The outdoor adventure program leads group backpacking trips designed to teach spiritual lessons. This summer, Extreme COL led guided trips out of Diamond Lodge for a father-son group, a Pagosa Springs youth group and a Durango Christian high school, Gabe said. Such an agreement has not been put on paper, but Shawn said he thinks it has a good chance. After about a year of work, the Diamond Lodge s mortgage lender is now impressed. Leading groups of young people on a hike near a beaver dam offers, for instance, a spiritual lesson, he said.
Rock climbing offers an illustration for the Christian religion.
The outdoors also offers a chance to learn how to make a new start. The youthful construction teams, led by Cornerstone member and builder Barry Johnson, boast of the work they have accomplished on a shoestring and a prayer. Finished rooms appear casually elegant, with details like concrete bathroom vanity tops made to look like marble. Johnson estimates the entire project, which includes plans to renovate the restaurant and build a retreat center with communications technology, will take up to four years. Contents copyright 2000, the Durango Herald.