Flabergast

I am unsure what to write, but I have been given a sliver of internet time, so I am taking advantage of it.

Work has been going well. I identified 40 people groups today, which is higher than I have gotten before, so I am thankful for that. I am continuing to meet people throughout the day. Getting to know the other interns better. I am hopeful that we will be able to strike up some good relationships.

I am into Deuteronomy 4, which is great. Reading through scripture these past weeks has been a huge blessing. Something I wanted to write earlier this week:

I don't have the exact scripture in front of me, but I will paraphrase.

When Israel is wandering in the desert they begin to grumble. God begins to consume them. This is crazy. Who would have thought that grumbling is such a large offense. However, they were grumbling against the Lord, lacking trust in Him, turning from him. Thousands of Israelites are killed in the process because God's anger burned against them and the fringes of the camp were destroyed.
This happens a second time, the Israelites grumble, and God sends a plague on them, and thousands are killed.

However,
Leviticus 3:22
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail."

Instead God forgives us, and separates our sin from us, as far as the east is from the west.
Crazy
I grumbled today. I know I lost hope in God and turned from Him and forgot him today. But God forgives me, he clothes me in Christ for the selfishness and pride I exhibit today, tomorrow, and the next day. Furthermore he forgives all my past sins. Not just those that I know I committed, but even more those that I don't even realize I commit.

Reminds me of something David Crowder said. "We were bought with a kiss but the cheek still turned even when it wasn't hit and I don't know what to do with a love like that."

It leads one to realize that God is love. He wanted to draw his people to Him from the start.

And furthermore, this realization gave a more serious tone to another scripture I have been focused on. Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without grumbling or disputing". This is a serious command. It is what God wants us to do, for our betterment, and because he wants us to be like Him, and love Him, and trust Him.

Wish I had more time to hash all this out. Thanks for reading my crazy stream of conscious regardless of the lack of organization.

Praying for you

-Tyler

Green Eggs and Ants

I am enjoying my time at night much lately. It is great to get a break from work. All the same, work is great. I am continuing to enjoy mapping people groups. Though I can get frustrated, I have realized that can occur whether I am at work or home or in a plane or on a train or in a box or with a fox or with a mouse in house or here or there or anywhere.

The past week has been a battle against ants. My roommate and I have found them 1st in the sink marching across the stove to get there (clean the dishes, spray with ant deterrent). Then we found them in a cubbard (simply move the food in the cubbard, spray with ant deterrent). Today we got home and thought all clear. Opening the microwave showed how misguided our thoughts were (turn on microwave for 5 minutes, which by the way doesn't kill ants). So, needless to say, all food has been removed from the area they have been around, and we are hoping for the best.

Something I wanted to share:

Romans 11:33-36 -> "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to him are all things. To Him be the glory forever, Amen."
God is phenomenally bigger and better than any of us can imagine. Our pride is generated from our comparison to one another. In light of Gods glory, we are seriously but dust. Hard to wrap ones mind around that, I'm still having trouble

Leviticus 11:45 -> "For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy."
God is calling the nation of Israel (which we are grafted into as believers [Rom 11:17]) His own, and He wants them to be holy so that He can reconcile them to Himself in LOVE.

Isaiah 53: 10-11 -> "But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a resilt of the anguish of His soul, He will se it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant will Justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities."
So God realizes that no amount of sacrifice that we can provide is good enough to make us holy. So He substitutes himself for his people. He crushed his son for the sake of those he loved, though they had turned away from him, and would continue to do so.

Ephesians 1:5-7 -> "He predestine us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind inention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wich He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which he lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which he purposed in Him."
This speaks for itself, and simply amplifies what we learn from Isaiah 53. We, who are filthy in our sin, were given grace by the blood of He who knew no sin. I know this is preaching to the Choir for some, but I have heard men wiser than I say we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. I feel like the eyes of my heart are being enlightened, so that I will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, and I wanted to share.

Other than that Richmond is a great place. It's no Louisville though. Thinking of you all.

-Tyler

1st one down

This week I think the grand total is 43 people groups mapped. Not too bad. My aim for the end of the summer is much higher, but I figure if I will just keep on going with it and hopefully get better daily.

The weekend is here. Good stuff.

