Sincerely Yours: It is my pleasure to S.E.R.V.E. you...

So, I just got home exhausted, took a shower, and then remembered that I still have a blog. I am sure you can understand my forgetting, since you probably did as well. I haven’t written in so long that I will be lucky if anyone remembers to check and read this. So, perhaps the first thing I should do is tell why I haven’t written anything in so long, or put in a better way, I should 'explain myself!'. I have not had internet access. We just got done with the big event for the summer, which was our Campamento S.E.R.V.E. The acronym, for those of you who aren’t involved with Chick fil-A, is a leadership model we have. Each letter stands for a different aspect of a leader’s focus, all relating to service. It was a really awesome time to which I cannot do justice in writing. However, that won’t stop me from trying…

As you will remember, my friend Cody came here for the camp. Ten other Americans came down to participate as well, all Chick fil-A people. We started the camp at 9:30 PM Thursday night and ended at about 5 AM Tuesday morning. In between those two points there was a lot of riding in a bus…too much. Going out of Bogota, coming back to Bogota, you know. The areas in which we spent those few days were about 7 hours from here. Well, more importantly than any of that was that during the bus rides and at other times, there was a whole lot of God being there. We did a wide variety of activities from hiking to logic puzzles, eating, skits and pushups. We learned how to pick coffee, roast coffee, grind coffee, and drink coffee. We did a bunch of riding too, besides the bus. We rode horses, roller coasters, trains, and best of all a zipline. Perhaps more to the point, we rode 8 of them. I think altogether they were about a mile in length!! All that stuff was really cool, or, as they say here in Colombia “Chevere”. However, for me the weekend was defined by conversations. As I look back, I see the people I met, the discussions we had, the things I learned from them, and the things we all learned from God. I remember the freedom from bondage that came to one guy specifically; I remember the work I believe God is doing in the lives of one family who do not even believe in Him. I heard wisdom this week, and I pray that each other person did as well, whether they were from Colombia or from the U.S.

For me personally, the camp was a stretching time. I did a bunch of stuff that was not really comfortable for me. I tried my hand at translating during presentations, I gave talks myself. I got to lead in major ways that were new to me, stretching me and teaching me. It was a good time. It was a time with God. And I got a lot of really amazing pictures in the bargain. How could I ask for more?

The main theme that I felt personally was vision. I felt God continuing to confirm things I am to do in the future. It is really awesome; for so long I have felt unsure about a lot in my life, about my future. I have felt kind of like I was in a fog, only able to see a step or two ahead. Well, I think that over the last 6 months or so, God has been showing me a few more steps. I am really excited, and can hardly wait. Well, I had better end this post here. I will try to post again soon, and am also trying to get Cody to write a guest post as well. Anyone who wants to hear from him should be sure to comment on this post and say so. :)