Hey everyone who reads this...I've pretty much run out of motivation to write for the blog. I'm starting my long road trip home one week from now so I will see some of you in about 2 weeks.
Once again thanks a ton for your support through prayer!! I really appreciate it and you have supported the best summer of my life so far!! I've grown a lot in my walk with God and I hope it will contiune when I leave.
Ginger out
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Open mic night, Call out session, and Manhood Development
Sorry I haven't updated in a week. I'll try to keep this short.
Friday last week we camped with another action group which was a lot of fun. And good to hang out with some of the other guys. We talked about chicks a lot and relationships in general which was good and encouraging! The view was incredible too!
Saturday I got a lot of good time in with some of the Arkansas dudes. Got a few good conversations in with them. Just processing how we are getting along with everyone and how much we are ready to be home and start our ministry there!! There was also some more girl talk which is good to think through.
Then open mic night was hilarious!! I'm proud of my Mizzou dudes for actin a fool and reppin us well. It was a really funny night and I got to hang out with a good amount of people and meet a few. It was good to talk to some of the project girls just to get to know them better. I also had a good time actin a fool and enjoyin myself for sure!!
Last night was good and bad. During our meeting there was the issue of language and smoking brought up in the meeting. A lot of the guys including me have smoked pipes on and off during project and I kinda like it. Its relaxing but the issue was doing it around other project guys who feel uncomfortable with it. The language thing was just the quality of what we talk about. You can imagine that an all guy conversation can get interesting and sometimes inappropriate. Basically I felt bad for both those things and kinda got pissed. I then got to talk it out with my buddy Dieber and it was really good. I realized that I don't like being told what to do and how much of a pride issue I have. I also just need to make sure that I constantly check who I'm around and make sure I'm not hurting my witness or the witness of others around me!
Then tonight was a lot of fun we went indoor rock climbing for manhood development and talked about trust. It was a lot of fun because I haven't done that much at all...everyone seemed to have fun which was good to see when you organize something!!
Overall God has been showing me a lot of how broken I really am and how much I struggle with pride. I think very highly of myself and thats not the way God intended it. I have also been checking my intentions behind stuff of late. Making sure I do things for the glory of God and not myself. Making sure I don't act too crazy and attract too much attention to myself because I like it so much. I really struggle with wanting to be the center of attention. I think this is a new thing for me but I need to work on it.
God is good and he is teaching me a lot!! I am really ready to come home though...
Ginger out
Friday last week we camped with another action group which was a lot of fun. And good to hang out with some of the other guys. We talked about chicks a lot and relationships in general which was good and encouraging! The view was incredible too!
Saturday I got a lot of good time in with some of the Arkansas dudes. Got a few good conversations in with them. Just processing how we are getting along with everyone and how much we are ready to be home and start our ministry there!! There was also some more girl talk which is good to think through.
Then open mic night was hilarious!! I'm proud of my Mizzou dudes for actin a fool and reppin us well. It was a really funny night and I got to hang out with a good amount of people and meet a few. It was good to talk to some of the project girls just to get to know them better. I also had a good time actin a fool and enjoyin myself for sure!!
Last night was good and bad. During our meeting there was the issue of language and smoking brought up in the meeting. A lot of the guys including me have smoked pipes on and off during project and I kinda like it. Its relaxing but the issue was doing it around other project guys who feel uncomfortable with it. The language thing was just the quality of what we talk about. You can imagine that an all guy conversation can get interesting and sometimes inappropriate. Basically I felt bad for both those things and kinda got pissed. I then got to talk it out with my buddy Dieber and it was really good. I realized that I don't like being told what to do and how much of a pride issue I have. I also just need to make sure that I constantly check who I'm around and make sure I'm not hurting my witness or the witness of others around me!
Then tonight was a lot of fun we went indoor rock climbing for manhood development and talked about trust. It was a lot of fun because I haven't done that much at all...everyone seemed to have fun which was good to see when you organize something!!
Overall God has been showing me a lot of how broken I really am and how much I struggle with pride. I think very highly of myself and thats not the way God intended it. I have also been checking my intentions behind stuff of late. Making sure I do things for the glory of God and not myself. Making sure I don't act too crazy and attract too much attention to myself because I like it so much. I really struggle with wanting to be the center of attention. I think this is a new thing for me but I need to work on it.
God is good and he is teaching me a lot!! I am really ready to come home though...
Ginger out
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Typical Weekend and Manhood Development
Well this weekend was fairly standard. I got to hang out with the kids from the detention center again and that was cool...I hope to be a little more intentional with my conversation next week and try to share the gospel with some of them. We played basketball with them and got to eat out of their sweet garden.
Saturday we did some downtown sharing. I did Solarium which is a picture survey type thing that leads into spiritual conversation. I got to hang out with 2 of the project girls and talk to them which was good. I haven't really had the chance to get to know the girls even on a surface level so that was cool. Even though one of them goes to KU.
I have been experiencing some post staff depression though. I really connected with my roomate and action group leader James Rinek and I miss him a lot. We would have pillow talk almost every night and process life and things of that nature. So I really miss having him around...we related really well with each other and had some awesome deep convo. So I've been kinda down and feeling like project is winding down. Its kind of a bummer...
But tonight was the first night that Ben and I ran Manhood Development with all of project. It went pretty well. We made everyone run a mile and we talked about perseverance and the Lord's strength. Basically encouraging people to finish project strong and be as intentional and real as they can with the project guys and co-workers. I think it went well. I also jumped in a lake that was roughly 50 degrees...it was freakishly cold!! It was an experience though haha
Overall God has been teaching me a lot about my inward sin and revealing a lot of himself to me which is an answer to prayer. Pray for me that I would continue to pursue God and the guys here. I am growing a ton overall from this trip and I will never forget it!! Thanks for the support and God Bless
Ginger out
Saturday we did some downtown sharing. I did Solarium which is a picture survey type thing that leads into spiritual conversation. I got to hang out with 2 of the project girls and talk to them which was good. I haven't really had the chance to get to know the girls even on a surface level so that was cool. Even though one of them goes to KU.
I have been experiencing some post staff depression though. I really connected with my roomate and action group leader James Rinek and I miss him a lot. We would have pillow talk almost every night and process life and things of that nature. So I really miss having him around...we related really well with each other and had some awesome deep convo. So I've been kinda down and feeling like project is winding down. Its kind of a bummer...
But tonight was the first night that Ben and I ran Manhood Development with all of project. It went pretty well. We made everyone run a mile and we talked about perseverance and the Lord's strength. Basically encouraging people to finish project strong and be as intentional and real as they can with the project guys and co-workers. I think it went well. I also jumped in a lake that was roughly 50 degrees...it was freakishly cold!! It was an experience though haha
Overall God has been teaching me a lot about my inward sin and revealing a lot of himself to me which is an answer to prayer. Pray for me that I would continue to pursue God and the guys here. I am growing a ton overall from this trip and I will never forget it!! Thanks for the support and God Bless
Ginger out
Friday, July 9, 2010
Quick Week, Initiation, and New Leadership
I feel bad because I haven't really been keeping everyone up to date on my life...I have been really busy and I don't really feel like spending my spare time writing but I have time now.
The week started off with the staff leaving and all that came with that. They appoint a new student director for the project and they choose new leadership. Brandon McKay was the choice and it was a good one. He is a super solid dude from Arkansas. I got chosen to lead the Manhood Development on Tuesday nights with my buddy Ben from Mizzou. It should be a good challenge for me and a good place to step up in leadership! Basically we plan an event for the guys on project to develop manly characteristics, then speak about it afterwards, then after that go to Breeze Inn. Breeze Inn is an awesome Quik Trip type place with awesome donuts!
Tuesday night is a night I will never forget. I was initiated into the Juneau Men's Project Fraternity by Robert and Jason. It was incredible and I can't give details but I shed some man tears. I felt the overwhelming feeling of being part of something bigger than myself and committing to live the way God intended it. Thats the main thing that has helped me on this trip. Realizing the way God intended men to be and what that looks like. I will never forget that night!!
Overall its been an ok work week. Starting to get to know our co-workers better and developing some relationships with them. Hopefully we will be able to hang out with them outside of work in order to move forward with the relationship and see what they think about church/God. I'm kinda excited to hear about their lives more and more.
Other than that just the normal week schedule...very busy and struggling to stay focused on the mission of the project. I tend to get in the swing of things and lose focus on God. I would appreciate prayer in that! Also thanks so much to my supporters and all the people praying for me!! It means a lot!!