-Tyler

MMMhmmm

IMB is great - I get to research people groups from all over the world all day long. Which is really great, because I know nothing about almost every group I have worked on so far. To my surprise, my administrators have left all the subjectivity of where to place a group up to me.

My boss is a great guy, who always seems to be in a good mood.

I am realizing more and more how great of a life I have. This includes family, friends, school, etc.

I am getting better at the job, which is uber encouraging. Though I am plagued by waves of frustration.

I need to invest in relationships at work

I am waiting for other interns to get there so I have more people my age

I seem to always want to move faster than older people. Very interesting lesson on patience.

I get to listen to music while I work

My roommate and I got to talk last night. This might not seem important, but I had lived here for two days and we had no really met yet (except for seeing one another at work, once).

If you squeak your foot across the ground it makes a sound like that of R2D2

I am not going to have as much free time this summer as I would have guessed

Working for a Christian organization does not throw you into some euphoria of encouragement.

So those are just my thoughts on life as of right now. There is a lot going on. I am hoping that I can find a church this weekend to visit. I have some prospects.
God is working in me, as always, but right now there are some really specific things.
Overall, things are going pretty smoothly.

Hope all is well with you all in Louisville, Lexington, Gainesville, Milton, Colorado, etc.

In Christ,
Tyler

628

Meant to get up around 6:45. Too excited for the day so I woke at 6:08.
Today is the first day of work, and I am pumped. It is strange because I am still kind of amazed that I get to go and experience working with the International Mission Board. But I am just going to jump into and see how it goes. Thinking back to December is strange: when I sent the vague and misguided email that somehow lead to a meeting with an IMB representative and the months of forms and waiting that eventually lead to this internship and a place to live in Richmond.

God has already begun to work on me. Last night the Holy Spirit jostled me around through a phone call from a friend. I wont go into specifics about the call, but I can tell what I realized for myself:
- Selfishness abounds in my heart
- Christ has done all that he is for love and the sake of his own name

Two things I "know", but haven't resonated with my heart for a great deal of time, and that is dangerous. Praise be to him for Ephesians 1, Romans 1-3, and Psalm 25. All great encouragement in a time of questions.

I miss those of you I have left. Thank you for your support, I couldn't be here without it. I am praying for many of you.

-Tyler

Another Summer

I am off to Richmond to work at the International Mission Board's Global Research Department
I finished another two semesters at UofL
God is continually teaching me
I am dating Emily Grace Rickard

Sorry, this is going to be a quick first post, but I have to get on the road soon.

Wish everyone in KY the best, I will see you soon.
People's in Gainesville, I miss you and I am excited to see you after the internship.

In Christ,
Tyler

Half way home

I am back in Louisville now. The road trip back was great, and the last moments in Vail were some that I will not forget for some time.

I don't know quite what to say, everything is a little overwhelming. Yesterday was definetely a day of hugs. I saw so many people that I have missed over the summer and there were a number of embraces.

God has blessed me with awesome experiences in life. From Vail to being here in Louisville to having parents who I can visit in Florida and a sister in Lexington. I get to travel all around. I have so many people in so many places that love and care for me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support. And as I do travel, I see Christ wherever I go.

It was awesome to come back and go to sojourn yesterday. I got to be reminded once again how many people truely follow Christ. In this western nation there are so many "Christians" that sometimes it is hard to sort out those who truly love Christ. So it's great to be reminded how soverign God is and how he does have his hand on so many hearts. It reminds me of a song by Audio Adrenaline called "Jesus Movement": "Imagine my suprise, when I realized. Everywhere I go, I can see I'm not the only one moving...moving to Jesus." It is an awesome reminder that the Church is not a building, but instead the true body of Christ for which Christ is the head of. The author and perfector of our faith holds us together. Great to have such assurance.

Anyway. The last banquet for project was great. We got to go to a restaurant called "The Wildflower". Very expensive, very good. I am glad that project paid for it. Otherwise I would have settled for the ramen back in my condo. After the banquet we headed to the church to reminisce and have a dance party. Both were a lot of fun. Some people suprised me with their dancing skills.

