,” Lori said.

Each day started with devotions. The kids took turns, in groups of four or five, giving the morning devotion.

“The devotion that we did the morning we left for the ark was my favorite, about having faith and trusting in God,” Janemarie MaKay said. “I also liked when we were going over the story of the ark and how Noah had to have so much faith that building the ark was the right thing to do.”

Isabelle MaKay said her favorite thing the group did was morning devotions. “I love that we all took turns teaching and giving input to our group as well as how we might have left an impact on spectators.”

The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, Kentucky, is a true to size replica of Noah’s ark as described in the Bible. It measures 510 feet long (more than 1 1/2 football fields), 85 feet wide and 51 feet high. The biblical account of Noah and the flood is explained inside. It shows how the “kinds” of animals were housed as well as the living quarters of Noah and his family, who had the responsibility of caring for them.

Caden Barker said, “I learned how they made everything work to keep everything alive.”

Owen Howe said, “It was so cool to look up through the skylights from the bottom of the ark.” 

“It was huge!” Makayla Workman added. “There were 6,800 animals on the ark.”

Another day was spent at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. It has life-like figures of people and animals portraying a journey through biblical history and explores creation, science and evolution. It also included a dinosaur den and botanical gardens.

“I thought it was fascinating how they gave a biblical account of dinosaurs,” Kailei Fink said. “I learned so much.”

“At the Creation Museum I learned how much hurt and sin Adam’s sin brought into the world,” Leah Sockey shared.

While at the Creation Museum the group enjoyed the planetarium. Emma Brown said she enjoyed learning about the planets. Also at the museum most of the kids and some adults soared across zip lines on the Screaming Raptor, Lori said.

“I liked zip lining with Makayla and Carlee. Makayla told me to not be scared and take a risk,” Sadie Ennis said. “I thanked her at the end for that.”

Along with bowling and swimming at a water park, the travelers also went to the Newport Aquarium, the Cincinnati Zoo and Crossroads Church. It is a mega church in Florence, Kentucky, which was very different than most of the teens had experienced.

JD Rodriguez thought the church was “awesome,” and Jesse Two Two thought it was “great, met a lot of great people.” Meanwhile, Carlee Byrd said, “I like our small church.”

The experiences gained and friendships made will last as can be seen in some of the comments from various teens. Each young person and adult played their part in making this a memorable trip.

My favorite thing we did was “socializing with friends and learning about each other’s lives,” Chris MaKay said.

“Sharing stories and learning from the adults and even the kids, being able to open up and talk about vulnerable situations while gaining information and knowledge from the Bible and experiencing
all the amazing things the Bible has to teach us,” Riley Dodd said of her favorite thing.

“I will remember most the talk that Natalia (Colicci, adult chaperone) and I had about work ethic, faith and perseverance, simply because three days later I realized everything she said was true,” Kaleb Leonhardt said.

Traveling with a group also teaches its own lessons. 

Abby Luna found that “patience is key. Have fun with everyone even if it’s embarrassing. Everyone has different personalities, all are unique.”

“Make small talk and laugh, get to know each other and become comfortable,” Rudy Hall said.

“Thank you to all those that helped us make the trip, both through
prayer and finances,” the Schefflers expressed. “A huge shout out to Beth and Wil Zollman and
Kurt Wilkinson for the pig raffle donation.”