The Ameridorian Adventure

Standing on the Edge of Eternity

2010-08-10T07:52:00.001-07:00

http://www.dglobe.com/event/article/id/39539/

Things I take for Granted

2009-12-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

I’ve been doing a lot of traveling for work lately, and every once in awhile I take the opportunity for granted. ..not this last trip to Spokane. From start to finish, I was blown away by the amazing sites that I was taking in every mile.

• Snow-capped mountains

• Incredible sunrise over the “Western” landscape of Wyoming.

• The sight of Deer eating carefree on the plains.

I wonder how the early settlers made it across such rugged terrain. I wonder if maybe they had the same thoughts that I had…God is an incredible artist!

2009-11-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

We were driving in St. Paul a couple of months ago, and couldn’t help but to be impressed with the cathedral just opposite the capitol building. The kids and I decided to hop out and do a little exploring. I knew Karsten was going to ask a lot of questions that would be difficult to answer, but it was an opportunity to experience, first hand, this type of architecture!

A Different Perspective

2009-11-13T13:18:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I had the chance to take the whole family to see Mount Rushmore, and as we were driving up to the main park entrance we came around a curve in the road and saw the profile of George Washington (pictured above). I had been to Mount Rushmore before, but up to that point in life all I ever saw was the standard view facing the four Presidents. This new view gave a whole different perspective to a monument that I was thinking “been there, seen that.” My attitude changed from a “ho-hum” frame of mind, to an energized can’t wait to see the full monument again.

Like many, for the past year I have been keeping a close eye on the economy and wondering how it will impact my family. Nonprofit organizations like Proclaim Aviation Ministries have a difficult time making budgets under good circumstances, so the economic outlook rests on me like a wet blanket. As I was working this week planning the 2010 year for Proclaim, I had a different perspective come into view: if we as Americans, the most prosperous country on earth, can come to the point of a sense of desperation, imagine what people of other countries without our resources must feel! Regardless of your political leanings, I think everyone agrees the government can’t just sit idle during a time of crisis and expect things to naturally get better. On the spiritual side, neither can the church just sit idle and watch the world slide away from God. Again, my attitude changed with this new perspective and I was energized to continue planning out the new year for Proclaim. I can’t wait to see what is ahead!

Straight and Narrow

2009-11-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

The straight and narrow path was a pretty easy choice when we lived in the jungle, the options weren't that appealing. Take the photo above as an example; walk on the logs or step off into boot eating mud. Wander too far off the path and you find something that will eat you, boots and all.

Walking the straight and narrow was a no brainer in the jungle, but it wasn’t near as much fun as flying it! You see, for every 1 hour spent walking on a well groomed trail as pictured, the same distance could be covered in 1 minute in a small airplane. Hmmm, take a 20 minute flight to the nearest clinic, or spend 20 hours hiking.

Descending to go even higher

2009-10-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

This past August I had the opportunity to do some climbing in the Crestone mountains of Colorado. You should know several things:

1. This was my first trip, and I’ve never attempted anything so far out of my comfort zone before as climbing.

2. I can’t say that I have ever been in particular good physical shape at any point of my life.

3. Heights don’t bother me so much when I have a metal airframe with at least a couple hundred horse power of lift strapped on by a 5 point harness….otherwise they do.

On this particular day, 4 of us set out to climb one of the “14k” peaks known as Kit Carson. The weather was beautiful, the friends were great, and we had food and water. Regardless of the fact all four of us were guys, we even had a written description of the route to take and we actually read all of the directions!
The plan was simple: scramble up a slope and traverse to “Bears Playground,” continue until we come to the “false summit,” climb that and descend a few hundred feet down the other side and climb up Kit Carson. In reality, the simple plan turned quickly into a marathon of will power by the time we made it to Bears Playground (not even halfway). We continued on up and down and finally reached the false summit…but we weren’t sure by that point if it was the real summit or the false one. Ankles were starting to swell, and the oxygen was getting thinner as we crested the mountain only to realize we had one more hurdle to go. Looking at the summit of Kit Carson across the way did not present a technical challenge as much as a psychological challenge. You see we had to descend 300 feet to cross over to where we could climb back even higher than we were starting from in the first place. Needless to say, we pressed on and reached the top of Kit Carson to enjoy a view that would be impossible to describe with words.

The parallel to the emotions that are faced in ministry are amazingly similar. The plans are good, the people are wonderful, but struggle to take another step gets difficult at times. Yet there are times when you reach a place where you see what God has done, and it would be impossible to describe with words. I look at the challenges ahead for Proclaim and it seems like the summit of stability is across a deep valley…needless to say, we will press on!

What is an Ameridorian?

2008-09-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

After reading the first 4 books in the "Cooper Kids" series by Frank E Peretti, my kids decided it was time for them to start writing an adventure book. Being the practical father that (I personally think) I am, I decided to let them write an adventure blog. The kids and I decided to call it the "Ameridorian" series...because I am American and their mother is Ecuadorian. Not knowing exactly what that makes our kids, we came to a compromise. Unlike the popular Cooper Kids series, our blogs will be:
Non fiction
Considerably more boring
Grammatically incorrectable(ish)
Not for sale
Lacking any artist renditions.

Other than those minor differences, this should be a fun project!