I was at Trout when I received a call that my 13-year-old cousin had died. My counselor asked if I wanted to skip Bible study and take a walk. We walked, talked, cried and sometimes just remained quiet. I didn't know what I needed that day but my counselor did. The rest of the week others kept coming up to me with a hug, a kind word or a prayer. More than chapel, more than Bible class or cabin devotion, it was the living, breathing love of God embodied in the people at Trout that showed me what it means to follow Jesus. Now, my daughter attends TLC and it's no exaggeration to say that my years at Trout were the most important, formative years of my life.