Ginger out
The week started off with the staff leaving and all that came with that. They appoint a new student director for the project and they choose new leadership. Brandon McKay was the choice and it was a good one. He is a super solid dude from Arkansas. I got chosen to lead the Manhood Development on Tuesday nights with my buddy Ben from Mizzou. It should be a good challenge for me and a good place to step up in leadership! Basically we plan an event for the guys on project to develop manly characteristics, then speak about it afterwards, then after that go to Breeze Inn. Breeze Inn is an awesome Quik Trip type place with awesome donuts!
Tuesday night is a night I will never forget. I was initiated into the Juneau Men's Project Fraternity by Robert and Jason. It was incredible and I can't give details but I shed some man tears. I felt the overwhelming feeling of being part of something bigger than myself and committing to live the way God intended it. Thats the main thing that has helped me on this trip. Realizing the way God intended men to be and what that looks like. I will never forget that night!!
Overall its been an ok work week. Starting to get to know our co-workers better and developing some relationships with them. Hopefully we will be able to hang out with them outside of work in order to move forward with the relationship and see what they think about church/God. I'm kinda excited to hear about their lives more and more.
Other than that just the normal week schedule...very busy and struggling to stay focused on the mission of the project. I tend to get in the swing of things and lose focus on God. I would appreciate prayer in that! Also thanks so much to my supporters and all the people praying for me!! It means a lot!!
Ginger out
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Project Burn Out
Sorry its taken me so long to update the blog....I've got what they call project burnout. I've in the full flow of project now and I'm just gettting used to the schedule and beginning to experience some laziness for sure. Basically we have about 2-3 hours of free time all day and so we are always going and moving and doin something. I like it that way but it can wear a guy out.
So basically this week has been pretty cool...
Manhood Development was cool because we played dodgeball then had a quick message about pride. It was convicting and good to hear. Then afterwards we did this cool thing where we partnered up and encouraged each other. We told our brother what we like about them and told the truth. We didn't boost their ego with something that was a lie. It was cool to hear about what people liked about you and be able to practice and encouraging people because who doesn't like to be encouraged!!
Wednesday and Thursday went pretty normal so nothing new to report there
Friday was tons of fun though...I got to go hang out with the Johnson Youth Center kids. They are 17 of the worst kids in Alaska. But you wouldn't know that from hanging out with them. They are really cool kids that got involved with the wrong crowd. I got to play basketball with them which was awesome cuz I don't get to play sports up here much. I also got into some good convo with the guys and asked them about their families and future plans. Its gonna be cool to get to know these guys and minister to them as best we can. Then that night we had free time to chill with the bros. We went to a place called palaminies (I think thats how you spell it) which only serves russian dumplins...it was pretty tasty. Then we went and got cigars and smoked next to the Mendenhall Glacier. Really good bro time and a good way to get out of the project burn out.
Today was a frustrating service project that was full of rain and unorganized chaos...so thats about all you need to know about that.
Overall God has really been answering my prayers of late. I've been praying for passion in general. Passion for the lost, unreached, and just general passion to seek out God. Its been working too which has been incredible. I've never been big on reading my Bible but I've had sudden urges to read my bible and its been awesome!! God is doin work in my life and its incredible. Christianity has really clicked for me up here. I have a purpose to my life now. Before I was just living by a rule book and now I have the purpose of reaching the lost and trying to bring people to Christ. Its been crazy awesome and I thank all you guys for the prayer and thoughts. Keep praying for me with regards to Kaitlin but that sore is being healed by God too which has been fantastic as well.
Ginger out
So basically this week has been pretty cool...
Manhood Development was cool because we played dodgeball then had a quick message about pride. It was convicting and good to hear. Then afterwards we did this cool thing where we partnered up and encouraged each other. We told our brother what we like about them and told the truth. We didn't boost their ego with something that was a lie. It was cool to hear about what people liked about you and be able to practice and encouraging people because who doesn't like to be encouraged!!
Wednesday and Thursday went pretty normal so nothing new to report there
Friday was tons of fun though...I got to go hang out with the Johnson Youth Center kids. They are 17 of the worst kids in Alaska. But you wouldn't know that from hanging out with them. They are really cool kids that got involved with the wrong crowd. I got to play basketball with them which was awesome cuz I don't get to play sports up here much. I also got into some good convo with the guys and asked them about their families and future plans. Its gonna be cool to get to know these guys and minister to them as best we can. Then that night we had free time to chill with the bros. We went to a place called palaminies (I think thats how you spell it) which only serves russian dumplins...it was pretty tasty. Then we went and got cigars and smoked next to the Mendenhall Glacier. Really good bro time and a good way to get out of the project burn out.
Today was a frustrating service project that was full of rain and unorganized chaos...so thats about all you need to know about that.
Overall God has really been answering my prayers of late. I've been praying for passion in general. Passion for the lost, unreached, and just general passion to seek out God. Its been working too which has been incredible. I've never been big on reading my Bible but I've had sudden urges to read my bible and its been awesome!! God is doin work in my life and its incredible. Christianity has really clicked for me up here. I have a purpose to my life now. Before I was just living by a rule book and now I have the purpose of reaching the lost and trying to bring people to Christ. Its been crazy awesome and I thank all you guys for the prayer and thoughts. Keep praying for me with regards to Kaitlin but that sore is being healed by God too which has been fantastic as well.
Ginger out
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Mid Summer Campout
So this week was pretty boring...kinda getting in the work flow but the days are goin pretty slow. I think its mainly because I work on my own a lot and don't have a chance to interact with people as much. I have been enjoying working with the project people in the home department at Freddys (basically Wal-Mart but better) but it would be nice if I got to work with some other people.
I'm still strugglin through the Kaitlin thing so prayer over that would be much appreciated. Like I said in the last post its one of the first hard things I've had to go through emotionally.
This weekend was really nice though. We went to this place called Saw Mill. It was a beach about 30 miles north of Auke Bay (where UAS is and where I live). Basically the weekend was designed for us to chill and not have an organized go go go weekend. It was needed and much appreciated. We had a sweet camp set up and we basically fished and hung out the whole time. I didn't catch any fish but I got to go halibut fishing and salmon fishing. It was cool to do that for the first time. One of the coolest things we saw though was a pod of orcas. We saw about 20 killer whales swim right by out boat. It was incredible!! One of the orcas swam under our boat and breached about 10 feet from the boat. It was really really cool. Something I will never foget. I also got to kill and crab with my bare hands. You basically crack its skull off then break it in half. It was a lot of fun and I got to eat it about 30 minutes later. Overall the trip was very relaxing and a good switch up from the busy weekend schedule.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!!
Ginger out
I'm still strugglin through the Kaitlin thing so prayer over that would be much appreciated. Like I said in the last post its one of the first hard things I've had to go through emotionally.
This weekend was really nice though. We went to this place called Saw Mill. It was a beach about 30 miles north of Auke Bay (where UAS is and where I live). Basically the weekend was designed for us to chill and not have an organized go go go weekend. It was needed and much appreciated. We had a sweet camp set up and we basically fished and hung out the whole time. I didn't catch any fish but I got to go halibut fishing and salmon fishing. It was cool to do that for the first time. One of the coolest things we saw though was a pod of orcas. We saw about 20 killer whales swim right by out boat. It was incredible!! One of the orcas swam under our boat and breached about 10 feet from the boat. It was really really cool. Something I will never foget. I also got to kill and crab with my bare hands. You basically crack its skull off then break it in half. It was a lot of fun and I got to eat it about 30 minutes later. Overall the trip was very relaxing and a good switch up from the busy weekend schedule.
Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!!
Ginger out
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tough weekend
Well I don't really like being the guy who talks about girl issues but I feel like its appropriate now since its been a big part of my life recently. Unfortunately Kaitlin and I broke up on Saturday night. She told me that she felt that she was depending on me more than Christ. Basically I became very frustrated with myself afterwards and it was tough to accept that fact that I couldn't do anything about it. This was the first relationship that I emotionally invested in. So it was hard for me to lose that relationship. She told me that it would be hard for her if I talked to her at all. So basically I won't be able to talk to someone who was one of my best friends for 2 months, that I normally talked to almost everyday...not fun. I don't fully agree with her decision but I'm not gonna try to change what she felt God told her. Thankfully I have 25 other awesome brothers here in Juneau that have already showed me a lot of love.
