47 People Camping!

The new school year is in full swing and in September, our fellowship went on our first annual "Fall-Bond" camping trip together to Spring Lake in Santa Rosa.  We hoped to get as many people as possible to get together, go camping, and get connected to the fellowship. 47 people came and had a great time hiking, roasting s'mores, having morning devotionals, and hanging out around the campfire.  I directed the trip which consisted of a lot of logistics (note the pic below in which students are making faces at me while I'm taking care of business on the trip); shopping for food, getting tents, finding the campground, etc. Seeing the students "Bond," and connect with nature made all the prep worth it!

Pilgrimage To Israel

In the summer, I was able to take a seminary course that did a study trip to Israel.  Walking the land of Jesus and the Bible, the scriptures came alive for me in new ways.  There were many impactful experiences like walking around the temple area, visiting Ceaserea (Acts 10), and the Sea of Galilee.  One morning our class took a boat ride on the Sea; as I looked across the sea, there were no boats visible in any direction.  We stopped out in the middle, and besides the waves from our boat, the water was still as could be. As a group did a devotional, worshipped and sat in silence.  Not having a strong imagination, I often have a difficult time visualizing scripture, but this made many of the Gospel stories that take place on or near the water feel so real.  Specifically, the still water was just like when Jesus calmed the storm (Mark 4: 35-41).  Needless to say, it is even more clear to me now that the Bible is not longer just ink on a page, but has geographic and historical grounding. Here is a video that I took of the Sea that day.