Colorado

I have been in Colorado for the past week and a half, first spending time with a friend from college, and then second, doing a week of training with EMI in Colorado. I climbed my first “fourteener”, as Coloradoans affectionately call any mountain that is over fourteen thousand feet, here in Colorado. My friend, his brother, and I climbed Mount Sherman. A few pictures from the excursion can be seen below. The conditions were a bit less than desirable on the way up and down (rain, sleet, and snow), but the weather remained clear while we were at the peak of the mountain.

Part of the old mining operation at the base of Mount Sherman.

Brad by part of the old mining operation while it is snowing/sleeting on us.

The view from the mountain.

On the way up Mount Sherman.

On top of Mount Sherman!

My time here has gone by quickly, but the Lord has been using it to daily remind me of His glory, holiness, power, and sovereignty. Through all the many teaching/training sessions, activities, worship, and rest/reflection times, I am able to begin to see how much God deserves (and really demands) my ENTIRE life. He has made us to glorify Him and worship Him with our whole lives each and every day.

Almost everything I have read these past few weeks in my Bible have lead to me think upon what it looks like to truly TRUST God with my circumstances, my relationships, my finances, my safety, and my “every little thing”. My biggest battle right now is living out daily a life that actually trusts in Him and a life that pursues righteousness and holiness. The easy route is to just remain complacent and do what I have always done, but that is not what we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to do and be.

While here training we have gone through a series of tests to evaluate our personality types, our spiritual gifts, and our strengths. If anyone is really interested, I can fill them in on what I discovered about myself throughout it all. The knowledge I gained from those tests really will be helpful with me as a pursue friendships and relationships both personally and professionally.

As we depart tomorrow for Costa Rica, please be praying for the following things:

• That we as a team continue to grow closer together.
• Our 2 weeks in language school are effective.
• We utilize our time with our Tico families, and encourage/minister to them.
• We are able to accurately communicate/be able to communicate with our Tico families.
• Pray that God gives us boldness to communicate the gospel of Christ to everyone we meet regardless of language barriers.

I always have so many thoughts that I am thinking about, so I hope that this blog entry is not too jumbled and confusing. Thank you all for your support and prayers! I am so close to being fully supported for the mission trip, so thank you all very much!!!

Below are pictures from our time of EMI training:

The Hideaway! Where we did a week of EMI training!

The view from the back of the Hideaway.

Just one of the views we had on our outdoor excursions.

Part of the group just having a little fun on one of our hikes.

The stone formation on the left is where we did our rock climbing.

Two of my friends that I met during our week of training. The guy on the left will be in Costa Rica.

Doing a little rock climbing

The Costa Rica Interns!

The Costa Rica team doing a little inside joke! =)

Lo Que Estoy Aprendiendo...

It has now been two weeks since flying back from Costa Rica, and in all honesty that seems so long ago. The month down there flew by and right now my time here feels as though it is moving at a snails pace. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the time with my family and close friends, however, I was given just a glimpse of what the fall is going to look like, and I cannot wait until I am able to return once more!

It is the sad but real truth, that more times than not it takes something big in your life for you to listen to God and make necessary changes in your life. Desafortunadamente, I was no exception and it took the two months leading up to the month trip and my time there to really wake me from my time of "slumber" with regards to my relationship with our Heavenly Father. Being in Costa Rica really showed me that I must fight for my time with the Lord, and how desperately I needed that time with Him each day! When you are immersed in a foreign culture and language it can be all consuming if you are not careful, and even when you are careful, there are days that seem to take control of you. I found that days where I did not make reading my Bible and praying a priority were days that I let Spanish and the culture get to me and be my all consuming focus. Those were also often the days that I did not do well with Spanish and found myself getting frustrated. Oh silly, silly me! =) It took a good week and a half to two weeks for me to realize this fact! And you know what? That truth hasn't changed for me here in the States! When we do not daily spend time with our Lord and Savior, we get caught up in all the activities, appointments, work, to-do lists, and even sins that fill our days. Each morning, you and I must give our day and our lives over to God, because as my pastor told me...God is the initiator and I am simply to learn and to cooperate with what He initiates, or another way to put it, God is the owner of my life and I am called to be the wise manager or steward of His property.

Also, God has been showing me how seriously He takes us living holy, righteous, and OBEDIENT lives for Him! I am learning that if I love Him as I say I do, then I am to obey Him as He asks me to. This is no easy task. I have had several things come up to where I want to go one direction and do something, but I know that God has clearly shown me that I am to go another, more difficult, direction. I know that God leads me as He does, because He desires to form us more into His image. I just don't like the fact that it hurts so much right now, but it is what is needed to turn me into a godly man of God.

Please pray for:

• The Costa Rican interns' spiritual and emotional preparation for the fall, our support raising, and our health.
• Safety and effectiveness as we travel to Haiti for our project trips.
• For continual language learning down there for all interns!
• That I daily CHOOSE to obey the Lord and seek a life of righteousness NO MATTER the costs or pain!

Finally, here are some pictures of my Tico family and my language school and classmates. I will make a point to posting pictures from this first trip on a Facebook album, just in case you would like to see more photos. Thank you again for your prayers, your support, and your love!

My Tico Family! Marcos & Maria...I really miss them!

Marcos never really would smile. I am not sure why! =) "Marcos, sonrisa!"

My Spanish conversation class!

Back Row (L to R): Profesor Arturo, Carla, and Sara

Front Row (L to R): Myself and Camden

School mates! Camden and Alanna

Our graduation performance.