*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Josh, and I am from St. Louis Missouri. This is my third and final year here at The Link School. I am a senior. I love to be outdoors, and I love to work hard.
What is meaningful to me here at Link is the ability each student has to come and change their lives with no judgment passed. The people here are working to give the students their all and to really help make a difference in the world. I love how Link allows each student to be who they truly are and to express themselves in the way that works best for them. I really appreciate the difficulty of the activities that we do here at school, because they force everyone to learn to be dialed and grow every day. The whole place has become a home away from home and I feel that I will always be welcomed here. I really love the fact that being a student requires you to really step up your game to achieve what you are after. I love the different learning environment and how the school really works to make education as best as it can be for each individual student. What I love about the community is the fact that everyone comes together and learns how to love each other unconditionally. I love how it feels that a person will be accepted no matter the challenges they are working through. I love the special feeling that you get when you walk through the front door of the main building. The smell is nostalgic and it truly feels like a place where my heart can rest peacefully, and my mind can be free of burdens that seem to try and weigh me down. I love how it feels that everyone else here wants you to succeed. They want you to be the best person you can be, and they are going to work to help get you there no matter what. I love that Link is founded on love, and it is so amazing to me to be able to learn to love others so unconditionally as God does.
When I first came to Link, Christian Science was a part of my life but it was at the back of my mind, not the forefront. Since coming here, I have learned to apply it more and more into my daily life. I often find myself thinking little things to myself like: God will show you the answers, you are being protected, guarded and guided, there is always a path, be calm and know that I am with thee. Those are just a few. I love how growing spiritually allows you to see so much more of the good in your life and how you can give good to others. I have learned how important it is to keep Christian Science in my life because it helps me feel so much more calm and capable that I would normally think. It allows me to find the way to conquer any challenges that may occur along the way, and it teaches me how to better treat my fellow man. I also love how I have gotten to learn how applicable Christian Science actually is to life, and to see that it is something that is important to keep as I continue down my directed path.
I am eternally grateful for all of the opportunities that I have gotten to have here at Link because of your support. Coming to Link has completely changed my life and inspired me to want to bring change into other peoples as well. Link’s mission is not like any other that I have seen, and I hope that your support allows for as many students to come here and be touched the same way I was. I want to express my deepest gratitude for all that you have made possible, and I will never forget what I have learned during my time here.
Thank you!
Sincerely, Josh
*Dear Sponsor,
Hi! My name is Aberlyn. I am a junior and live down the street from The Link School. For the majority of my life, I have attended a Christian Science Camp called Adventure Unlimited Ranches. Because of this, I grew up with a love of all things outdoors. I have spent every summer of my life rafting, hiking, biking, climbing, and I am so grateful that this year I got to continue learning and growing in those skills. Before Link, I went to a high school in Buena Vista where I mostly focused on the arts such as singing, dancing and theatre. I am so grateful that Link has made it possible for me to continue doing those activities and all my favorite outdoor sports.
One of my favorite parts about Link is the people. This year I have made so many friends with people that come from so many places and backgrounds. That is so special to me because I love meeting new people and learning from them. I also am so grateful to all the teachers that work so hard to make Link happen. Before coming to Link, I rarely felt challenged or pushed to be better by my old school. Now, though, every day I am pushed to be better, work harder, and really solidify everything that I am learning. Another one of my favorite parts of Link is rock climbing. Before Link, I had only been outdoor rock climbing a few times over a handful of years. Now, I have learned so many new techniques such as crack climbing, and slab climbing, and have been able to see immense growth in my climbing skills. I would definitely say rock climbing is one of my new favorite sports! I also love how much rock climbing allows me to grow physically and mentally. I have grown so much stronger this year and have been able to attempt much harder climbs now than at the beginning of the year. Also, each climb is different which forces me to try many things and really think in order to have success on the climb.
I am also so grateful to be able to see the immense growth in myself as a person. I really feel that Link has cultivated a climate that really inspires everyone to grow into their best selves. I feel so much more motivated, happy, and excited to face and take on every day. If you had told me a year ago, I would be working out five days a week with some of my best friends, I would not have believed you. I truly am so grateful for all the ways Link has inspired me this semester.
