Work Camp!

Location: Dining room at the camp, nearly 8am on August 29.

Though many of you think I am crazy, I enjoy waking up at 4am and spending time without interruptions--usually! Today, however, I was the only one up and around when a lady came searching for lost and found at about 7:15! Thus, I do not have as much time as I hoped to write you.

But I have to tell you a little about Work Camp this week...

You probably know that I enjoy hard work. It is a good think, because this week has been a lot of hard, physical work. As you can see from the slideshow above, it has flown by because we have been so busy and worn out by the end of each day. My jobs have included building four stories of scaffolding, wheelbarrowing LOTS of dirt and concrete, running the cement mixer several days, and helping build a stone staircase. In addition to the staircase, the projects have included building a stone wall, varnishing the front of the main building, fixing shower drains and a water heater in the restrooms, etc. We have worked despite rain and sun, delays from materials and broken pipes, and weary backs and bodies. I am in one piece, fairly well rested, and rather tan for fair-skinned me--only half of it washes off in the shower! My clothes and shoes have taken a beating, and I am being careful of my back, but the LORD has really blessed me with health and strength and everything else I need to serve Him in this way during this time. We did have an elderly lady fall of a ladder and fracture a leg, and another worker wrenched his back pretty good, so your prayers are greatly appreciated. Today is clean-up day, so we hope to dismantle the scaffolding and finish up the stone wall. Everything else is pretty much done, just in time for the next group to arrive tomorrow.

Unfortunately, with all of this excitement, there have been several goodbyes, with more to follow. G.'s family, pictured above, headed to the States on Thursday morning; two other couples left yesterday. A. will leave tomorrow, and my roommate S. will probably leave the next day. The folks that camp for work camp will be departing tomorrow, also. While I enjoy solitude, no one really enjoys seeing people go, especially after having worked and laughed and worshipped with them.

But alas, life is like that, and without goodbyes, people would just disappear. And with goodbyes come hellos. I am happy to have made so many new friends this summer, even if that means saying goodbye sometimes. And more people will be coming tomorrow. Furthermore, S., whose surgery you prayed for (with the kidney stones), had a follow-up operation this week to remove the piece they left inside of her, and she is due back at camp in the coming week. A missionary family from the camp will also be returning this month after a year-long furlough. The cycle continues.

Besides, I will be leaving soon myself. Plans are falling into place--thank you for your prayers and your encouragement. Many of you have written me, and I appreciate it very much, even when it takes me some time to respond sometimes. Romania, here I come!

It is almost time for breakfast, so I had better get going. Actually, second breakfast. They tease me about being a hobbit, but I have to eat several meals to put out the work that I do. Besides, when I get up at 4am, it is really my lunchtime when we begin work at 9! But do not worry, I am friends with the cook here, and several people watch out for me and Miguelito (my appetite), so I am well-fed!

By the way, I have posted some photos below and many on the Picasa site; check them out!

Oh, I almost forgot, I was going to tell you about "Qui suis-je?"

"Qui suis-je" means "Who am I?" That is a question many people are afraid to ask themselves, yet in my opinion the answer is vital for the rest of life. We talked about it in a small-group discussion after work the other night, and many people made some very good points. But what I love is a French particularity: "Je suis" means both "I am" and "I follow." In other words, in answer to the question (posed in French): "Who am I?" (or Who are you?), it would make sense to say, "I follow Jesus."

You see, if you are confused about who God is, life will not make sense. And if you do not understand that your personal identity is directly tied into God's identity (because He made you and designed specific plans for you and loves you deeply), again life will not make sense. Jesus came to reveal God to us, to help us understand who God is. He also came to give meaning to our lives, to give us a purpose and an identity. Therefore, at the very core of who I am, I follow Jesus. You cannot know who I am without knowing that.

You might not like that. Maybe that offends you. But nonetheless, it is true. If you are reading this, you likely know me. You probably do not hate me, and you may have been encouraged by me. Maybe I met you during my travels, maybe I worked with you in the States, maybe I lent you a hand with something. Maybe you even like or admire me. But the reason I am who I am is because I follow Jesus. In fact, it is because Jesus lives in me, giving me His identity, His character traits, His love. Daily I am renewed and reformed; He is building me into the man I was created to be. I would have never made an impact on you save Jesus living in me.

