Final Stretch

Well it has been a bit of a long time since I last updated you all. Sorry about that. I don't have a good excuse besides I've been tired and trying to ready myself for my next two weeks here. I will be going on a two night backpacking trip with 5 seventh graders this Thursday. I'm excited to be in the back-country with these kids and allow them to have an actual back-country feeling to it since there won't be a huge group of us out there like other trips. I was preparing for the trip today and went for a hike to see what the trails looked like and to attempt to find camping places. It's a beautiful area, a great place to grow closer to God.

The next two weeks are my last two here for the summer and also very busy. I have the backpack trip, a day off, then I start a 5 day trip as food and gear staff, and also have a rock climbing day in there, and while that group is on their back-country portion of the trip I start as food and gear for yet another trip and have another rock climbing day in there. So with that said, it will probably be a bit hectic. Please pray for things to go as planned, communication to be good, and for me to give it my all as I go into this last stretch.

It has been challenging this past week or so. I had about a week off when my brother Marcus came (I'll get to that in a little bit) and we had fun, but it also gave me time to realize how much I missed my family, Alana, the community at school... At one point I was very much checked out in my head. I was done with trips and just wanted to get home to hang out. This isn't to say that I have completely gotten rid of those thoughts, but I know that I am here for a reason and if my mind is other places and my body is here, I really am nowhere. Please pray that I would be all here, give it my all, and not worry too much about the future.

If you thought that schedule was busy, my time between getting home and going back to school is worse. I will be getting home late of the 20th of August, spending the 21st around home, spending the 22nd with Alana at her house, driving to school the 23rd, have the 24th to settle back in, and start class the 25th. I obviously did not think this through well before the summer began. So if you want to catch up with me I encourage you to call me. The 23rd will probably be a great day for that since I'll be in the car for around 8 hours.

My time with Marcus, was good. It was nice to see him since I hadn't since Christmas. We tromped around Leavenworth, went backpacking in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and just had some quality time together. It was good for both of us to not be away from work and be with people that just understood how we work and think. Our two night backpack was to The Enchantments in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area in Washington. We did some grueling hiking, but it was worth every bit when we reached the alpine lakes and could see the lakes flowing into each other. There was granite everywhere and the mountains were extremely rugged. The air was amazing and water was crystal clear. Words and pictures cannot do it justice. It's definitely a hike I would love to do again.

So like always I'm pretty sure my thoughts have been all over. Let me know if you have any questions or if you just want to chat sometime.

Prayers:

-My mind to be here and devoted to this ministry as my days dwindle.

-Alana's back, neck, shoulder area to be healed and not cause her any pain or limitations.

-The trips to be meaningful for the students on them and that students would come to better know God through nature, relationships, or whatever is needed.

-The little time I have with people when I get home to be used well and not feel too rushed.

-For God to come and reveal Himself to all of us, especially those who are not in a relationship with Him.

Thank you all for following along with my summer and supporting me.

Grace & Peace

Joe

Learning

Where to start? I finished a trip today. This may have been the hardest group of students to see leave. The main reason for that (I’ll be honest) isn’t because I really loved hanging out with them, but rather that I know where they are at with there walk with Christ and have a glimpse of the things they struggle with at home. So many of the kids need a community to help them through their walk with Christ. It was easy to tell that they desired more than just the high you get from being a camp where everything is easy. They want more, but have tough roads ahead of them to find that community. Please pray that God will hear all of these prayers and bless this group of kids with Christians friends and community that will hold them accountable and where they can grow and help others grow.

We setup this trip to include an extended solo time for the kids. God was definitely at work in that one hour of solo time that they had. Each of the guides went around to the students when there was about 2 minutes left to see if they had any questions with anything they’d been thinking about and then prayed for them. I know this was the highlight of the trip for many of the guides. We had such a wide variety of reactions from the kids during this. Some burst out in tears and opened up to the guides with the issues in their lives, another asked Jesus to come into his heart for the first time, and others just hung out and talked with us. I was able to talk with one student, we’ll call him Billy, who was kind of the outcast of the group. He has ADHD and can be annoying at times, especially when you are lacking patience. It may be my highlight of the summer thus far. I was able to find out some of the things going on in his life, his dad isn’t around much because he has to work third shift, his sister doesn’t like him at all, he has a hard time having friends and keeping them. It broke my heart to hear some of the things he had to say. It was so strange to have a conversation with him, or just listen to him talk and notice the difference between that and how he acted with the group. I felt as though so many people want him to act the “proper” way all of the time and never take time to get to know him and see where he is coming from. They don’t have any patience and end up basically ignoring him. I think there is such a need for a good mentor in his life, and a good male figure that is around more often. This is not saying that his father is bad or anything…his dad just isn’t around much, because he’s trying to support the family in a way that he can.

