We arrived at what is probably the most jaw-dropping location I have ever seen: Crater Lake. It was incredible! When I reached the lip of the crater I was in complete awe. Crater Lake is literally a volcano that erupted and put out so much molten rock and lava that the inside eventually collapsed and left a huge crater that is now the deepest lake in the United States... oh, and its getting deeper. Side note: Crater Lake is also home to Santa's workshop. I pity all you simpletons who have bought in to the propaganda put out by Thomas Nast in the 1860's to 1880's that Santa lives at the North Pole. It's bogus.I got to go to Boise! God was extremely providential in providing me a way to get home, see my family, and be at my Nanny's memorial service. It worked out that a family from Westside, the Lowders, were heading to Boise for a family reunion for exactly the same period that I needed to be home! How awesome is that! So Mr. Lowder, Melissa, Jessie and myself made the 8 hour trip and arrived safely in Boise. It was a complete surprise for Micah and Lauren. At first I was disappointed that I had to tell Mom and Dad beforehand and ruin the surprise for them but after I arrived I was glad it worked out that way... It gave Mom enough time to buy my favorite snacks! I was so glad I got to see them all and tell them face to face about everything that God is doing in my life!
I also got to spend time with everybody at South Valley! I'm so thankful for my home church and all the prayers they bring before for my sake. It was inexplicably awesome sharing in the joy with them over what God has done in my life so far this summer! I even got to attend our Nursing Home ministry that Michael Check oversees. God is definitely using Mike in that ministry and I was glad I got to be a small part of it. Its so awesome to hear the Gospel! It never gets old. It brought tears to my eyes as I heard once again the story of how my Savior took the weight of my sin upon himself so that I could be freed from death. There could never be a story more beautiful!Sunday night was Nanny's memorial service. I'm so thankful I was able to be a part of it! I had the honor of saying a few words, along with a few other family members, about what she meant to me and what I'll remember her most for. She was a woman of God who truly exemplified what it meant to allow the love of Christ to spill out of herself and into the lives of others. I am blessed to have been one of the many people who to experience that love firsthand. Seeing all my family there was great! Reagan is no longer a baby, Jackson quadrupled in size, and I've got three more nephews/nieces (first cousins once removed if you want to be all technical) on the way in the next few months! I can't wait to finish school in December so I watch all these little brats grow up! Bonus: I got to see up close and touch the actual remains of the plane that Nate Saint and Jim Eliot flew to reach the Auca Indians for Christ! There were actually marks in the metal from where the natives had hacked into the plane with their weapons. What an incredible story of men who carried their cross in a very real way for the sake of Gospel! Seeing it all up close made the story so much more real to me.
My time was amazing in Boise but it was exciting to get back to Westside and dive back into (in a deeply spiritual accent) the ministry! Mrs. Lowder surprised me with my favorite desert in the world on Wednesday night. I mentioned in passing, the day that I got back to Eugene, my Mom's blueberry muffin layered pudding and how amazing it was. She walked into church and handed it to me. I was speechless... this was due to a combination of surprise and I was already tasting it in my brain. Let's just say I've had it for a couple meals... that's right, meals. I am eternally indebted to the Lowder family!
We started a new series in our College Bible Study this week. We're going through the Way of the Master training videos with Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort. Telling people about the Gospel is so basic to being a disciple of Christ and yet I fail to do it so often. I only have one more week here at Bible Study but I'm hoping my peeps will keep it running after I leave. I'm preaching this Sunday at Westside so pray that goes well if you get a chance! I'm pumped! I'm preaching out of Luke 14:25-34 on being a disciple. Its been a very convicting study process. I would greatly appreciate any and all prayers that the Lord will use me. Hopefully it will get uploaded to our podcast on Itunes... that way I'll feel famous.
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