He wants to be the reason for your life, too. He wants to reform and renew you. He wants His identity to be the core of your identity. He wants you to let Him love you, lead you, teach you, help you, forgive you, and build you up.

You do not have to believe me. Take God's Word for it. Read Psalm 37 and Proverbs 3:5-6. Read John chapter 4. Sit silent before God in prayer and let Jesus reveal Him to you.

I bless you in the hard work ahead of you! Thanks for joining me in the work before me!

Different Perspectives

These are two photos taken from the same spot in the same direction. The first was when M. and I attempted to climb the mountain; the second was when M., I., and I successfully climbed the mountain. Amazing, huh?


The rest of the photos are worth seeing (here is the address): http://picasaweb.google.com/TheRabboni/TheMountainWeDIDClimb#

How Are You?

Location: In the dark (because I had to unplug the lamp to plug in my computer) in my bedroom, almost 11pm on August 27.

Yes, you are right; I am ready to go to bed, and I am tired. But I wanted to update you. I now have the pictures ready to go, so hopefully I can upload them tomorrow morning and post this at the same time.

So, how are you? I hope you are doing super well! Bien! Foarte bine!

How am I? I know many of you often wonder, especially you parent-types. Well, let me tell you!

I am blessed, greatly blessed. I am a little tired right now, but I have been disciplined about sleep. I went from five roommates to one to none to now being the only person in the whole building for a couple of days, which is WONDERFUL! I am very well-fed, and healthy--I have not been sick since coming to Europe. I have been having a few headaches lately, but only a couple have required a little medicaiton. My back has continued to improve with one temporary set-back, but it feels pretty good right now. There is a lot of unknown about the future, but my contacts for the internship in Romania have been very good about answering my questions and staying in contact with me. My five or so outfits are beginning to wear a little after more than three months' travel and work, but they are still mostly presentable. I have a little money in my wallet, and some minutes on my cell phone. I rationed the peppermints I brought from the States, and I enjoyed one today. I also can still read part of the label on my Romanian water bottle that has lasted me through several hikes and refills since June. I have been enjoying regular time with the Lord, and He has been challenging me and teaching me many things. I am often singing or in a posture of prayer. I have been blessed by great Christian friends here, and though it was difficult to say goodbye to G.'s family today, God is certainly bringing me joy through the people around me. I miss my family and friends, but I continue to hear about the blessings in their lives, which encourages me. I am extremely happy most of the time; for example, I had the privilege and time to sit and watch a thunderstorm blow in and shake the valley two nights ago--it was terrific! I never tire of the beauty of the mountains surrounding me; there has not been a day of any type of weather in which they are not beautiful! I feel like I have purpose, and I know I am appreciated. I am kept busy with satisfying work, but I am not exhausted or overwhelmed. And finally, in this moment, I am enjoying the drama of hissing at a kind of squirrel that is crawling in my ceiling and squealing at me--this is MY room!

I was going to tell you about work camp, about our discussions about "Qui suis-je?", and other things, but I am going to get some sleep. I hope to post this and maybe more tomorrow. But especially keep an eye out for my photos--I have a bunch of good ones that I have ready to post--hopefully tomorrow. (The photos are on Picasa now--you can use the link to the right!)

But whether you and I are ready or not, tomorrow is coming! See you then! Goodnight!

Photos from Climbing Adventure

Here are a couple of photos from our mountain-climbing adventure last Saturday, to whet your appetite. I hope to have the rest posted soon! Enjoy!

The Mountain I DID Climb...

Location: The quiet camp dining-room at 6:30am on August 24, in the French Alps.

Already, I have been up for two-and-a-half hours. I love this time of day, especially when I get to bed early (like I did last night). I wanted to get up and get caught up on emails and this post before my week begins (in a couple of hours). Today commences work camp, where our staff and a few outsiders come in and we spend the week doing construction-type projects that get neglected during the busy camp season. However, I always start of my day with a "date" with the LORD, which means to have an early start of work, I get up even earlier to spend a couple hours with my God. What a privilege it is to have an all-powerful God who nonetheless wants to be in intimate relationship with the humans He created!

