| My nose is peeling off. No more nose for me. It's really not that bad... silly wind. Yes, I am in California, and yes, my nose is peeling, but it really has very little to do with the sun, and a whole lot more to do with the wind. Daaahhh... Backing up: one week on philosophy of outdoor wilderness recreation ministry/map, compass and orienteering, one week learning how to set up and take down rock climbs for kids this summer, and one week winter mountaineering (hence the windburn). Philosophy of wilderness recreation was really interesting. It was taught to us by the base director, and we also covered a lot of why of how we run our trips. For example, what is the purpose of putting people on solo night right after they've had a peak experience or, why do we even do this in the first place? I had a meeting with him that week, and we got to talk about vision, Kyrgyzstan, community development, and how much it rocks our face off that God uses the outdoors to reclaim and disciple His kids. We also had map and compass that week in the afternoons... the last day we had to use all the skills we had learned to find different stations (aka, ziploc bags) in the middle of nowhere. Then we busted out solo and just had to use our maps to find stations. It was challenging (especially since it was snowing), but I learned so much, and I have a lot more confidence that I will be able to competently lead kids this summer (which I consider to be a good thing). Then we had Rock 1 which was at this really cool dried up waterfall carved out of lava rock in the middle of the desert (yay run-on sentence!). We learned how to set up different kind of anchors: if you're going to be rappeling (going down) or climbing, or both, etc. We learned how to use temporary "pro" (protection-- temporary equipment to set up anchors so that no one falls to their death. generally a good thing) and got to use our anchors. And we learned knots, knots, and more knots; oh, and a hitch or two. The whole week was kind of a stretch for me, because I felt extremely out of my element putting little pieces of metal into rock then trusting my weight and the weight of my teammates on it. But I can do it now, and I feel pretty competent about it, which is good, because I will definitely be doing more of that for kids this summer. Thus, we come to this past week--one that I've kind of been dreading. I think my pack only weighed 65 pounds... it could have been worse.... I think. We hiked up into the mountains and worked on snow skills. We made "quincy huts" (snow caves) and slept in them for the week. I felt like I was nine when we were digging them out. We also worked on skills like, how to save someone from your team out of a crevasse, how to stop yourself from falling uncontrollably down snow and ice to your death, and how to set up anchors in the snow ("snow pro"). Then, on the last day, we attempted to peak a 13,987 foot mountain, but that didn't work out so well, because the weather was not a good thing, and we were getting into some rock and ice that was really sketchy. So, we turned around, though we were SOOOOOO close to being to the top. But it was a good learning experience, and I'm more thankful that our team worked together well than I am disappointed that we didn't peak. And that's why my nose is peeling. The weather was so nasty all week, that I have some serious windburn going. But it's good. I expect to see my normal skin again soon. Maybe. So... now we have a couple days off, which is excellent because I have a lot of laundry to do, and I'm also wrapping up enrollment stuff for Kuyper. Oh yeah, and I'm writing really long entries on my blog. That too. This week we have backpacking and soft skills, then next week we have desert canyoneering (which probably means more nose peeling). And on a sade note, after one week in the desert for Rock 1, my hair has significantly bleached out. Which means I'll probably be blonde by the end of the summer. I'm pouting about this. Humor me. And though you are all probably getting sick of me saying this, I don't feel that I can end this monstrosity of a post without telling that God is crazy awesome faithful. He's not safe, not safe by any means, but He's awesome. I don't understand why He has me of all people here, in a position where I'm going to be a role-model and discipler of kids this summer, but that's the process He has me in, and I am humbled that He has called me here. Please continue to pray for me, and for the kids this summer. We're in the process of nailing down out schedule, and I am mega-excited! Pray with us that God will already start preparing their hearts and minds and we try to reach them with the love of Christ! |
