This Post Is About My First Four Weeks At RMMC

They say sleep is something you need to have in order to live.  I would agree with that.  You see, I haven’t slept very much lately.  The last three weeks have been something that one could reasonably call insane.  Four weeks ago (about the time of my first post) I learned how to be safe while rock climbing and rappelling and also how to fix broken people while out on hikes and too far for emergency services to be readily available, otherwise known as Wilderness First Aid.  So if your intestines fall out of your stomach when you are on a hike, you can give me a call and I will know not to touch them with my hands and try to push them back in.  Anyways, the next week was staff orientation, which involved quite a bit of planning and leading orientation shtuff.  Also during this week we made plans for the first senior high camp, which was last week.  That orientation week was pretty much crazy with all sorts of getting to know other staffers and learning what happens with all the kids coming and stuff.  So then the kids camps started and sleep decided it wasn’t as important.  I did a lot of planning, a lot of facilitating, a lot of music-ing, and a lot of announcement-ing.  The same happened this past week, and it was awesome.  I also had the opportunity to put into action a game that I sort of came up with myself, which was both an extremely stressful and loss of confidence time as well an amazing time of growth in both my confidence and pride in my abilities to be able to pull something off like that.  Sounds confusing, but it isn’t.  We did it twice and I thought the first day went horrible, but it actually went decent, and the next time we played was much better and I felt much better about it.  And we will play it once more.  Then, after this week, I am off to Phoenix to help lead some worship there for the Jr. High Mennonite Youth Convention, about 100 kids.  It should be a good time, but we have to do some planning for it that needs time to do.  After I get back from that I will probably be out on maintenance or something strenuous like that, which I am excited for.  Mainly because I will get to sleep and hike.  I must admit, I have been selfish in coming here because so much of me wants to hike and do things for myself.  I do know that it wasn’t just out of selfish ambition that I came here, though, because God has shown up in ways that I can’t even imagine.  However, I don’t have to imagine it, I just have to believe it, because I know that He is here and guiding me as I run this race, and I am not running it in vain.  Hymns are rich, yo. 

In other news, I have become homesick for the first time that I can remember.  Which is sad, but it is a refreshing thing.  I know how much I care about my family and have always known that, but now that I have this feeling I know that I am where God wants me to be.  It isn’t because I am uncomfortable sometimes, but I know that if I would have just come out here because I am selfish then I probably would have only worked half the summer so I could get back home and also not been program director.  It’s all complicated, but makes perfect sense to me.  Now, I definitely miss people, especially my family and loved ones, but I stick to some lyrics a decent group of people sing; “We’re far from home but we’re far from alone and the people we meet are the friends that we’ll keep.” So here I am, living a piece of my dream and hopefully helping people see the love of Christ, and not just the love of Christ but also the awesome and terrible might that is God.  Not because of who I am or what I do but because of where we are.

Which brings me to a rabbit trail, or whatever it is called when you go off topic on a little rant.  So there is this awesome song called As The Deer.  I don’t know where the lyrics come from, maybe I should check it out, but one of the verses goes as follows; “You’re my friend and You are my brother even though You are a King.  I love You more than any other so much more than anything.” So the I looked it up and it was written by a dude in Seattle in 1981 named Martin Nystrom and based off of Psalm 42:1.  Anyway, this verse bothers me whenever I sing it, so I have decided that when I lead this song I will not sing this verse.  Why is that, you ask?  Because God is our Father, our Creator, the Creator of all the earth and all upon the earth and the universe and everything in the universe.  He is not my brother.  Friend?  Maybe, but even that is a stretch I believe.  I completely believe that He loves us unconditionally and Jesus came to die for us because of all the crap that we do, but I can’t feel comfortable calling God my brother and friend.  He is so much more powerful than that, so much more powerful than I am, and deserves  (and demands) so much more respect than to be called the friend or brother of a mere human.  I understand the sort of imagery that Nystrom was going for in penning that verse, but I don’t agree with it.  The love of God doesn’t seem like a lovey-dovey relationship, it is the relationship between a Creator and the created, the powerful and the meek, and our God should not be reduced to something less than what He is because is so much more powerful than us.  We need to respect the awesome and terrible might of God, not reduce it to something less than that just so that we can feel comforted or be able to “understand” what kind of love it is that He has for us.  I could keep going, but it is midnight and I am exhausted, and don’t want write too much past what I have thought.