Certainly, I have a lot to write about, so get ready. Remember when I wrote about the "Mountain I Did Not Climb"? If not, you can go back; it was not too many posts ago. Well, on Saturday, I climbed it! It was wonderful!

I felt like a real mountain climber... With a teenage boy and his father, I hiked up the steep trail to where M. and I had turned around last time. (The morning was unusually foggy, and I was concerned we would be unable to go. The fog only partially lifted, but enought to begin.) Then we continued, coming to some rock face that we had to scale. The path continued from there, higher and higher. We passed the cross I photographed from below last time, and continued toward the summit. Sheer drop-offs lined the path, and at one point the trail follows a ridge that has cool cliffs falling off each side! Finally, we made it to the summit, and it is marked by a pole, just like in the movies! And the fog? At one point, none of the mountains before us was visible. But, as we approached what had been a hidden summit, the fog moved out before us, later swirling below us, trying to come back as we descended. However, soon we had a clear view of everything, except Mont Blanc, which was still hidden by clouds on the horizon.

From our vantage up there, we could see my companions' house, the camp, the valley and its villages, the town I walked to a couple of weeks ago, and the lake I hiked to just before family camp. A golden eagle came and circled above us as we took photos and video and nibbled on some snacks. It feels great to be on top of the world!

Sorry, I do not have my picture disk with me at the moment; I will try to post photos later. I took dozens, and some video, but all with my broken camera, so I have not yet seen if they turned out!

Though that hike took longer than I anticipated, it was well worth it! The rest of Saturday was pretty relaxing: the girls had planned a "Girls' Night," so five of us guys watched Indiana Jones on the projector screen downstairs. Sunday found those of us who were around engaged in a simple worship service that was really wonderful. Then, as camp settled into a quiet afternoon, I cut my hair and made travel arrangements. I will be staying in Europe through most of the winter now, heading to Romania for an internship in children's ministry for four months, departing in couple of weeks. Last night, we visited a crepe restaurant in one of the nearby ski-villages.

Is not God's timing interesting? Through not climbing the mountain the first time, He taught me a lot. (By the way, one of my friends responded to some of my theological thoughts about God coming down the mountain, and pointed out that often in the Bible He called people to come up the mountain.) Now He blessed me with the opportunity to try again, and to enjoy the success of attaining the summit. What a privilege, and what a lesson. Sometimes it is just not the right time to tackle the challenge before us!

So now I am spending a couple more weeks at camp, then heading back to Romania. As macho as I am, I have to admit that as the finality of my plans settled in yesterday, it is a little scary. Four months is a long commitment, and there are a lot of people I miss and who miss me. There are many unknowns ahead, and many details to cover. But God has been faithful this far... What do I have to fear? The Bible reminds me that even when I am faithless, God remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13)!

Thanks for your prayers and support. I have been in contact with many of you--do not forget that I love praying for you and most certainly do! Some of you are moving, your families are growing, your jobs are changing, your children are going to college for the first time, you are persevering in missions and ministry, you are going to school (or back to school), or just continuing to take life as it comes each day. It has been so exciting to keep up with your lives. I hope you realize that your story, your life, is just as wonderful as mine. Our mountaintop experiences may look a little different, but different is good! And we all hit rock-bottom or run into discouragement here and there. But always, our God is faithful!

Do you know that Jesus represents the faithfulness of God? That is why He is so important. In Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Colossians 1:19 and 2:9) Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promises to His people.

That is why I pray in the Name of Jesus. That is why I bless you in the Name of Jesus. His "Name" is not five letters in the English languange. His "Name" is not a mysterious word in Hebrew. His "Name" is His identity. God called Himself "I AM WHO I AM" when speaking to Moses in Exodus 3. I love how the French Bible's often translate the name of God--L'Eternel (the Eternal)--it is hardly even a noun, just a description of God's greatness. So when I pray in the Name of Jesus, I pray in the fullness of God. When I bless in His Name, I bless you with the fullness of God and the fulfillment of His promises. When I live in the Name of Jesus, I live in the fullness of God--I invite you to do the same! There is no other Name like His! Philippians 2:5-11...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

I bless you, dear Reader, in the Name of Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God who loves you so much that He will be faithful even when you are not!

