More Coloradical Adventures!

I have been in Colorado for over a month now! Holy smokes! It feels like so much longer than that... and yet at the same time, when I think about the fact that in 17 days I will be traveling all over the world with the fantastic ATW team, it all seems to be going by so fast! Here are my most recent favorite fabulous adventures...

Eagle Rock

Two weeks ago we ventured into the mountains for a lovely getaway at the YWAM Eagle Rock campus. Mountains are my natural habitat, so I felt very much in my element, and completely romanced by God while I enjoyed all His creation had to offer. We had an incredibly moving week of lectures on the Father Heart of God, we spent the nights roasting s'mores and playings games, and we even had one day where we took a day trip down to a little casino town called Black Hawk for all you can eat breakfast! There were so many meaningful lessons learned this week, but I would like to share just one testimony that really stood out to me.

It all starts with our week one intercession class. We had a little activity where we all threw a shoe to the front of the classroom, then we chose someone else's shoe without knowing who they were, and asked God for a word to give to that person and how we might be able to intercede on their behalf. The fellow who got my shoe shared that God wanted me to know that I didn't have to hide anymore. My immediate response was to wonder what hideous sin I had committed lately, that I wasn't confessing or being honest about. I really didn't feel like there was anything, and after praying about it, God revealed that what I didn't have to hide anymore was joy. I can be really silly, energetic, and a bit over the top, I know. How could I not be though? I have been through plenty of dark times, I have had so many days of my life where I didn't even want to to be alive, and could barely bother to get out of bed. But, now I have been washed, sanctified and justified in Christ, made white as now, set free, all my sins have been forgiven!!! What else do I really have to worry about? How could I not be overwhelmed with elation, completely invigorated, and want to just shout that out?

Anyways, during one of our last class sessions, we experienced some of the many ways the Holy Spirit can work within us when we invite Him to. One of these experiences was uncontrollable laughter. At first I was hesitant to let my guard down and just open myself up to what was happening.  But then God reminded me of that word I was given during intercession and it just clicked. Before long I was on the floor from laughing so hard. I just let myself be filled with absolute joy, and I didn't stress about what other people were thinking, or if it was ok for me to let go of all the serious learning and soul changing for a moment, and just be blissful. The Holy Spirit was showing me it was more than ok. I love the fact that this lesson on not hiding was fully realized when we were being taught by the parents of the guy who was originally given that word. To me it shows how beautifully, symmetrically, and intricately God weaves everything together, that He really does specially plan very specific moments to develop us and draw us closer to Him.

Another huge highlight of Eagle Rock was the hiking. I was actually sick this whole week, and felt pretty awful, except for the times when I had just hiked to the top of Eagle Rock. I did this hike four times and was blessed with different people and different expressions of God's majesty each time.  The first time it rained, and when we got to the top there was a beautiful double rainbow. I did the second and third hike on the same day. The third time was specifically to see the sunset, and oh man did we get a beautiful one! It was supposed to rain, but we prayed God would hold that off, and He spared us another soggy trip! The final trek was for the sunrise on our last morning. Probably the most stunning sunrise I have ever seen, it perfectly wrapped up an amazing week, and left me feeling so grateful towards God, almost paralyzed with awe and reverence for how so very good He is.

Being silly with the roomies...

Our last morning there, we hiked up at 5am, just in time to watch the sun rise. Stunning! 

Thank you Father God for sunrises!!!

The Eagle Rock Base

Roomies!!!!

Start of the hike. Entrance to the base.  

Frolicking through a field. 

Pretending to be a ferret. 

The first time we did this hike it rained. But, then there was a double rainbow, so it was totally worth it! 

This is the Eagle Rock base at night time with us sitting around the campfire.

Small Group Activities 

I absolutely love my small group. I always enjoy hanging out with this bunch of Godly women, even when we just sit in a park, drink tea, and chat. We did have a fun trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater awhile back though! The shape and color of all the rocks is spectacular and I am sure every geologist absolutely drools over this place. The fact that it also fits a stage and provides a natural sound boost is even more awesome... I would love to stage some sort of ancient Greek style theater here! We hiked around, watched a band set up for their performance that night, and I kept quoting 'The Lion King' because I saw at least three formations that looked just like pride rock. Unfortunately no lions dragged out any baby cubs to present as the new ruler of animals.

Another sweet activity we participated in was service Saturday. A few small groups joined together and we went to a local retirement home to paint fences. It is always nice to contribute to the community and feel like you are sharing God's love through simple acts of service. Also painting is really fun and the repetitive motions are quite therapeutic. It was good group time, it was a lovely sunny day, and we got to drink iced tea lemonade, so even though painting is supposed to be mundane work (I'm looking at you Tom Sawyer) I had a very enjoyable day!

The amphitheater where they were getting ready for a concert that night. 

Pride Rock in the background! SIMBA!

Wandering through the red wilderness... Lol, jokes, we walked like 10 minutes away from the parking lot, and then turned around because I was sick. 

Painting some fences at a local retirement village.