TL;DR I have had long and stressful days, I have grown a lot, I love hiking but sometimes feel like my desire to do that gets in the way of the ministry I am here for, and God is way too powerful and awesome to be called my brother.

Here are some of my favorite pictures thus far:

Pike's Peak

Eyebrow

 

Running from a storm on Sheep's Ridge

Baldy Cave w/ Campers

Mountain Biking Excursion

Pinnacle

Pig Rock, Go Red Wings!

This Post Is About Arriving At RMMC

So here I sit, three days in, the clouds are dark, the waist is thin.

Not true.  It was pretty sunny today, which was nice, and I have probably gained a few pounds from Mary and Jill's wondrous cooking.  So I doing good am.

Alright, so I arrived here Sunday night after a three day drive.  I left Virginia on Friday morning and drove about 13.5ish hour drive to Illinois, a 9ish hour drive to Hesston, and an 8ish hour drive to camp.  All pretty uneventful.

So I pulled up, coming back for the first time in two years, and memories flooded the airways (or the brainwaves, I guess, since you don't really breath memories, therefore there is no reason for them to be in the airways).  The view is as stinking incredible as stinking always, your airways are the opposite of being flooded (this means that the air up here is thin, so there isn't as much air in the airways as normal (this means that you get tired walking up a few stairs (this means that you are high in elevation, approximately 9,620 feet))).  I am getting used to the air, slowly but surely, and I am also getting used to the dryness.  It is incredibly not humid here (11% humidity currently), compared to where I am used to, so I am drinking a lot of water, peeing a lot, and using a lot of chapstick.  It still gets down around freezing at nights here, so it can be pretty cold in the mornings and evenings.  There is still about 3 feet of ice on the creek at some spots:

Also a few snow banks in some spots, and Pike's Peak still has a fairly decent quantity of snow upon it (there was a couple here on Sunday night that said they hiked through knee-deep snow up above treeline that day):

So I am here making some plans with Na and Lle for next week and for some kids camps as well (Na and I are the summer program directors and Lle is full-time director, so planning is important).  I am starting to get very excited for when the camps start full-swing and the rest of the staff gets here.  There are seven of the summer staff here now, those of us doing first aid training and rock climbing training and planning stuff, but the rest will come this weekend.  Pumped!

In other news, we saw a stinking bear last night!  A black bear, just hanging out by the lodge.  Then running up the hill.  Cool stuff, man (or lady, I guess I shouldn't be gender-specific, so "Cool stuff, person).  Cool stuff.  But don't worry, they are afraid of humans and it was just a littler guy, we are completely safe. :)

That's it for the day.  Be awesome, be cool, be smart, be a tool.  A tool for the Lord, that is, not a tool as in a stupid person.  Hah, joke.
...
God is good and I am super excited to be doing some ministry for Him this summer again.
Love you all!

This Post Is About This Summer

So, here I sit in Singers Glen, VA at my brother and sister-in-law's abode, thinking about what I am doing.  The truth is, I am not doing much at the moment, just listening to Phinehas' new single, Fleshkiller (free download if you join their mailing list, do it) and writing this blog.  I recently checked out Donald Miller's blog about the most viral videos of the week, and it was pretty funny.  So here I sat with not much else to do, so I figured I would update this since I believe it has been a month or two since my last update.
Here is what is going on now and what will be going on in a week.  Right now I am living at my brother and sister-in-law's house working at Red Front (the local grocery store) until the 23rd of May.  That is this coming Thursday, in case you didn't know.  Then I am headed off to the beautiful Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp to work for the next couple of months.  I actually don't plan on working there, I will just do a bunch of hiking, running, and disc golf.  That is a lie, I will actually work.  I was out there two summers ago as a counselor and am heading back this year as the summer program director, which is a very new step for me.  I haven't really had a whole lot of experience in leadership stuff, but I now that it will be a very beneficial time for me.  Admittedly, I am quite nervous for the responsibility I will have, but it is exciting as well.  I have spent a couple mornings sitting with this nice view -

- doing a little bit of planning for some games and stuff.  I do need to get back on that, of course.  I will try and update this semi-regularly when I am there, and also plan on trying out that video-a-day thing again while I am there to document some of the awesomeness.  I kind of stopped doing it after the one month extravaganza that I had earlier this year. So we shall see.
I am also watching a lot of hockey, which is stinking sweet.  I am Octopi-ing Hockeytown with Gustav Nyquist currently.  LGRW.  Unfortunately, I honestly do not have too much faith in them getting through this round with the Blackhawks, hopefully they will, though.  Also, the playoff beard is coming along quite nicely, I must say.  Haha, joke.