Following or Chasing After?

Location: On a rocky outcropping of camp property high above the camp; night is falling around me at nearly 9:00pm on August 21. Look at the picture with a touch of orange about the dark mountain, and imagine it becoming more and more pink as the surrounding peaks fade into gray dusk.

I can hear the road noise from my perch, a barking dog from down near the camp, and various bugs cricketting in French, but my spot is rather peaceful. Ironically, it is an odd spot to have a laptop; I had to take the ancient Roman road through the woods to reach this breezy point.

Today was the departure date for families who had been attending our family camp; after they left, we spent a long day cleaning the entire camp. Tonight, perhaps I will get a little more sleep than usual, and then I am hoping for a hike tomorrow morning. We have a couple of days off before the next camp begins.

The last few days have been delightful. I forgot to take a picture of it, but I successfully replaced the busted button on my pants' waistband with another, albeit a blue one. One of the photos will show you a glimpse of the gorgeous thunderstorm that passed through before dinner a couple of nights ago; another will show you G. peeking out from a window in the directors' house she is guarding. They left a couple of days ago for a year-long furlough, and they will certainly be missed around here during that time.

The most amusing delight is another without a photo. Remember "La Cheminee"? That is the hike pictured in the slideshow on this blog, that overlooks the camp. I did it a few weeks ago with J., finding it to be much more difficult than I anticipated. It is some 400-odd meters' climb up the side of a steep mountain. Yesterday before dinner, a man invited me to join a few of them hiking it. I decided to, especially when he assured me I would be with several old men; I figured I could handle that wise pace better. To my dismay, when I met up with them five minutes later, I saw them decked out in running attire! I was shocked to learn they were going to run! So grudgingly I jumped into shorts and joined them--remember how much I love running?

The long and the short of it is that it seemed easier this time, climbing with 65-, 55-, and 45-year-old men. I did not know that two were marathon runners, and one had done similar training and races. We sprinted the flattest parts, marched the inclines, and plunged down the rocky turns. As we flew down single-file, we joked. The elders ahead of me were talking about have healthy knees as they aged and hopefully not needing surgery. Proud of my God and His work, I piped up--I had already had knee surgery! But thanks to the Lord, that knee handled the pounding like a pro! We ascended (without stopping this time) in 37 minutes, and descended in a mere 18 minutes! Good thing I had eaten a large sandwich as a snack in the afternoon! It really was fun, but I would have never expected to enjoy it!

So now I am resting, hoping to descend to an early bedtime tonight, with only one roommate instead of five. If you have been wondering about my future; I have been, too. I am working to change my return flight (to the USA) to early next year, and I have accepted the opportunity to participate in an internship in Sighisoara, Romania from September to early January. God-willing, I will be working with marginalized children in this city I have never visited, with people I do not know (except for one slight acquaintance). If God works out all the logistics, I will be headed east in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, I thank you for your prayers. God has been taking care of me while He does great work at this camp. It is very encouraging to see what He is doing at this camp, and He keeps reminding me how much He loves me (and you!). I have been hearing from many of you via email and an occasional phone call, and I appreciate being connected in your lives as I can be. You are a great encouragement to me; thanks for being you!

Well, it is pretty dark now, and the woods will be even darker. So I will, as always, follow the Light of the World as I get up from this spot. May the LORD be with you (He is!).

P.S. Mom, I made it back to camp safely...

Manning My Post

Location: A shady corner of the porch overlooking mountains to my left and the camp's basketball court to my right; it is about 4:30pm on Friday, the 14th of August.

Yesterday about this time, I sat down to write this post, but alas, it never happened. You see, duty calls, and here it calls frequently and unexpectedly. As you can see in the photos, we are hard at work here! My buddy G. enjoys looking like one of the original Ghostbusters with his leaf-blower strapped on his back, and he enjoys being haunted by the souls in the kitchen, especially the one he is married to! The other one is showing you the mashed-potato mess that kept me from posting this update yesterday. And by the way, I included the headless photo of G. so that you could see the weedwacker at the bottom (it was strapped to me) so that you would not think I was on vacation while my friends were working!