St. Mary's Glacier

Hooray for more mountain adventures! The last two weekends we have taken day trips out to St. Mary's glacier for some outstanding outdoor enjoyment. The 'glacier' is actually more of a giant snow patch that never fully melts, it just melts enough to create a lake. There are some decent cliffs above this small lake, so of course jumping was in order. The water was pretty cold, but it was so refreshing and really fun! I haven't been swimming since leaving San Diego, so the inner mermaid in me was most pleased with these excursions. We played in the snow, drank delicious glacier water, and explored up above the cliffs. Nothing quite bonds you together like some sketchy maneuvers above a giant drop. 

Taking the least obvious, most awkward way back down is always the best way to go. That is how adventures start.

We pretended to be mountain goats and climbed up above the cliffs. I am sure we looked absolutely ridiculous coming back down through thick brush and a steep gully, but hey, it was super fun and I felt like Indiana Jones. 

Stephen and all the Godly women. 

The small cliff across the lake right above my head is where we were jumping. 

Such a glorious location!

Love Action

 Hanging with the Homeless of Denver

While I was making a video for our creative presentations, God really gave me a heart for the homeless of Denver. I also remembered from when all the DTS students first started talking that a number of people really enjoyed baking. So I thought it would be awesome for us to bake some things and take them downtown to give to those in need. Later on we were told that it is actually one of our assignments to do some sort of random act of kindness or 'love action.' I was pretty stoked that God had already given me an idea and that I had already put aside the time to do it!

So, I thought about the group of homeless men I had encountered during my last adventure with God, and got together some recipes and ingredients. There ended up being like seven of us baking, eating, listening to worship music, and dancing. It was so much fun! A hint of God's very direct hand in this action became apparent when the muffin recipe and ingredients that I mixed together ended up making three times the amount of muffins expected. I joked that the muffins were being multiplied to feed the masses and that they would end up being just the right number the next day.

Four of us got together after church the next day and another one of the girls put together a box full of flowers to hand out. We also all decided to put flowers in our hair even though that really wasn't the norm for two of the girls. Then we bused into town and walked over to the place I had visited previously. No one was there. I felt pretty disheartened. One of the girls suggested we head over there anyways and that felt right, even if I kept thinking 'this is dumb, nobody is even here, what is going on here God!'

When we got to the spot, we could see two homeless men under a bridge nearby, so we walked over to them. After giving them some baked goods they told us to head over to an area nearby where there were a bunch of 'really dirty people who probably have the munchies.' We walked for awhile and finally came upon a grassy hill where about 50 homeless hippy kids were hanging out. Two of our YWAM leaders had posted this article that morning:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/pot-seen-as-reason-for-rise-in-denver-homeless.

It talks about the influx of young people coming to Denver because of marijuana being legalized in Colorado. Some of these kids are runaways, and they embrace the homeless lifestyle because it means they can openly indulge in the drug culture. We had stumbled upon the exact subjects of the article we had just been reading! Because we were dressed like hippies ourselves, they immediately welcomed us, and were extremely excited about the brownies, muffins and flowers. One guy kept calling us the 'cookie fairies' and we received so much gratitude! Although we did have to repetitively explain that the brownies were not 'special.' We were giving out like four brownies and a muffin to every person we came across. It ended up being the PERFECT amount of food. No one got turned down. I have no idea how the amount of food we brought made it through all those kids, let alone how it managed to be as much as it was in the first place! God straight up just blows my mind!!!

After that we headed to a different area of town and as a part of another girl's love action we purchased a bunch of crackers, granola bars, and water bottles to pass out to the various homeless scattered all around the 16th street mall. We saw one gentleman sitting alone who looked extremely hungry. We asked him if he wanted some food and he said yes because he was starving. As soon as we gave him a bunch of snacks however, he walked over to a group of his friends and shared it all with them. He could have hoarded that all to himself for his own need, but instead, without even thinking about it, he shared and made sure everyone he knew to be hungry was receiving as well. It was yet another day where God totally wrecked us in a good way and ruined us for the ordinary.

The recipe I used and the ingredients I bought should not have produced this much baked goods. It was the perfect amount though and supposedly delicious! 

Bag of baked goods - check. Box of flowers - check. Hippy headbands- check. All set for a day of ministry! 

On the bus with all our goodies!

I love all the random pianos downtown. One of the homeless fellows we hung out with was a very talented musician, so some singing and dancing was in order! 

Flower Child Ministries: PEACE, and LOVE, from GOD, to YOU! Yea, we made that up on the bus, and even put together hand gestures to back it up.

                          

                                          Handing out granola bars, crackers, and water bottles to the homeless on 16th street.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy, and then we will be off! There is still so much to learn and look forward to here in Denver, so I definitely will post right before we leave the States. There are still people who don't have their full funds for outreach, so prayer for that would be greatly appreciated! If you want to donate at all, please contact me. Glory to God for this amazing opportunity! May He bless each one of you, on each of your own journeys, too! Thank you for reading! 

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you."
John 15:15