I Love You! But not in a Creepy Way

This is a continuation of the story from my last blog. If you read this weeks blog but refuse to read last weeks you will be lost.

So we began to walk back up the trail that had led us to the wrong destination. Keep in mind that this was one of those trails that is up hill either way that you walk. I already had blisters covering my feet, I was wearing steel toed boots that were quite heavy, and the sun was rapidly sinking toward the horizon. My buddy was taking far too many breaks, and we were running out of time.

After what seemed like an eternity, we arrived at the campsite that we had left earlier that morning. Two hikers immediately approached us and asked me, “Are you Drew and so and so?” of course we answered yes. They made us sit down, made us a meal, and waited until someone that knew us arrived. Maybe an hour later, two leaders of my youth group came looking for us. As they came closer relief immediately came over their faces as they recognized us and their worried looked quickly faded.

We had no time to waste and we immediately began to hike again to be reunited with the group. I had already walked about ten miles with a forty pound pack and still had nearly ten miles to travel before the day was over. Our leaders told us that they had contacted a search team. There were hikers looking for us, a group of people on mules who were searching for us, and if they had not found us before nightfall, a helicopter would have searched for us. Literally Hundreds of individuals were concerned about me and were going to sacrifice their time to assist me. The rest of the story is really unimportant so to end briefly, after what seemed like days, we were reunited with our group. One of the men in search and rescue let me use his night vision goggles and they were so legit!

I was touched to know that so many people love me and were worried about me. Sometimes it is challenging to notice all of the people that love us and are concerned about each of us. But I guarantee that each of us have a plethora of those people who deeply love and care for us. I am proud to say that I love each of you. My life would not be the same if it did not involve you. I have been blessed to know you. Thank you for loving me (assuming that you do actually love me, hopefully). I would like to end by saying that so many people love us and want the best for us. Although we will sometimes feel like no one cares about us, remember that Drew Shumway does care. I hope that my love for each of you is reflected not only in these words but also in my actions.