A little back story is that I prayed for God to bring a hardship into my life after Christmas break because I realized that my life was so easy and he answered! Sadly this is the roughest thing I've ever had to go through. This is a new thing to me since I've never really been involved in a relationship that was worth anything. I know that God is working though because I have been praying to him non stop for help with this pain and hurt. So I know that something good is going to come out of this but its really hard right now!! Now I understand why people become depressed after break ups...this one really hurt. I would really appreciate prayer that God would reveal himself even more to me through this rough time. He already has for this first week and its been great. Thanks again for everyone who has supported me. This has been the best summer of my life and I thank you for praying for me!!
And Kaitlin if you read this I hope you enjoy New York and Nicaragua. I'll be prayin for ya
A little back story is that I prayed for God to bring a hardship into my life after Christmas break because I realized that my life was so easy and he answered! Sadly this is the roughest thing I've ever had to go through. This is a new thing to me since I've never really been involved in a relationship that was worth anything. I know that God is working though because I have been praying to him non stop for help with this pain and hurt. So I know that something good is going to come out of this but its really hard right now!! Now I understand why people become depressed after break ups...this one really hurt. I would really appreciate prayer that God would reveal himself even more to me through this rough time. He already has for this first week and its been great. Thanks again for everyone who has supported me. This has been the best summer of my life and I thank you for praying for me!!
And Kaitlin if you read this I hope you enjoy New York and Nicaragua. I'll be prayin for ya
Friday, June 18, 2010
Gallon Challenge, Action Group, and Johnson Youth Center
So the Wednesday night meeting (cru) was really good this week. Eric talked about true worship and what that should look like in the church. He said worship came from worthship. So worship is placing worth in something. So that was cool to hear that for the first time. After the meeting was tons of fun though. We did the gallon challenge. If you never heard of this. You have to drink a gallon of milk in one hour then when you finish it (if you finish it) you have to hold it down for one hour. We shortened it and Jesse finished his gallon in 7 minutes!!!! and held it down for 5. It was awesome. Everyone else just puked and didn't finish their milk. It was a lot of fun and there will be some awesome pictures up online soon I hope.
Action group on Thursday was good as always. We are going through the GCL (gospel centered life) and its really good. I went through it this past semester a few times and its very good at making you think. This week talked about how we should constantly beat the gospel into our heads every day. Its our calling in life to spread it so its cool to hear that. I kind of connected the idea with fundamentals in sports. When you know the fundamentals all the other more complicated stuff is easier. So that was really nice. We also had a 30 minute call out session between roommates which was kind of intense but needed. Just got all of our tension out in one evening.
One of the best things I've done this week was I got the chance to go to the Johnson Youth Center. Its a local juvenile detention center. These kids are the worst of the worst from Alaska and its a high security place! We are basically there to love on these kids and try to just befriend them. It was awesome to see how normal these kids were. Some of them are criminals, murderers, and theifs. But at the same time they are kids. They age range from 16-18 so they were pretty fun to hang out with. They rarely get visitors so it was awesome to get to know them and start to build relationships with them. I look forward to hanging with them for the rest of the summer on fridays!!
Oh and the Kaitlin situation is still there. Pray that I make the right decision. I think I know what I'm gonna do but we are gonna talk about it on Saturday night. I just want God to be the center of our relationship so that is gonna be tough if we end up staying together.
God has really been teaching me patience and grace on this trip. Grace is probably one of the most phenominal things I've ever experienced since I've been here. I don't feel the pressure to live out of legalism or performance. I don't have to do things to be accepted by God. God has accepted me so I can do things. Its an awesome reminder and its been keepin me goin on this trip.
Ginger out
Action group on Thursday was good as always. We are going through the GCL (gospel centered life) and its really good. I went through it this past semester a few times and its very good at making you think. This week talked about how we should constantly beat the gospel into our heads every day. Its our calling in life to spread it so its cool to hear that. I kind of connected the idea with fundamentals in sports. When you know the fundamentals all the other more complicated stuff is easier. So that was really nice. We also had a 30 minute call out session between roommates which was kind of intense but needed. Just got all of our tension out in one evening.
One of the best things I've done this week was I got the chance to go to the Johnson Youth Center. Its a local juvenile detention center. These kids are the worst of the worst from Alaska and its a high security place! We are basically there to love on these kids and try to just befriend them. It was awesome to see how normal these kids were. Some of them are criminals, murderers, and theifs. But at the same time they are kids. They age range from 16-18 so they were pretty fun to hang out with. They rarely get visitors so it was awesome to get to know them and start to build relationships with them. I look forward to hanging with them for the rest of the summer on fridays!!
Oh and the Kaitlin situation is still there. Pray that I make the right decision. I think I know what I'm gonna do but we are gonna talk about it on Saturday night. I just want God to be the center of our relationship so that is gonna be tough if we end up staying together.
God has really been teaching me patience and grace on this trip. Grace is probably one of the most phenominal things I've ever experienced since I've been here. I don't feel the pressure to live out of legalism or performance. I don't have to do things to be accepted by God. God has accepted me so I can do things. Its an awesome reminder and its been keepin me goin on this trip.
Ginger out
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Work started!!
Ok so I started work on Monday and it was good to get started. We went through a ton of really corny and terrible instructional videos. It was pretty boring but good to get paid for it and to just get out of our apartment. Our goal for the project is to minister to co-workers and to build authentic relationships, not in that order.
Today was a good day for work. I actually started to do real work. I worked in the garden center today and got to meet one of the workers there. His name was Donald and I look forward to building up trust and getting into some awesome conversations in the future. I'm gonna admit that it was pretty boring at some points especially when I had to work with myself. But overall it has been good to get into the swing of things.
Oh and something I'll just touch on cuz its kinda confusing...Kaitlin and I have had some convos about ending our relationship. Kaitlin feels that she needs to work on her relationship with Christ, which I admire in her that she realizes that. I will admit that its frustrating but her and I are praying and pondering the situation. So I would just ask for prayer for wisdom and accepting/making the right decision. I just don't want this relationship to get in the way of my relationship with Christ. So prayer would be much appreciated.
Ginger out
Today was a good day for work. I actually started to do real work. I worked in the garden center today and got to meet one of the workers there. His name was Donald and I look forward to building up trust and getting into some awesome conversations in the future. I'm gonna admit that it was pretty boring at some points especially when I had to work with myself. But overall it has been good to get into the swing of things.
Oh and something I'll just touch on cuz its kinda confusing...Kaitlin and I have had some convos about ending our relationship. Kaitlin feels that she needs to work on her relationship with Christ, which I admire in her that she realizes that. I will admit that its frustrating but her and I are praying and pondering the situation. So I would just ask for prayer for wisdom and accepting/making the right decision. I just don't want this relationship to get in the way of my relationship with Christ. So prayer would be much appreciated.
Ginger out
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Lock In and lack of sleep
The lock in was a pretty good time. We had a lot more spiritual talks and breakaway sessions than I'm used to in a lock in. Most lock ins I've gone to are all about fun and nothing else. So with this lock in we had a dating panel where some of the couples and single people from our project took questions about dating. It was good to hear perspectives from other people on dating and relationships in general. Then I went to a breakaway session where some guys from project talked about a guy that tragically died on a missions trip. They talked about his passion and how on fire he was for the Lord. So unfortunately I spent the rest of the lock in feeling guilt and shame about passion and passivity.
I felt shame that I wasn't passionate about Christ in the past. I've tended to be a very laid back guy and never wanted to take any steps of faith and share the gospel. I have found that its not really that hard since I've been here on project. I have been praying for passion to come into my life and I feel that God is working in that and I can feel more passion for God then I ever have but I want to have more passion for the lost. I also struggled with realizing that I haven't lead Kaitlin in the best Godly way for the past few months. I just want to make sure that I lead correctly and don't get too emotionally attached to her. I need to put God first. I understand why its so hard to have a Christ-centered relationship with a girl now. Its so hard to keep God in front of someone who you really like.
But today and last night talkin to my roommate I've experienced grace in that. I know that Satan is the root of the shame and guilt because I know that isn't of God. I realized that I shouldn't feel guilty about the past and I should focus on my future in Christ. I think if I just focus on loving God and growing in that then I loving others and Kaitlin will come naturally. I just want to continue to lead well and take steps of faith to share the gospel.
