Hello!
This is going to be a short update. One week has passed since I took off from Oregon on my roadtrip with my roommate, John. As we crossed the Idaho/Utah state line, a Utah welcome sign greeted us with a tag line: "Utah: life elevated". When considering that the lowest elevation of Utah is above 2,000 ft., this is definitely true. I've spent the majority of the week above 5,000 ft., and "life elevated" has certain characteristics.
For the first part, the weather has been cooler with a couple of early Spring storms passing by. Several nights have been below freezing, but we've been surrounded by mountain peaks that are covered in snow. We spent two days in Arches National Park hiking and doing extensive photography, followed by four days of backcountry hiking in Canyonlands, the Needles District. This has been John's first visit to any of this area, and he's been fully mesmerized with all the amazing rock formations we've been seeing. The location have had very little light pollution, making for some great night skies amidst the waxing full moon, then the sunrise appears across the red rock, giving us another day to appreciate God's creation here.
John is admittedly a mountains and forests guy. Having lived in the Willamette Valley for the past five years, I can appreciate those who prefer lush landscapes. Being back in the desert though, I have been experiencing a resurgence of excitement and energy as I am surrounded by rock spires, arches, rock strata, and canyons. In the midst of this, I began to think about simplicity. If you think about the different layers of elements to life, the desert is stripped to a bare minimum, while mountains and forests are near the opposite in fullness. Each summer I prepare to move out to the national parks, I go through a stripping process as I have to pare down my living to bare essentials to take with me, and then live content with that for several months. In the midst of the simplicity, I find a greater dependence upon God to supply my every need. In living at the edge, there are more opportunities to watch God work to fill when gaps and needs appear.
Being in a place where I have to recognize God's life working in mine; that's "life elevated".
I have a few photos available in the "Photos of the Week" in the column on the right.
Enjoy your week.
Pump Geyser
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Day 1: Starting A New Adventure
Hello!
The day has finally arrived! I'm stepping away from my desk for a breath of fresh air, and shan't return for a while.
Of all posts I make throughout my summers, the first and final posts are the most difficult. The last because so much has happened that it is difficult to summarize it into a single post; the first because I get to talk about what hasn't happened yet.
This will be my sixth summer working with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. Having spent my last four years in mountainous, forested areas, I feel privileged to be returning to the desert. There is the awareness of summer heat, the arid landscape, and rocky terrain, but there is also a simplicity and beauty about that region that always gets me excited whenever I have the opportunity to be there. As I have been spending the past two years of seminary studying about the desert fathers and mothers who set out into the desert to spend time with God, it feels like I am about to join their quest.
For those wanting to know what my summer work entails, I will be working at Wahweap Resort on beautiful Lake Powell as a front desk worker. There is a team of three people (myself included) that will provide Sunday interdenominational worship services to interested visitors of the park as well as fellow employees. I don't have any clue where these will happen yet, but answers will come soon. In the midst of these commitments, I will continue to study online with George Fox University. I do not have a mailing address yet, and am to arrive for work on April 8th.
During the next two weeks, I'll be on the road and trails introducing my roommate, John, to the wonders of the Southwest. Please pray for safety on the trip and during our hikes. I am hoping for some great photography to pass along.
Stepping out. Twelve hours of driving ahead.
Blessings to you this week!
If you would like further information about A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP), visit their website: www.acmnp.com.
The day has finally arrived! I'm stepping away from my desk for a breath of fresh air, and shan't return for a while.
Of all posts I make throughout my summers, the first and final posts are the most difficult. The last because so much has happened that it is difficult to summarize it into a single post; the first because I get to talk about what hasn't happened yet.
This will be my sixth summer working with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks. Having spent my last four years in mountainous, forested areas, I feel privileged to be returning to the desert. There is the awareness of summer heat, the arid landscape, and rocky terrain, but there is also a simplicity and beauty about that region that always gets me excited whenever I have the opportunity to be there. As I have been spending the past two years of seminary studying about the desert fathers and mothers who set out into the desert to spend time with God, it feels like I am about to join their quest.
For those wanting to know what my summer work entails, I will be working at Wahweap Resort on beautiful Lake Powell as a front desk worker. There is a team of three people (myself included) that will provide Sunday interdenominational worship services to interested visitors of the park as well as fellow employees. I don't have any clue where these will happen yet, but answers will come soon. In the midst of these commitments, I will continue to study online with George Fox University. I do not have a mailing address yet, and am to arrive for work on April 8th.