Going back a little farther. Two friends from project and I climbed a couple more 14ers on wednesday called Gray's and Torrey's. They were a fun climb. A lot shorter than Holy Cross.
Pics:


The trail view

Gray's is the rounded peak on the left. Torrey's is the pointed one on the right


Top of Gray's



Top of Torrey's


The snow we went through coming off of Torrey's. Snow in august...weird.

Top of Torrey's. My wind protection outfit


The marmot that we met on the top of Torrey's. Crazy that God created animals that can live at 14,000 ft.


SO now I am back into school mode. Trying to get my house together (i'll try to post some pictures of it if I get a chance), and work out all the stuff that needs to be transfered from Vail to here ($). Hopefully in all the action I wont loose sight of the things I learned this summer. I am already slipping on quiet times. Pray I wont loose sight of what's important. It happens all too easily.

Thanks again for reading this summer. If you have any question/requests for me shoot me an email at Quickchangemcgraw@gmail.com.

O and by the way. There is an article in the Vail Daily about our project. Here is the link:
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20080807/NEWS/650769654&parentprofile=search

I hope Christ is continuing to teach you things. Maybe now that my summer is done someone else should start a blog.

In Him,
Tyler Belcher

Too Close

The time which we have here in Vail is slower trickling away. Just yesterday it seemed to be wuite a while. But shortly after I found out that it was my last day of work things quickly became all too tangible. With only two days left I can feel the pressure of not seeing the friends here growing greater every moment. Thankfully, I know that it is not something to be sad about. As a friend of my sisters said on the project she was on last year: "Don't be sad it's over, be happy that it happened." Little cheesy...a little true.

I am glad that I can take things home with me from this summer. It is time to reflect on what I have learned, take it back to Louisville, and apply it to my life there. I'm glad I have Christ with me, I would feel overwhelmed if I was without him.

But these last few days will definetely be fun. I will be climbing a 14er tomorrow morning (a 14,000 ft. mountain) and then playing some basketball. And thursday brings the final banquet in which we all get to say goodbye. Only to be followed up by the car ride home on friday (which will defntely be fun if it is anything like that of the ride here) and then the new chapter in my life that is junior year at University of Louisville.

Speaking of 14er's though, a couple of friends (well 8) and I climbed one called Holy Cross on saturday morning. We began at 1:00 am and ended at 10:20 am. It was quite a climb and something I will never forget. We were even fortunate enough to make it up right before the sunrise. It was awesome to see God's creation. All I could think of was how if we were to cease worshiping Him even the rocks would cry out praise. I think that might be cool to see. But even now I can look at such awesome landscapes and not see Christ in them. Pictures follow:

My friend and fellow climber Jesse. This a view of the back side of the view from the top.


Just before sunrise


James decided to climb out onto a ridge adjacent to the summit

The whole group standing in front of the sunrise
The ridge we took to get back down (this looks relatively flat...but right before that we climbed down a boulder field, and the dropoff where you can't see anything is another large boulder field. Basically 11,000 ft and up were boulders. After the tree line stops there is intense erosion).


A pic of the peak from the ridge


This was taken on the sperate ridge you have to climbing down to start the hike up to holy cross' peak. But yea, there is the mountain in all its glory.


I will try to upload a video later. For now it was taking a little long and it is definetely time for me to sleep.

Thanks as always for reading. I will try to post more soon.

In Christ,
Tyler

Sorry for the wait

So it has been a while since my last post. I guess I have taken most of my free time to reflect on the things taking place here and to chill with the friends I have here in Vail.

The past week and weekend have revealed some awesome lessons for me and the other kids here on VSP (vail summer project). I know we are all feeling the urgency of our situation since we have less than two weeks left. I want to do a lot before leaving, including witnessing to more co-workers, and investing even more in the relationships I have with people (both CRU kids and the people of Vail). Honestly I just want to feel like I have accomplished the task I set out for, to expand God's kingdom in Vail and to show His love to the people here. I want to continue to grow in His love, grace and knowledge.

I have found that a day when I don't try to share the gospel with people is an empty day. I feel farther from Christ and like I am not completing the task he has given me. But thankfully I can bank on grace. Praise the Lord.

