I wish I had adequate words to share the experience I had on Friday; pictures, today would be worth so much more. The sun wasn’t shining so most things looked gray and the air evened carried the same color; and that’s how Emily and I left as we made the 45 minute travel to a village to help with English teaching. Here, as in many countries, English is their 3rd language if they choose to learn it; everyone speaks their native tongue and Russian due to the country’s proximity and previous occupation. The roadside landscape is barren, for the most part; I wish I could see this place during spring/summer, it must be beautiful. Everything now though is dirt, even the mountains appear the same in contrast to the granite sierra nevedas. Men ride on horseback sheparding their flocks, some cattle, some sheep or horses. The livestock here are smaller and less majestic than the ones at home, but probably more hardy as their stature and thick coats show.
Graveyards adorn the hills at a close distance with their crescent pointed spires reaching toward the sky. They don’t make the land sacred, rather they are a monument of remembrance that ignite our memory that the land is sacred and the richness of this people’s culture is symbolic of the wealth of heritage in all humankind.
The school in the ‘local’ village is made from mud bricks and plaster like many of the houses. The school is heated by coal furnaces that they have in every classroom.
Once again, the children’s faces are bright with curiosity at seeing foreigners, some for the first time. I never thought I could have had such a great time helping with the English class. People here are so resourceful. The teacher we assisted began law school but when the soviet occupation left she could no longer afford it and became a teacher. She described to my how difficult it is to teach due to lack of resources; most classes only have one text book that the teacher copies onto chalk board and the class then copies for themselves.
After class, the teacher took us to her family’s house. As we arrived a coal truck was in the front measuring off a pile of fuel to be delivered to her house. Her family’s home was something out of a book. We took our shoes off in the entry way and were lead past the kitchen to the eating room where woven rugs decorated the floor and walls. We were then stuffed with steaming food which included a local noodle soup dish called Lagman often made with horse meat. When our meal was almost finished the teacher’s mother asked if it was possible for Americans to marry and stay in Kyrgyzstan (obviously setting her eyes on my friend Emily for her son). Emily turned red and we all left before we graciously thanked the family for their hospitality.

We arrived here in the Naryn region last Monday and it was driving down the road in a van when we stopped at a roadside café and I had one of those “Is this real moments?” The café was in the middle of no where, no where. Just a road [actually an old segment of the Silk Road] and dirt and dirt hills and dirt mountains and beyond those real mountains; or unreal as they first struck me. So unreal that they looked like the ones from the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland or something from the Himalayas that I have only dreamed of looking at National Geographic magazine, but they are real; I was looking at the Tien Shen mountain range that rolls through this region and all through China (which is about 140miles away but almost a 10hr drive straight over those mountains). This whole thing is real. I am here.
The children say Hello. Almost everywhere I go the children say hello and smile. Globalization is amazing and the influence of western culture undeniable. Really, how is that a small town tucked against the foothills of central Asia can say hello?
There is no hiding we are Americans so I don’t even try and there is no pressure to fit in or know the language in the next 8 weeks, just enough to know how much I’m buying and how much they’re trying to take advantage of me.
The spirit of some people are so bright which is such a contrast compared to the gloomy surroundings. But eyes and faces are full of light and the bright jackets of children shine like beacons of hope in a land of seeming destitution and desolation. Almost all children have hope and curiosity in their eyes, others carry darkness and suspicion and maybe rightfully so, but those that have contact with a team like ours in years past are so grateful we are here.
My birthday here was great. It was celebrated by a brisk and unfamiliar coldness in the air that I could not help but thank was grace given to me. I spent some time at the local culture center and had a wordless conversation with an old Kyrgyz man named Bull-ut; we stood admiring the snowcapped mountains and by hand gestures we agreed that the view is breathing (a view that he’s seen all his life). My night finished walking with a very special friend sharing conversation and appreciation of the night’s sky; I couldn’t have asked for more.

We've Landed!