This year, I have also had the opportunity to grow spiritually. Over the past ten months I have faced a lot of aggressive mental suggestions about permanent injury, but Link has helped me build a strong foundation to fight back against those ideas. One time that I really felt this foundation was on one of our skiing days. For the majority of this ski season, I really focused on learning and improving on proper technique. That being said, one day towards the end of the season, I was feeling really good about my skills and decided to try a bigger jump than any others I had attempted that spring. As soon as I went off the ramp, I felt something was wrong. I had hit the jump too fast and had gone flying. When I landed, I twisted my knee really badly. For a moment I was afraid because I had had a similar experience with my elbow last summer, and at that time it hadn’t ever straightened out to its proper position. But then, my science teacher who was skiing with us that day shared some really inspiring words from a practitioner and I was able to walk down the rest of the ski slope. When I got to the bottom, my two friends that I had been skiing with jumped up immediately to comfort me. In that moment I knew I had nothing to fear. Soon after that experience, my arm, which had seemed to be permanently injured, straightened out, and my leg is now on path to a full recovery. Without Link, I don’t think either of those situations would have ended as harmoniously as they did, which brings me so much joy and gratitude for the Link community.
This last year at Link has taught me so much, and helped me grow in so many ways. I am so eternally grateful for The Link School and for your generosity that helps make it happen!
Thanks so so much,
Aberlyn
*Dear Sponsor,
I am Linou. I was born and raised in the south of Germany next to Munich. I went to a public school, not far from home until last school year. I have always loved being outdoors in nature and with friends. My family is pretty athletic and we all love doing things in the mountains, such as skiing, hiking, climbing and biking. I was raised, going to Christian Science Sunday School and I have always liked trying to get a deeper understanding of life and Life.
One year ago, I decided to go to an English-speaking country to improve my English. That is when I found out about The Link School. It sounded just perfect and so much more than what I could have imagined.
Link feels like the paradise school. The field trips which we so often do, are just creators of amazing memories, skills and life lessons. Being with my friends out in nature, doing amazing sport activities, like climbing, biking, skiing or rafting! But also learning so many things about myself, others and the world, is just the neatest thing to do. I have learned so many useful rescue and survival methods and athletic skills. I created so many amazing connections and had so many interesting conversations on these trips. Whenever I have something going on or a hard time, I can talk to literally anyone at the school, and they will support me. I have found so many lifelong friends (students and staff) who I love so much. I love every single teacher and staff because of the love they give every student all the time and because they are so lighthearted. I love how the entire Link community is more like a family, than a school, supporting each other like brothers and sisters. Link often really feels like a dream! This is what I have always dreamed of and now that dream actually happened.
In this actually happening dream, I also grew so much spiritually. Christian Science has always been a rock I could lean on, but Link made it to a mountain. Link challenged me to think behind things and understand things in their deeper meaning. I love all the writing prompts we do on trips about Christian Science and life because they push my creativity. This school strengthened my confidence in God and especially in Love. I was taught to love, to be humble, to be lighthearted, to not give up, and so much more. I made and still am making connections between everyday life and Love. I am so grateful that there is something bigger, something perfect, that we represent.
This school is like paradise and I think it is unbelievable how humble and selfless you as a sponsor are to make that happen. You change every Link student’s life in a beautiful way. This school teaches humility and selflessness. I am so grateful that I cannot limit it into a letter. Thank you so much for making our lives better.
So much Love,
Linou
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Darwin. I am a freshman at The Link School and my favorite activity would have to be skiing. I grew up in a small city in southern California, where I grew up playing in the ocean, splashing in creeks and jumping from boulder to boulder in the mountains. I found a deep love for playing sports like volleyball, lacrosse, swimming and hopping up on the occasional surfboard when I got the chance. In seventh grade, I discovered the great sport of field hockey. Field hockey came to me naturally, and by the time I was in eighth grade, I’d be attending tournaments from teams from other countries. I really thought that I would never find something other than hockey to love so much until I came to The Link School where I began to reconnect with my childhood roots and love the outdoors more than ever.