So this past weekend we all (CRU) came together and painted a mural/ made a mosaic on the wall of Simba Run's garage. We made the mosaic out of broken plates and tiles. Before we broke these plates we scribed the things in our lives that we wanted to be broken of, and brought them before God. Then we smashed them and used them to make an awesome work of art. A good picture of how Christ uses broken people in the body of believers to create beautiful things, and to give us life in full. Anyway. The mural and mosaic look freakin awesome. Pics follow:

The wall before even any prep work was done


The initial sketch and layout


Everyone working hard on setting the tiles on the wall, which was followed by painting the mountains, trees and sky


The two who planned out the entire thing. They were the artists behind the project (Kim Mazzone [right] and Ferrell Rickardson [left]).


The finished Product! It's hard to tell how good it looks from this photo, but there were a lot of compliments made and I think Simba really likes the outcome of the project.


A close up of the sun/summer portion of the mural

So yea, after about only 6 hours of work the mural/mosaic turned out awesome. Hope it is there to stay for a while.

Anyway. Thanks for all the encouragement you guys. Everyone who has sent me stuff, called me, or contacted me in any way has been a great help. I hope you all are mutually encouraged by me as well. I am constantly amazed at how many people read this blog. Speaking of which, stephanie if your out there in germany reading this then hey, I hope to write/talk to you soon. Thanks again to everyone who reads. Peace out.

In Christ,
Tyler

P.S. As always I hope you all are continuing to grow in the grace, knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.

This world

So camping went well this past weekend. We went someplace in a high altitude desert. Don't really know where it was, but it was a great time to get some relaxing conversation and fellowship in with the other CRU kids. Good time also to have an outdoor quiet time and to experience the awe of God's creation.

After camping we were able to go zip lining for free b/c of the awesome contribution of some friends from Vail church. I will try to get some pictures up of it, but basically it was amazing. Some of these lines were 1000 ft long and got you going 35 mph. 

After this I got to go and have dinner with my rents, and then I was privileged to go and see the Dark Night. All in all a pretty good day. 

Sunday presented itself as a time to regroup. After Church I basically came home and read a bit, took a nap, all that good Sunday stuff. 

Also, I looked for some apartments online. When I get home I don't have a place to live unless John finds one for david, him and I. So that is an interesting evolution in life. God will provide. 

Thanks to all who have sent me mail, it's been amazing encouragement. I will brave the day continuing to seek to spread the gospel. I hope you all in Christ are doing the same. I pray you are continually being encouraged and driven towards Christ by those around you and the things that you learn. 

In Him,

Tyler

Water works

7:30 couldn't come too soon this morning. I was able to go with my dad to fly fish the creeks of Vail. It was amazing, and something I have always wanted to do. I think he had a good time and I know I had a great experience. Learning how to fly fish is a little tricky, and I don't have it down by any means, but non the less we both kept going for about 5 hours. I was even fortunate enough to catch a fish. No big deal.

Everything kind of melts away when you are standing in a river casting. It reminds me a lot of rock climbing. These are two of the only activities that I can think of that really make me forget everything else. Being out in Gods creation and realizing how many things he has blessed me with kind of floor me.

Lately God has continued to increase my faith in Him. There are still a lot of things that I wonder about, and many times when I run from Him, but he keeps with me. I love and praise Him for that.

My parents are here until tom, but I have a camping trip tonight. Hopefully we will be able to see one another before they leave. Pray that we would be able to, and if not that we could continue to encourage one another regardless of the distance separating us.

In Christ,
Tyler

P.S. The Dark Night came out today. I want to see it very badly.

Out of the Blue

So my parents came to the red Lion to surprise me today. I must say I have never had such an unexpected visit. To come out of the kitchen and see my dad standing there was great. You just don't expect to see your parents when you're in Vail and they are hundreds of miles away in FL.

Night of reflection was tonight. Very inspiring. Read Jude and about David's mighty men. Good times. I cam continually encouraged to share the gospel.

