A weekend in Portugal

                  (City of Obidós)

Saturday morning started a little later than normal. Breakfast at 8:30. Leave the hotel at 9:30. If you have never been to Europe before, you probably don't know much about European breakfast. I surely didn't. I filled a cup with cereal. Put milk on it as usual. What I didn't realize is that the milk was hot. After a bit of a shock of tasting warm milk, I actually liked the flavor of corn flakes in warm milk. It was a little like oatmeal.

We headed to the metro station after breakfast so we could get to a bus station out of town. The hour long bus ride through the Portuguese country side took us to Obidós. This city was great. The original wall still surrounds the city. 

There was also a midevil festival going on while we were in town. As we got there, we saw a procession of people. It did include a knight on a white horse. Sweet! 

We spent the day shopping and walki around te wall. Here are a couple views looking out from the wall. 

Sunday, we were able to attend a local church. It was cool to see what I could pick up as I listened to a language I couldn't understand. The part I thought was the best was how they celebrate birthdays in that church. If someone had a birthday during the past week, he or she would come to the front and have a song sung thanking God for that person. 

In the afternoon, we met with the other coaches that will be helping with the camp. I think there will be about 29 Americans helping operate the camp.  I am getting more excited for camp to start tomorrow! 

I will be helping with crafts this week. This means I have the opportunity to meet every kid at camp! Let the fun begin!!

And so it begins...

We left billings at about 11 on Monday morning and landed in Atlanta, GA by 7 that night. We were met by a lively crew in Atlanta. Christi, Kari, Paulette, and Janice were waiting just outside of the restricted area. I'll tell you what, it was great to get off the plane and walk around for a while.

Our bags arrived quickly in the baggage clams. In fact, they probably beat us across the airport. The Georgia heat was hot and balmy when we got outside the doors. The kind of heat that draws the sweat right out of your body. We had a short ride out of Atlanta to Christi's house where we spent the night. 

Her husband DJ made us some great hamburgers when we arrived. The rest of the evening was spent visiting about the upcoming trip, and Michelle was able to catch up with DJ and Christi. (She met them at EMBC last summer.) 

After a good night of rest, we headed to the church where ISF (International Sports Federation) is based. There we met up with the other members that we would be accompanying to Portugal. That is when the most awkward two hours of our lives began. At least that's what they told us. We didn't really know anyone. We ate lunch and then moved to a lounge while we waited for the other team members to arrive. 

Michelle and I ended up playing ultimate frisbee in a large room in the church. It was a blast. We played for an hour or so. Let me tell you what...we got sweaty. All of us. Dripping. 

Did I mention we had just changed into the new shirts we were given for a picture before we started playing? Most of us had done that very thing. We were a bit sweaty for the picture. That's alright. It's a sports thing anyway. 

The rest of the afternoon we heard more of the story of ISF. The heart and team behind it. We had time to get to know the team we would be traveling with as well. 

The Portugal team has 17 people. The team members come from all across the United States. The time we spent training helped us connect and get to know each other better. 

Day two of training left us all feeling quite connected. It seemed to me that we had all known each other for a long time. Before lunch we had been talking about cultural awareness. When we arrived at lunch, we got a little taste. A room ha been prepared with three eating areas. One was a tall table with two immaculate meals set on it. A table that allowed you to reach while sitting on the ground had plates, silverware, and cups. There was also a bowl of rice and a bowl of beans. The third was a large mat on the floor with about 15 settings. In the middle was a pitcher of water, two cups, and a big bowl of rice. 

It really made me think of how lucky we are to live in America where food is readily available. 

Wednesday night Michelle and I went out to coffee around 10 with Kari, Paulette, and Amanda. It was great to visit about life with them. As Amanda told us a few stories of her life. I was amazed to see how God has directed her throughout the years. 

Thursday we headed to the airport. We flew from Atlanta to Philadelphia. In the airport there, I met a scientist who is studying pediatric diseases to find cures. He and his family are planning to go to Kenya soon to help a hospital and hotel get going out in the bush. 

After Philadelphia, we were on to Lisbon, Portugal at about 9pm eastern. The trip went as well as an overnight trip can go. We got plane food and slept. The plane landed in Portugal at 8:45 local time. The fresh air was a gif from God as we stepped from the plane. After making our way through customs, we were greeted by the missionary Sarah. She took us out to the car where her husband Mike was waiting. They took us to the hostel (basically a college dorm room) where we will be staying for the week. Shortly after, we stopped by Mike and Sarah's house for much needed coffee and banana bread. Their house is only a few minutes walking from the hostel.  

