Orchard's Influence on Rocky Mountain High!

Tomorrow morning I will leave for Estes Park, Colorado. Many of our staff and volunteers will participate in a Synod-wide Student Ministry Conference called Rocky Mountain High. More than 2500 students and volunteers will gather at the YMCA of the Rockies to worship God and learn more about Him. I'm sure some of these students will give their hearts to Jesus for the first time.

As I gather my materials and begin to think through packing, I'm reflecting upon Orchard's influence on this event. We have had members on the organizing team for about 25 years. We have taken our Caravan trip there several times.

This year, Tim Walsten will be the emcee, Jeff Mickey will oversee video production, Ali Rogers and her band will lead worship, and Walt Rogers will produce the large group sessions. We have volunteers traveling to help with sound, lights, video, and mountain climbing. Beyond the 120 who will travel with Caravan on Friday, we have 20-30 others who are volunteering to help. A special thank you to those who are taking vacation time to make this conference a reality.

My key role is to inspire the volunteers to understand and serve the mission of the event. The theme is Amplify--Build up, Strengthen, Overflow. Students will be reading and reflecting upon the New Testament book of Colossians.

I know my own children were very influenced and touched by many large Christian events during their growing up years. I am praying that many students will receive the same encouragement and challenge during this next week. I hope that you will join me in praying for these students.

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One week after Africa!

I'm sitting in a Black Hawk County courtroom the morning after July 4. I guess this is a good day to participate in my civic duty to help someone have a fair trial. We are waiting for the jury to be chosen and I'm hoping all of this can happen without my further investment.

(Quick note--I'm posting this on Friday and did not have to serve on a jury this week. Whew, that was close for a three week trial. I'm so grateful that I wasn't chosen to serve.)

It's one week since we've returned from Africa. It takes time to physically recover and I hope in many ways I never recover spiritually from my second trip to Mozambique. The picture above is our sharing Christ on Saturday morning in the market.

My reflections after one week home:

God at work in a mighty way--extraoridnary
Orchard's investment in Mozambique--effective and right
Orchard's partnership with Food for the Hungry--synergistic
Children our congregational members sponsor--needy and grateful
Our 2011 Mozambique Mission Team--risk-taking, solid, faithful
Our future in Gorongosa, Mozambique--promising, hopeful

It continues to strike me that we are doing the same things for Christ in each of our five communities. We are declaring Jesus, passing faith to next generations, working with public schools and building fully devoted followers of Christ. Thanks for being a part of this.

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