In Christ,
Ty

P.S. Hello to those in Lexington whom I love dearly and continue to pray for. I hope to see you soon.

weekender

So this weekend started off with a life skill. These are activities we do as a project to help us realize biblical teachings. Yesterday we were all given cameras to go out into Vail and take pictures of 5 different subjects. Those being redemption, empathy, true love, beauty and evil. Once we took all the pictures my family group had them developed and then we hung all 300 or so up on the wall of a community room in Simba Run where we live. We then had a large group meeting to discuss how our day went, stories we were able to gather from the event, and also what the pictures meant to us. Every CRU projector grabbed 3 pictures that represented how God was working in their life. IT was awesome getting to hear the multiple perspectives surrounding each picture. Some people came up with amazing explanations that I would have never thought of. Overall it was an great exercise. I hope that everyone took home something significant that they will continue to remember through the project. I personally realized, even more than I knew before, how much grace God has for us. No matter how much I screw things up he is there to forgive me. I can't imagine being without that.

After the life skill a bunch of people decided to go on a night hike. A bunch of us only took a two and a half hour hike up to booth falls, while another group added 5 more hours to the hike by going all the way up to booth lake (a 2,000 foot increase in elevation). Needless to say they got back a little late. My roommate Sully rolled in around 4:00 am. I was a little confused at first, thinking he was getting ready for church really early, only to realize he was just getting in.

Today Church was awesome. The usual worship team was back along with Craig Smith, our usual pastor. He did a great job going through Jonah ch. 3. For worship we focused on old hyms, which I really enjoyed. I have found myself wanting to sing those for a while, in fact there was conversation of that desire while some of us hiked booth falls last night.

After church I was fortunate enough to go to a fly fishing clinic. It was interesting. Makes me want to get out in the river and actually try it for myself.

This was follow by a gondola trip up Vail mt. to hand out lemonade and spread the gospel amung people coming up berry picker trail. It was an awesome opportunity to get to know CRU people even better, hand out some refreshments, and speak with people we would have otherwise never gotten a chance to converse with.

So the weeks are widdling down. We are all realizing how much work we have to get done here in a short amount of time. Therefore, we are kicking things into high gear. I think now that relationships have been established among both CRU people with CRU people, and CRU peeps with their co-workers it is time to really invest in the Kingdom. So please pray that the gospel would be shared in any way possible, and that we would have the zeal for Christ to continue to follow His word.

Miss you all. My computer time is running out at the Lib, so I must go. Thanks again for reading.

In Christ,
Tyler

Struggle

Today was a good one. But it was hard. There were a lot of opportunities to talk to co-workers about Christ/Church/etc. Which is definetely a plus. But they were some difficult struggles. Please pray that the people we are given a chance to speak with here in Vail would have their hearts softened and that they would hear the gospel and realize Christ is the way the truth and the life.

Thanks to everyone who has, or is sending me mail. It is very much appreciated. I apologize if I haven't sent any back. This is def. a busy time in my life.

We had a huge soccer game tonight. Every Tuesday at Ford park. It is a great time and we almost always have enough for two huge teams. So its a good time to get to know one another and have some healthy competition.

In Christ,
Tyler

Light

So Saturday was full of great stuff. Went to a few outlet malls and the REI store in Denver. Ate at a place called Beau Jo's (amazing pizza), and finally went to the Rockies game (which was won 12-6 by the mountain locals). Beau Jo's has a challenge that asks its participants, which can be at most two people, to eat 14 lbs of pizza. I would really love to try it. I think I might try to recruit sponsors so that I can go into the challenge knowing I have financial support if me and the guy I try it with fail. It is $75 to try to beat the challenge. Yet, if you eat the entire pizza you recieve $100 and two free t-shirts.

Church was great. The Vail Church is going through Jonah today. We had our usual pastor speaking and our normal worship team, and they did an awesome job. It was a great day of learning through reading scripture and singing praises in community. Afterward a bunch of us (guys) went to go play basketball close to the church. We ended up being able to play 3 games of 5 on 5. Best of all a gentleman who works at home depot with some of the CRU guys was there playing with us. So hopefully we fostered some freindship throughout the games.

After all this the guys from my family group and I went out to buy food for tonight. What we did was make a nice dinner for the 8 girls in our 12 person family group. We grilled chicken, baked potatoes, prepared a salad, and closed it with chocolate fondu and fruit. All this was prepared around a candle lit table with sparkling cider for beverage. It was a little choppy getting things together with our alotted time today, but everything came together eventually and I hope we were able to bring the group closer together.