The other picture is of A., and I took it this after lunch out the back of our dishroom. I wanted you to see another beautiful picture of what ministry looks like. Not long ago, it looked like cleaning out gutters and saying hello in what is now my daily rendez-vous with our nearly 80-year-old neighbor. Sometimes it looks like cooking for ninety people. But early this afternoon, it looked like a tired A. taking a moment from her busy day to sit and talk to a tiny French girl, reminding the latter that no matter what, she is valuable and loved. It was a fleeting moment, but one I hope not to forget for a long time.

So yes, it has been busy, but less busy for me than the previous camp. Not only did we restructure our workload, but I changed my schedule so that I could make it to morning worship and teachings, doing my work in the afternoons as much as I can. This means that I miss out on all of the hikes and rock-climbing, etc., but it is a more manageable pace, with more peace. And though I participated in the Australian bush dancing last night(!), and helped out a little with the Western night a couple of nights ago, I often cut out the evening activities so I can get a little sleep. I am now sharing a room with four other guys, soon to be five.

But back to work! They say here that I do the work of six men! I am not so sure about that. You may know that I work hard and enjoy working, but I am making sure to repose as I need to. And G. and S. and C. and the others around here are workhorses themselves, so I think my accomplished tasks are being slightly exaggerated! Nonetheless, they will assure you that my appetite at meals is not exaggerated, and I quickly earned the reputation for eating the food of ten men! I will let you decide if that is because my friends the cooks are excellent at their work, or if it is simply because I work hard enough to get rather hungry, but I humbly admit that this is less of an exaggeration and my meals usually prove my reputation true.

Nonetheless, I hope that much more than my reputation for a hearty appetite or even hard work precedes me in the next steps on my lifes journey. As I pray and discuss opportunities with my family, friends, and mentors, I am leaning toward committing to a four-month internship in Romania that will begin in September. But wherever I go, I hope that I am seen not as a bottomless appetite, not as a tireless laborer, but as a humble vessel astounded to have been chosen by the Most High God to house His Holy Spirit and live His message of Truth and Hope in Jesus Christ.

You are by now familiar with the situation. I am cleaning toilets and washing dishes in France. Before this month, I washed dishes in a small village in Northern France, and I also washed dishes in Romania. Some people think I am on a great vacation. Others think I am wasting the skills, resources, and youth God has given me. Some declare that I just need to marry and settle down into real life. Many seem to think I am completely lost and searching for an unknown something. Maybe there is truth in all of these.

Yet...

Yet it is these same people that ask me when next I will be back in their neighborhood. These same people ask me to pray for them. These same people tell me of their longings to experience what I have seen or done. These same people often dread their 9 to 5 jobs, feel chained to their responsibilities, or believe that happiness is a thing of fairy-tale endings.

I am the first to admit that my life is unlike most others. I did not forsee it looking like this, and few others would have predicted it correctly, either. But I love it! Everyday, God teaches me something new! Everyday, I am happy to be alive! I am blessed to know hard work, to meet people all over the world, to have to trust in the Lord. Few people are free to stop and talk with someone on the side of the road, or to play with a child, or listen to a neighbor tell of the good old days. Few people get to immerse themselves in international hospitality, breathe the success of challenges met, get to live out their answers to the world's "why?'s". Few people get to know the God of the Universe personally through His Son Jesus Christ; too often instead they get distracted by the broken institutions of Christiandom or the hypocritical religious folks try to make of God idols or images that the rational brain can easily grasp.

I, on the other hand, have these privileges. I have the privilege of having time to work, to help, to listen, to laugh, to play, to sit in silence, to rest. I have the honor of knowing people all over the world, not great and famous names, but everyday names, people from the storybook of real life. And I have the blessing of knowing my Savior, Jesus, intimately, and having His Spirit living in and through me, leading and teaching and using me for the Father's glory.

You can, too.

Do not quit your job. Do not jump out of an airplane. Do not purchase a vintage Corvette.

But ask yourself what is important in life. What really matters? And invest yourself in it. Invest yourself so fully that you could never go back. Invest yourself so entirely that it requires all of who you are and what you have. Invest yourself so completely that you cannot be known apart from it.

