Freeze Your Booty Off.

This weekend, we froze our booties off with 13 students...

It was crazy!

There were two days of Snowboarding at Steven's Pass (I sat in the lodge. It's a warm, non-injurious place to be.)...There was a day trip into the Bavarian Wonderland of Leavenworth (to visit the famed Leavenworth "hat shop" where for $30, you can become a Rastafarian or a man with a chicken for a head)...and there were 13 of the craziest, most energetic and literally bouncing off the walls teenagers I'd hung out with in awhile.

The good moments were good--like teaching one student how to play Lifehouse's "You and Me" on the guitar...and giggling with the three girls while we shared our ideas of how we perceive ourselves.

And the bad moments were certainly bad--like calling the cops within a half-hour of arriving home because one of the students had stolen our digital projector...and having to yell at a student for continually farting while I was trying to share my testimony.

What was most apparent though--is that doing ministry where we should be doing ministry is difficult, but at the same time, very cathartic. I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster all weekend, just because the kids made me feel so insecure by their words and behaviors...and yet, that made me focus on the Lord's plan for us during the weekend all the more. I consistently was praying for my own peace of mind and their salvation.

It was also apparent that Stonewater Ranch, our 138-acre winter wonderland, is an amazing place to do ministry. The kids love it! And I love doing outdoor ministry in a place that feels like home.

At the end of it all, a few of the thirteen kids are really thinking about who Christ is and interested in learning more about him. A few even said they had decided to accept Christ into their life. I am excited to see where the follow up on these decisions takes them...

I will probably be quiet the next few days, as the beautiful and amazing Renee is in town until Sunday, and we will be heading up to Bellingham, WA and Vancover, BC to look at Graduate Programs in Writing. Pray for our travels and our time exploring Academia!