We are reading John together as family groups currently. I think the book is amazing. I have only read the first chapter for the pourpose of discussing it with family group today. But even one chapter seems so full of theology and truth that it is almost overwhelming. I am thankful for scripture and all we can gather from it. I am looking forward to reading more into John and praying that God will constantly reveal more things to me through it.

Everything is going really well even with the departure of staff. I hope everyone is looking to the future with hope that God will continue to work through us to share his gospel. It seems everyone is becoming more and more aware of the urgency in which we need to share with others, and that we must depend on God's timing to share Christ with others. I pray that though I am sure we have all passed up oportunities (I know I have), that we will continue to look for chances to speak His truth. Both now and when we return to our respective areas I hope we continue to use every day to its full advantage.

As always, thanks for the encouragement and for reading this blog. I hope everyone continues to grow in grace and knowledge of Christ.

In Christ,
Tyler

Carried

So Christ got me through work. It was as crazy as I would have expected, but overall a great day. I got a number of good responses concerning my expediting abilities, and owe it all the Him. I prayed quite a bit today. It was nerve raking thinking that so many orders where filtering through me and that people were depending on me for their food to get out to the tables right and in a timely manner. I know it might seem like a small task, but trust me it was a little crazy. I must say though, I couldn't have done in without my great food runners and the help and patience of kitchen management. There was no yelling today, which was a gift in itself. I hope that somehow it was a witness for Christ.

After work a lot of people went to see fireworks, others opted to see WALL-E. I went with the movie. It was awesome. I would def recommend it to a friend (that being you).

Tommorrow a lot of us are going to denver to spend the day and then out to a Rockies (vs. Marlins) game. I am hopeful for a good time over fellowship with the other crusaders. A lot of others are going to another area to a shopping mall (I think it's called silverthorn), and still others are doing their own thing (hiking, fishing, etc.).

SO the staff is gone now. Which means a lot more responsibility for the students. Especially a few of us, four main students are heading up the project now. I hope you will pray for them. That God would guide and direct their decisions just like he did their selection.

Overall continue to pray that the gospel would be spread through us here in Vail. So much oporunity is out there, I pray the Holy Spirit would continually work through us. I know He will, God wastes nothing.

I hope you all are doing well wherever you are reading this from. I hope to speak with you soon.

In Christ,
Tyler

4th

So today is going to be a crazy one. This is the busiest day for the Red Lion during the summer. Being the 4th there is a parade that starts right outside of the Red Lion's building. I will be an expeditor today. Thus I will have a lot of responsibility. I am quite anxious about it so prayers are very appreciated. Hope that the gospel is still shared throughout the business of the day and that I have a calm spirit throughout the time there (9-5). Thanks.

In Christ,

Tyler

Adventure Race

So today we swam before biking 20 mi and then hiked up Vail mountain a total of 8 mi.

It was an amazing day. Our team, the Kindergartners (just a theme, we are all at least 20), did an amazing job. Though it was hard everyone continue to persevere and I was really proud of everyone.

We had three guys in the group. This inherently produces pride, just by our nature. God blessed us with little controversy throughout the day. In fact, I think the most we had was deciding on a team name yesterday and getting costumes.

Quite the physical strain. Everyone's tired. Including myself. So I depart.

In Christ,
Tyler

Time well spent

This weekend is sure to bring challenge. We have an adventure race that divides our project into teams and puts us up against one another through a race containing biking, running and swimming. We all developed costumes and team names for our groups, so that should be entertaining as well. Overall I think it will be hard both physically and mentally (trying to keep the teams together, keep pride down, and work together through it all).

This week has been interesting. The time flies by when you are constantly busy. It seems that every day brings a full schedule of work and CRU activities. I know I have mentioned that a lot, but it is definetely a truth in my life now.

But I wouldn't trade the activities for more time. We continue to grow together as a group, both as a full 42 students and as our smaller work groups and family groups.

We have also begun to really develop relationships with co-workers. As we meet more frequently I continually hear stories of how people are interacting with their co-workers in different ways. This is really encouraging, hopefully not only for me but also for all the others here and out there hearing about our ministry.

I personally have been able to meet with my co-workers more and more. Bringing them into our group has been a goal and I feel like the students working at the red lion have really been trying hard. I pray that God continues to bless our efforts and establishes some fruit...I know he is already planting seeds.

