It's been a great day here in Estes!
We headed over to the local middle school this morning for day 3 of work projects. We helped do a lot of 'end-of-year' and deep cleaning of classrooms, lockers and the auditorium.
After our lunch break we got to spend about 45 mins with a PIO (Public Information Officer) from the Incident Command Center. The middle school is the staging ground/HQ for the Cow Creek Fire - currently burning at over 900 acres. They have taken over the entire first floor of the school and have a very smooth running operation.
There is a special catering company from Arizona that has several trailers, refrigeration units and other support to fee the nearly 300 staff fighting this fire. The firefighters on the line have to have a minimum of 9,000 calories/day - so this operation comes in with all they need to stay nourished.
The Cache has all the supplies they could need for their job - tools, tents, sleeping bags, clothes, you name it they probably have it. What I found really interesting was when an incident occurs a team can be on the ground and completely operational within 24-48 hours. There is a primary cache located in Boise ID that orders are placed and needed supplies/equipment can be put on a plane for an emergency flight into the impacted area.
These guys & gals mean business - I hope you'll take the time to ask the youth about their experience learning about the fire operations. Oh, and next time you think prices are high on printer ink - try $1,500 for the six cartridges it takes to print the maps the teams need for briefings and getting things under control.
The kids are off at free time and then to dinner - we'll then have some small group time, a basketball tournament and our campfire.
More later...
~
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Seriously...Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Garrett (6/30) & Dustin (7/4). We surprised the two birthday boys with a cake and ice cream last night before our evening activity.
After the bday celebration we moved to our evening activity - Volleyball Tournament - the kids played well and had a great time. Another evening of great sharing (as Jeff says: out of their brokenness) at campfire. We talked about the twine that is holding us back from what God has called us. After a restful Sabbath day the youth are ready to hit the work sites again today.
See you this afternoon!
~C
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
'Seriously..." behind the scene part 1
I'm not sure why, but I love behind the scenes types of things. How big productions work, what goes into making something happen, become a success etc.
So, I thought a few 'behind the scenes' points on this mission trip might be of interest to a few. (Feel free to comment on the post with any questions you might have on how a trip like this comes together.)
THEME: Our theme this year is 'Seriously...' and was taken from Micah 6:8 (The Message translation). The theme was actually selected even before the 2009 trip departed - I think it was close to 2 months before the trip. Jeff and I had been in a planning session for last years trip when God just handed us the theme - the fun part is we had scheduled a meeting to work on planning the theme for 2010 about 3 weeks later. God definitely works in amazing ways.
...stay tuned for Part 2 - with more behind the scenes of our trip!
~C
So, I thought a few 'behind the scenes' points on this mission trip might be of interest to a few. (Feel free to comment on the post with any questions you might have on how a trip like this comes together.)
THEME: Our theme this year is 'Seriously...' and was taken from Micah 6:8 (The Message translation). The theme was actually selected even before the 2009 trip departed - I think it was close to 2 months before the trip. Jeff and I had been in a planning session for last years trip when God just handed us the theme - the fun part is we had scheduled a meeting to work on planning the theme for 2010 about 3 weeks later. God definitely works in amazing ways.
...stay tuned for Part 2 - with more behind the scenes of our trip!
~C
Walkin' humbly
We talked tonight about 'walking humbly with your God.'
The analogy we used was that of a car dash (Temp gauge, Fuel gauge & the RPMs) and how those are really gauges in our lives. We tackled the fact that all of us are told by society to live in the red (think RPMs) eventually going at that pace we are going to burn out our engine.
We had some good sharing at campfire and are really looking forward to a great nights sleep and our Sabbath (day of rest) tomorrow. Pray that the youth will have a time of rest and true connection with God during this time.
Seriously His,
~C
The analogy we used was that of a car dash (Temp gauge, Fuel gauge & the RPMs) and how those are really gauges in our lives. We tackled the fact that all of us are told by society to live in the red (think RPMs) eventually going at that pace we are going to burn out our engine.
We had some good sharing at campfire and are really looking forward to a great nights sleep and our Sabbath (day of rest) tomorrow. Pray that the youth will have a time of rest and true connection with God during this time.
