Un-prepared for the Wow--A Grand Canyon Adventure

I was going to post a story of my day to you yesterday, but there is no internet service (or cell service) in the Grand Canyon. Guess it all fell in a hole, get a hole...Grand Canyon...

I got up early on Wednesday to watch the sunrise over the Canyon. I noticed it was a little cloudy when I got up. Oh, well. It's the desert. It can't rain two days in a row, right? So I headed up the rim and was ready. Only thing I could see were the clouds. I couldn't see the features around me, let alone the bottom or the far side of the canyon. Socked in with clouds. GRRR.

So I walked around and gathered info for our trip out this summer. I felt a little lost as I didn't really know where to go, so I just pressed on. I looked at things inside, attended a ranger program about the Canyon and the history, things like that. Everyone in the park kept saying the weather was going to clear. And I was ready for some good weather. It was cold and I wanted to see all of the Canyon.

After a good lunch, I decided to hit the trail. Certainly it would clear up. I set out down the Bright Angel Trail. I was going to hike about 1 1/2 miles, one way, and descend about 1500 feet. It was a highly recomended trail and it was going to clear up, right? I layered up against the cold and headed out. About a mile down the trail, a rain set in. I will admit that it was pretty to see the clouds in the distance of the canyon. But the clouds overhead brought a cold rain. I found shelter under an archway over the trail the mules use. Their "tracks" were obvious everywhere. Then the rain turned to sleet. I decided it was getting late, too late to compete with much more hiking to do and the cold. So I headed back up. Just I was about to the rim again, the rain that had turned to sleet turned to snow. It was snowing in the Grand Canyon and I was on the trail.

I reached the lodge and decided to find some hot coffee and dry out a little. Just I turned to head out the door, a group of Korean tourists knocked me over as they ran for the door to the rim. I looked to see what the excitement was about. There before was the thing we had come to see--the Canyon in all its splendor before us. It had cleared up in a just a matter of minutes and you could see for miles and miles and miles.

Determined to make the most of it, I stuck around the rim area and took a shuttle to see the sunset over the canyon. It was VERY cold. It was in the 20's--before the windchill brought by 40 mph gusts. The batteries in my camera were so cold I had to warm them before getting this picture here.

Today I went back to the Canyon for that sunrise. It went to the east side and could see the desert of Arizona, the Navajo Nation that I had just driven through a day and half before. It was a WOW moment.

These experiences have been wonderful, but I must admit--they feel a little hollow. Seeing wonderful things like this, alone, is a little of a letdown. I want to share them with someone. Then I receive the encouraging words from my Beth, my family, and my church family and it encourages me. It encourages me to know that some of you will one day share it with me and it is worthwhile.
I think the Christian Life is like that. I enjoy sharing the Joy with others. Go share the joys He has given you.

Be what He has called you, Believe what He has told you, Become what He has called you

The Glory we haven't seen

Lots of windshield time today. I met up with the Regional Director for Youthworks and we headed to Mesa Verde National Park. For hundreds of years the Anasazi people lived an amazing life. They built structures that still stand nearly 1000 years later. They used primitive tools and the gifts and knowledge of the others in their tribe.
Later, I decided to take the drive to the Grand Canyon a day earlier, so I headed out in the afternoon across the Arizona desert. Almost all of that drive is across the Navajo Nation. Even the 4 corners! (Check out the pic). As a driving rain began to let up (yes, rain in the desert), the sun wasa setting below a mountain range at the edge of the Grand Canyon. A pretty sunset gave way to a sliver of a moon trying to peek out.
By the time I actully got into the Grand Canyon Park, it was pitch dark and raining. There was hardly another car on the road. I was in the dark, in the rain, and alone--at the Grand Canyon. Just a few feet to my right was one of the most glorious sites on the planet Earth, and I couldn't see it, yet. I would have to wait until the sunrise.
And then something occurred to me. I have met many people (youth and adults both) who were trying hard to make it down a long, difficult road in their lives. They were pushing ahead in the dark, in stormy weather, and trying to do it alone. They were struggling with things they didn't really have to deal with. They didn't bother to wait or even look to the one who can provide the light they are really looking for. And when that light is cast, the beauty is overwhelming. Christ is our light. Following Christ is not always easy, but we are called to live it with others. To shed that light into another's life. And that is why I am out here. To shed that light to others and to help youth do the same. May we not wait, but shed that light today. Then other we see His Glory, maybe for the first time.
Be what He has called you, Believe what He has told you, Become what He has for you

Rocky Mountain Fever

John Wesley’s Rules for Life:
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

I left Holbrook, Arizona today headed for Colorado. I cruised over to Gallup, New Mexico and jumped on a road through the desert and the Navajo Nation that takes you right into Cortez. As I listened to Charlie Hall sing about Christ being the center of our lives, Wesley’s rules of life kept coming to mind. As I am here preparing for next summer’s mission trip, I see that the work we are preparing to do falls right into this. Cortez is a nice little town. In many ways, I think it is something like Fairhope was when it was smaller. However, a lack of jobs and rising housing costs takes its toll on the people. While overt poverty is not obvious here, the reservations are just minutes away. Reservations make no attempts to hide their poverty like our small towns do.

