Hey all,
Colorado has been good so far! Flawless flights all the way from Kona to Denver (via LA and Salt Lake) and a first good couple of days. I’m sorry that I haven’t kept you better updated but I have had a couple technology problems and minor rental car issues. Those aren’t that important, but let’s just say that Jesus is really good at making things all work out perfectly in the perfect time, teaching everyone (and me first) how to trust in Him when things feel crazy and stressful.
We will do some catch up with the first couple of days and then talk about today. I’ll do another blog post with lots of pics and possible video so that you can all see them.
After traveling all night and day, we relaxed a bit, had an amazing burrito dinner at the Waliszewski Ranch (Kelsey’s parents), and went to a youth group at the church Kelsey and I grew up at. While the name has recently changed, pretty well nothing else has. The passion and vision to follow Jesus is just as strong today, if not stronger that it was when I graduated high school 5 years ago. Our teens loved the worship band and many felt challenged by Pastor David Perkins message about living a life after Jesus in which we are willing to lay down our rights, fast the things that mean the most of us, and be obedient to the call of the Holy Spirit on our lives to transform the world. (Find out more at www.desperationstudentministries.com .
Then, off to bed, finally!
Day two was a very relaxed day where we did some sightseeing and had fun, while also allowing everyone time to acclimate to Colorado dryness, heat (its been in the 88-90 degree weather everyday during the day) and elevation difference from our amazing Hilo. As we left, the back passenger tire of the rental Jeep Grand Cherokee that I was driving blew out. The boys and Uncle Tony changed it, the girls tried to get some nearby horses to come over and pet them and encouraged the guys and I was figuring out what to do with the rental car company. Once changed, we went down to the Focus on the Family visitors center went along their awesome slide and did a scavenger hunt in Whit’s End. It was awesome. The teens stopped by the Chapel Hills mall for a bit to do some shopping and hang out while I got some things taken care of with the rental car and my phone. After that, we went down to Manitou Springs where there is an awesome arcade and we let the students play around for a while. This used to be the penny arcade where absolutely everything took one penny to play, but unfortunately now they had to raise the costs. Some games where a quarter, some 50 cents, and others were a dollar (the newest arcade style video games). There were games in there from early 1910s on. It is a cool way to see how games developed over time. The next thing we did was to drive to a park and do some team games (teams where divided up before we left Hilo, and is a major aspect of the whole trip.) My amazing wife Kelsey ran these games. The first, the team had to balance a 5 gallon bucket of water using only their feet while they laid down on their backs, and then everyone had to take off their shoes without using their hands or spilling the bucket. Then off to dinner at Kelsey’s Grandma Mary’s house for dinner, and then to a park called Fox Run for a night game called Border Patrol . Tony, Nate, Drew and I went into a partially wooded area and hid glowsticks and then walked around as guards. The teens had to sneak around and try to collect all 20 of them without us catching them and shining a flashlight on them. They but us guards, but it was a lot of fun. They all loved it. Honestly, it is now one of my favorite games too.
Today we drove up to the capital of Denver. We had a lot of fun doing a scavenger hunt in the downtown area, along 16th mall (for those that don’t know, the entire downtown area of 16th street is basically a huge market/mall with tons of stores, restaurants, theaters and a bowling alley). However, we gave them a challenge with this scavenger hunt. In each team, each person was assigned a character that they had to participate in the scavenger hunt as. Every person was assigned a character whose character traits were not like their own, so that they were able to experience how others may feel in the youth group. It was very challenging for all of us to stay in our roles, but when we got to talk about it later, we all realized a little better how we treat others, and we are all beginning to see how important to treat others with more grace, mercy, love and compassion that we thought we needed to before hand. After that, we had fun going indoor skydiving. To find out more about the place we went, go to www.skyventurecolorado.com. It was a really neat. We all had a blast doing it. Our last major stop was at Red Rocks Amphitheater, which is a park where big red sandstone rock slabs create a natural amphitheater, and it is used for concerts during the summer. Its really cool with lots of amazing views. For dinner we stopped at CiCi’s pizza, with all you can eat pizza, salad, and dessert. Our teams had time to talk through the day, and how their devotionals were going. Its amazing to see and hear how these teens are starting to really allow Jesus more access into their lives. Hearing some of the things things that the teens are learning is amazing. Heres a quote from one of the girls that I heard earlier;
“I have really been learning about how much God really loves me.
And if He loves me that much, it means that living just to try to not
sin and be good isn’t enough - it means I need to really follow
Jesus and live like it makes a difference in my life”
It is so powerful when each and every person begins to realize the truth that a 14 year old has discovered. Jesus came not only to save us from ourselves and our sin, but so that we can enter into His will, plan, and purpose and be tools that He can use to transform the world. Many teens in this generation throughout the US are getting that. And I am so blessed to see that the teens that I am privileged to work with are part of this generation that is rising up to fulfill the purposes of God in their generation.
Well, its now a late night for me, and all the teens are asleep (at least in our guys’ yurt - a hybrid teepee and cabin. I never know what the girls are doing, but hear the fun/silly stories the next day. Good thing Auntie Leslie is there :) ). I’ll start posting more frequently, and I’ll put pics and videos when I get better internet.
Mahalo and Aloha,
Pastor David
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