It is difficult to find out where kids are at and then watch them leave, watch them go back to their lives where I can’t be there to help them and give any advice. I know that the things I do while I am with them can make a difference in their lives, but it’s just hard, not knowing what happens after. Very quickly it becomes easy to just not fully give myself to the kids on a trip, because I won’t get to see them again after the week. However, please pray that all of the guides here and myself will be able to pour out our lives and give everything to these kids that may help them to grow in their walk or start a walk with Jesus. Pray that we wouldn’t run out of energy from opening ourselves up and that we would rather give ourselves completely to Christ to work through us for the kids.

I could probably write all night about the trip, but I don’t want to type that much. If you want to know more, give me a call, 269-277-7811.

So what’s up next for me…my brother Marcus is coming down here on Sunday and we are going to hang out together for a few days. We don’t really have plans yet, but it’ll most likely involve some hiking and camping. I’m looking forward to our time together and a little break from the trips. It’ll be good to energize as I go into the last month of the summer.

Keep praying for all of the staff here at YDA and for all of the kids that are going on trips with us. Please keep praying for Alana as her back and neck are still in a lot of pain and discomfort. Thank you for your support and for sending me your updates.

Grace & Peace,

Joe

Boys to Men

Where do I start? Last week I was food staff for a YMCA trip here at the ranch. That means that Thom and I cooked the food for the students and put up the tents and all of that kind of jazz. It was a fun trip, but very tiring. Thom and I were both working with the students on their rock climbing day as well as shuttle driving for the rafting day. That left us with very little time to sit down. The students were challenging to say the least. They came from a lot of broken families and just have hard lives. We did what we could to show them that we cared about them personally and really wanted to know about them. Some of them were definitely searching for something and were asking some great questions about Christ. I can only pray that our staff here was able to plant a seed in these kids and be an example of Jesus to them.

Yesterday I was a rock assistant with 10 boy scouts. This was an interesting group to work with. The scouts were young and you could tell that they were used to only doing things that were comfortable to them. They were scared to take a risk and be brave. Immediately the book "Wild At Heart" came to mind as it talks about how there is something in each man and boy that desires to be wild, bold, courageous and how that is often hampered by others. It was really hard for me when one of the kids got to a difficult place in the climb and didn't see his next move and decided he was done. He told us to let him down and I just told him no, and that he needed to work at it and take a chance at falling. There were others stories just like this during the trip as well. Another rock assistant told a student that wanted to quit that he needed to push himself. If he never learned to push himself he would only do what was comfortable and never be able to stick up for what he wanted to do.

It was an emotionally draining day for me. I just want so badly for those guys to be brave and wild. To take those steps towards becoming a man. Not towards become a "safe" person. I want them to realize that they are warriors and that God has great things set out for them.

If the last two paragraphs were confusing, I'm sorry. There is so much buzzing through my head about those guys and I think that passion for them to live out fully what God has made them to be may have been a little confusing.

Anywho, I have a wide range of prayer requests today, and I think I'm in a list mood today.

Pray for...

...boys to grow into what God has created them to be and shy away from what is comfortable.

...my words and actions to make a difference in kids lives.

...all of the YDA Washington Summer Staff to have energy, to be real, and be ministers of Christ.

...safety on trips.

...my girlfriend, Alana, as she has intense pain across her shoulders, in her neck, shooting down her arm, and numbness in some fingers. That God would bring healing upon her.

...the hearts of students that are coming on a trip this summer to be opened to Christ and His love.

...students following Christ to stick to that faith and not waver. To live above the pressure to be worldly.

There is so much to pray for. Broken families, families hit by our economic situation, all of us to live for Jesus and be more like Him, to understand what it really means to live like Jesus and not be afraid to do that, for my coming trip this week, for all of the other trips going on in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, for God to come and be present, and make His presence known.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Joe

About to Start

I'm about to start on 3 weeks of activity. Tomorrow I start preparing food and gear for a YMCA trip which will include rock climbing and rafting. Right after that I start prepping for my next trip which will include challenge course, climbing, and rafting. Then I start to get ready for a trip similar to the last one I just got back from. I have a day off in between each trip, but it's going to be a lot of work. I'm excited to be out there with the students for the next three weeks. Pray for health, good weather, patience, safety, and God to reveal himself.