We spent some time in the afternoon looking around the mall and getting lunch. Later we headed up to the school where we will be helping put on the camps. As is the European way, we walked to the school. It was only about a mile, but it seemed much longer as tired as we all were. 

After praying for the camp and taking a look at the school, it was time for supper. Nothing better than good ol' pizza when you're tired. With full bellies, we headed to bed. Hopefully making ourselves stay up all day will help us adjust to the time change more easily. 

Looks like we might get some rain tonight. The clouds are rolling in. 

Prayer requests: 

   jet lag would be minimal

   Praise God for a safe trip so far!

   

Simple Conversations

Here's the deal. We all have those life changing moments. Usually they are nothing too significant. You might see something, a sign, a commercial, or one simple word. It could even be something you hear on the radio or a casual remark. However it comes, it changes you for good.

There are times when these little gems show up in my, and I'm basically jumping up and down inside because I'm so excited! Other times I can hardly stand it. A big part of this is probably because whatever I hear or see totally related to what I'm currently experiencing in my life.

Here's my story...or at least one of them...

I was talking to a friend the other day. He was telling me about a retreat he had recently been to. At a retreat, the speaker was talking about the passage in Revelation that is written to the church in Laodicea, "...I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth..." (Revelation 3:15-16). When my friend told me that, it hit me like a rock. Boom. God knew what he was doing with that one.

Hearing about being hot or cold was just what my heart was looking for...It flipped a switch in my brain. Wow! Sometimes I settle to ride the waves and not make the waves. It's not that I have to be disrupt things and go crazy; I want to make waves with the incomparable love God pours all over me!

I choose to be on fire for God.

It is a choice to be hot or cold. Make up your mind! I am choosing to be hot, because the benefits of hot greatly outweigh those of being cold.

So be on the look out for those little gems. They will change your life if you let them. God is looking out for you when you least expect it. Don't we have the best Dad of all time!? I'm going to say YES. I'm so glad He sends people into my life to straighten me out sometimes. How sweet it is to be loved by the Creator of the Universe.

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WRAP UP from the SUMMER

I was able to finish up Hillside Intensive in PA. That was a blast. I am confident that was, is, and will be a launching pad for the rest of my life! I find it crazy and wonderful that God carefully orchestrates each of our lives so we can have the opportunity to use the gifts He has given us to serve Him. That is humbling for sure. Think about that for a second....The God of the universe knows you and has known you since before you were even a thought.

From the Hillside to the Nations

So, I'm at Hillside Intensive in PA. What a blessing it has been so far.

God has been revealing so many new things. For example, He has been showing me just how unknowable his grace, mercy, and love are. The more we experience it; the sweeter it is! The more we see it; the more we want it!

There have been a pretty good selection of speakers and musicians here in the past 2 weeks...wow! It's hard to believe it has already been two weeks. Rick Pino, Sean Feucht, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, Leonard Jones, Awaken Wells, Erik Smith, David Fritch, Daniel and Natalia Hazelwood, Charles Stock (Pastor of Life Center Church in Harrisburg, PA), and many more.

Each musician is a true artist. I can't really say that I have liked one better than the rest. It seems to me that each God uses differently. He has used each of them uniquely to reveal different things to me. It is a real journey. It is hard to choose a best part, because I know the best is yet to come!

What I have learned...so far...from some of the people...
I would write about all of them, but my brain might get tired out from all that thinking :)

Rick Pino: Wow! What a humble guy. He is just so real when he talked with us. He talked about the power of music. Rhythm makes you want to move. Melodies affect your soul. Lyrics affect your spirit. It is our job to be a voice for the Lord! Also, he talked about consecrating yourself to the Lord as the Nazirites did. Spending time with the Lord will cause you to draw closer to Him and grow in relationship with Him. Probably my favorite thing he shared was about popularity and influence. The culture now almost demands us to be popular...it says if we aren't popular, we are nothing. Well in the Kingdom of God that is NOT true!!! First, he said that we should be famous before God and to get your identity from the one who can truly give it...that's God just in case you were wondering. He already knows you inside and out, because he made you. Psalm 139. Also, there is a big difference between popularity and influence...popularity changes with the wind....influence changes the wind! Rick's messages have been challenging me to really find my identity in God and spend time with him. I want my heart to look like God's heart.