"Who does that?" you ask? "Won't people think I'm crazy?" you wonder?

Sure, people will think you are crazy, but who cares what they think? Maybe you think I am crazy, but that is what I have done.

I realized that a life of complete obedience and dedication to the God who revealed Himself through Jesus Christ is the only life worth living. And that is what you are seeing in me. It would look different in other people, I am sure. Neither do I know what it will look like tomorrow or further into the future. But I do know this:

I think YOU are crazy if you stay stuck in a miserable rut from which you could escape.

If your life has purpose, happiness, and value, then praise God and thank Him for it every day. May it continue as long as you live, and may the length of your life be eternity with your Father!

But if you feel worthless, susceptible to everyone else's opinions, miserable, lost, confused, jealous, or hopeless, maybe it is time for a change. Maybe what you initially though was important is not. Maybe what the world exalted as valuable turned out to be a cheap imitation.

I will never try to get you to follow the life I am living. I will never be able to convince you that what I think is best really is. But if you are at a loss to figure out what is important in life, what gives purpose, what makes sense, I would highly recommend you look into knowing a man called Jesus. I am not talking about the Jesus painted into medieval icons, nor the Jesus screamed by frenzied evangelists, nor the Jesus etched into the wrinkles of lifeless parishioners. I am talking about the Jesus who is the living Son of God, who came to reveal His Father to us, to make knowable the amazing Author of all life and love, to invite us to step into a very real life of relationship with Him. Look into Him in the Bible: check out the New Testament books of Mark or John. Pray what may seem like an empty prayer to Him who may seem like an imaginary deity, and ask God to reveal Himself to you in a way you can understand. Ask someone you respect who claims to know this Jesus, and decide for yourself if he or she truly does.

Do not take my word for it. Do not even take my life for it. Take His. He gave His life so that you and I might have the opportunity to live it. It would be a shame to waste it.

That said, back to the work of six men, or maybe of just One. I bless you in His Name, the Name of Jesus.

R and R (RestRooms!)

Location: The office in the Bridge Building (at the camp outside Grenoble), about 3:00pm on the 10th of August.

As you can see, I was back to R and R today--but that was not Rest and Relaxation, but rather Restrooms. Check my post below (from yesterday) for the details from the last few days, and make sure you see all the newest pictures on the Picasa site--there are lots! However, I do not want you to think that all I do is hike, so here is a picture of work! God blessed me with a helper today, so here is a picture of K. helping me clean the shower!

May you, also, be blessed today, whether you are resting or working!

The Mountain I Did Not Climb

Location: Dining hall of camp, about 4:00pm on Saturday, the 8th of August.

The last few days have been eventful rather than restful as anticipated. Fortunately, the Lord has provided me with the rest I need in between the adventures.

I do not recall when I last wrote, and at the moment our internet is not working so I cannot check my last post. For now, I will type and save this post until I can upload it.

The few of us remaining at camp during this non-camp week were hoping to catch up on rest, which has not happened as much as we hoped. For example, we ended up hiking and hanging out with friends of the camp several days, and there is always work to do when you are at a camp. Personally, I was able to get caught up on some chores, and I am thankful for the rest God has provided me. I also had the privilege of sharing some wonderful, edifying conversations with friends over the Internet.

But the adventures really began on Thursday evening, when my Finnish friend M. arrived after visiting friends in Southern France.

(Now it is 4pm on Sunday, though I doubt I will have time to finish this because 90 people are in the process of arriving...)

So M. arrived, and I had walked the six- or seven-mile hike to town (by choice) to pick her up at the bus station, planning to catch a bus back up the mountain when she was with me. Though she arrived without mishap, the last bus had already passed. We then tried to share a taxi with a half-frantic lady who was in a similar predicament. After jumping through hoop after hoop, we finally found a taxi, only to learn that we were not going in the same direction as the lady. So we left her the taxi and picked up groceries.

Running out of options, we had decided to see if we could hitch a ride from the grocery. Just as we were beginning to ask folks, the same taxi driver pulled up to get gas! I waved at him and he was available; he even knew our camp! So we rolled into camp in style, thankful for God's provision of a ride!