So overall had some guilt and shame but grace has kept me from staying in that state of mind. I tend to beat myself up too much so I really like how God's grace makes me feel. It makes life less pressure filled because I realize that I don't have to perform for God.
Ginger out
I felt shame that I wasn't passionate about Christ in the past. I've tended to be a very laid back guy and never wanted to take any steps of faith and share the gospel. I have found that its not really that hard since I've been here on project. I have been praying for passion to come into my life and I feel that God is working in that and I can feel more passion for God then I ever have but I want to have more passion for the lost. I also struggled with realizing that I haven't lead Kaitlin in the best Godly way for the past few months. I just want to make sure that I lead correctly and don't get too emotionally attached to her. I need to put God first. I understand why its so hard to have a Christ-centered relationship with a girl now. Its so hard to keep God in front of someone who you really like.
But today and last night talkin to my roommate I've experienced grace in that. I know that Satan is the root of the shame and guilt because I know that isn't of God. I realized that I shouldn't feel guilty about the past and I should focus on my future in Christ. I think if I just focus on loving God and growing in that then I loving others and Kaitlin will come naturally. I just want to continue to lead well and take steps of faith to share the gospel.
So overall had some guilt and shame but grace has kept me from staying in that state of mind. I tend to beat myself up too much so I really like how God's grace makes me feel. It makes life less pressure filled because I realize that I don't have to perform for God.
Ginger out
Friday, June 11, 2010
Accountability and Lock In
Last night was pretty awesome. We had some nice taco soup for dinner which did wonders for us later because everyone was farting A LOT. Its not a bad thing just a side effect of beans. We did some Gospel Centered Life bible study after that and it was a good check on self righteousness. It lists some things that you take too much pride in and that you need to be kept in check for.
Then we had accountability which was tough for me. I don't really like to tell everyone what my sins are if I'm honest. I don't think anyone does. But I've seen good out of it...its cool to see your brothers encourage you and love you through that. I hope thats something I'm able to take back with me to Mizzou.
Tonight there is a lock in at one of the local Juneau churches. That is the main reason I'm updating my blog now. I'm gonna be completely drained by tomorrow morning when I get to go to bed. I'm also giving my testimony tonight and trying to preach the gospel a little bit which is kinda new to me so pray for me that I would be able to effectively communicate my story and how God has taken a hold of my heart recently. I am just gonna tell the story of how my faith became my own this past semester and not my parents faith. I am glad my parents taught me how to live the christian life but I've just recently realized I need a personal relationship with Chris to keep me goin. Hopefully the lock in will be tons of fun and I won't get much sleep. Pray for energy for the next few days for me haha
Ginger out
Then we had accountability which was tough for me. I don't really like to tell everyone what my sins are if I'm honest. I don't think anyone does. But I've seen good out of it...its cool to see your brothers encourage you and love you through that. I hope thats something I'm able to take back with me to Mizzou.
Tonight there is a lock in at one of the local Juneau churches. That is the main reason I'm updating my blog now. I'm gonna be completely drained by tomorrow morning when I get to go to bed. I'm also giving my testimony tonight and trying to preach the gospel a little bit which is kinda new to me so pray for me that I would be able to effectively communicate my story and how God has taken a hold of my heart recently. I am just gonna tell the story of how my faith became my own this past semester and not my parents faith. I am glad my parents taught me how to live the christian life but I've just recently realized I need a personal relationship with Chris to keep me goin. Hopefully the lock in will be tons of fun and I won't get much sleep. Pray for energy for the next few days for me haha
Ginger out
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Mendenhall Glacier
Last night we hiked out for manhood development. I got to hear the life story of a couple of the guys again and I really enjoy that. Its part of the authentic relationships. Hearing about their past and present issues and struggles has been awesome to see how much better your relationship can be after that. We made it to mendenhall glacier which was absolutely gorgeous! Its a 12 miile glacier fed by an ice field in the mountains.
When we got there we were asked to write down and think about the stuff you want to do when you get back to your respective campus. I liked it because I've been wanting to get into discipleship and bible study leading. I also just took the time to realize that there is gonna be failure in that at some point and I should be ok with whatever God puts in front of me. I basically want to live out God's will for my life and hope that I'm ok with it and learn to love and see people the way God does.
I took some video of when we got to the glacier and when we climbed underneath it. It was a tremendous sight to see under the glacier. We also got our project fleeces and got to drink Weinhard's root beer. I don't even like root beer but those Weinhards are legit!!
Glaciers are my favorite form of water!
Dance part tonight so I'm excited to let loose and cut some rug
Ginger out
When we got there we were asked to write down and think about the stuff you want to do when you get back to your respective campus. I liked it because I've been wanting to get into discipleship and bible study leading. I also just took the time to realize that there is gonna be failure in that at some point and I should be ok with whatever God puts in front of me. I basically want to live out God's will for my life and hope that I'm ok with it and learn to love and see people the way God does.
I took some video of when we got to the glacier and when we climbed underneath it. It was a tremendous sight to see under the glacier. We also got our project fleeces and got to drink Weinhard's root beer. I don't even like root beer but those Weinhards are legit!!
Glaciers are my favorite form of water!
Dance part tonight so I'm excited to let loose and cut some rug
Ginger out
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Summitting Mt. Juneau
So yesterday I, along with 10 other people, summitted Mt. Juneau. It was a very difficult hike. I have never hiked a mountain before so I was going in thinking it would be hard but not too crazy. I was wrong. Its supposed to be one of the easiest mountains in Juneau and I struggled a good bit. My legs were barkin at me after about 30 minutes of hiking. It took up 3 1/2 hours to hike up to the summit and 1 1/2 hours to hike back down. The way up was the worst because my legs felt like they were on fire. Here is a video of the summit...it was quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen.
Mt. Juneau domination
Then on Monday night we had our memory verse to recite. I screwed it up so I felt really bad for the other guys. When we recite memory verses we stand in a big circle and go around saying our verse. If you get it right you go down into a leg lift, plank, or push up position til everyone finishes. But if you screw up you have to watch everyone else work out. I felt bad for screwing it up. Then we had to work out after that and we did a good amount of lunges, up downs, and snake up push ups. Basically I got pretty tired and winded. I felt pretty weak after that. I think I was dehydrated or something. I didn't feel too good for the rest of the night. I got to have some good convo with Kaitlin later though. I feel like our conversations just keep getting better and better as the summer goes along.
Ginger out
Mt. Juneau domination
Then on Monday night we had our memory verse to recite. I screwed it up so I felt really bad for the other guys. When we recite memory verses we stand in a big circle and go around saying our verse. If you get it right you go down into a leg lift, plank, or push up position til everyone finishes. But if you screw up you have to watch everyone else work out. I felt bad for screwing it up. Then we had to work out after that and we did a good amount of lunges, up downs, and snake up push ups. Basically I got pretty tired and winded. I felt pretty weak after that. I think I was dehydrated or something. I didn't feel too good for the rest of the night. I got to have some good convo with Kaitlin later though. I feel like our conversations just keep getting better and better as the summer goes along.
Ginger out
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Camping with the action group
So last night we had this awesome camping trip. It first started out with all 7 of us cramming into a Chevy Lumina with 7 hiking backpacks. It was insanely tight and wasn't too much fun for the guys in the back. Anyway we hiked about 2 miles to get to our campsite then we set up camp. We heard that you could climb up this huge pipe up to a dam that had an awesome view (video will be posted). So we decided to hike were we weren't supposed to and it was so worth it. We hiked about 2 or 3 more miles up to the reservoir and took some awesome pictures and video.
Campin with the fellas
Then for dinner we ate hobo meals. I'm new to this concept but they were delicious. You basically take hot dogs and brats, hashbrowns, carrots, celery, cheese, onions, and some seasoning salt then you wrap it in aluminum foil and throw it in the fire to cook. It was so delicious after hiking that much. Overall a great night. Didn't have my quiet time for the day but I think I'm just gonna do two quiet times now to make up for it. God has been great on this trip and I feel like I can't give him enough thanks. Don't wanna take him for granted.
Ginger out
Campin with the fellas
Then for dinner we ate hobo meals. I'm new to this concept but they were delicious. You basically take hot dogs and brats, hashbrowns, carrots, celery, cheese, onions, and some seasoning salt then you wrap it in aluminum foil and throw it in the fire to cook. It was so delicious after hiking that much. Overall a great night. Didn't have my quiet time for the day but I think I'm just gonna do two quiet times now to make up for it. God has been great on this trip and I feel like I can't give him enough thanks. Don't wanna take him for granted.