I sat in a beautiful park and watched the sun go down behind the mountains. Pink hues painted the snow peaked mountains to the east. I saw kids playing soccer, families walking their dogs and “punks” at the skateboard park. I read my Bible I prayed for the community—that seemed to be all the good I could do at that time. Two Mormons were on their mission and walking by. Right next to this beautiful park, this beautiful piece of Americana underneath a beautiful mountain sunset, sat a rundown housing park. It seemed to be a statement of contrasts. I wonder who was behind those doors. What were their hurts and their needs? What were they afraid? What were they praying for?

I wonder if I did all the good I could today by all the means I could? I didn’t preach the Gospel with words to the unbelievers, I didn’t feed the homeless or visit the sick or imprisoned. But I prepared to do many of those things and began to pave the way for others to do so. This is going to be a good trip. I pray that it will be for those who will serve and those that we will serve. Maybe that is all I can do today.

Be what He has called you, Believe what He has told you, Become what He has for you

Kicks back on Route 66

A long day and I am sitting on Route 66 at the HIE in Holbrook, AZ. Flights were smooth enough. I am always a little unsure if a pre-trip is necessary, until I get here. Who knew that the rental cars would be a country mile from the airport? Who would have thought it would be such a hassle to get out of there? (It took me about an hour to get on the road and an hour to get my car before that GRRRRR).
It took me a while to sit back and relax, and that was one of the things I was trying to do!

After about an hour or so on the road, I came up on top of a large rim of the hills over Phoenix. I looked and could see the desert stretching out before me further that I could see. The sky was a crystal blue-not a single cloud around. I could see the colors of God's paintbrush on the landscape of His Creation. Green cacti and scrub trees dotted the brown tones of the sand and rock. I climbed a hill and was lost among amazing rock formations. Chris Tomlin was playing on the radio and I heard the lyrics and was brought to my emotional knees:

We will praise You
All of our days
It's for Your glory
We offer everything

Raise your hands, all you nations
Shout to God all creation
How awesome is the Lord most high

Where You send us
God, we will go
You're the answer
We want the world to know

We will trust You
When You call our name
Where You lead us
We'll follow all the way

Then it occurred to me that I was in the middle of this song--observing creation shout to God. Going where God has called us, answering the call to minister to His people and clearing the way for our Youth to serve them.
It was all worth it at that point: the rainy morning in Pensacola, the crowded planes, the long wait at the rental car counter, the frustrations trying to get of Phoenix...
I am excited about what tomorrow will bring as I head to Cortez and will see a couple of National Parks along the way.
I am throwing in a couple of pictures of me and the rocks and the cacti.

Be what He has called you, Believe what He has told you, Become what He has for you

Pre-Trip Jitters

On Sunday morning I head out West for a week to work towards getting things ready for next summer's youth mission trip. I am excited and apprehensive all at the same time.
There is much work to be done in the office, I will be away from my family, and I am going alone. I am flying to Phoenix, but there will cover many miles out there alone to go to this mission sites, talk with people, work out logistical plans, free day options, etc. I think I'll probably do about 1000 miles in the week. I wonder if these distractions are attacks from the enemy to get me away from the greater purpose here?
Maybe the alone time will be a blessing. I've made a few CD's to keep me entertained. Some friends have promised to make some too. :) Maybe this will be some good quiet time with God. I guess much of that is up to me.
From my early discussions with my contacts out there, I've learned that this is a very needy place--spiritually and physically. I pray for an open heart to what God wants me to see. I am more and more amazed at the needs of those in the US--the most properous nation in history and the one that we've seen God's hand in guiding again and again.
I solicit the prayers of those back home that God will pave the road for my trip, those we will work with out there and those that we'll send out this summer. I think I'll be pretty connected out there. Your emails and your calls are always appreciated.

Be what God calls you to Be, Believe what He tells you, Become all that He has for you.