A quick hike led by my friend (and great cook!), G., and dinner that night whet our appetite for the next day, so we started off early in the morning on a long hike that would even take us to the summit of one of the mountains. We had a later start than planned because of some telephone attempts to confirm M.'s reservations for her next train, but my phone ran out of credit in the middle of the call! With nothing else to do there, we headed out. Beautiful weather and some wildlife greeted us as we made our way, finally stopping for lunch a few hours into the hike. We struggled on as the sun heated up and as the path became more steep. Laughing as we took funny photos, we were having fun goofing around until M. landed funny on a hard spot of ground and hurt her foot!

We were at the furthest point from camp! We were a half-hour from the summit! We had been watching that peak all morning, my mouth was watering as I was looking forward to the satisfaction of the day's effort! But we could not continue, because she was hurt and we knew we still had several hours of hiking to do in order to make it back to camp. Grudgingly, we turned back, and for the next couple of hours hiked down, finally arriving at supper time. We had left at 10:40am, we limped back into camp at nearly 6:00pm. Needless to say, we dined and relaxed and went to bed early.

That is the story of the mountain I did not climb. And here is the story of the barn I did not clean.

(Now it is nearly 6pm on Sunday--I'm hoping to finish this post before I have to report to kitchen duty for dinner!) The day after the hike, our thoughts of hiking or climbing had been left in the past; in exchange, we decided to rest M.'s foot. That turned out to be good, because we received an email from our absent camp director reminding us about some chores that needed to be done before the next camp started. What really hit home was a comment about his "recleaning" of the building (the barn-turned-sleeping-quarters) that my roommate and I were responsible for. We had cleaned part of it, after cleaning the other building we were assigned, but we had left some if it for a third fellow who was sleeping while we were cleaning, guessing that he would not want to be left out!

Some American friends of the camp arrived this week, and G. was helping me clean for camp while M. was resting her foot. Very gently, he reminded me that it does not matter to God who does which task--God cares that we are obedient to Him. We should shy away from the "that is not my job" mentality, or the "I have already done my share" syndrome. In fact, I would have told you that I already knew that, that I was already practicing that! But as the humble words of this wise man wrenched my heart, I knew that I had been ignoring the truth and that my making excuses caused our director to have to "reclean" my part. It hurts so much, but how much I appreciate God humbling and teaching us, that we might be more in line with His will!

So that is the story of the barn I did not clean.

The rest of the story is that we had a quiet afternoon of French lawn bowling ("boules"), conversation, and a grocery run. (A friend of mine volunteered me to drive the camp mini-bus into town, but we survived without mishap!) This morning, I took M. to the bus-station, picked up the daily fresh French bread (yes, I am rubbing it in!), and picked up a few more groceries for the camp. Then we had a wonderful intimate worship and prayer service with about eight of us at camp before we spent several hours finishing all the preparation for the camp, with a short staff meeting slipped in. I also managed to do my laundry, but it has been washed several times out on the clothes line because of the suddent thunderstorms this afternoon. I figure it will begin to dry again when the rain stops!

So now our quiet paradise is transformed into a French-family vacation haven, with jubilant kids running past nonchalant parents enjoying their time off. These two weeks promise to be full and busy; I hope to make use of our repaired internet connection to post this later this evening, but do not expect to hear from me too often over the next days!

Thanks for your prayers; God is teaching me a lot. I have not yet understood all He wants to teach me about the mountain I did not climb, but I think I learned a lot from the barn I did not clean. Maybe you, too, have a mountain you did not climb. What does that mean? Does that mean you failed? Does that mean you should go back and try again? Does that mean that was the wrong mountain? Was there maybe something more important, but less obvious, at stake? The Bible talks about a tiny bit of faith moving mountains, rather than climbing mountains. Also, in the Bible, I notice that there is a mountain of God, but often the Bible speaks of God coming down to us rather than us climbing up to reach God... In fact, in thinking of the story of the Tower of Babel, I am not sure God wants us to try to reach Him. I think He may want us to welcome Him when He comes to reach out to us. In fact, because I could not climb high enough on the "mountain" of righteousness, so Jesus came to show me that He is the Way. Yet again, a "mountain" that I did not climb. Hmm...that is an interesting thought! These are some of the questions I have been asking myself, and some of the ideas I have been mullling over. And I will have plenty of time to think of it while I wash mountains of dishes!

