“Rapids Ahead!” Our raft captain called out over the chatter. I grabbed the strap behind me and the rope at my feet as I braced myself for the impact of the cold waves. The cold water was a relief in the midst of the late August heat of the Grand Canyon. This past week, I had the privilege of going whitewater rafting for several days in the Grand Canyon with a group of other young-earth creationist Christians, put together by Canyon Ministries. Many people see the Grand Canyon from the rim, but getting to see it from the bottom while experiencing the rapids of the Colorado River and camping beside it was a different experience.

God has a truly astounding way of working out our “disappointments” for our ultimate good. For me, this river rafting trip was yet another such testimony. In January of 2012, about the same time I half-heartedly decided to study geology, I read an article in Answers Magazine about Tom Vail and his ministry taking people on river rafting trips through the Grand Canyon with a Christian worldview (see Answers, Vol. 7, No.1, January-March 2012, pg. 15-16). I kept that little bit of information in the back pocket of my mind. About a year later, my geology professor was getting together a group of students to go see the Grand Canyon (from above) and the Hopi Indians for college credit, but it did not end up working out for me to go. That is when I remembered the article I read, looked up Canyon Ministries on the internet, and signed myself up for a trip.

The excursion I went on lasted for four days, traveling down the Colorado River from Whitmore Wash to Lake Mead. My favorite part of the adventure was the short helicopter ride down through the canyon to the river side where we met with the river rafts. We rafted down the river for three days, primitive camping (i.e., camping without toilets, showers, internet, and phone service) out under a spectacular display of stars along the river. I was with a group of twenty-eight people from all over the country (and Australia) including creationist astronomer, Dr. Danny Faulkner, and our guide Jon Albert who recently took over leadership of Canyon Ministries. It was an incredible experience – the trip of a lifetime – and I would earnestly encourage anyone interested to seriously consider taking a trip with Canyon Ministries.