You are all a blessing. Thank you for your support.

Grace & Peace,

Joe

First Full Trip

It’s been a little while since my last post. I was on a trip this past week and it went pretty well. I learned a lot from this trip. One of the first things is that you have to be ready for the students to not know anything about God and for them to be walking with Him already. On this trip they all seemed to be trying to walk with God. The big challenge for them is living for God and having a group of friends in high school. I won’t lie, I am glad that part of my life is done. I can only hope that God was speaking through me and that something that was said during our time together will give them encouragement to follow the path God has laid out for each of them. Pray for all students in high school to stay strong to their beliefs and not fall away into the ways of the world that can be so tempting and prominent in our culture.

Another large thing that became very apparent to me was that these trips are work and not just a nice little recreational trip. It hit me when I was backpacking with the group that even though I love being in the backcountry, it is a lot better when there is just a few people. This made me question my purpose in the guide role for awhile that day. However, we had a guy’s small group time that evening and I realized why I was there. I am here for students. To encourage them, to keep them safe, to listen, to be real, to be an example, and to listen some more. 

The hardest part about the trip was finally getting to know the students beyond the surface and then saying bye to them. It was a humbling experience for me, realizing that I am not the end of the story for them. Rather I am just a part of their story and likewise they are part of mine. As part of summer staff training we read the book “Epic” by John Eldredge. If you haven’t read it I would recommend it. It’s a quick good read that explains that we all have a special role in God’s story and we are here to play it to our best ability. Pray that I don’t forget that I am just a part of the story that God has set out for these students. Also pray that these students would see the story God has for them and choose His story instead of the world’s story for them.

There are also some lighter things that I learned. Don’t say something really funny unless you are prepared to hear that for the rest of the trip. Kids these days are addicted to their cell phones and ipods and gizmos and gadgets. They have no attention span and take every tangent that is possible. Sometimes they take perpendiculars and just want to talk about anything else. 

Overall the trip was great. Nobody got hurt, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and it appeared that they all learned at least one thing and were going home encouraged about their walk with Christ. Please pray for these students as high school is a rough time, especially as sophomores. I’m asking you to pray so much because I have seen too many friends stray away from their relationship with God and take the path of the world because it appears to have more to offer. 

God, be a light in every situation for all high school students that are trying to live for you. Give them the strength to choose you and stand up for what they really believe in. Surround them with a community that loves them for who they are and loves you above all. Help them to know who they are and see the gifts that you have given them. Let them realize that only you can fill the holes in their lives and that you are there, ready to fill them.

Support Day

Technical summer staff training is just about done. Today is the last official day. The past week has been both fun and challenging for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed working around the Ranch mowing grass, fixing sprinklers, and much more. At the same time, it has been hard at times not being with the rest of the summer staff. However, it was great to get to spend some more time with them over the past couple days and find out that I was missed as much as I missed them. The community here is great and I am certain that it will be needed this summer as we all go in different directions on different trips and seek rest when we come back together.

My first trip! By not being part of raft training I was able to fill a gap in a short trip last weekend. I was on food staff which means I prepared meals and got gear together for the group. I worked with Marji and together we fed the 20 some kids and leaders. When the graduating 8th graders arrived at the Ranch I didn’t know what to think. They seemed absolutely crazy. As I spent a little time around them though I got to know them and realized that they were just normal kids. It was fun seeing them work together on the challenge course as they came together and listened to one another’s ideas. The group had a deep bond together and could move from being off their rockers to going deep in a group setting really quickly. It was great to hear how students were holding others accountable in their faith and to get a snapshot of the community they had together. They ended their trip by going rafting and from what I heard had a blast. 

Even though I did not have a chance to sit down with a student and have a good conversation, I can only hope that Christ was seen through me in those kids. That my actions would show Christ. Please pray for the kids as they go into high school and continue to find their identity. Pray that they would find it in Christ and that they would keep walking strong in their faith.

So maybe you’re wondering why this is titled Support Day...maybe you’re not, but I’ll let you know. Today is a support day for me. It is a day to update my supporters, work on raising support, and basically work on anything support related. That is what I am up to today. I am still working on the website and trying to keep it updated. 

I’ll leave you with this today. Do not forget that your life is a ministry. The relationships you build with coworkers, the people you talk to in the grocery store, your interaction with family. It is very often hard to act Christ-like in all of these situations, but I pray that you will “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galations 6:9-10) There is no ministry that is more important than any other. What I am doing here is not more important than your daily life. So  it is my desire that we all live our lives as living sacrifices. Thank you for all that you do. For your prayers, for your own ministries, and for being an example for others.