Ginger out
Friday, June 4, 2010
Cru Meeting, Action Group, and workin with my hands
So on Wednesday night of every week we have our cru meeting. We start at 8pm in the chapel on the campus of UAS. I am actually on the weekly meeting team so I get to help out with planning the meetings and possibly setting up the after parties that we have each week. I'm pretty excited about the series of talks we will hear from Eric who is a local youth pastor I think. We are talking about what the church should actually look like. He talked about how church is seen as something people do on Sundays and not a daily lifestyle. I'm pumped to see where that is gonna go. We were supposed to have a dance party afterwards but it got cancelled which kinda sucked. I got to see Kaitlin and talk to her for a little bit afterwards which is always nice. Its just good to see her and have good conversation. I know she is really stressed from work so I just try to bring her mood up and her stress level down.
On Thursday we volunteered for a local native american celebration that is ironically called Celebration 2010. We helped move chairs and usher people for the dance performances. It was kind of boring because there weren't that many people there so there was no need for us. The best part of the day was action group. Basically our apartment is our action group. So we have 7 guys where we just hang out in community and do a bible study every Thursday night. We cooked chicken enchiladas for dinner which were delicious then went to Auke Rec and set up a campfire to sit around and do our bible study. On a side note we like on Auke bay which is about 10 minutes northwest of downtown Juneau. Then we had an awesome time going through a study called the Gospel Centered Life. Its really good and I have gone through it at Mizzou with some of our cru guys. I got to tell some of my fellow roommates how I felt about them. Jay is one of my roommates who has been getting on my nerves lately. So it was good to tell him that and we have been getting along better now. It will take time for me to really befriend him in the future but I think it will happen. So overall Thursday night was an awesome time with the roommates.
Today I got to work at a church called Douglas Island Bible Church. We moved some gravel off the parking lot and dug out a channel for the water to run off in. Juneau uses gravel in the winter for snow instead of salt. I guess its so their tires get better traction and the salt is just a waste of time and money. So it was great to use my hands and get a good half day of outdoor work in! Now everyone in my apartment is asleep and I'm typing my blog. We are gonna go camping tonight with our action group just for an overnight thing which will be fun!
Ginger out
On Thursday we volunteered for a local native american celebration that is ironically called Celebration 2010. We helped move chairs and usher people for the dance performances. It was kind of boring because there weren't that many people there so there was no need for us. The best part of the day was action group. Basically our apartment is our action group. So we have 7 guys where we just hang out in community and do a bible study every Thursday night. We cooked chicken enchiladas for dinner which were delicious then went to Auke Rec and set up a campfire to sit around and do our bible study. On a side note we like on Auke bay which is about 10 minutes northwest of downtown Juneau. Then we had an awesome time going through a study called the Gospel Centered Life. Its really good and I have gone through it at Mizzou with some of our cru guys. I got to tell some of my fellow roommates how I felt about them. Jay is one of my roommates who has been getting on my nerves lately. So it was good to tell him that and we have been getting along better now. It will take time for me to really befriend him in the future but I think it will happen. So overall Thursday night was an awesome time with the roommates.
Today I got to work at a church called Douglas Island Bible Church. We moved some gravel off the parking lot and dug out a channel for the water to run off in. Juneau uses gravel in the winter for snow instead of salt. I guess its so their tires get better traction and the salt is just a waste of time and money. So it was great to use my hands and get a good half day of outdoor work in! Now everyone in my apartment is asleep and I'm typing my blog. We are gonna go camping tonight with our action group just for an overnight thing which will be fun!
Ginger out
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Manhood Development and Job rollercoaster
So last night we did manhood development which is a weekly thing we do on Tuesdays. Its basically to test us physically and rely on the Lord for strength. I personally don't like those kind of things. I think they are kind of macho and not really worth much. But I prayed before we started to keep my attitude the best I could. And I feel like God helped me with that. We had to carry a log which symbolized our sins and burdens. That just made the hike a lot more difficult. We also had to put all 26 of us guys, our logs, and our bags over a 6' tall rope without touching it. Basically it was a long and hard process and we had to start over if we touched the rope. Then we took our logs to the glacier-fed river and did pushups with our logs on our back. Then we wrote in our journals the struggles that we have and the sin we carry.
We then threw our logs on a fire and talked to the staff guys about our struggles. It was nice to talk to the staff about that stuff and make sure that we are open and vulnerable with one another. The whole being completely open and vulnerable thing is new to me but its definitely worth it. I feel really close to some of these guys and I've only known them for a week.
Then today ended my job rollercoaster. I went into Safeway this morning at 9 thinking I would be working all day. I got there and just got a packet to read and was told I wouldn't get many hours. So I sat at home and thought about it and called Fred Meyer (its basically Juneau's version of Wal Mart, where all the locals shop). I called her and she said she had a job for me so I sat around all day weighing the decision to call safeway and tell them I needed at least 30 hours. Since they couldn't give me that I called Freddys and got a job there. That job is gonna be awesome because I get paid well and I'll get a minimum of 32 hours a week. So the whole job thing drove me nuts this entire week but I finally got a solid job (and a discount on food).
So my past few days have been interesting but God is still working!! I really appreciate what God is doin in my life and I'm learning how to praise him for it and really love him for it. I take him for granted all the time and I hope and pray that changes. Thanks for the support and prayers. Prayer for me has been huge so praying for me would be much appreciated!
Ginger out
We then threw our logs on a fire and talked to the staff guys about our struggles. It was nice to talk to the staff about that stuff and make sure that we are open and vulnerable with one another. The whole being completely open and vulnerable thing is new to me but its definitely worth it. I feel really close to some of these guys and I've only known them for a week.
Then today ended my job rollercoaster. I went into Safeway this morning at 9 thinking I would be working all day. I got there and just got a packet to read and was told I wouldn't get many hours. So I sat at home and thought about it and called Fred Meyer (its basically Juneau's version of Wal Mart, where all the locals shop). I called her and she said she had a job for me so I sat around all day weighing the decision to call safeway and tell them I needed at least 30 hours. Since they couldn't give me that I called Freddys and got a job there. That job is gonna be awesome because I get paid well and I'll get a minimum of 32 hours a week. So the whole job thing drove me nuts this entire week but I finally got a solid job (and a discount on food).
So my past few days have been interesting but God is still working!! I really appreciate what God is doin in my life and I'm learning how to praise him for it and really love him for it. I take him for granted all the time and I hope and pray that changes. Thanks for the support and prayers. Prayer for me has been huge so praying for me would be much appreciated!
Ginger out
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
I'm really tired
I just got home and I'm excited about work tomorrow...so I will try to update the blog after work. Pray that work goes well and I get to meet a lot of new people to have spiritual conversations.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Downtown Sharing, got a job, and Monday Night Live
Ok so the day started off with a challenge for me. We were gonna go downtown sharing the gospel to the locals and possibly tourists of Juneau. I was pretty nervous about it if I was honest! I don't really like street evangelism because I like to get to know someone and build trust before I try to evangelize. But having said that this experience was pretty awesome. Talked to about 7 different people. Most of the people we just showed love instead of talking about God. I just kept repeating in my head "its about the holy spirit, its not about me". That really helped me calm down a lot. So the experience was pretty good overall but hard and a good step of faith.
I did find a job today which was good...I am gonna work at safeway in the deli. Hopefully I get a discount on meat and I will be having ham sandwiches everyday!! The hours might not be good but I think I can work my way to more hours. So that is just a God send. I really find myself not being thankful enough for it. Its crazy to think that I got a job by walkin around for a few days. I need to work on not taking anything for granted.
Monday Night Live is our weekly meeting on mondays where we plan our week. We split up into our ministry teams. I chose to be on the cru meeting team. We basically plan the weekly cru meeting on Wednesday. So its gonna be awesome. I might play guitar if they need it our maybe emcee if they need it.
So overall a good day and I will start work on Wednesday at 9 am and hopefully work on thank you letters and service projects tomorrow. Thanks for your support as always. Love ya'll
Ginger out
I did find a job today which was good...I am gonna work at safeway in the deli. Hopefully I get a discount on meat and I will be having ham sandwiches everyday!! The hours might not be good but I think I can work my way to more hours. So that is just a God send. I really find myself not being thankful enough for it. Its crazy to think that I got a job by walkin around for a few days. I need to work on not taking anything for granted.
