Best 8 Days
From the time I first heard about Best8 in middle school to finally experiencing it for myself in the years 2021-2025, I knew it was exactly what I needed. As a girl who always struggled with community, friendships, and even parts of my faith, Best8 became an answered prayer before I ever stepped foot in Colorado. I arrived as this scared, lonely girl searching for the Lord and searching for where I belonged.
And somehow, in the middle of the mountains, God met me there.
He gave me people.
He gave me joy.
He gave me memories I’ll carry forever.
There’s something impossible to explain about pulling into Hermit Basin for the first time and instantly feeling at home. The mountains, the quiet mornings overlooking the valley, the laughter echoing through the lodge, the late-night conversations, the worship sessions that seemed to reach places in your heart you didn’t even know needed healing.
Best8 was never just a trip.
It was the friendships formed in only a few days that somehow felt lifelong. It was prayer circles before meals, nights full of laughter, exhausting hikes with breathtaking views, and those moments where you sat in complete awe of God’s creation. It was worship that felt genuine. Community that felt safe. And people who loved so deeply and intentionally.
Some of my favorite memories are hard to fully explain unless you’ve experienced them yourself. The road trips. The family groups. The traditions. The little moments everyone looks forward to every year. The sunsets on the slopes. The late nights that somehow turned into some of the most meaningful conversations of your life.
And maybe that’s what made Best8 so special, it wasn’t built on flashy things. It was built on people, faith, and the presence of God.
As a photographer, Best8 also became one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever captured through my camera lens. Some of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken came from those mountains, the Milky Way stretching across the valley late at night, golden sunrises hitting the slopes, worship moments filled with genuine joy, friends laughing in the lodge, and quiet moments where God’s creation felt impossible to ignore.
But the older I get, the more I realize the best moments were never the ones perfectly captured in a photo. They were the moments in between. The conversations after worship. Sitting on the slopes in silence. Laughing until your stomach hurt during game day. The hugs before leaving for home. The moments where you realized these people had become family.
Best8 shaped me into who I am.
It strengthened my faith during seasons when I desperately needed it. It taught me the beauty of Christian community and reminded me what it feels like to truly belong somewhere.
Sometimes God calls us into new seasons before we feel ready for them.
So writing this now is incredibly hard.
As much as I’m thankful for every memory and every person, there’s also grief that comes with loving something this deeply. The thought of never experiencing it again honestly breaks my heart. I still find myself wondering why certain chapters end when they mean so much to us. But I’m learning that trusting God also means trusting Him with the seasons we don’t understand. Even the painful ones. Maybe that’s the beauty of places God uses to change us, they never really leave us.
Best8 will always be part of my story.
And if you’re reading this and you’re between 18–25 years old and have never been married, I cannot encourage you enough to go.
Go for the mountains.
Go for the friendships.
Go for the adventures.
But more than anything, go because God may meet you there in ways you never expected.
Best8 2027: May 13–22, 2027
It might just change your life the way it changed mine.
Thank you, Jesus, for Best8.