Although mountain biking and climbing could be found tucked away in small corners of California, and sea kayaking was the closest thing to rivers I had ever touched and skiing had only been brushed upon with family vacations with our ski-lover grandpa. When I first got on the skis in first semester, I was like “This is not as easy as it was when I was five.” and before I knew it, I was plummeting down the bunny hill, out of control and headed straight toward my classmates who were waiting at the bottom. Luckily, I fell over to avoid hitting them, but for the next two weeks I was terrified of getting on skis. One day something hit me, “If you stop trying, you’ll never get better.” I would tell myself this every time I got on the skis and would try and ski for the whole time. Before I knew it, I was speeding down the mountain in complete control and even getting my classmate to teach me little tricks. This is when I realized I wanted to come back to Link, because they had taught me how to stop telling myself “I can’t” and instead not thinking about whether I can or can’t but just doing it.
While at Link, I learned a lot more about myself and God. I began to see God not as a big guy in the sky telling me what to do, but instead as something that I am. I began to think about how God was my ultimate source of energy and was kinda like my generator instead of my controller. I now think about how I am full of love and joy instead of thinking “would God be okay with this?”.
I’m really grateful for my experience at Link because it has changed my mindset drastically and has made me love new things. And when I go back to Santa Barbara this summer, I might actually go to the harbor and hop in a kayak just because I’ve learned that sitting in my room all day doesn’t count as living, but some crazy side quest really does count towards the stories I’ll tell my kids. So, thank you. Thank you for teaching me that life is more than just breathing.
Sincerely, Darwin
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Casius. I am from Buena Vista Colorado, I have lived in the valley for my entire life. I was born and raised at A/U ranches. I have been attending The Link School for 4 years now and I can proudly say these have been the best years of my life. This year in particular,was really fun. All my friends from last year returned and a bunch of new, really cool people joined for the first time. This fall I got to play football with the Buena Vista Demons. We made it all the way to the state championship with a perfect record. Unfortunately, we couldn’t secure the title but overall, it was such a fun season, and it taught me so much. Once the season was over, I transitioned into skiing and all the fun winter sports. Unfortunately, the ski season was extremely short with subpar snow, but when it was good it was really good. After all the lifts and resorts had closed, we were able to enjoy the warm weather and start climbing outdoors again.
This year the most meaningful part of Link was realizing the incredible opportunity that I have been blessed with by being able to attend for 4 years. Even when it seems hard and even when it seems repetitive, I can feel lucky that I am
1 of 14 students who gets this opportunity. The community has been so tight. Instead of a school of people who are split into small groups or independent everyone is a part of one big group. Everyone helps everyone, and rather than putting each other down people are always looking for ways to make people laugh.
Link is always pushing to be as spiritual as possible in all aspects of life, and all that work pays off. All the students this year have either strengthened their relationship to God or they have discovered Christian Science for the first time and have really taken hold of it. To me seeing people become closer to God is always the spiritual highlight. This has been my favorite year spiritually because everyone is so stoked to go to church, to testimony meetings and spiritual prep. It’s been amazing to see the love for Christian Science this year! Thank you so much for allowing for the opportunity for Link to keep existing. This is sadly my last year at Link, but I couldn’t have done it without your help. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for changing my life! I hope you all have a wonderful year and access to God’s infinite love.
Sincerely- Casius
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Savannah. I love reading, writing, swimming, and- as of this winter- skiing. In December, I wrote about how I was working to discover myself. I feel that in this semester I have put a lot of effort into finding out who I really am. During our time in Mexico, I took a lot of time to think about who I have become, and seeing how far I’ve come since that January trip, and I continue to think about how much I have changed since last school year. I struggled a lot with many different things and had lost hope. It was so cool to me that a year after that happened, I was running on a beach in Mexico on my way to a surfing camp with my school- my friends. I realized at some point in the past few months that I am not defined by the good OR bad things that have happened to me or that I have done, but that they have built me. I started to turn the things that have held me back for years into all these little superpowers I have. I adopted this “What if?” attitude. What if I get on that climb? I don’t have to get all the way up, but what if I try? I realized that I could never be hurt by trying to do something hard, I just needed the confidence. I still don’t completely know who I am, but I think I have the confidence now to go and find out.
