week 1 Report

Day 4 in week 1. 

We have had a busy week.  Week 1's are always busy.  They are filled with new jobs, new responsibilities, and new people.  I think they are overall very fun, but when the week is done---we could use a break.  We will drive in the mountains and see the yellow aspens after church.  YES!

I have been enjoying the Musicians DTS students alot.  I was thinking they would be a bit more drama-ish....being artists and stuff, but it seems they all have a great head on their shoulders.  Today we finished our 5 minute testimonies.  We all come from different backgrounds.  30+ people all in one place...alot of pasts that are filled with divorce, drugs, sex, hate, alcohol, cutting, and rejection.  I see that God has already brought so much healing to each person even before the school starts.  I am even more sure that God is going to be faithful to walk people through deeper healing as the teachers start coming in, and we worship 3 times a week, and pray, and journal, and read great books, and just hear Him speak.  The students will really see a transformation in their lives.  I am excited to be a witness of it all.  This really is the best job ever! 

I have a lot of thinking and planning to do for the Outreach Prep though.  70+ students from both DTS's and a secondary school all need some preliminary training before Christmas.  I have to organize all of that.  Pray for me!!!

Will is enjoying the Phase 2 as well....I think.  I am writing this and guess by the fact that he is chipper on a daily basis and that he did not say otherwise....he likes to be a staff member in the school.  Actually I think he REALLY likes it.  He will have to tell you why in another post. 

This weekend we are bringing some Musician DTS students to the Denver Art Museum.  It costs 30 bucks to see King Tut, but it is free for the other parts.  Seriously....$30!  They are still making money on that guy....just carting his dead mummified skins around like a freak show and charging for it.  What a circus!   But, I wanna see it still....somehow I still wanna see it.  But won't pay $30.

The Summer Eye View

We know that the summer has just come and gone.  We wanted to fill you in on some of the things that we have been up to.  I think it will help you get a better perspective of our life in Denver.  Just to add to this too...we work full time at the base PLUS all of the things we post photos about.  Just to make that clear!  If all the things here could be our full time jobs....that would be awesome!


ART ON A SUMMER SUNDAY

 Kevin and Jess came over and I taught them how to batik.  We were successful with hot wax & colorful dye!

We of course did a few tie-dye projects too.

I am rinsing the dyed fabric in water
before hanging to dry.  The process is lengthy
with -dry to wax & wet to dye- repeat.

Jess' headband              Kevin's  tree

Christa, Erika's sister, came to visit in July.  She is back in Honduras teaching those kids!  Erika' mom and dad came at the end of her visit and there were a lot of new adventures in Colorado-mountains, camping, and cleaning the house. Love you all!!

AUGUST 14th!!    WILL'S 27th BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST!
Scrambled eggs, coffee, grapefruit juice, sausages, cheezy grits, brown cheese & jelly, and biscuits.
I held the mail so he would get his cards on the special day!

A week later we had a backyard party for the School of Worship students and staff.  We got to enjoy the evening with delicious steak, corn on the cob, asparagus, and acoustically performed songs written by the group.  It was a delightful time.  We got to use our new wedding dishes and silverware.  We love hosting a pretty party or two!

Later in August we went with YWAMDenver on a mountain trip for an all staff retreat.  Throughout the spring there had been many specialized retreats for wives, singles, couples, and husbands too.  We just had a great time all together.  Almost everyone got to go on the retreat because of generous giving within the staff.  An offering was taken so no one would miss the bonding that would happen over the weekend.  We played volleyball, biked, had a belly flop contest, watched movies, and played board games.  It was really refreshing to see that even though we work full time we still like and love each other!

Helina, our beloved Estonian friend, left the states after a year in Colorado
It was so nice to spend some quality last days with her. 

At the beginning of September we taught for 3 days in the School of Worship.  It was a scary event in some ways because the topic was on Prophetic Worship & Art.  I don't know about you, but the topic is so huge and so mysterious that it seems we would really not be able to capture the thoughts of God on it.  We actually needed to get passed some insecurities and ask the Lord for His words and His guidance!  The teaching days were great!  Will taught for a day and a half and Erika did the same.  Will taught on the Biblical perspective of prophetic worship and Erika switched gears and taught on the basics of prophetic imagery and art.  The students were given a project and time to work on it as well.  The assignment was to pray and ask God to show them a visual picture of two things about a specific audience (christians, ywam, their school, youth).  1. Where are they right now in the eyes of God and 2. Where are they going according to the design God has planned.  In their discovery and toiling on this topic all of the students found new revelation in abilities to communicate through other means than just music and at a Worship Art Gallery for the whole community the Denver YWAMers also felt God had spoken to them as well.  We are so proud of the students!

This is only one of the projects presented at the Worship Art Gallery

 The quarter is over!  September 17th was the graduation and adios to the students headed to Panama for their DTS outreach.  We also said goodbye as we took our first married vacation (minus the honeymoon) to Kansas City.  This quarter has been long and busy with visitors and plans...we were well in need of a refreshing time with friends.  Our dearest couple friends Erin and Caleb Paxton were just the oasis we needed.  We flew in under the radar.  We were Caleb's birthday surprise!  We enjoyed coffee, art, music, baking, kittens and episodes of Smallville!  Thank you Jesus for the finances to take this trip!  It was so great!

Erin is so radiant!  She will be a mommy in November!

She actually tried to get up inside this large piece of museum art.  She got yelled at by a microphone and hidden camera near by.  She probably won't be let into the area again....they have her fingerprints!

Caleb is just creepy and funny.  Will and Caleb laughed all weekend!

To begin and end our time together with the Paxton's we drank coffee at a local cafe.  It was called Broadway Cafe.  It was such good coffee and as the story goes the rest of Kansas City likes it too.  It put Starbucks, just up the street, out of business because of the delightful quality enjoyed at this quaint little cafe!  

 As we wrap up this weekend with tv shows, baking, resting, and reading we prepare for the next YWAM quarter to begin!  Tomorrow is the first day of 100 new students, 5 schools, and new jobs.  Will is working with the Leadership School--- Phase II/School of Ministry Development.  I am working for the first time ever with the Discipleship Training School.  This quarter the school is focused on Musicians.  So we hope to have some interesting and new challenges as a couple and individually.

Thanks for reading this.  Please send some words our way!

it's been long, but we're back

so I've been working really hard today on this blog.  I figure this is sort of a way to keep my artistic skills up to date.  how did I do?  it's fun, but I realize it is totally consuming.  today I have been just wishing I could somehow document my life so I realize how blessed I am by lovely friends, good food, music, art, and a fulfilling job.  i realize that I can not give you a full picture of what that looks like.  I can not even begin to catch you up to what has been going on.  we sort of fell off the map for 6 months.  i guess that is what a new marriage will do.  we just stare into each other's eyes all day instead of eating and breathing.  ahhhh.   well, as nice as that sounds we did a little of that a little of setting in to life.  We have had non stop visitors this summer.  It was wonderful and exhausting.  We are taking a long break from full time hospitality for a while.