We made it! Landed safely in kyrgyzstan, so let me tell you about the journey: we had a 9 hour flight from LAX to London, Heathrow on British Air. This airline was amazing, i've never flown in such luxury. If you've seen the movie Wall-E, it felt just like that. evey seat had a built in TV screen with a selection of music and movies to watch. did you catch that? a selection, seriously. then they gave us this gourmet airflight meal, amazing. so, things went smooth with our connection flight from London with another 9 hour flight in the Kyrgyz capitol of Biskek. But, (ya here it is) they misplaced all of our luggage. all of it. until, today that is; we finally got our bags, we able to shower and change clothes. not too bad, only 3 days without a shower in contrast to the 6 weeks that i did not have one at the beginning of this deal.

so, kyrgyzstan: man, this place is run down, which doesn't say a lot for the country considering its the capitol. everyone here speaks russian and when we leave for the Naryn region (tomorrow) hardly anyone there will speak russian and most will speak Kyrgyz. it's actually really cool hearing the differnce in language and no matter where we go everyone knows we're american and they stare (not too many tourists around here). most of my time spent the past few days has been walking around town shopping for food for the team and checking out the local bazaars. i love bazaars, they tell so much about a culture. they are always less clean and less selection, but they are also so authentic and because of the differnet standard that the US the beautiful colors of fruit stand out so much. they take pride in their stands whether they sell bread, meat or produce. it's beautiful, it's their life.

yesterday i spent some time in the Russian Orthodox church, which was really more like a shrine. this place was beautiful. it was decorated with paintings and iconography and it was dusty so the light that shined through the windows was caught and suspended in the air. i watched people pray and light candles in honor, but i think the best thing was watching the women clean the place. they cleaned old school with feet scrubbers and rags; something about that seems so much more sacred.

the weather here is not bad; the worst is at night when it gets down to about 20 degrees. but we're heading out tomorrow and to about 7,00 ft elevation and it'll be much colder (bout an avrg of -20), but that's not so bad considering i now have my warm clothes. thanks for all your thoughts toward us! keep it up.

Disclaimer

This is a disclaimer about the pictures you see on this site and the slideshow. so many have complimented on the quality of photos there, but i must confess: i borrowed most of them from my friend Leena Korppijakko (one of the girls on the team). so, if you're looking at a pic and thinking "that should be a postcard", then there is a 95% chance that it was taken by her. thanks for checking the site out!

Recently I was making my way back to the church we sleep in at night, and walking along the roadside pastures in the 30-degree darkness I looked up at the shinning stars and was overwhelmed by joy. (Rob Bell describes these as kavod, you should read Velvet Elvis’ if you haven’t.) So I continued this thought and was wondering what it means to have joy: as an American man, what does it mean for the tribesman, the orphan, people all over the world, for the human being, as a follower of the Way? Freedom? Is that it? This intangible and fleeting substance that we here in the U.S. would fight to death for and then neglect while others all over the world starve for it (literally).
I’m free. I felt it in the cold air on my face just the other night, and in my sleeping bag and as I feel my food being crushed in my teeth. Freedom, just to do what I want? But that misses the entire point. I am an American citizen and in that I have pride and strength, but I am also not bound by that identity. In fact, I’m bound by no physical, spiritual or emotional paradigm. So do I rejoice in this?
The first followers of the Way came and reported to their leader of the miraculous power that came through them on their travels through the surrounding lands and they were rejoicing. But their guru pointed out that this was the wrong thing to celebrate; instead he told them to revel in the fact that their names were written in the book of Life.
This joy is mine.

My Week Off

We were given the week off for thankgiving and it was amazing! the family of one of the girl's on the team invited me and a few others to spend some time with them in their condo at Mammoth Mountain and if you know me well enough there is no way i was going to say 'no' to that. The mountain was kind of icy the first two days, but on wednesday there began a storm that gave us at least a foot of snow and it was heaven. i would come down the slopes tree riding through at least 3'' of fresh powder and by the time i rode the lift up there was at least another 3'' that dumped so it was like powder riding all day!!! i rode the chairlift with a permamnent smile on my face. Hallelujah!

