High above the mucky-muck.

This is the real post.

This week and the one before it were a real one-two punch. I am not going to dwell, but I learned more about the Kingdom and Family of God in these two weeks then I have in all of my life. I recovered famously from my sickness and was back with my boys a mere 7 hours after I started throwing up. I also want to throw out a thank you to anyone who was praying for me and the guys. I had a camper come to know the Lord this week, and I am positive that without prayer nothing would have been achieved.

So there is some cool stuff I have been doing recently, and the time has come for me to share them. Tree-bending is a sport that I think originated somewhere in Canada, and in spite of it's sub-standard country of origin it is a really really cool thing to do. Tree-bending is a rather simple activity, and the name pretty much sums it up. A rough description would be that you climb up an undeveloped sapling, usually about 30 feet or so high, about5 or 6 inches in diameter, and then wait till it bends to the ground. In reality, you are sweating blood from the effort of trying to pull your self up the flimsy pole of a tree that you are attached to. Since it is a sapling, there are no branches on which to hang or stand, and so you have to cling, quite literally, for your life. When you get to the top, you kick your legs out the side and the tree bends dramatically down until your heels reach the forest floor. At this point you let go and the tree goes whooshing back to a vertical state no worse for wear. It is so. much. fun. As much fun as it is, it is equally exhausting to haul my 190 pound body up a skinny little wooden pole with no substantial support except that which is coming from my arms and thighs wrapped around the tree. After two or three ascents, I am so sore and winded that I can barely even spell the word tree. Or climb.

I also have been called upon (last weekend and this week as support staff) to blaze what is left of the West Trek trail on RH property. It is the most difficult trail on all of the campus, and it was started a couple years ago and never finished. They got as far as a really beautiful gorge would let them, and now I and my buddy Dan have to chop our way through Rhododendron and Oak and God knows what else up the side and over the top of this gorge and finish out the last couple miles of the trail. It takes a while, but is very rewarding. Hopefully with a week's worth of time we will be able to finish. It makes me feel pretty manly and stuff to ride a four wheeler into the woods and spend the entire day chopping and cutting my way towards an unknown objective. The unknown is the good part. It keeps you going until you know it fully, and when you know the unknown, you really sleep well at night.

I will be putting pictures both of tree bending and trail blazing up as soon as I can make some space on my hard drive. I love living in the smokies, mere miles away from the continental divide and in the midst of God's "Wilderness Cathedral". I am indeed very fortunate.

Im sick.

It's true. The only reason i can blog right now is because I am sick and had to be taken away from my campers till my fever goes. Pray that I stop barfing and that I de-feveratize my life.(Shaving Cream Hairdo Night)

I am all unrighteousness.

This week really taught me a lot about myself and my never ending patterns of sin. Praise the Lord that I am dead in my transgressions but alive in Christ. I have another week of Junior camp coming up, so keep praying for patience and energy. I will do a real blog tomorrow hopefully. Let these pictures speak of the commitment required of a Ridge Haven Counselor.

a little harder than was expected.

My first week is done. The second is yet to come.

I can't put new pictures on here or my computer because my camera and computer are in a fight.

Junior camp this week, so pray for energy and lots of Holy Spirit action.

I am sunburned, tired, and very very hapy. My bow arm is getting stronger, along with the knowledge of my own depravity. Sorry this post is so wimpy, but I really gotta go.

Danboy Rooms Godzuki Jr.

This weekend I went and visited my illustrious rooms at his abode in Asheville. Needless to say, it was a great time of fellowship and roo roo. I got there Saturday morning and we just kind of chilled and shot some hoops. That afternoon he and I went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiked up to this really sweet spot that belongs to us now. It was this little rock outcropping above the parkway that noone ever goes to. We climbed up there, removed some clothing, and basically just did that which room/soul mates do. We talked for hours, watched the sun go down, and trespassed on government property. That night we went to his pal Tim's house and had ice cream and watched Road to Perdition. It is seriously one of Tom Hanks' best movies. And it is definitely Jude Law's supreme achievement in his career. His character is really really well done. After that we went to bed, woke up and went to church at Trinity. It was really cool to get to see some of my old friends that were apart of the intern team I was on in Honduras. I went out to lunch with them then made my way back to Ridge Haven. It was a very fulfilling and enjoyable weekend overall, except for one little detail. I FORGOT MY CAMERA. $%^#*@#*!@#$*&. I was so mad, and especially since the parkway is one of the most picturesque spots in the eastern United States. I tried to upload some of the photos from Dan's computer, but it didnt really work and I only got a couple. And they were only of me. Go to his blog to see better photo documentation of this weekend.

On a different note, I will be a counselor in the Senior High Great Adventure camp this week. Pray that I will be pursuing these high school guys daily, and that I will also be bathing them in prayer the entire week. Energy and patience are a must have too, so knock yourself out praying; I don't mind if you pray for other stuff too. Like that I will find buried treasure or something. Or a dinosaur skeleton. Seriously pray for me. Till next weekend- here are the substandard photos.

Camp Begins...

Today is Sunday, and it has been a very good Sunday. I went to church at Grace PCA in Asheville this morning, then I came back to Ridge Haven and we had Chicken Pot Pie. It was diverting. After that, I went into Brevard and purchased some necessaries from Lookng Glass Outfitters. After that I came back to camp and took about a 45 minute shower, then an hour and 45 minute nap. It too was diverting. After I am done here I plan on going and shooting some arrows into the middle of the bullseye at the ol' archery range, then maybe some bouldering to really cap the day.

Now that you are up to date on my sabbath, I would like to let you know about the upcoming week. Yesterday marked the official end of counselor training. We as counselors have been embedded with Trinitarian evangelism techniques, CPR and AED capabilities, all the outdoor adventure activites you can imagine, and how to cook steaks over a fire. I am truly ready to take on the world. Actually, that is the opposite of the truth. I am grateful for the training I have received, but I am also very aware of the fact that I am in no way ready for the upcoming week. Last summer I remember feeling absolutley reinforced and solidly prepared to lead and disciple a cabin of campers. I quickly found out that I was nowhere even close to being ready for it, and was dangling from the end of my rope by Wednesday of the first week. Pray that God will give me supernatural energy and dedication to my kids. It really takes absolute selflessness in order to serve your kids, and if I had to think of one word that would describe the polar opposite of my nature, I think that selfless would be it. It is so hard to lose yourself for the sake of a bunch of 8 year old dweebs who just want to have fun. I love just having fun, but pray that God would also give me the courage to purusue them on a deeper level, and that I would be able to have beneficial one-on-ones with each of them before the week is over.

I am very excited about camp starting, but one of the downsides is that I will only have access to the computer/internet on the weekends. Expect delayed posting as a result, but do not count it as a lack in activity. I assure you I will be more active then I have been in a long time.

P.S. I am memorizing the whole book of Ephesians (hopefully) and doing 100 push ups a day. Boo-yah Gilbert's...