Anyway, I am enjoying my bit of free time at the beginning of summer reading books, hanging out with Kendra, and not doing much.  My goal was to run a lot, but out here it isn't very safe to run which means that I need to drive into town to the college and run there, which takes a lot more time and effort than I would like, so I have only run a couple times since school has been out.  Shucks.
Anyway, that is my life, I guess.  For what it is worth.
In other news, one of my friends is hanging out in Uganda doing some work at an orphanage there with a ton of kids.  It's definitely a good fit for her and I am glad she is following God and His calling for her.  She just got there a couple days ago and is getting adjusted and stuff, but it is good stuff.  I look up to people who can follow God's calling like that, and I pray that I can do the same, and that I can put in the time required for me to be able to follow God's call.
I love people, and you are people, so I love you.  Unless you are a really smart dog or a dolphin or something, then I may still love you.  On that note, I read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which was amazingly strange.  Dolphins are nuts.

Here is a fun gif about a fun soccer game, I think.

And this is what happens when you photoshop a motorcycle out of something.  Haha.

This Post Is About Quitting Soccer

Well, I guess it's official.  I am currently resigning from my life as a college athlete.  Hanging up the boots for the time being.  There are a few reasons for this: one is that I just don't find much joy in soccer anymore.  Don't get me wrong, I still love playing, but I dread going to play more often than I relish it.  Another reason is that this is the area in my life where I still consistently get really angry, either at myself or at others.  This doesn't fit well with how I am trying to live my life and live out my faith.  I shouldn't be screaming at refs because they made one simple mistake, I shouldn't be grabbing guys' jerseys and pulling them down simply because they are faster than me, and I definitely shouldn't be kicking guys' ankles when they beat me to the ball.  It isn't that I do those things all of the time when I play, but when it happens it makes me even more angry.  Another reason is because I feel like soccer isn't as important to me as people really want it to be.  There are just a lot more things more important to me, namely my faith.  I have the feeling that people have the tendency to try and make sports fit their faith, instead of trying to mold their lives after Christ.  I feel as if there is a dichotomy between being a Christian and professing love for all and being an athlete where you try your hardest to beat somebody else.  Things like college soccer, where the games are really "important," can have a huge impact on people's lives, and I hate seeing myself try to break someones heart by beating them in a game, or ruining someones dreams because I am playing hard and succeeding.  Of course, that same thing would be true in the business world, and also anytime I apply for a job, and everything else that it relates to.  Concerning sports where it is easier for me to see the results, however, I make the distinction.  So I guess I am a bit of a hypocrite.  Anyway, I also can't take seeing people getting injured and ruining possibility for them to succeed in other areas of life as well, namely concussions.  Part of this comes from the few concussions that I have sustained in the past few years and watching my friends get head injuries.  It just isn't worth it.  And because I feel that way, I feel no need nor desire to keep playing, other than keeping other people happy because I am playing, and that isn't good enough.  Now, on the flip side of that, I can see a whole lot of good things that stem from sports.  People really can learn about life by playing sports, they learn to deal with failing and they learn how to deal with success.  Ask any athlete and they can give a whole list of reasons why sports are good for people, and I would agree with most of them, so I will refrain from listing them here.  However, while sports do have these positives, for me personally, there are more cons than pros.  I've struggled with this decision for the past three years and I feel like this year it is important for me to not play any more.  I want to use the extra time I have to focus on how I am living my life in relation to my faith, and also to hopefully focus a little more on classes.  Also, a little selfishly, I hope this opens up opportunity for me to work and make a little money.  I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to play this much, and to have ended my soccer career playing here at EMU.  The guys on the team are really awesome and it was an incredible experience to play with them this past year.  It will be tough for me to be sitting with the crowd next year, but I know that is where I need to be.  I also felt the need to write this because of how integral soccer has been to my life for the last decade and a half.  I will definitely keep playing for fun, but I feel like my college career is over.  If I do come back for an extra semester, I may re-evaluate where I am at, but next year I will not be playing.
Love and peace to all peopleeeeeeee.  And food.  Food is good.

Here is a song for you to listen to if you are bored.  Click me.