Seriously His,
~C
Monday, June 28, 2010
catchin' up
the Internet is back up and running, so here is a bit of a recap:
Yesterday (Sun) we headed out early to the Victim's Advocacy center - an emergency shelter for women and children. Over the past year they've been very busy with serving over 30 clients/families and have had to turn some away. The youth managed to knock out an entire to-do list provided by the staff. Together they managed to clean the inside of the house (vacuum, scrub floors, etc.) and stained a fence and handicap walkway as well as a lot of landscaping work.
The shelter staff was amazed at how quickly the list was checked off and we even had to get more supplies to keep everyone busy. Although we're tight on our budget we felt we needed to purchase and donate the supplies - they were more than appreciative for our generosity.
Campfire last night was indoors due to the rain - but it was probably one of the most moving campfires I've ever been a part of. At the end of the fire we felt led to present the Gospel and we were completely amazed at the response by many of the youth.
Today we headed to the area fair grounds to work on some projects there. Once again our group nailed the projects even though there was some rough patches in getting through the day. The youth got back to camp and are now out having their free time - some are down the hall playing games, some at the crafts center painting and still more are getting a nap in.
Tonight we'll be playing a game of Ultimate Frisbee before we head to our third campfire.
Please continue to pray for:
~C
Yesterday (Sun) we headed out early to the Victim's Advocacy center - an emergency shelter for women and children. Over the past year they've been very busy with serving over 30 clients/families and have had to turn some away. The youth managed to knock out an entire to-do list provided by the staff. Together they managed to clean the inside of the house (vacuum, scrub floors, etc.) and stained a fence and handicap walkway as well as a lot of landscaping work.
The shelter staff was amazed at how quickly the list was checked off and we even had to get more supplies to keep everyone busy. Although we're tight on our budget we felt we needed to purchase and donate the supplies - they were more than appreciative for our generosity.
Campfire last night was indoors due to the rain - but it was probably one of the most moving campfires I've ever been a part of. At the end of the fire we felt led to present the Gospel and we were completely amazed at the response by many of the youth.
Today we headed to the area fair grounds to work on some projects there. Once again our group nailed the projects even though there was some rough patches in getting through the day. The youth got back to camp and are now out having their free time - some are down the hall playing games, some at the crafts center painting and still more are getting a nap in.
Tonight we'll be playing a game of Ultimate Frisbee before we head to our third campfire.
Please continue to pray for:
- fire/firefighters
- relationships being built
- a few 'minor' challenges being faced within the group
- rest for all - tomorrow (Tue) is our Sabbath day - a time for the youth to rest and reflect on God.
~C
Day 2
we just checked and we now have internet....not much time we're headed out the door to our second day of work.
more later on how yesterday went...but overall things are rockin' away!
~C
more later on how yesterday went...but overall things are rockin' away!
~C
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Show Time
We've safely arrived in Estes, unloaded, checked in, had dinner, gone to a concert and just wrapped our opening campfire. an amazing campfire - Josh's first time leading worship with us and it was, well amazing - a great time of worship.
Everyone is settling in well. There is only about 50 minutes until lights out - and I can't wait. I am looking forward to a full nights sleep.
FIRE UPDATE: we passed several emergency responders on our trip through Estes Valley this afternoon. word is that as of earlier today the fire had spread from 200 acres last night to at least 1500. The winds today didn't help the situation much. Please continue to pray for rain, and for safety for the firefighters.
lastly for tonight in all my years bringing groups to the YMCA camp this was the best year for check in - everything went smoothly.
stay tuned tomorrow for more updates - we have our first day of work beginning at 9am.
~C
Everyone is settling in well. There is only about 50 minutes until lights out - and I can't wait. I am looking forward to a full nights sleep.
FIRE UPDATE: we passed several emergency responders on our trip through Estes Valley this afternoon. word is that as of earlier today the fire had spread from 200 acres last night to at least 1500. The winds today didn't help the situation much. Please continue to pray for rain, and for safety for the firefighters.
lastly for tonight in all my years bringing groups to the YMCA camp this was the best year for check in - everything went smoothly.
stay tuned tomorrow for more updates - we have our first day of work beginning at 9am.
~C
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)