During the next two weeks, I'll be on the road and trails introducing my roommate, John, to the wonders of the Southwest. Please pray for safety on the trip and during our hikes. I am hoping for some great photography to pass along.
Stepping out. Twelve hours of driving ahead.
Blessings to you this week!
If you would like further information about A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP), visit their website: www.acmnp.com.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Restoring New Memories
Hello! It is just over one week until I begin this summer's adventures. The countdown has begun!
Many people read through my Facebook page that my backup drive crashed and deleted four years of national park photography. I was tremendously upset when this occurred--all the experiences and adventures, the hikes and early mornings, the wildlife and seasons, and photos of summer friends all wiped clean. They say it's no use crying over spilt milk, but whoever coined that phrase certainly didn't have a backup drive.
Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to camp on the Olympic Coast in Washington. Though it was a time to enjoy the present, it offered the opportunity to begin rebuilding my photo collection. Within two and a half days, I had visited the Elwah Valley, Crescent Lake, the Hoh Rain Forest, and four separate beaches within this national park. The camera shutter was rapidly capturing each prospect and angle--each photo and location a reminder of my full summer there and subsequent visits.
Everything was different. Instead of summer sun, I worked amidst sporadic rain showers. My photos of Aldwell Lake are irreplaceable as the lake has been drained as part of the Elwah River Restoration Project, removing two dams from the river. Hurricane Ridge and the Sol Duc Valley were inaccessible due to snow, and drift logs on Kalaloch beach were repositioned from years of tide surges and storms.
It's not like I've lost photos before. I can remember when my camera broke in the midst of capturing a Monument Valley thunderstorm at sunset. The vibrant pinks, fuchsia, and purples were set against the deep red sandstone of the Mittens, and I sat and watched with a broken camera in-hand. I once accidentally reformatted my camera card in the midst of a backcountry hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, erasing over 300 photos from the previous day of hiking. And there were all of the beautiful vistas and moments only captured to memory because I forgot to bring my camera along (or lost my camera). Now another story is added to my journey of lost photos and photo blunders.
What I have learned through these years of lost photos and blunders is that each photo is a gift, a memento. They never replace the original experience. In returning to Olympic National Park with the purpose of restoring my photo stock, I had to recognize that this was God's gift of a new experience; otherwise I would miss the blessing of the moment while pining for a memory that can never be replicated. As I went about the park, God met me there--clouds would part in majestic sunbeams, or soft cloud cover would help with one of my high-contrast photos.
God's story is never ending. While we get to reminisce previous chapters, we still get to participate in what He writing now.
Photos from Olympic National Park are available in the "Photos of the Week" tab in the right column.
Many people read through my Facebook page that my backup drive crashed and deleted four years of national park photography. I was tremendously upset when this occurred--all the experiences and adventures, the hikes and early mornings, the wildlife and seasons, and photos of summer friends all wiped clean. They say it's no use crying over spilt milk, but whoever coined that phrase certainly didn't have a backup drive.
Two weekends ago, I had the opportunity to camp on the Olympic Coast in Washington. Though it was a time to enjoy the present, it offered the opportunity to begin rebuilding my photo collection. Within two and a half days, I had visited the Elwah Valley, Crescent Lake, the Hoh Rain Forest, and four separate beaches within this national park. The camera shutter was rapidly capturing each prospect and angle--each photo and location a reminder of my full summer there and subsequent visits.
Everything was different. Instead of summer sun, I worked amidst sporadic rain showers. My photos of Aldwell Lake are irreplaceable as the lake has been drained as part of the Elwah River Restoration Project, removing two dams from the river. Hurricane Ridge and the Sol Duc Valley were inaccessible due to snow, and drift logs on Kalaloch beach were repositioned from years of tide surges and storms.
It's not like I've lost photos before. I can remember when my camera broke in the midst of capturing a Monument Valley thunderstorm at sunset. The vibrant pinks, fuchsia, and purples were set against the deep red sandstone of the Mittens, and I sat and watched with a broken camera in-hand. I once accidentally reformatted my camera card in the midst of a backcountry hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, erasing over 300 photos from the previous day of hiking. And there were all of the beautiful vistas and moments only captured to memory because I forgot to bring my camera along (or lost my camera). Now another story is added to my journey of lost photos and photo blunders.