Monday Night Live is our weekly meeting on mondays where we plan our week. We split up into our ministry teams. I chose to be on the cru meeting team. We basically plan the weekly cru meeting on Wednesday. So its gonna be awesome. I might play guitar if they need it our maybe emcee if they need it.
So overall a good day and I will start work on Wednesday at 9 am and hopefully work on thank you letters and service projects tomorrow. Thanks for your support as always. Love ya'll
Ginger out
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Church, hangin with Kaitlin, and frisbee
Today was an awesome day that I really needed.
First we started off by goin to church in the morning. We split all 32 of us into 6 seperate churches around the Juneau community to try and help as many churches as we can. I went to Glacier Valley Baptist and it was really old school baptist feel. They have a pretty big college aged sunday school class that was cool. Kind of awkward because we didn't know half the people but it will definitely get better next week and for the rest of the summer. The preacher was pretty cool too. He was real old school as well. He cracked a few jokes but kept it pretty simple and preached on giving. I thought it was funny how the first sermon we heard was about giving haha.
Then we went to a local church families house. It was the Buck family that they were incredibly hospitable and welcomed us in like family. The wife of the family has a scent allergy so we had to wash our clothes in a specific detergent, couldn't wear deodorant, cologne, shampoo our hair, or wear body wash. She apparently gets migraines from a lot of artificial scents. Bless her heart though because I can tell from being around her for a few hours that she still loves to have people around!! We ate some hot dogs then the best chocolate cake of my life. After that we played volleyball with the Bucks for 3 hours. That was also fun. We also quoted some movies with the boys and I think our church group is gonna be a ton of fun!
Then I got to go meet Kaitlin's dad which was good. I wanted to make a good impression so I was nervous but I had a good time and I hope he did too. I already met her little brother and he seems like a pretty chill kid too. We had some pork ribs and hung out. It was great to see Kaitlin for a few hours!!
Then we went and played frisbee. That was a ton of fun as well because I hadn't played frisbee in a long time! I really had fun when I got to beat the KU girl and rub it in her face. That is always fun...haha.
Overall a great day and we are gonnna go share the gospel downtown tomorrow. I'm kinda nervous but I know its gonna be a learning experience. I just need to learn not to be ashamed to talk about my beliefs. Being bold in my faith is something I need to work on and I hope it happens tomorrow. I'll keep you updated with a post tomorrow
Ginger out
First we started off by goin to church in the morning. We split all 32 of us into 6 seperate churches around the Juneau community to try and help as many churches as we can. I went to Glacier Valley Baptist and it was really old school baptist feel. They have a pretty big college aged sunday school class that was cool. Kind of awkward because we didn't know half the people but it will definitely get better next week and for the rest of the summer. The preacher was pretty cool too. He was real old school as well. He cracked a few jokes but kept it pretty simple and preached on giving. I thought it was funny how the first sermon we heard was about giving haha.
Then we went to a local church families house. It was the Buck family that they were incredibly hospitable and welcomed us in like family. The wife of the family has a scent allergy so we had to wash our clothes in a specific detergent, couldn't wear deodorant, cologne, shampoo our hair, or wear body wash. She apparently gets migraines from a lot of artificial scents. Bless her heart though because I can tell from being around her for a few hours that she still loves to have people around!! We ate some hot dogs then the best chocolate cake of my life. After that we played volleyball with the Bucks for 3 hours. That was also fun. We also quoted some movies with the boys and I think our church group is gonna be a ton of fun!
Then I got to go meet Kaitlin's dad which was good. I wanted to make a good impression so I was nervous but I had a good time and I hope he did too. I already met her little brother and he seems like a pretty chill kid too. We had some pork ribs and hung out. It was great to see Kaitlin for a few hours!!
Then we went and played frisbee. That was a ton of fun as well because I hadn't played frisbee in a long time! I really had fun when I got to beat the KU girl and rub it in her face. That is always fun...haha.
Overall a great day and we are gonnna go share the gospel downtown tomorrow. I'm kinda nervous but I know its gonna be a learning experience. I just need to learn not to be ashamed to talk about my beliefs. Being bold in my faith is something I need to work on and I hope it happens tomorrow. I'll keep you updated with a post tomorrow
Ginger out
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Roadtrip videos
Sorry this took so long but I am gonna try to post some of the vids from the roadtrip. I am gonna upload some of the highlight vids. I have more but some of them are very similar.
This first vid is called Rams in the road. Kind of sell explanitory. There were a bunch of rams in the middle of the alaskan hwy and we couldn't get around them
Rams in the road
This next video is quite possibly the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. This lake that we stopped at was clear as could be and surrounded by mountains. The first time we thought we were getting into the good scenery.
Muncho Lake
This next vid is the sign post forest. People put up signs to show where they were from
Sign Post Forest
The next vid is a bunch of vids put together. It the scenery on day 5 of our trip. The landscape is absolutely incredible. It might be kind of long but the image of lakes and mountains just kept coming up so I had to document it. Enjoy
Day 5 Scenery
Thanks again for everyones support and I'll update the blog tonight about my week at Echo Ranch Bible Camp.
Ginger out
This first vid is called Rams in the road. Kind of sell explanitory. There were a bunch of rams in the middle of the alaskan hwy and we couldn't get around them
Rams in the road
This next video is quite possibly the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. This lake that we stopped at was clear as could be and surrounded by mountains. The first time we thought we were getting into the good scenery.
Muncho Lake
This next vid is the sign post forest. People put up signs to show where they were from
Sign Post Forest
The next vid is a bunch of vids put together. It the scenery on day 5 of our trip. The landscape is absolutely incredible. It might be kind of long but the image of lakes and mountains just kept coming up so I had to document it. Enjoy
Day 5 Scenery
Thanks again for everyones support and I'll update the blog tonight about my week at Echo Ranch Bible Camp.
Ginger out
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Really tough day but God showed up in the end
So day 2...we started off with orientation and learned about how to defend yourself from a bear attack and what we don't do in the housing here. The talking of bear attacks kinda scared me a little bit I'm gonna be honest but I think its gonna be fine. I will never travel alone now!
The tough part of the day was the job hunting. I thought I had a job at Glacier Gardens which is a tour guide job in the mountains. But the lady there kinda didn't live up to her word and gave my job away. I wasn't mad at the guys who got the job I was just a little upset at Tina (the lady who told me to interview when I got there). So after that I was really discouraged and angry. And the day had only just started. Then I went around to every shop and store in downtown Juneau that didn't have jewelry in the name and asked if they were hiring project guys. I think I went to at least a total of 30 places. I filled out about 5 applications but I don't remember where because I went to so many places. It was just a day of a lot of failure so it seemed.
Then I went to the weekly cru meeting and I feel like God just showed up. He brought an awesome feeling of grace over me and the other project guys helped me to be in a good joking mood. One of the guys named Alex from George Mason has really been a good guy to get to know. He is a big jokester so he usually brings my mood up. And meeting some of the local Juneau college kids was great too. I got to see Kaitlin as well which is always a plus. I would be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed that.
So the day basically started off horribly but God really showed me that he has the job thing under control and I shouldn't let it ruin my mood. He just brought peace and a calm to me that I have really come to appreciate. I get way to stressed out so God being there for me has been great.
Pray for me that I would really be able to focus on the task at hand for the project and not my personal struggles as much. My mood and attitude have been bad lately so I want to improve upon that. God is really testing my faith in him and my will to focus on reaching the people of Juneau. Also pray that I wouldn't think about Kaitlin too much. I would be lying if I said I don't think about her everyday. I need to once again focus on building relationships with these guys and bringing the gospel to the people of Juneau. I want to make sure that Kaitlin and I's relationship is glorifying to God and not what I place my value in. She is a great girl and I hope that God guides me in our relationship. Also just pray for the people of Juneau that we would be able to reach as many people as possible through our movement. (On a side note we heard a local christian radio station give us a shout out on the radio...it was awesome!!) Pray that I wouldn't be nervous or feel awkward talking to people about the gospel.