Sean Feucht: Well, I didn't really know who he was coming into this thing. As he has spoken, I found out he has been on some crazy adventures with God. He has traveled many places around the world with God. He was one of the founders of the BURN 24/7 movement...it all started as quiet time with God in a dorm stairwell. Crazy! He has a real heart for the nations and carrying/bearing fruit that remains. He has talked about building a relationship with God in the secret place. It allows you to carry that with you wherever you go once you have built a strong bond with Him. God's heartbeat will become your heartbeat. The more we are with Him, the more we become like Him. This has challenged me to get into that secret place with God simply to know Him better...and to do what I was made to do ---> worship!!!

Bryan and Katie Torwalt: It was so cool to see these two in person. I had actually heard of them before I came to school here, so I was excited to hear their story. They led worship for 3 nights of the school. It was really cool to be able to watch them usher the corporate body in to the presence of the Lord. Bryan spoke to us during one of the morning sessions. He also talked about getting away into the secret place with God. He said it is so important, because you need to learn to be aware of when God walks into the room and speaks. That was really cool for me to hear, because so many times we sing and talk about Jesus being our best friend. If we have a best friend that is a human, we usually notice when they come into a room. We notice if they say something; we don't ignore them. Man, if Jesus is closer than a brother, I sure want to know when He is in the room. I know he is on my side and always has my best in mind! We also had a Q&A time with Bryan and Katie. It was so great to just hear their hearts for leading, and how God has really brought them on a journey with Him to be where they are today. It made them real people instead of just singers.

Leonard Jones:If you want to hear some crazy music, check out Leonard Jones. He is really skilled at his instruments. He has definitely inspired me to practice more. He was telling us he practices anywhere from 4-8 hours a day! He's no novice either. I think he was telling us he has been playing the guitar (along with 13 other instruments) for the past 40 years. Now you might think that after that long you could stop practicing, but that is not his plan. Leonard told us that he plans to continue to get better and better. He doesn't want his lack of skill to keep Him from playing a melody the Lord puts on His heart. Now while I probably won't have 4-8 free hours in a row every days, I will take what I can get!

Daniel & Natalia Hazelwood: What an amazing couple!? Natalia is one my family group leaders. She is such a strong woman of God. She has been in and out for these 2 weeks, because she was speaking at a women's gathering in Texas. Daniel has been leading some of the soaking sessions along with teaching a class about keeping our minds in open communication with God. This will allow us to receive revelation and insight on different concepts and scriptures. It is absolutely mind boggling. Verses I have read many times suddenly become completely new! It's wild. For example, we were talking about John 1:1 --->In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.<--- From this we see that Jesus is the Word. Now when we call on God, He answers us with the Word. So essentially, He is answering us with Jesus. Now when Jesus left the earth, He sent one as a comforter---Holy Spirit---to live inside of us. So then there is the trinity---all three are one. Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are one together. So the answers are inside of us. We just need to ask God to take away veils that blind us from seeing what is already in us. Our bodies are new and redeemed We are new creations in HIM!!! How beautiful.

Now if that doesn't confuse you, I don't know what will. I am still working on understanding it myself. 


There has been so much more amazing worship and teaching. It would take me pages and pages to write it all down. One other thing I just thought of---we have been learning about the Tabernacle of David. What a place! Some scholars believe this Tabernacle cost---either $1 million or $1 billion per square foot!!!! (I know that's a big difference in cost, but either way that's a lot of cash to be putting down on a Tabernacle.) However, it is for the Lord so money is really no object. King David got over 4,000 full time musicians to play 24/7 worship for the Lord. That is so crazy!

So there was this little shepherd boy on the hillside that God called to be his mighty warrior through song. His nation was changed through the worship of the Almighty Lord. The generation after Him knew no war...only peace! Whoa! So this school is meant to give us a place---the Hillside---to get close to the Lord. To draw near to His heart and then be launched into the nations to exalt His might name.

It's all downhill from here.

Friday morning the ravens in the camp ground thought I set my alarm for 7:00am...well, they were wrong. I wish I would have had some kind of firearm to use as a snooze button. 