What I have learned through these years of lost photos and blunders is that each photo is a gift, a memento. They never replace the original experience. In returning to Olympic National Park with the purpose of restoring my photo stock, I had to recognize that this was God's gift of a new experience; otherwise I would miss the blessing of the moment while pining for a memory that can never be replicated. As I went about the park, God met me there--clouds would part in majestic sunbeams, or soft cloud cover would help with one of my high-contrast photos.
God's story is never ending. While we get to reminisce previous chapters, we still get to participate in what He writing now.
Photos from Olympic National Park are available in the "Photos of the Week" tab in the right column.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Starting A New Year
Hello! Winter is ebbing away from the Willamette Valley. Frost, fog, and rain-soaked are being replaced by warming sunshine and crocus blossoms carrying the promise of Spring. In the midst of school studies, the wind through newly budded boughs is bringing new anticipation for this year's adventures.
Though Spring has not fully subdued its frozen predecessor, my summer preparations cannot wait; things are happening too quickly. My summer has an early start, beginning in April. A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP) is placing me in a new location this year. It is one that I am very excited for: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, located primarily in Utah. This reserved expanse contains Lake Powell, an extensive reservoir fed primarily by the Colorado River before it descends into the Grand Canyon. I will be serving at Wahweap Resort, located on the Arizona/Utah border only 8 miles outside of Page, Arizona. This will be my sixth summer serving with this ministry and I am trying to contain my joy and excitement to return to Utah's canyon country.
Only two weeks remain before I leave Oregon; I am wrapping up final details before my expedition begins, and preparing to launch into what indicates to be a very promising ministry opportunity. After a five-month suspension, I get to start a new year in my travel journal. As a reader, I hope you will enjoy and benefit from the months of upcoming posts as I describe the adventures and ministry opportunities unfolding as the months pass by. I will continue to post each week--a goal I am fairly faithful to.
My true New Year (2013) began in Leavenworth, Washington...a Bavarian-styled town in the North Cascades, learning to cross-country ski and enjoying the Germanic cuisine and shops. It was here that my year began, and it seems appropriate that this year began with an adventure. Beyond the opportunity to see new places, I am afforded the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation for the remarkable world God has placed us in, and discover His heart for us all as we continue to journey with Him throughout the year.
So as this year launches, it is my prayer that we will be encouraged to step out and meet God's adventures with willing anticipation and trusting hearts. Blessings to you!
Tobyn
Photos from my Leavenworth Trip are available on the "Photos of the Week" tag on the right column of the webpage.
Though Spring has not fully subdued its frozen predecessor, my summer preparations cannot wait; things are happening too quickly. My summer has an early start, beginning in April. A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP) is placing me in a new location this year. It is one that I am very excited for: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, located primarily in Utah. This reserved expanse contains Lake Powell, an extensive reservoir fed primarily by the Colorado River before it descends into the Grand Canyon. I will be serving at Wahweap Resort, located on the Arizona/Utah border only 8 miles outside of Page, Arizona. This will be my sixth summer serving with this ministry and I am trying to contain my joy and excitement to return to Utah's canyon country.
Only two weeks remain before I leave Oregon; I am wrapping up final details before my expedition begins, and preparing to launch into what indicates to be a very promising ministry opportunity. After a five-month suspension, I get to start a new year in my travel journal. As a reader, I hope you will enjoy and benefit from the months of upcoming posts as I describe the adventures and ministry opportunities unfolding as the months pass by. I will continue to post each week--a goal I am fairly faithful to.
My true New Year (2013) began in Leavenworth, Washington...a Bavarian-styled town in the North Cascades, learning to cross-country ski and enjoying the Germanic cuisine and shops. It was here that my year began, and it seems appropriate that this year began with an adventure. Beyond the opportunity to see new places, I am afforded the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation for the remarkable world God has placed us in, and discover His heart for us all as we continue to journey with Him throughout the year.
So as this year launches, it is my prayer that we will be encouraged to step out and meet God's adventures with willing anticipation and trusting hearts. Blessings to you!
Tobyn
Photos from my Leavenworth Trip are available on the "Photos of the Week" tag on the right column of the webpage.
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