A Typical Week

In a typical week, mornings are spent in a large group Bible session. Afternoons are filled with small group studies. Evenings often consist of some type of activity -- pictures are of students participating in "crazy bowling". Weekends are a time to relax and enjoy the great outdoors in Colorado.

This week has been very busy. Today I went whitewater rafting again, this time with the kids, for a couple of hours in the morning. After that I had lunch with my small group which consists of a few 10th and 11th graders. Later today, my group is going to preview a movie by the makers of the movie "Fireproof" geared toward teenagers. That should be pretty cool. I have to teach the main message to all the students tomorrow. I'm nervous, but it should go well. I'm going to talk on John 13 and Jesus washing the disciples feet. Please pray for me about that.

Students Arrive - First Day of Meetings and Activities

What an awesome day. Our meetings and activities started today with nearly 70 students participating - the number of students will grow each week with the largest numbers being the last 10 days of July.

I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with the entire group. Everything went well and the students seemed to enjoy the time together. We broke into small groups in the morning so that the students could get to know each other better. We had games in the afternoon.

Thanks so much for your prayers -- God really moved.

The CSU 2009 Leadership Team

Yesterday we visited Rocky Mountain National Park. This was most likely the most beautiful place I have ever been to in my life. We got up to an elevation of 12,080 ft at the highest point of the park. I was amazed at how much snow was still left up on the mountains. There were parts which had at least 4ft of snow still left. We got to see yellow bellied marmots -- which look a lot like gophers -- and a few male elk.

Today, we did whitewater rafting on the Poudre River which was amazing. The river had 13 class 3 rapids and two class 4 rapids and we hit them all. I had so much fun -- it was a real adrenaline rush.

Next week the program starts and our meetings begin. We get to see all of our prepartion and hard work pay off. I 'm really looking forward to this but I'm also nervous because I have to speak next Friday to all the kids about an aspect of God's love. Please pray for my presentation and that God would work in the lives of the teens we come in contact with.

Estes Park, Colorado

Preparing to go caving

Yesterday was pretty sweet. We went to Estes Park to meet up with Mark Zieler at the Midwest Getaway (outreach project)for Student Venture. From there we went off to find this cave called The Crack. In our genius we went to find the cave at 11pm with only one flashlight. We ended up climbing to the top of a random mountain searching for it. Although we couldn't find it I was able to experience one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. The sky looked like a swirl of watercolors and mystery. The night sky makes me realize God is truly an artist.

The Team Performing Community Service in Ft. Collins

Its been real busy here. We have been doing lots of community service before all the students arrive. We developed some sweet plans for the students this summer. I'm real excited about it because I see the Lord's hand at work in our decisions. We designed a sweet tee shirt today that I'm real stoked about. I'm exhausted but so pysched about what God is doing. I'm missing VA but I really do love it here in Colorado. Talk to you soon

Colorado is truly God's country. I am loving my time here. On Sunday I got to check out Brett's church Forefront which I do have to say is pretty awesome. I experience more faith at that church than any I have before in my life. After that he took me to Red Rocks which is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. At the top of the ampitheatre you can truly see as far as the eye can see. I love it so much here. I just got in to where I will be staying for the next 2 months. I will keep you updated in the days to come.

This whole experience seems very sureal to me at the moment. I never really expected this to come. It was one of those things that you look forward to but it feels like it will never happen. I leave today around 5pm to fly to Colorado where I will be able to hang out with my old youth pastors Brett Crimmel and Josh Chapman. I am really excited about that because I have not been able to see them in a year. They were the two that really helped me grow in my relationship with Christ. I am so excited for this whole experience to start. I will continue to keep you updated on what happens in the days to come.