One of the days when i wasn't riding, we were able to take a short hike around Twin lakes where i was able to hike through this towering arch to the cliffside and just before i summited to the top i heard this noise behind me and looked up just in time to see a Bald Eagle flying about 8feet above my head! amazing, i didn't even know they lived in this area.

Just as awesome, my dad came up to visit me over the weekend for some much needed and valued college football. I had an awesome time Pop! You rock! Just before the morning he headed back we were able to catch some breakfast with some really awesome friends that drove all the way up to see me just for the day! Ernie, Mark, Trav you guys rock hard! They rock so hard that they demolished me at a few games bowling. (which, is another story, i mean i really enjoy bowling, but i suck at it and it doesn't make any sense: roll a ball hit pins, stupid technique) Afterwards we hit up some pizza and, yes, more college football! So good to see faces have talks and share about whats going on in life. It reminds me of all the wealth of life i have back home.

Okay, so sorry its been a while since my last post and there is so much to catch up on (i don't get to a computer often). Right now i'm in Bishop, CA getting ready to head over seas next wednesday. But before that i want to talk a little about Zion. Zion National Park was amazing. One one of our hikes we summited Angel's Landing (very comparable to Half Dome if you've done that) and at the top was this guy to the left. That's right, a Callifornia Condor, and if you look closely you'll notice that he's tagged. This guy was most likely raised in captivity before he was placed in the wild to increase their numbers. It was so amazing, i've heard of the condors since i was was a kid and how they have been near extinction and it was unreal being able to get within two feet of one.

pics updated

hey guys! check out the new pics in slideshow. they are in order for the most part and are awesome!

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting the blog! Please please please post, reply yada yada. Allow me to tell you what this is about:

About two and half years ago i was able to do some ministry with Youth With A Mission [YWAM] in Mazatlan, Mexico. It was there that the seed was planted to do a DTS [discipleship training school]. So what is this thing, you might ask? it is 12 weeks of lecture with an emphasis on a different attribute of God each week (e.g. the character of Jesus, the love of God, compassion, justice, community). The second part of the school is an outreach to somepart of the world where what is learned during the lecture phase is put into practice; my team's outreach is Naryn, Kyrgyzstan (central asia).

So for a long time i sat on this idea of doing one of this "experiential bible schools" (you might say), until about a year ago it really stated dominating my thoughts. So i began to look into it. I had my heart set on going to Guadalajara, Mexico and doing this DTS deal there, but then i found the Wilderness DTS out of Bishop, California. You see my work with the "at-risk" youth of LeRoy Haynes Center for the past 6 years has been assisting in their development and rehabilitation as young men in society and about 2 years ago i realized that the best way to do this was to get them outside; so i began to share and take them on different outside adventures and sports of my passion. This also led to new programs being developed at my previous employment and a new curiosity in my own heart. The decision was easy: the WDTS was a fit!

The challenge, however, was leaving everything behind. But, I'm in the midst of this whole thing now and am living The Process. I am exactly this moment where I am supposed to be and i'm loving every moment. Oi Elama!!! [life!]...

We spent the first 4 weeks going accross the California Sierras taking an East to West approach and finishing a fifth week in Sequioua National Park.
There we met up with a middle school and spent week 6 with them in the backcountry of Sequioua teaching them the similar skills that we'd been learning the weeks previous.
Week 7 was a prep week for the upcoming five, and this was spent in Bishop packing and prepping.
Week 8 was a packing trip in Cottonwood and Marble Canyons of Death Valley, so amazing there!
Week 9 was camping the Valley of Fire, Nevada.
Week 10 was a lecture week in Estes Park, Colorado.
Week 11 was some canyoneering in Dark Canyon, Utah.
Which leads me to now, the last week of the lecture phase in Zion National Park, Utah. Thanks for reading! keep up and check out the pics.

The Process

The Process is the growth that hurts, it is the strength that drives us and the inspiration that moves us, it is what makes us better, it is God's mercy, grace and refinning hand that is not willing to leave me in my pathetic human state but urges me to press on toward my heavenly inheritance and adoption of my true citizenship. The process is life.