Working on the Ranch

So as it turns out, being a whitewater rafting guide isn’t the thing for me. The reason is my astonishing ability to get motion sickness. After the first day of training yesterday I was spent and was not feeling very well. I talked with some full-time staff and we decided that it would be the best use of my time and abilities to not continue on with rafting training. It’s hard to tell kids and Christ when you’re throwing up or feeling sick. 

I spent this morning processing what it meant for me to not be continuing on with everyone else in raft training. It was hard trying to figure out if my illness was God telling me that He had other plans than the river for me or if I was supposed to try and overcome it and try different remedies. My thoughts went on to be that obviously it isn’t natural for my body to be going down the river and that God is going to use me wherever I am. I am still trying to fully understand what this means for my time here. It has been amazing to be supported by all of those around me. Everyone has been wanting the best for me and caring for me. It is great living in a wonderful community.

Today I ended up working in the Alpine Hut for a little while and then mowing. The Alpine Hut is where we keep all of our backpacking, climbing, and adventure gear. All I had to do was put a bunch of clothes away, nothing that spectacular. However, it felt good to be used for something that needed to be done. I really enjoy working in the background and doing things that need to be done so that the big picture can be achieved. 

For the rest of the week I’ll be working around the Ranch. Keep me in your prayers as I continue to find out what God has planned for me this summer.

A Little Time Off

Yesterday was the last day of Rock Training. It was a long day of practical tests, written tests and helping out. We had all of the summer staff from the three YDA bases (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho) together for the training and it was great to get to know the people that will be doing the same thing as me this summer in other areas. As nice as it was to be with the whole group, it’s nice to be back down to our smaller numbers here at Washington. A little more relaxing.

We were all expecting for today to be our first day of raft training, but were surprised with a day off to energize and get ready for rafting for a week. Rock training was very technical, but a lot of fun. We learned the setups for a rock climbing station and for rappel stations and how those both worked. It was fun using the knowledge that I had and learning more to prepare for this summer. 

All Staff Days

For about the last week all of the summer staff from Youth Dynamics Adventures Oregon and Idaho have been here at the ranch so that we could all doing some training together. It’s been cool to see the other people that will be doing the same thing as me this summer and also to see the different group dynamics of the other bases. Along with the summer staff from other bases being here, we had All Staff Days in which all of the staff that work with Youth Dynamics came to the ranch for a time of fellowship and for some planning and brainstorming. Being new to the organization, it was awesome to see all of the staff. It allowed me to get a really good picture of the feel of YD as a whole. With that I’ll say that I like it. 

All of the summer staff did  3 days of training on the challenge course this week. It was a eye opening experience to how difficult it is to be a good facilitator on the course and that it just takes a lot of experience to be comfortable in leading a group. Tomorrow we all leave for 3 days of rock climbing training. We will be in Icicle Canyon if you want to look it up. I’m excited. Pray for all of the summer staff to have attentive ears and to retain all of the knowledge that is given to us. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Backcountry Training

Today I got back to the ranch from a week of adventures. We started Monday with meeting type things and then left the on horseback for an orienteering challenge, a week of backpacking, and whitewater rafting on the Wenatchee River.

The summer staff, all nine of us, learned the basics on horses and then went on a two hour ride out of camp. We met some staff from the ranch who took the horses and left us with a map to find where more staff was making us dinner. After dinner, we were given a small map and a pamphlet with a spot for 10 different stamps that we could find at different points. We used our map and compass and found our first point and then next and next... However, this took a long time since we didn’t start looking for checkpoints until it was around 10. We ended up walking into camp at around 5 am, putting down our sleeping pads and bags and sleeping under the stars.

In the morning we started more backcountry training. We hiked for the next 3 1/2 days and slept under tarps on top of snow each night. Yes, snow. It was between 60-75 degrees each days, but there was a lot of snow in the mountains. The snow made for some amazing views and a good change in scenery. I had a lot of fun on this trip and really began the bonding process with the rest of the summer staff and the full-time staff. It’s hard to include everything that happened. The pictures can help explain it some more.

Stonewater Ranch

I arrived at Stonewater Ranch on Wednesday and have been working around the ranch and getting settled in since then. I start my Summer Staff training tomorrow and am excited for all that it holds. 

Since I’ve been here I have been helping out around the ranch doing things from feeding horses to cleaning bathrooms. It’s a great place to be and am really enjoying being here.