Quiet times are priceless. Though they do usually consist of some sleeping (rest is rest after all), they are definetely productive. I have been able to really learn more and more about God through scripture. Traveling through Jeremiah and Isaiah in the past two months has shown me how incredibly forgiving and graceful God is. I pray that he continues to increase my knowledge of scripture.

I think of home constantly. Which as you may know is a number of places. I continue to remember those in C-wood, Louisville, Gainesville, and Milton (as well as the people I have met in those places). I continue to pray for you all. Specifically today I thought of CBC. Any of you at Crestwood Baptist Church reading this should realize that I pray for you continually. I hope that you continue to look for God's guidance in our Church and for the necessary decernment when looking for a new pastor. On top of that though I really want everyone there to be of one mind in the spirit of Christ as Paul mentions many times in scripture. I pray this for the entire body of believers. That we would constantly be on our guard for division among us and that we would continue to run the race before us with perserverance, throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

Anyway, I have been blessed with a significant amount of growth while I have been here. Mostly things have revolved around my pride being reduced, and only having confidence in Christ. Yet, there are definetely specific things that I have realized throughout the trip. I pray that they would continue to resognate with me once i return.

To any hillians reading this Blog. I love you all. I pray for you continually. I'm excited to see you guys when I get home.

To the people at Harlan, I hope God is blessing you with unity. That there are no quarrells among you and that you continue to encourage one another towards Christ.

To Caleb and Rachel. Congrats once again on the wedding. I am encouraged by your relationship and I know God will continue to bless it and bless those around you through it.

I hope that anyone who wants to pray for me and the group of believers here would remember our pourpose. That we are here to be Christs hands and feet and to show him to the people of the valley. That we all wish to grow towards him and be stretched in our faith. That we want to grow closer to one another learning to invest in wisdom of Christ.

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me in any way. I pray that Christ would continue to show the world himself through this project.

I know there are not any pictures here, but I don't have much to show this time around. I do of course have my Flickr site, and also if you can get on Facebook there are a number of pictures to be viewed in mine and other people's profiles.

I will see you all soon.

In Christ,
Tyler

Reading: Jeremiah (need to find something new, not that I have exhuasted the book, moreso it has exausted me)

Men's Weekend

This past weekend consisted of a camping adventure in eagle CO. Two days of camping, hiking, spelunking, and a little outdoor driving fun. Throughout the days we worked on bringing the group together. I think it worked out. We were able to share some thoughts with one another during devotionals around the fire and we got to eat a lot of food, always a good thing. Actually, let me emphasize the "a lot" of food. We were car camping so we were able to bring a plethora of edibles. last nights dinner was a blend of vegetables, penne pasta, and chicken. This was coupled with garlic bread and a desert of cupcakes. Not your typical backpacking food.

The hike we went on was pretty intense. The initial plan was to make it all the way to Lake Charles, a good 4 miles of hiking. The trouble was the snow. Not much of it had melted yet and we had to post hole it for the majority of the trip. This produced some twisted ankles and frustrated spirits. But some of us made it to the lake none the less.


At first the trail was pretty clear


Then we started to see patches of snow, eventually it began to block the path

And eventually it was all over the place

I know none of the pictures show it, but there were multiple occurences of fall through. I personally fell in up to my crotch more than a couple of times. The majority of the trip was therefore spent with wet pants up to the top of my calfs and rather wet shoes.

After we made it down from lake charles and back to camp, everyone dried off, ate dinner and then headed off to go caving.

Caving was a great expereince. Nothing suprising there. Just running around in a cave, trying to find our way aorund. Spend a good portion of the night in there. Got out around 10:30, and home by 11.

It was overall a great oportunity to know everyone better. We were able to talk about personal struggles and what God has taught us in the past regarding those specifics.

But, I think we are all a little tired from the trip. Here are some more pictures if you feel so inclined to view them.

I'm sorry if the blog isn't too exciting recently, but I am a little fatigued. Please pray for strength for all of us here in Vail and that we would have confidence to share the gospel and remember it in our everyday lives.

In Christ,
Tyler

reading: Philippeans, Jeremiah