Sorry for the long post again!! I just feel like God is tugging on my heart and working on me to improve my relationship with him and the people around me. Oh and I will try to post some videos if I have some spare time on Sunday. I am going camping for the next two days so I will update the blog on Saturday. Thanks again for your support and prayers and I'll update this bad boy on Saturday
Ginger out
The tough part of the day was the job hunting. I thought I had a job at Glacier Gardens which is a tour guide job in the mountains. But the lady there kinda didn't live up to her word and gave my job away. I wasn't mad at the guys who got the job I was just a little upset at Tina (the lady who told me to interview when I got there). So after that I was really discouraged and angry. And the day had only just started. Then I went around to every shop and store in downtown Juneau that didn't have jewelry in the name and asked if they were hiring project guys. I think I went to at least a total of 30 places. I filled out about 5 applications but I don't remember where because I went to so many places. It was just a day of a lot of failure so it seemed.
Then I went to the weekly cru meeting and I feel like God just showed up. He brought an awesome feeling of grace over me and the other project guys helped me to be in a good joking mood. One of the guys named Alex from George Mason has really been a good guy to get to know. He is a big jokester so he usually brings my mood up. And meeting some of the local Juneau college kids was great too. I got to see Kaitlin as well which is always a plus. I would be lying if I didn't say I enjoyed that.
So the day basically started off horribly but God really showed me that he has the job thing under control and I shouldn't let it ruin my mood. He just brought peace and a calm to me that I have really come to appreciate. I get way to stressed out so God being there for me has been great.
Pray for me that I would really be able to focus on the task at hand for the project and not my personal struggles as much. My mood and attitude have been bad lately so I want to improve upon that. God is really testing my faith in him and my will to focus on reaching the people of Juneau. Also pray that I wouldn't think about Kaitlin too much. I would be lying if I said I don't think about her everyday. I need to once again focus on building relationships with these guys and bringing the gospel to the people of Juneau. I want to make sure that Kaitlin and I's relationship is glorifying to God and not what I place my value in. She is a great girl and I hope that God guides me in our relationship. Also just pray for the people of Juneau that we would be able to reach as many people as possible through our movement. (On a side note we heard a local christian radio station give us a shout out on the radio...it was awesome!!) Pray that I wouldn't be nervous or feel awkward talking to people about the gospel.
Sorry for the long post again!! I just feel like God is tugging on my heart and working on me to improve my relationship with him and the people around me. Oh and I will try to post some videos if I have some spare time on Sunday. I am going camping for the next two days so I will update the blog on Saturday. Thanks again for your support and prayers and I'll update this bad boy on Saturday
Ginger out
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Whats up 907
I finally made it to my home in Juneau. It was a long ferry ride and getting up at 4:30 am is not something I want to do everyday. It was cool to meet almost everyone on project today. A few of the guys are flying in tonight so we will meet them later. I can definitely see that I'm not the typical Juneau guy. There are a ton of outdoorsy type guys here which is obvious but it will be interesting to see how I coexist with these guys. Just from first glance we don't have as much in common as I would like but thats ok. Hopefully God will show me how to coexist and show these guys unconditional love even if we aren't the best of friends. I have had some trouble relating to these guys so far so I can definitely see God working in me to teach me patience with other people.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and just getting the day started. It will be nice to get into the swing of things and not feel like a hobo who lives out of a truck. I'm gonna go check out jobs tomorrow and make sure I have a job lined up at Glacier Gardens.
I got to see Kaitlin today which was nice. She seemed really stressed out from work so I hope she doesn't get too stressed out before she goes to New York. I just hope I can keep my focus on Juneau this summer and make sure that our relationship is glorifying to God and not something that will distract me. I've found that to be really hard to keep God in front of people here on earth including Kaitlin. Its amazing how easy it is to live your day without even thinking about the God that created the awesome mountains that I'm looking at. This project should teach me how to keep God in prospective through daily life.
Well anyway God is already teaching me things about living in community with other guys who are a lot different than me. This is could be a really long summer but I thing that once I meet all the dudes and get to know them well that I will really enjoy this summer.
Ginger out
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and just getting the day started. It will be nice to get into the swing of things and not feel like a hobo who lives out of a truck. I'm gonna go check out jobs tomorrow and make sure I have a job lined up at Glacier Gardens.
I got to see Kaitlin today which was nice. She seemed really stressed out from work so I hope she doesn't get too stressed out before she goes to New York. I just hope I can keep my focus on Juneau this summer and make sure that our relationship is glorifying to God and not something that will distract me. I've found that to be really hard to keep God in front of people here on earth including Kaitlin. Its amazing how easy it is to live your day without even thinking about the God that created the awesome mountains that I'm looking at. This project should teach me how to keep God in prospective through daily life.
Well anyway God is already teaching me things about living in community with other guys who are a lot different than me. This is could be a really long summer but I thing that once I meet all the dudes and get to know them well that I will really enjoy this summer.
Ginger out
Monday, May 24, 2010
Canada is not my favorite country but the Alaskan Highway is mind blowing!! Oh and Skagway is kinda boring
So I finally have interwebs so I can update the blog. Where should I start??
The last time I updated you I was in Alberta sleeping in a motel that was actually nicer than some of the hotels I've stayed at in the States. Well that day we drove from Whitecourt, AB to Ft. Nelson, BC. The day was pretty cool we arrived at the famous Alaskan Highway at Dawsons Creek, BC. The drive just got much more scenic after that. I don't have time to upload all the videos but the scenery was out of this world!! Imagine mountains on one side and lake on the other while you are driving through the Rockies.
We ran into a lot of wildlife too. We saw about 10 bears total and about 5 to 10 moose. We actually drove right next to a bear who was about 10 feet away from our car. That was pretty awesome. I only got about 8 total hours of driving in on the Alaskan Highway but they were awesome! At one point we had to come to a complete stop because a group of rams were eating in the middle of the highway. My buddy Austin proceeded to get out and run at them making noises. The video is hilarious but once again I don't have time to upload it now. It will get on the blog once I get to Juneau hopefully.
We also hit the sign post forest in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. It was a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be. There were easily thousands of sign posts. It was a pretty cool sight and video will be posted soon.
We arrived at Skagway last night around 11pm local time. Which is about 2 am my body time so I was needless to say a little tired! We then proceeded to drive around for about an hour and a half trying to find a campsite to sleep in. Everyone kinda got a little frustrated with one another but we eventually figured it out and stayed in a valley for free which is awesome.
The worst news of today is that our ferry got delayed. So if it didn't get delayed I would currently be heading to Juneau but since it did I'm sitting in the Skagway library hogging their interwebs. So we are kinda stuck here for the day and this town is boring! We are gonna eat some local cuisine tonight then camp out again. Our ferry leaves tomorrow morning at 7 am so we will have to be there around 5 am which is real early but I will be motivated to get to Juneau so its all good. I just want a room so I don't have to worry about where I'm sleeping the next night.
I will be posting a lot of video when I get to Juneau because it takes forever to upload then onto youtube and I don't have 4 hours to sit here and wait on the videos. I promise they will be good and hopefully entertaining. Well I am tired of sitting in this library and I will hopefully be updating my blog next from my permanent room in Juneau, AK.
Driving 60 or so hours with these 5 other guys has been an interesting experience. We are all different and its interesting to see God testing my patience with different personality types. That is part of the reason I went on this trip was to learn how to cope with different people. So I can see God working in that and its encouraging. Even though I might not get along with everyone all the time.
Ginger out
The last time I updated you I was in Alberta sleeping in a motel that was actually nicer than some of the hotels I've stayed at in the States. Well that day we drove from Whitecourt, AB to Ft. Nelson, BC. The day was pretty cool we arrived at the famous Alaskan Highway at Dawsons Creek, BC. The drive just got much more scenic after that. I don't have time to upload all the videos but the scenery was out of this world!! Imagine mountains on one side and lake on the other while you are driving through the Rockies.
We ran into a lot of wildlife too. We saw about 10 bears total and about 5 to 10 moose. We actually drove right next to a bear who was about 10 feet away from our car. That was pretty awesome. I only got about 8 total hours of driving in on the Alaskan Highway but they were awesome! At one point we had to come to a complete stop because a group of rams were eating in the middle of the highway. My buddy Austin proceeded to get out and run at them making noises. The video is hilarious but once again I don't have time to upload it now. It will get on the blog once I get to Juneau hopefully.
We also hit the sign post forest in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. It was a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be. There were easily thousands of sign posts. It was a pretty cool sight and video will be posted soon.
We arrived at Skagway last night around 11pm local time. Which is about 2 am my body time so I was needless to say a little tired! We then proceeded to drive around for about an hour and a half trying to find a campsite to sleep in. Everyone kinda got a little frustrated with one another but we eventually figured it out and stayed in a valley for free which is awesome.