The plus side of the story is I was able to walk around Seward in the morning while I waited for the rest of the crew to wake up. 

Seward has around 4,000 people and is no more than 2 miles long. Here's a little more info I learned while I was walking around. The city was named after President Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward. It is a sister city to a city in Japan. It used to be a pretty big port. Now it is used for smaller fishing boats and cruise stops. It is the northern most ice free post, and it used to be the Southern terminal for the AK Railroad. Seavy's also make their home in Seward. 

Don't recognize the name? Let me give you a hint...mushing, "last great race on earth." 

Did the Iditarod come to mind? Dan Seavy helped organize and raced in the first Iditarod. His son, Mitch, won the Iditarod in 2004. Dallas, Mitch's son, won in 2012. He also set the record for the youngest musher to win the race. So this town has some pretty famous Alaskans calling it home. Unfortunately I didn't meet any of them...as far as I know. Also, the Iditarod used to start in Seward. Now there is a ceremonial start in Anchorage, and the race really starts in Willow. I thought that was some pretty interesting info. 

To continue the walk I walked along the beach of Resurrection Bay down to the Seward Harbor. 

I also watched the boats head in and out. There was a pretty wide variety. There were all sizes of fishing boats and tour boats. 

This is a look across the bay. There was some pretty heavy fog on the water almost all day. 

For a while I sat and simply watched the waves roll. It was very relaxing. The sound and the constant movement about put me to sleep...I was a little tired since those ravens missed the alarm clock memo. :)

What a great way to spend the morning. 

Later that day we headed back to Birchwood in a nice rain shower. Let me tell ya, I was glad to be back at camp. My that camping wasn't fun, but I was ready to sleep for more than 6 hours. 

The next couple days we just hung out and finished cleaning camp. It was pretty uneventful. The most exciting thing was probably the race to the showers after we got back from Seward on Friday night. No one wanted to be without hot water.

To wrap it all up....

I am so glad God gave me the opportunity to come back to Alaska and serve. It is a beautiful place. Being able to see how he brought together this group of interns to Birchwood camp was really amazing. Under normal circumstances we would have never met, but with God all things are possible. Some of the interns had connections directly to the camp, some knew about it through friends, and others found it online...crazy. Even though we all came from stuck different places, we were able to work well together and get stuff done. 

God made it clear to me how important it is to keep Christ in the center of everything you do. When He is your focus, it is easier to work toward a goal. You are focusing in the bigger picture of God's love and his people rather than yourself. It makes it easier to work without getting irritated with others. Now I'm not saying that doesn't happen, but it definitely gives me focus. 

               Summer well spent. 

This is always the thing: God is good and we are always loved. 

Mount Marathon and Beyond!

The morning after MAD camp all the interns slept in for a while. I think it was well deserved. A little before lunch, we got together with Stephen and Marie to plan some camp clean up. They had this slick cork board with "To Do", "Doing", and "Finished." As we chose a project to take on, we initialed it and moved it to the "Doing" section. Then no one would try to do a job twice. 

By the end of the day, we finished everything!

Once we finished, Meagan, Gabe, Helen, Ches, and I went into Eagle River to run a few errands....bank, Walgreens, and grocery store. Some of the interns got some crab and shrimp for supper to celebrate a successful camping season. It smelled like the sea shore in our staff lounge :) Personally, I would rather it smelled like a barn...

Gabe was the master chef. Everyone who ate some crab said it was really good. 

Tuesday we headed into Anchorage to meet up with Jeremy and Jessie. They both counseled at camp, and Jeremy co-directed a week of camp with his sister. We were going to head to Seward for the 4th.

Now there's something you should know about Seward on the 4th. There's this mountain there called Mount Marathon, and on the 4th there is a race up and down the mountain. So this small town of about 4,000 gets about 6X bigger for a few days. People come from all over to watch the race, and join in the Independence Day celebration! Our group camped about an hour north of Seward, because of the overwhelming amount of people.

Wednesday we drove to Seward to your around the town before the masses arrived. Jeremy had a few ideas of things we could do while we were in town for the day. Options...hike Mount Marathon to see what it's like for the racers, go to the Sea Life Center, and hike to Exit Glacier. We decided that hiking Mount Marathon might be a good idea, and we could even eat lunch once we got up to the top. Not such a bad idea, right? Jeremy told us it wasn't too bad. We had heard a few tidbits about the race from Stephen and Marie. For example, last year someone who was racing went missing and is now presumed dead, and another racer just got out of a coma from a serious fall. Still not such a bad idea, because they were racing. We are just going to walk up the mountain. No big deal. 