Link is an amazing place because it has helped me learn more about myself. Because of Link, I have done things I never dreamed of doing, and it hasn’t been easy. I think that’s what makes it so special here. Everyone here is so supportive. There was one time, during our canyoneering trip in March, that I got very nervous. I do not like heights at all, especially when I can’t see the bottom- like it was on that repel- and it took me a while to get down. I felt so supported by everyone, especially the staff who talked me through hymn 148. By the next repel, I confidently went down, even though I was still nervous. That’s just one of many examples where I have felt supported by students and staff. In reality, I feel like Link is more than just a school for me now. It feels like a second family.
I have grown a lot spiritually this semester. I have come to many realizations, such as the fact that I have held myself back a lot. I have also learned the power of trust. I have had a very hard time trusting people in the past, and I think that this semester it became very clear to me that it was straining my relationships and honestly making everything I did a lot less enjoyable for me, and I wanted to change that. It took a lot of thought and prayer to finally let go of my fear, but I started enjoying life a lot more when I did and I am beyond grateful to have seen this and experienced this much growth.
Thank you so much for your support of our school,
Savannah
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Jazmine. It’s my first year at The Link School and I am a junior. I have gone to Adventure Unlimited for the past 6 years, which is what helped decide to come to Link. Throughout my years of schooling, I never really had a passion for school and simply struggled to arrive on some days. Since I arrived at Link, I realized school isn’t meant to be something you dread but instead be over filled with love and experiences. Link has truly shifted my life in so many indescribable ways. I’ve never felt my heart be absolutely overflowing with love and care by those around me. I have attended many schools throughout my life, public one and even Catholic ones and in every single school I attended I just felt like another name on the chart. Many teachers around me never felt the need or want to connect with me or simply care about my thoughts and opinions but at The Link School, that was so far from the case. Since the day I arrived at Link I’ve been greeted by bright smiles and words filled to the rim with care and kindness. In my time at Link I have felt love that I didn’t know was achievable, I’ve learned, I’ve cried and most importantly I loved.
The Link School has helped build and construct my life for the future and has helped me be more engaged in math and actually enjoy learning. Link has created a special spot in my heart that is filled with so much gratitude – that I was able to experience such an incredible school with the most loving people I’ve ever met.
Link isn’t just a school it’s a foundation for the future. It teaches us that nothing is impossible because you are unlimited. For the first time in years, Link has taught me that there is more to life than just eating, sleeping and working. Link has taught me the true meaning of living unapologetically. What has been meaningful to me at Link, has not only been the connections and knowledge I’ve gained but also the love for rock-climbing. I have learned to love that feeling of your shortness of breath but still how incredibly alive I feel as I am climbing.
I grew up in Catholicism and growing up in this religion has made me fear God and not really care or acknowledge the religion. Then I went to a Christian Science camp when I was 12. This camp changed my perspective on life. It created a new idea for me that God is someone you should never fear. He is someone you should be comfortable with because his love is gentle. Through my five years of growing in Christian Science, I have learned so much about healing and how meaningful a connection with God can be. With every single testimony I have heard I’ve grown so much because it has taught me how powerful God is. Throughout my journey with Christian Science, I’ve learned so much reliance on God, and grown so much in my love and learned that Christian Science is not like any other religion, it is a loving relationship with God that is woven in your soul.
Thank you so much for this incredible experience that granted me the opportunity to meet the most loving people. I don’t think I could ever describe in words how grateful I am for The Link School, and the opportunity to learn to live.
Jazmine
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Rosalee and I am from Colorado. I went to Adventure Unlimited Ranches for ten years and then decided to come to Link last year as a freshman. I am now a sophomore, and so grateful that I came to this wonderful school.
Coming to Link has been such a beautiful thing in my life. Being at The Link School means you get to go on amazing adventures with all of your best friends in the world, all the time. Having the opportunity to rock climb, kayak, mountain bike, be outside, and grow Spiritually in the past two years has been an unimaginable blessing. I have learned so much from being at this school– who I want to be, what I want to give to the world, and how I can make an impact that I am proud of. At the Link School, I have been challenged again and again to become a more caring, loving, and joyful version of myself, all while being surrounded by people that will freely hand out grace to anyone that needs another chance.
