Camping

Hiya! It has been a bit since our last update, but we have been without internet the past three weeks and still don’t have internet at our home yet. However we are hopeful to have internet by the end of the month. So right now I am sitting in our Chicago office and thinking over the past few weeks since we last updated you.

After we finished our time at Colorado State University with the Staff Conference we went camping in the Rocky Mountains with some of our friends. We camped for two days and two nights and had a blast. 5 friends, one large tent, two sets of tent poles, beautiful surroundings, and lots of rain! Here is a picture of all of us: Steve, Michael, Vanessa, Hope, and Bridget.

The first day of camping began with us packing our car to the brim with food, bags, the tent and people. Some how we managed to fit all we needed into one car-- it was amazing! After we packed we bought some food for the trip and to cook on the fire that evening. We then began the hour ride up the foothills and into the mountains to find a campsite. This was actually quite a task since we didn’t know we needed to call in advance to reserve a spot. Due to bad weather, we were able to locate a campsite and attempt to get it set up for the night.

When we arrived at our campsite we began to unload and pull out the tent. As we laid out the tent and one set of poles we realized we had no idea how it was supposed to go together. So we tried a few different ways before getting it right. It took us about an hour to set up the tent.
By the end of putting up the tent this is what we were left with:











And this is what our tent looked like:


It looks a bit sad and it leaked a bit when it rained, however we were very proud of our efforts. And come to find out the second night we put the tent up we used the second set of poles which turned out to be the correct set and our tent looked much better and didn’t leak as badly.

After completing the task of putting our tent up we decided we would go for a hike. So we drove up the mountain a bit farther and parked. We hiked around Bear Lake which was absolutely beautiful. We had a great time just goofing around too.


We spent about an hour at Bear Lake and then decided we should head back to camp to cook our food and start the fire. The fire was a process all in its self. It took some effort but with a little love and perseverance the guys got it going really well to their surprise.

Dinner was really good. We had hot dogs, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and of course smores! After our great meal it started to rain and so we all climbed into the tent and prepared to sleep. Little did we know that our tent would begin to leak and create a large puddle at the door of our tent. This was ok seeing as how we were sleeping on a slope and the door of our tent was down the slope from our sleeping bags. However this was interesting for sleeping purposes. WE all did sleep and awoke to sunshine and a gorgeous day.

Day two of camping we packed up our tent and belongings and drove off to find a new campground. We attempted at a couple of places but had no luck but we finally found a place called Meeker Park.. First thing we did was set up our tent which only took us ten minutes!!! Well this time we used the other set of poles which were the correct ones and we knew how they were supposed to go. After setting up our tent we headed out to lunch back in Fort Collins and then to Michaels Aunt and Uncles house for some fun on the water. We swam a little and visited with them for a few hours and then headed back up the mountain. We attempted to start a fire again for dinner but failed multiple times. So we ate a few smores for dinner and then gave up the fire and played some games inside our tent before bed.

It rained again this night but with the proper poles and flat ground we kept much drier and slept better. It was a blast and we are all looking forward to doing it again. And we are looking forward to doing a better job next time knowing that we can learn from our mistakes!

What Are We Learning?

Campus Ministry Days
The focus of these first few days was to reflect on who we are in Christ and remember that we are God's masterpiece. ("For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.- Eph 2:10")

Many of our staff came here drained physically, emotionally, and spiritually and it was refreshing to be reminded that God is still with us. That in our brokenness, the Holy Spirit will comfort and empower us to accomplish the purposes the Lord has called us to. And that He still relishes in us regardless of our struggles.

The Condition of Our Hearts Coming Here
So where were we mentally coming into this conference? Hope and I are so grateful for men and women like you that are partnering with us in the gospel to fulfill God's purposes. We have been praising God that our monthly support has reached the point where we can be working with students on campus full time. We rejoice in how faithful He has been to us even in our unfaithfulness. But I have to tell you, these last 18 months of our lives have brought us many times to our knees. Often we found ourselves asking God, when will You meet our financial need. It was a struggle to continue to find joy in Him considering our circumstances. And you know, we learned that it is not our business to know His timing as much as it was simply trusting in Him and not in ourselves. Too often our prayers reflect an outcry for a blessing rather than the Blesser. And the time we have had out here has helped us draw near to Him.

U.S. Staff Conference
The theme of this event was focused on how we can equip people to truly be life-long laborers for Christ. It was based off of our goal as an organization: To build spiritual movements everywhere so that everyone will know someone who truly follows Jesus. Often in Cru we talk about this strategy: Win folks to the Lord, Build them up in their faith, and Send them out equipped for God's purposes for their lives. Unfortunately, many of our students graduate and get consumed with the American Dream and ultimately end up serving a god of position and power. The answer? To "send" 100% of our students into their vocations equipped means we have to "build" into them 100%. This is the challenge before us as we hit campus in a few weeks and we are eager for the Lord to use us to touch the lives of these students.

Life on the Road:

As many of you may know we are out in Fort Collins, Colorado at Colorado State University (CSU). We are out here with Campus Crusade for Ministry Days and Staff Conference. The journey out here was fun and a bit crazy at times. Here are some of the fun things we did on our way to Colorado.

We took our time driving out and enjoyed the scenery, states, and each other. The first day we drove through Illinois and Iowa and into Nebraska. We made a number of stops along the way. Our first stop was just inside Iowa at a restaurant called "The Shed" We were hoping to get some cinnamon rolls but they were out by the time we rolled in :). So we ordered a club sandwich to go, used the bathroom and bought some Dang Root beer and Butterscotch Root beer. The sandwich was well nothing to write home about but the Dang was amazing! We continued on our way after that and made a few small stops before dinner in Des Moines. We ate at an Italian restaurant called "Tumea and Sons" We ordered pesto ravioli and chicken fettuccine alfredo and shared both. We could see the courthouse from where we ate dinner and it looked so beautiful that we took a short jaunt by it to admire. (We have pictures up of all these sites and events- so check em out). After dinner we drove on toward Nebraska in hopes of staying there for the night. God painted a beautiful sunset for us to enjoy and it wasnt long before it got dark. As we approached Nebraska we decided to see a movie and then find a place to sleep for the night, which ended up being in the back of our Aztek at a rest stop- it was fun!







On day two of our travel to Colorado we awoke early and headed toward Lincoln, NE for breakfast at a diner- it was just ok. And continued the seemingly endless drive across the state. We decided that the speedlimit in Nebraska is so high because no one wants to stay very long- they want to get through it as fast as possible! Our next stop was for lunch at a little gem we came across called "Come and Get It BBQ" It was fabulous! We werent far from Wyoming at this point and so we drove on until it was dinner time and we stopped at a ChopHouse and then continued our drive now into Colorado to see our friend Johanna. Johanna is a wrangler in Clark, CO at a ranch called Vista Verde. We had a great time visiting her and enjoying the awesome scenery. It is one of the top places to stay. We camped out in our car again this night but we actually did stay at a camp site.




Day three started out with saying goodbyes to Jo and heading down Hwy 14 through the mountains and into Fort Collins. The drive was absolutely amazing!! This road follows the Poudre River through the mountains and out into the foothills. We soaked up every second of it. When we finally arrived in Fort Collins, we checked into our dorm room and then went to spend the evening with Michaels Aunt Jan, Uncle Ken, and cousin Sara. They live in Loveland, CO (ten minutes from where we are staying). We spent the day with them enjoying their boat on the lake behind their house, going to a festival in Loveland for dinner, walking through the brass sculpture park, and finishing the evening with doing some serious porch sitting and talking.


We were finally here and the following day we would begin the Ministry Days conference.