Update: What a week! The five days or so of General Conference in Grand Rapids were packed. Connections and re-connections were made with so many people. Obviously I loved getting to see my family, as well as hanging with best friend Mark quite a bit. The two of us were able to get a lot done in preparation towards the coming months overseas. The services were challenging, and honestly many of the business meetings were very interesting. Highlights included meeting with Mick Veech and the Nettletons. Another highlight was being a part of the prayer walk for City Life Church, a coming church plant in downtown Grand Rapids that Adam and Christy Lipscomb are heading up.


So Esther and I were able to get together this weekend after a couple weeks apart. Her birthday was this past Wednesday so we really enjoyed doing some celebratory things related to that. We also took a hike Saturday and braved some crazy Colorado weather. (I can now stand in Esther's camp, Covenant Heights, and see several landmarks I've enjoyed climbing. To the northeast I climbed Twin Sisters, to the northwest we both climbed Estes Cone, and to the west I climbed Mt. Lady Washington. The obvious remaining piece is 14,200 Longs Peak.) I can't even put into words how great of a weekend we had together. We did active things, low-key things, new things, creative things, and just really enjoyed each other. For instance after church on Sunday we bought a bunch of ingredients at the grocery store for a huge salad. We mixed it all up in the plastic bag from the grocery store, and walked into a local wilderness area for a picnic. It was a very memorable lunch.

Rambling: My global awareness was extremely heightened this past week in Michigan. I talked with people from all over the world. I had lunch with a couple guys from a Middle East country that I can't name, spent an hour with a Sri Lankan, hung out with a guy from Auckland, New Zealand, and the list goes on and on. I heard stories from the prostitution rings of Thailand, war torn countries of Africa, and AIDS ravaged countries like Zambia. There is a lot of brokenness and hurt in our world. And we can either watch that go by us, or we can be a part of being God's presence in this unjust world. This week I again felt motivated to make a difference. What are you going to do? Are you still sitting comfortably in the bunker of ignorance? Find a niche, make a difference.

Okay, for those of you that have been frequenting this blog from the beginning, you will be glad to see that the pictures are back. And that is because I can post from my own computer now! That's right, I'm no longer waiting in lines in the library to get on-line; I now have an "office" of sorts at Summit Church (in the Kingdom Building Ministries building). What a joy it is, let me tell you, to be able to get on-line any hour of the day. [Alright, at least I'm not addicted to coffee.]

I had a span of eight consecutive days of working at Zio's. That's great for the wallet and for keeping myself busy. It's taking time, but very slowly I'm seeing some positive signs of good relationships being formed there too. Here's my thought of the week: most people have little to no contentment. I work with a lot of grumpy, complaining, negative, upset, foul-mouthed whiners. I mean they love to laugh and have fun at times, but life has taught them to be down. That is where the world is at, and Christ is fighting for their hearts and yearning for them to live the full life...with Him. The Church's mission is to bring hope to the very people that aren't all that enjoyable to be around. So I'm still sorting out ways of bringing that hope to my co-workers. Pray for me, and them.

Tomorrow morning I'll be flying out to Grand Rapids, MI for Festival of Nations and General Conference. My main agenda is to connect with the missionaries that I will be serving with later this year. I will also get the chance to connect with most of my family, including being with my dad on Father's Day for the first time in a few years. It is going to be a fun time! The downside is that being gone this weekend means that I won't be seeing Esther for two weeks, nor will I see her on her birthday. (Insert mental picture of Paul frowning here.) She's having a fantastic time though as she is finally doing what she had been training for a month to do. Just in this week alone she has done high ropes, hiking, mountain biking, climbing, and rafting - Wow! - with the group that she is leading. Not to mention leading devotional times and connecting one-on-one with teen girls.

I can actually say that over the course of the last couple weeks I've been too busy to post on here. Ha. That's great. A couple weeks ago I got to a point of being bored out of my mind because I didn't have anything to do. The job at Zio's Italian Kitchen has really panned out to be great. I'm getting all the hours I want and it pays really well. It's pretty fun and I work alongside good people. God has really been faithful in landing me a place to lay my head at night and to work during the day.

Esther is in her final week of training this week in order to lead outdoor adventure trips for jr high and high schoolers. This week she is backpacking in Rocky Mountain NP with her leadership team. I am really looking forward to hearing about the ways that the Lord uses her in the lives of the young people that she ministers to this summer.

Two Sundays ago Summit Church had an all-time high attendance of 40 people. It was a really exciting time as we had a barbacue after the service. High winds almost knocked us over, and did knock many folding chairs over, but we still managed to have a great time. I have been getting a lot out of my one-on-one times with Chris Williams, the lead pastor.

It would be my hope that every time I post I have some kind of exciting outdoors adventure to talk about (I mean seriously, it would be horible for me to be living in Colorado and not taking advantage of the landscape and beauty!). Last Thursday morning I took a jaunt up to the top of a peak called Twin Sisters. It was only about 7.5 miles round trip, but the beauty up on top was incredible! I wish I could have shared it with you. Twin Sisters sits across Highway 7 from Long's Peak and the rest of Rocky Mountain NP, so that view was phenomenal. Then off to the north was the valley of Estes Park. To the East I felt like I could see all the way to my home state of Indiana. I trail-ran most of the leg down the mountain, and felt as though the ghost of Burt Webb was with me (IWU professor/friend who trail-runs all the time).