Being at Link, I have gotten to ask lots of questions about Christian Science and Spirituality. This has been really helpful for my growth in Christian Science because it allowed me to find comfort in ideas that have felt frustrating for me. When I was little, my favorite person taught me to paint with watercolors. I haven’t gotten to paint with that person for many years, and until last year, I had barely touched watercolors since I had been with her. On one of the first trips I went on with Link, I brought a set of watercolors with me. I then painted nearly every landscape that fell into my sight. Link gave me likely the greatest gift I will ever receive, which was painting, once again, in the lovely presence of my favorite person in the world. I am so grateful to be at this school.
So much love and thanks,
Rosalee
*Dear Sponsor,
I am Heath. It is my sophomore year in high school, and I am a second-year student at The Link School. I am from Buena Vista, Colorado. I grew up at Adventure Unlimited. I am creative, curious, and funny. I like to work in my garage, boat on the river, rock climb, and bike into town. Being happy and having fun is important to me.
The community at Link is meaningful to me because of all the friendships. My friendships here are very goofy, and you’re able to get really close with your friends. The fun trips and after school activities are also meaningful to me. Our afternoon group games are my favorite because everybody always puts in their best effort and we all have a lot of fun together. The trips really grow your understanding of biking, climbing, and rafting. This year I learned more about how peaceful and joyful biking can be. The October trip showed me this by challenging my mental mindset of staying calm and peaceful allowing me to enjoy the day even when it was physically hard. Another thing that is meaningful to me is the humor around the community and all the funny moments we get to share with one another.
On my family spring break trip, we were biking out in Moab, and I watched a guy tumble down on his bike. I went down and carried his bike back up. In that moment I was grateful for God always making sure we are where we need to be as it allowed me to help the fellow biker. During the next testimony meeting in town, I was able to share this gratitude with my peers and the community.
Sincerely,
Heath
*Dear sponsor,
I am Isaac, and I grew up in the mountain town of Buena Vista. I have been at Link for the past three years. This is my last year at Link, and I am very grateful to be here. I am the student who’s curious about learning. Now I have added another element of thinking. The Link School challenges you to think. I love thinking because it makes me proud of myself. Other than learning and thinking, I love being with the Link community. The reason I love it here is all the sporty activities, deep friendships and the spirituality. All these activities have built my resilience, and I have brought more resilience into my life. Thanks to you, I am here enjoying the most out of The Link School. I have grown so much as a person being here at this school and I am so grateful to you for this opportunity.
Link to me is very meaningful. I have been loving every single minute in this community. I believe that as soon as I leave, I will cry because of how much Link has done for me. As I am getting ready to graduate and leave, it is really starting to hit me how much I will miss it here. Link is a huge part of my life because I have now started to grow from the roots of Link’s principles and mission. Link has been my home away from home. The people who get added to this community make me who I am. I feel so happy in my school community. I would love for more people to come and experience this. This community is small, and that makes it special. Link is so cool because of all the people who are here laughing and playing. In the future I would love to come back to Link as a staff member. That’s how much I love it here. We get to experience so many things at Link like skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and kayaking.. We also do different activities to distract us from the stress of the day. My favorite sports are skiing and kayaking. Because of Link, I worked as a ski instructor at Monarch Mountain. At Monarch Mountain, I used all my Link outcomes to push forward, and it helped a lot. It made me really see how I can take all I have learned out into the bigger world.
I am new to Christian Science, and I have been loving it.. I have grown so much in my spiritual understanding because of you. I will continue using CS and maybe someday I could even be a practitioner. Before I came to Link I had difficult times with migraines. I would struggle every day with migraines and missed a lot of school. My first year I worked on getting rid of my migraines. After my first semester, I had a healing and never got a migraine again. I haven’t even had a headache since then. Christian Science has given me the tools to take challenging situations and work them out spiritually. Now I have been running for miles, and my highest as of now is 18.5 miles. I would not have accomplished this without this school and its supporters. I am very grateful, and I now have tears in my eyes.
With happy gratitude and with emotion,
Isaac
*Dear Sponsor,
My name is Leon, and this is my first year at Link. I first learned about The Link School 3 years ago during my first year as a camper at Adventure Unlimited Ranches. After three years of contemplating, I decided to apply, and I got in!