Easter Weekend

So, Easter has come and gone, however the weekend is still here.  Having Friday and Monday off was an extremely welcome change of pace for this man.  Four of us guys played Age of Empires II (Conquerors Expansion, of course) until 6am on Thursday night/Friday morning.  What a blessed time.  Friday I did three things (aside from the usual bathroom, eating, etc): Went for a short hike with Kendra's family, went to work, played Age of Empires until 1.  What a blessed day.  Saturday I did a little bit more than that.  Saturday was my birthday!  I turned twenty-one and partied hard... with some Age of Empires!!  Haha, yeah, I played a bit Saturday too.  Jon and I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast, it was glorious.  Then I went to work, Skyped my family a wee bit after work, and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off with Kendra.  Then I went to bed.  Sunday I went to church at Community Mennonite with Kendra as well.  That is an interesting church, I like it because it is nice.  I think that is enough of a description.  Then I went to lunch with my family (well, my aunts and grandparents and cousins and such) and got a nice Easter Bunny birthday cake from my Grammy!  It was great. :)

So then I watched a movie, made some pizza, hung out with Kendra, and played more Age of Empires.  That game is stupid because it is so awesome.  We just got it last week and we need to stop playing it, but we won't cause it is great.  Yup yup.

In other news, I have switched my major to accounting.  How about that.  This means that I will be taking summer courses in '14 and one extra semester, but I will graduate with 150 credits, which is enough to take the CPA exam!  That is exciting.  But this extra work may mean that I won't play soccer next year, I just need to decide that and let coach now at some point....

I probably should have spent more time this weekend reflecting on God and all that, but I really didn't.  I'm not going to say I am fine with that, because I am really not, but I won't say that I had a bad weekend because I didn't, I have a fantastic weekend.  I just often think to myself how our lives as Christians should take up all of our lives and not just part of it, yet I don't really practice it that much.  It is just a hard thing to do.

But I have also been thinking about how we are supposed to do things as Christians, such as communion and what sort of songs we sing.  At Eastside church last Sunday we had a potluck and took communion together after we had all sat down with our food, and it felt so natural.  It really felt like that is how God calls us to be a community, around food.  I know that joke about how part of Mennonites faith revolves around food, but I think it is true.  We are called to be a community of Christ and food is something that everybody has in common.  We may eat or prepare it differently, or be allergic to some things, or whatnot, but seriously, a table full of food is an amazing place to get to know somebody, to share struggles, to share joys, to pray, to take communion.  When people go on dates, they usually go to get some food somewhere.  When families get together to celebrate holiday's, or just to get together, it is usually around food, around a meal.  So yes, it is funny that Mennonites have so many potlucks and "are happy" about the food that they make, but I believe it is also central to Jesus' teachings.  Not necessarily the food exactly, but the community that stems from the food.  That is what Christians are called to, a community of love and fellowship and taking each others burdens.  Food brings people together, even foreign dignitaries and all that jazz, and it is a form of community that, as Christians, we should not give up a chance to partake in.  This is also awesome because I love food, and hopefully you do too.

Another thing related to communion.  At church on Easter Sunday we took communion and sang this song and I took a bit of exception to it.  I have often heard about how weird we Christians are for drinking the blood and eating the flesh of Christ.  People might be all like, "Oh, vampires and cannibals, awesome."  And in this song it said something along the lines of, "Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of His blood, and drink of His blood, you shall not have life within you." However, it is my understanding that we do not drink Christ's blood nor eat His flesh.  We eat bread and drink wine (or grape juice) to remember Christ's sacrifice for us.  Bread is sorta like flesh so it is a good reminder, and wine (or grape juice) is sorta like blood so it is a good reminder.  Kinda.  Anyway, the song was not a good representation of what we believe.  It made me turned off of the thought of Christianity.  Admittedly, there are those who partake in communion who do believe it really is Christ's blood and Christ's flesh (many call it the Eucharist or the Blessed Sacrament, I believe), but it is not I.  That is just weird.  And while we cannot know the workings of God, I do know that when that bread slides down my throat or the juice does, it is just that, bread and juice.  There is no transubstantiation there.  However, I guess the real belief is that it changes and we can not notice it, but Jesus says, "Do this is remembrance of Me." To me, this means that we are remembering what He did for us.  So yes, I won't be singing that song (at least that verse) any time soon.

That is what I have for today.  It has been quite awhile since I have posted here.  Shucks-man, I ain't got no discipline in this here area of mine life.
God bless,
Tyler.

Do you like GIFs?  How about terminally ill step-fathers?  Well, if you answered yes to one or both of those questions, stay tuned.


You just gotta like Datsyuk.