Happy climbing!

Pictures Instead of Words

Location: Porch at the camp, overlooking the night-shrouded mountains at 11:30pm on August the 5th.

During these days of rest, I have been busy resting. Yes, I have done some work here and there, and hiking and Frisbee and housekeeping catch-up...but it has been pretty restful. I had a wonderful 5am morning this morning, and it was several hours before a creature stirred at camp. Perhaps I will have a similar blessing tomorrow, which is why I hope to head to bed soon.

So instead of telling you about the last couple days, I have attached some pictures of yesterday's hike and today's relaxation in a park surrounding the castle where the French Revolution supposedly began. You can see that the last two sunny days were barely tolerable for a man used to hard work, but I survived... It has been fun to meet up with some of the campers from last week, while at the same time getting to know the staff better and preparing for next week's camp. My friend from Finland is due in tomorrow, and I hope to catch up on emails before she arrives. Last night, Skype permitted me to speak with my mentor in Indiana, as well as some of my family. Today I worked on an application for an internship in Romania I am praying about. It has been a good week, and I expect it will continue, to the glory of the Lord. Enjoy the photos! Maybe tomorrow I will take a moment to post the rest on Picasa...

Saying Goodbye

Location: The computer room/library at the camp on the 2nd of August, nearly 8:30pm.

It is glorious--I am alone! In this moment, I am the only one at the camp! The solitude is peaceful, and I look forward to spending some very needed quality time with the LORD this evening. My coworkers are out on the town, some eating out, others watching a movie. I was invited, but after many long days of hard work with some big decisions looming before me, I decided to take advantage of the free evening.

Some of you may be appalled at my enjoyment of solitude. One of my coworkers, from Wyoming, understands and invited me to come work out there on a horse ranch. Yes, I have been blessed by friends and strangers alike, and many of my fondest memories are of times spent among other people. Yet some of my most formulative moments have taken place when I was alone with the LORD.

Just like being with other people all of the time can be overwhelming, being alone all the time can get lonely. However, I have found that spending time in solitude with the LORD prepares me for the interactions I have with other people. In a world that tells me I must race into marriage, that I must spend all of my free time in some sort of technological chatter with other people, and that my value comes from what other people think of me, my sometimes solitary personality baffles many. They do not understand that I enjoy being unmarried. They cannot comprehend what pleasure can be had in a life in which the cell phone or laptop was left behind. They question my sanity when I am different from everyone else they know.

I find that when I am alone, I have no temptation to put on a facade. I can take time to think out my thoughts that otherwise might have to be set aside. I can ignore my watch and let time settle around me as I enjoy the world around me. I can remember the good times I have had, and recall the lessons learned from the difficult experiences. This memories are sometimes all we have from days in the past, such as those brought to mind as I smile at my Romanian water bottle that is finally losing its label after traveling with me for a couple of months!

But alone time, like every other commodity, should be used carefully and wisely. Tonight I plan to use mine to prepare for a week of rest and hopefully meeting up with a friend I have not seen in a year. I hope to use it as I pray for friends who are in significant circumstances, friends near and far from me with whom I have enjoyed steady friendship or with whom my relationship has changed with the passing time. I intend to study my choices as I evaluate opportunities before me, needing to make decisions about coming months.

Today was a day of goodbyes, and tomorrow will be more of the same. Campers left today, re-entering the real world, after a couple of weeks of special fellowship. Tomorrow, most of the other volunteer staff will return home to the United States, or Canada, or whatever other destination. I find that alone time is a good time to remember goodbyes. Goodbyes are good because otherwise people simply disappear. For example, the last handful of campers slipped out without saying goodbye, and I find that there is no closure there. So I will think about and pray for the friends I made here as they go their separate ways; there was little time for that as I joined a fellow American for a hike up to an old Roman arch on the Roman Road after finishing my cleaning chores and a nap today.

Well, it is time for some solitude; if you have not tried it in a while, I highly recommend it! Peace to you!