Well, as soon as we started, this is what we came to....

                A hike...not too steep...

Jeremy, next time we should all get on the same page as far as definitions go. We had to climb up this piece of the "hike." This was about 10 minutes into the trip. 

After we got up this part of the mountain, it flattened out for a little ways...about 20 feet. Then we were back on the ascent. 

This is from where Jessie and I stopped hiking. 

We all stopped for lunch right here for a little bit. It took us over and hour to get to this point. I would say this is about 1/3 of the way up the mountain. 

In the top left corner you can see a little bit of Seward. 

This picture is looking up from a little below where we stopped. 

View from the top. Photo courtesy of Ches. 

I can't believe people race up this thing, or people let there kids race up this thing! It is dangerous! We were climbing up some rather treacherous stuff....keep in mind this is in comparison to Eastern Montana. I'm not trying to down play the seriousness of it, but it is something to remember. 

Here's a map if the mountain. 

Turns our we hiked/climbed up the down trail....ooops. We went up the Gut. Che's and Gabe made it all the way to the top of the mountain. It took them a long time. 

Jessie and I hiked back down and found an easier path out. We met an old guy named Gus on the mountain. He was probably about 70. He told us he just had his hip replaced 3 years ago, and he was in the biathlon in the 1960 Olympics! Wow. 

Even though it was a challenge to get up the mountain...or even part way up, it was worth it. 

Ches had a good analogy for the hike and really for life...I will enjoy this view while I'm here, but I'm not going to let that stop me from moving forward to enjoy the view for somewhere else. 

It's true. We can't be satisfied with good enough, because God wants the absolute best for us. 

So if you are ever in Seward, Alaska and you are thinking about hiking Mt. Marathon. Think twice before making your decision. 

After we made it down, we found a place to eat supper. We found out there were going to be fireworks at midnight. To use up some time, we went to Exit Glacier after supper. The walk to the glacier was a breeze after our mountain climbing adventure. 

It was pretty cool to see the glacier. 

We went back to town after to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were well worth it. It was a pretty good show. 

On the 4th we went back into Seward to watch the Mt. Marathon race. It was crazy. There was a 7 year old in the youth division. Some of the women finished the race in just a little over an hour.

Here is the first woman down the hill. You have to look very closely to see it. 

The men's race was even more intense. They were movin' right along. 

This is the start of the men's race when they were all starting up the mountain. 

It was fun to watch the race. I even saw a couple people from Montana. One guy had a Bobcats track uniform on...Go Cats Go!!!

It was a crazy couple days. Well worth it!

...and now for the real work

MAD camp done. 

We had a good week at music and drama camp. The play was Malice in the Palace. It was the story of Esther with a few twists. This camp was for 5th-10th graders. It was a pretty good age range. This camp was 7 days instead if the typical 5 day camp. 

It's hard to even describe the week. The campers spent a lot if time in rehersal for the musical. They only had 5 days to get everything memorized. On Saturday ad Sunday they performed the musical in two churches in Anchorage. The counselors were also in the choir for the play. For the first couple of days it was fine, but about day 3 things started deteriorating. I got a cold and lost my voice..... Not so good. 

For the rest of the week I helped make props for the play. That was actually pretty fun. I decorated masks and made some "feather pens." 

I will admit I was bummed that I lost my voice. I couldn't even sing along during the worship services. God really challenged me with this little obstacle. At first I was really irritated, because I think that God has really blessed me in the area of music. I didn't realize it until last week, but I have really relied on songs...especially singing them...to worship The Lord. God showed me that my view of worship is really limited. It blew my mind. I started thinking about the community and how we worship together. The truth that God really cares about our heart in worship really hit me. It's not about the words your say, the prayers you pray, or the dances you do...it's about the heart behind the action. I felt like God was challenging me to simply listen. Talk about a challenge. 

We seem to put so much weight on the music and songs during the worship services. So this is my challenge to you...next time you are at church or worshipping with a bunch if people, stop and listen. Listen to God's people worship the King of Kings!

After this week, I will be heading back to Montana. Putting all the things God has taught me into practice is going to take determination and patience; however, I know it will be worth it.