Link will always have a special place in my heart from the activities and the people. The Link School does so many unique and fun activities that you would not get in a normal schooling environment. My favorite activity at Link is the climbing trips that we do. It never gets old to drive over to Wall Street in Moab, Utah and climb on the smooth sandstone. My favorite climbing trip was our last one. We were supposed to head down to New Mexico to climb, but due to bad weather, we decided to go west to Moab. We climbed at Ice-cream Parlor the first day, starting to get used to the sandstone again. On the second and third days, we climbed at Wall Street, setting up climbs we had not done this year. The people at Link are some of the best. The staff does a great job of teaching and making sure that we almost never get bored. The leadership of James and Makenzie is unmatched and leads to truly amazing trips and activities.
I have grown so much here at Link; physically, mentally, and spiritually. For most of my life, I have been terrified of heights, so when I learned about the extent of the climbing, we do here, I was nervous. With the help of the staff and prayer, I was able to fully overcome my fear of heights and climb high climbs without feeling fear. I have been going to church since I was a baby; however, I never truly felt spiritual. Attending camp for more than 8 years has helped me grow and see new perspectives of Christian Science; however, it wasn’t until I arrived at Link that I felt like I truly had a connection to God. Link requires another level of mental strength to be able to thrive here; we are faced with constant challenges 24/7 that are almost impossible to overcome without prayer. I will take this spiritual fortitude with me in my next steps in life.
Thank you,
Leon
*Dear Sponsors,
My name is Gabriel. I live in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and I was born in Memphis, Tennessee. I lived there for 10 years. I grew up not feeling secure or accepted. I moved around schools a lot, and I didn’t have many friends. That changed a little when I moved to Idaho Falls. Still today, I really only have one real friend back home. But here at The Link School, I am friends with everyone.
I really value all of the cool staff here, they are such good role models and nice people. The atmosphere here is so calm and peaceful, and you can truly be yourself, and you don’t have to look perfect or act perfect for people to accept you. Everyone here has a different story and is from all walks of life. Obviously, I really enjoy the trips and activities, and the places we go are so inspiring to me. Link has helped me really think about all the things I want to do in my life. One of them is to bike around/ across the United States, without a plan, and just go and see what I see. I also really value the access to a loving Christian Science church here in town, my Sunday school teachers are amazing. This feeling of being part of a community, living with your friends, and being able to go do the things we do with them is so special. I know that a lot of people don’t get to experience a community like this, which I am so grateful for every day. Each morning when the sun hits my face and wakes me up, and I look outside and see Buffalo Peak, and I see my roommates mess on the floor, sometimes I smile, but even when I don’t, I am still so grateful for this.
All of the good that I’ve had and is coming to me is becoming more and more apparent. But I’ll be honest, I’ve had hard times with Christian Science. I’ve only been a true Christian Scientist for about two years, and by that I mean reading the lesson and thinking about all these ideas and trying to believe and heal. I have had two very significant healings. In Baja, there was a day when we were kayaking around the island. It was our longest stretch of sea kayaking, and my friend and I were in a very uncomfortable kayak. During the paddle, some people were not feeling their best, and one boy was seasick. Things were not dire, but they weren’t fun. Since our kayak was so uncomfortable, we were hanging back from the rest of the group. It got to a point where my friend in the front seat stopped paddling, and I thought “oh nice, that’s good”. I wanted to stop but I said to myself “I can do this a bit longer”, so I did. But when I got to the point where I was tired from paddling the boat by myself, I noticed that the tiredness and pain wasn’t there necessarily if I focus on it I could feel it but if I got into a rhythm of paddling, it just faded into the background. So, I paddled and paddled until we got into our campsite on the beach. When I got out of the kayak, I noticed what had happened, and that healing has been something I’ve kept with me from then on. I’ve also been thinking about what to do for the summer, whether to be a CIT at Cedars, to stay home for the summer, or to go as a camper. I thought about it and forgot about it and remembered and thought about it more. I wasn’t necessarily praying about it but I was asking God what I should do. So, I thought about it, and I realized that if I should call myself a Christian Scientist, that means doing good should be at the forefront of my identity and my decisions in life. God told me that I should go to camp, work hard, and try to make my campers feel loved and have the best summer ever. So that’s what I’m doing.
Thank you, Sponsors. Thank you for all you have given me
-Gabriel
