ADKs....

Last weekend i took a trip up to our base camp in New York. We did some snowshoeing up Cascade Mt. This hike usually takes 2 hours to do in the summer because of all the boulders that you have to navigate, but we did it in an hour and half. The snow actually made it easier to hike. It was great to get out into the wilderness again, even if it was only for a weekend. I really needed the sunshine and exercise. The winter dreariness was really getting to me.

Discovery

No, I am not on a deep journey of self discovery. At least, not right now.

I have signed up to be a senior instructor for an outdoor education class called "Discovery" or as those of us in the La Vida office call it, "Disco".

Yesterday, all of us instructors had a meeting with the director to go over logistics, schedules, and any other questions we had about our classes. At one point, someone asked how many students we would have in each class. The director said "Well, it's like corralling a bunch of wild cats. 150 of them". This is very true. This 10 week class is a core requirement for students, with the only other option being a 12 day trip into the Adirondack mountains. The majority of students choose to go on the 12 day backpacking or canoeing trip. But those, who for various reasons choose not to do that, this is the only other option. They have to pay for this class but do not get credit. You can see how this could breed an attitude of "Let me find a way to get out of taking this class." Even so, I am excited for the opportunity to get out of the office for awhile and have some more interactions with the students on campus. Our class will include; team building activities, low ropes, high ropes, and a weekend excursion into the White Mountains. All of which have the potential to be a wonderful, refreshing break from the office. Or, it could be as challenging and frustrating as corralling wild cats. We shall see...

Remember When.....

Today, I received an email entitled "Remember When..." This message came from the directors of Youth World, the mission that I use to work with in Ecuador. It was asking, those of us who have left Youth World, to remember significant things about our time as a part of that community. Things that happened to us, things that related the "culture" of our team, or significant events that are part of the Youth World history.

This gave me the opportunity to reflect on the seven years that I spent as a member of that amazing community.I reflected on the things I learned about my self, about others and about God.

I remembered the time when I sat in a room with seven other people to discuss what our mission statement at El Refugio should be. Choosing those words that have come to mean so much to me. Words that have shaped me,given me direction, and purpose. " To provide a training and retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through nature and outdoor adventure".

I also remembered a time when we choose the verse from Hosea 2:14-15 to put at the end of our video. " I will lead her into the dessert. I will speak tenderly to her. I will restore her fruitfulness and her valley of trouble will become a door of hope." That verse has always been a picture of how God has lead me in my life and given me hope.

There were many hard things about leaving the Youth World team. Leaving the ministry that I loved and people that had poured so much into my life. But, there is an even greater joy that comes with knowing God has provided a "door of hope"

A few more very fun things that I remember about my time in Ecuador are: riding in a thirty foot long dug out canoe through the amazon rain forest, taking care of a little wooly monkey that had to wear diapers and get fed a bottle a formula twice a day, taking rides on a chiva (basically, a bus with no sides and a band playing on the roof) waving flags, blowing whistles, and drinking from cups that were hung around our necks, making spanish mistakes which included; telling the cooks to beat up the hot dogs, asking if i could pee a pizza, telling the cooks to take everything and put it in a flag and stick it in the oven, and (my favorite) misunderstanding a worker who was trying to tell me we had a dead llama and thinking that it was a dead milk lady.

So, here's to all my Youth World friends. Thanks for all the laughs, for all the wise words and for sharing your lives with me. Enjoy the old photos!

30ft long dug out canoe on the Agua Rico River

Kidnapping Elizabeth Payne on her Birthday

(Nancy, Mike R, Elizabeth, Beks, Devin, Cameron, Me)

Devin sporting the apron and cooking up some good food

Cameron and Fabricio (our spanish professor)

My 29th Birthday

(Matthew,Ruth, Sarah, Beth, Paul, Jorge, Dan, Justin, Greg, Daniel,

Alisha, Andrea, Andrew, Christina, and Evan)

Me and Tammy

The Chiva Ride

(Russ, Austin, Me, Gabriel and Gina)

Snowshoeing and other winter activities

Brian sneaking under a branch

Whitney following close behind

The Equipment
Trying to make snow sculptures of people "emerging" from the snow
The beautiful woods. Oh, how I love it!
The " G kitties" in all their glory (Jill, Maia, and Caitlin)

Catching Up.

For those of you wondering what has been going on in my life since I left the beautiful country of Ecuador. Here it is.

This summer I had the privilege of working with the La Vida program in the Adirondack Mountains. I spent the majority of my summer leading groups of kids up and over mountains, through swamps, across lakes and more importantly into a deeper relationship with their creator.

My first trip was one of the best. We hiked in the Dix mountain range, overcoming the obstacles of beaver dams, bushwacking, and forging raging rivers. It was an amazing learning experience for me, since this was my first trip. Learning how to be a better leader, gaining better map and compass skills, which i would use to a greater extent later in the summer, and a growing in my spiritual walk as we focused on the discipline of solitude.

Another trip that really impacted me was my trip to the Debar region. This area is a low swampy area located near the Canadian boarder. If you can allow yourself not to be discouraged by the overwhelming amount of black flies, mosquitos, and deer flies that bombard your body day and night, you could see and began to appreciate the amazing old growth forest that surrounds you. As I found out, this appreciation grows with time. The biggest challenge for me on that trip was trusting my compass and navigation skills. Because the area is so flat there are little, if no, landmarks to guide you. I remember wondering, after six hours of hiking through and around swamps, if i was still on right course. There was this nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I was not going the right way. But, i knew my only option was to trust my compass. That lesson has also translated to my move back here to the states. I have often wondered if I am on the right "course". Knowing that I must trust and step out in faith. Get out of the tent and TRUST that God is leading me on the right course.

The Peaks

The streams

The beaver dams

After the summer I was offered a position as the Assistant Director of the Adirondack Program. This has been an amazing opportunity for me to get behind the scenes and see how the whole program functions. I spend my days in the La Vida office, which is located on the campus of Gordon College. The office is full of fun people that absolutely love. Then I come home to my amazing house that is basically across the street from Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester, MA. Our house is a summer rental that people come to use as a vacation house in the summer. I spend my free time trying to get outside and do adventurous things. Like visiting my friends in Colorado or like this past weekend when my roommate and I went Snowshoeing.

Good Harbor Beach

Snowshoeing in NH