The worst news of today is that our ferry got delayed. So if it didn't get delayed I would currently be heading to Juneau but since it did I'm sitting in the Skagway library hogging their interwebs. So we are kinda stuck here for the day and this town is boring! We are gonna eat some local cuisine tonight then camp out again. Our ferry leaves tomorrow morning at 7 am so we will have to be there around 5 am which is real early but I will be motivated to get to Juneau so its all good. I just want a room so I don't have to worry about where I'm sleeping the next night.
I will be posting a lot of video when I get to Juneau because it takes forever to upload then onto youtube and I don't have 4 hours to sit here and wait on the videos. I promise they will be good and hopefully entertaining. Well I am tired of sitting in this library and I will hopefully be updating my blog next from my permanent room in Juneau, AK.
Driving 60 or so hours with these 5 other guys has been an interesting experience. We are all different and its interesting to see God testing my patience with different personality types. That is part of the reason I went on this trip was to learn how to cope with different people. So I can see God working in that and its encouraging. Even though I might not get along with everyone all the time.
Ginger out
Friday, May 21, 2010
Canada part 2 and.....SNOW!!
So we started the day in Regina, Saskatchewan. The drive started off well cuz the weather was beautiful. It was about 70 degrees F and sunny. Started the day off with a group prayer like yesterday and started off on our journey.
We made it to Alberta which was awesome because Sasketchywan was a pretty lame province. We unfortunately hit Edmonton, Alberta at around 5 pm (rush hour traffic). It was not fun at all. Gas is also ridicuolous here!! Its about $4 dollars a gallon when its cheap. not cool at all...
Well the highlight of the day which will be the next video was a snow blizzard when we almost got to Whitecourt. (Which is where we are staying for the night). The snow was comin down really hard so I got kinda crabby because I realized that I would be camping in this real soon. And it also may have been because I drove about 6 hours today. I guess I was just ready to stop.
SNOW in May!!! (I'm cranky in the video fyi)
So overall a good day and we are just gonna hang out in this semi nice motel for the night. Got in early and its still light outside at 9:40 pm. So overall a good day and we are gonna be in Juneau soon. Had a really good convo with the boys from Mizzou about the trip and expectations so I'm really excited to see what God is gonna do with my life and the life of the other guys on the trip. Maybe I will realizee that I get crabby to easily after a 6 hour drive haha
We made it to Alberta which was awesome because Sasketchywan was a pretty lame province. We unfortunately hit Edmonton, Alberta at around 5 pm (rush hour traffic). It was not fun at all. Gas is also ridicuolous here!! Its about $4 dollars a gallon when its cheap. not cool at all...
Well the highlight of the day which will be the next video was a snow blizzard when we almost got to Whitecourt. (Which is where we are staying for the night). The snow was comin down really hard so I got kinda crabby because I realized that I would be camping in this real soon. And it also may have been because I drove about 6 hours today. I guess I was just ready to stop.
SNOW in May!!! (I'm cranky in the video fyi)
So overall a good day and we are just gonna hang out in this semi nice motel for the night. Got in early and its still light outside at 9:40 pm. So overall a good day and we are gonna be in Juneau soon. Had a really good convo with the boys from Mizzou about the trip and expectations so I'm really excited to see what God is gonna do with my life and the life of the other guys on the trip. Maybe I will realizee that I get crabby to easily after a 6 hour drive haha
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Oh Canada!!
Well so this is day 2 and about the same amount of miles were driven. We started our day in Watertown, SD and we made it to Regina, SK. ND and SD are the most boring states in the country. I would dare to say that they are a little more boring than Kansas. They do have windmills like Kansas though.
Canada is not what I expected so far. Its basically Iowa part 2. Incredibly boring and flat. Hopefully the landscape will be a little more hilly or mountainy tomorrow. We are gonna do our best to drive around 600 miles each day. Oh and I have to listen country music the whole time. Kinda terrible...
We ate at this delicious local place called Humpty's. It was delicious!! I had a potato, egg, and cheese meat lovers dish that was fantastic. Enjoyed hangin with the guys and gettin some good Canada jokes in. Really lookin forward to meeting all the other guys cuz this is gonna be an awesome summer!!
The motel we are staying at tonight isn't as sketchy but its a little more expensive. I'm just ready to be in Alaska right now to be honest. I'm currently trying to load my vid from the border so you will see whats up. This is the entry into the Canadian border!! Enjoy...kinda long but mostly audio of us bein weird.
Pre Border Patrol
This is post Border partol. Basically we got put into this sketchy garage with our cars. They took all our luggage out and searched it. They check all our pockets and brought out the drug dog! It was kinda ridiculous and this vid is directly afterwards.
Post Border Patrol
Canada is not what I expected so far. Its basically Iowa part 2. Incredibly boring and flat. Hopefully the landscape will be a little more hilly or mountainy tomorrow. We are gonna do our best to drive around 600 miles each day. Oh and I have to listen country music the whole time. Kinda terrible...
We ate at this delicious local place called Humpty's. It was delicious!! I had a potato, egg, and cheese meat lovers dish that was fantastic. Enjoyed hangin with the guys and gettin some good Canada jokes in. Really lookin forward to meeting all the other guys cuz this is gonna be an awesome summer!!
The motel we are staying at tonight isn't as sketchy but its a little more expensive. I'm just ready to be in Alaska right now to be honest. I'm currently trying to load my vid from the border so you will see whats up. This is the entry into the Canadian border!! Enjoy...kinda long but mostly audio of us bein weird.
Pre Border Patrol
This is post Border partol. Basically we got put into this sketchy garage with our cars. They took all our luggage out and searched it. They check all our pockets and brought out the drug dog! It was kinda ridiculous and this vid is directly afterwards.
Post Border Patrol
Sketchtown, SD
We met 3 dudes who are goin on project in St. Joseph, MO. Colton, Weston, and Drew were the three guys they go to Rice and K-State. Colton drove all the way from San Antonio, TX (ridiculous). They seem to be some cool dudes and we will obviously get to know them better after 4 more days of driving. Next I will tell you about the more eventful part of our day.
We had a good day of about 9 hours of driving yesterday. We tried to stop at a campsite in Watertown, SD but it turned out to be some huge sketchy building so we stopped at a Budget One Motel. Basically I wish I could post the video that I took cuz its hilarious!! This motel is straight out of a horror movie with a cereal killer as the main character. Oh and we slept 6 dudes in a room for 4. Only $10 a person. Not bad!! I'm currently updating my blog from the lobby with an all you can eat buffet of weak sauce coffee ahaha!
We plan to drive to Regina, SK today. Which is about 9 hours or so. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog tonight and maybe post some videos. Stay posted
Ginger out!
We had a good day of about 9 hours of driving yesterday. We tried to stop at a campsite in Watertown, SD but it turned out to be some huge sketchy building so we stopped at a Budget One Motel. Basically I wish I could post the video that I took cuz its hilarious!! This motel is straight out of a horror movie with a cereal killer as the main character. Oh and we slept 6 dudes in a room for 4. Only $10 a person. Not bad!! I'm currently updating my blog from the lobby with an all you can eat buffet of weak sauce coffee ahaha!
We plan to drive to Regina, SK today. Which is about 9 hours or so. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog tonight and maybe post some videos. Stay posted
Ginger out!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Church this past Sunday
I was interviewed about Juneau in front of my home church in Blue Springs for about 5 minutes and it was hard to describe. Everyone from my hometown church showed me so much love and support and I haven't been there in multiple months. Its amazing the bond between fellow Christians. Really humbling experience...this Juneau trip is bigger than just me. God is gonna do some awesome stuff.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Reppin the 907
Hey everyone
I figured writing about my experience in Juneau would be beneficial so I'm gonna give you guys a little insight into my daily life on summer project in Juneau, Alaska. Hopefully I will be able to update this almost everyday. I am gonna hopefully have a camera and possibly video camera to post pics and vids of my trip. Its gonna be epic and I'm glad you decided to follow along.
Keep it classy
Ginger
I figured writing about my experience in Juneau would be beneficial so I'm gonna give you guys a little insight into my daily life on summer project in Juneau, Alaska. Hopefully I will be able to update this almost everyday. I am gonna hopefully have a camera and possibly video camera to post pics and vids of my trip. Its gonna be epic and I'm glad you decided to follow along.
Keep it classy
Ginger
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