Adventure...

Dear Family,

I am writing this blog from a wonderful home in Centenniel, Colorado. We are getting ready to pack up and enjoy a nice relaxing day of site seeing and shopping, before i get dropped off at Colorado State University for NYC. We have been together for five days, already, and it has been an amazing journey, so far. We still have another week, before we return with stories of laughter, faith building, new friendships, and life.

So where do i begin? Do i talk about the mosquitoes in McPherson that was of Biblical plague proportions. I am not joking. They are so thick that we had to run to buildings to avoid being attacked by a swarm of vicious, man-eating insects. I think we got a sense of what Moses and the Eqyptians went through, only i dont think locusts eat human flesh, but those critters in Mac sure do enjoy biting us.

Maybe i could talk about the barbecue with my family in Buhler, where again the plague of mosquitoes attacked with incredible fervor, but we also had a chance to eat great food, share stories, and walk through my Uncle Ronnie's wilderness house. Ask the guys for details about my uncle, the hunter, and how his house resembled more of a hut with dead animals everywhere than a typical Kansas home.

I could even talk about the drive from Ohio to Mac or Mac to Denver, which included listening to great music, seeing amazing things, and standing under a 30 foot prarie dog. I might talk about arriving in Denver, only to realize that our hosts had to leave earlier than planned, so our barbecue was replaced by Golden Coral and an all you can eat extravaganza. And then there was yesterday.

Yesterday we journeyed up to Idaho Springs, where we jumped into a raft and navigated the rushing waters of Clear Creek. It was exhilarating. It was refreshing. And it took us through some of the most beautiful, God created landscape in the world. All of us loved every minute of that experience, even when our guide dumped us into the 37 degree creek, just because he could. Well Jonathon stayed in the raft because of a fat pastor that was a great buffer between the water and the dryness of the raft.

I could talk about all of these things, and i have. But in truth they are all part of a greater picture. Sure they are great stories, individually, but pieced together they help create a tapestry of what God can and will do when we work together to do something amazing. I believe life is meant to live, and we should and must jump at every opportunity to suck the marrow out of every inch of life. This trip, i hope, plants the same passion for life, in our young people, that i share, so that after this trip, they live life.

But more than that, i hope they realize that this adventure and life as a whole, is best lived and shared, together. Alone i could have had a great time. But sharing these stories with four other amazing men makes this a godly, unforgetable experience. And those kind of adventures always make for the best stories anyway.

We miss you all, and we look forward to sharing more of our experiences around the table... Amen.

Shalom, Salaam, Peace,
jerry