In this picture I am sending the Lord the message through sign language, "Awesome" or "Wonderful." I will have more to say about this shot, but it is a good summary of week four in Colorado.
One of the highlights and important teaching times for me is the Wednesday night deaf Bible study that Tim leads. I not only learn new signs, but I am learning God's word in the process. That is a powerful one-two punch. As you can see, Tim utilizes the projection system our youth worked for not only on Sundays, but also on Wednesday, using both text and video projection.
It looks like even this critter was lulling over what the lesson was about! Actually, I spent a second and probably final weekend in the town of Estes Park and did some hiking and sight-seeing in Rocky Mountain National Park. This fellow was parked on a commerical lawn in Estes Park when I got there on Thursday.
I did some driving through a part of Rocky Mountain National Park that I did not get to the previous week. This was one of the numerous spectacles on Trail Ridge Road.
Trail Ridge Road is not yet open clear to the top. You can see that the depth of the snow they have to plow out the closer you get to the top is much taller than I am, and in places much deeper than is pictured here. They generally try to have the road opened by Memorial Day weekend.
I did a solo hike on Friday to one of the most photographed spots in the Park, Mills Lake. It was a snowshoe hike, and although there were people on that unmarked snow trail, for most of it I was alone. Pretty spooky!!!! I not only prayed loud enough for the Lord to hear, but for the bears and mountain lions to hear too! The next day Linda's sisters, Danette and Donna, joined me for another, even more spectacular hike.
As we were driving to the National Park, it was pretty hard to miss this big banner. I don't know who won the competition, but I'm glad I wasn't entered! Also on the way to the park we saw some mountain goats, and as we entered the park we noticed a lone coyote.
Here you see Donna (L) and Danette (R) gearing up for our big adventure. And it was! The snow trail we took to the Loch lake does not appear on any of the maps, but upon a Ranger's advice, we followed his directions and followed the footprints of the few who had been on the trail. There were hardly any directional signs so we were really "out there" in the wilderness of the park.
This was one of the few signs we did encounter and you can see that the snow we are hiking on is easily 3-5 foot deep. Hard to believe for May 17!
The last part of this trail on the way to our destination was a very long, very steep climb. The next three pictures give you some sense of perspective. We were climbing at around 10,000 feet on a beautiful, sunny day.
Of course, what goes up, must come down! There is a small pine tree pictured between the girls' feet that isn't small at all. That's how steep and how far down this portion was. Here you see them trying to figure out what in the world we've gotten ourselves into.
But Momma Thurston didn't raise no dummies (?). Here and on another portion of the trail pictured below they prove that if God has given you a backside, you sometimes don't even need a sled!
But that doesn't mean you can avoid the occasional wipeout!!! And we won't discuss whether or not you think I might have had some wipeout moments myself.
It is clear, though, that the sisters bring their own entertainment!!!
Just when you think that God couldn't top such a phenonemal weekend, he did! When I got back to Colorado Springs on Sunday, Tim baptized a young deaf boy into Christ. The Deaf Church meets in a large room of the much larger Sunnyside Christian Church. For the baptism, the Deaf Church went over to the hearing church's sanctuary for the baptism. In this first picture, Tim is explaining to the hearing church about the teaching the young man has received and what he understands about Jesus.
After the boy was raised from the waters of baptism, Tim shows his enthusiasm by flashing the sign "awesome" or "wonderful." I believe that is something we may need to incorporate into our baptisms at JRCC!
As we were driving to the National Park, it was pretty hard to miss this big banner. I don't know who won the competition, but I'm glad I wasn't entered! Also on the way to the park we saw some mountain goats, and as we entered the park we noticed a lone coyote.
Here you see Donna (L) and Danette (R) gearing up for our big adventure. And it was! The snow trail we took to the Loch lake does not appear on any of the maps, but upon a Ranger's advice, we followed his directions and followed the footprints of the few who had been on the trail. There were hardly any directional signs so we were really "out there" in the wilderness of the park.
This was one of the few signs we did encounter and you can see that the snow we are hiking on is easily 3-5 foot deep. Hard to believe for May 17!
The last part of this trail on the way to our destination was a very long, very steep climb. The next three pictures give you some sense of perspective. We were climbing at around 10,000 feet on a beautiful, sunny day. When we got to the Lock lake, it was worth all of the apprehension about the steep climb and worth all of the hard work. The camera simply couldn't capture the magnificence of this lake virtually surrounded by towering peaks. For a person of faith, it is impossible to miss the greatness and grandeur of God!
Of course, what goes up, must come down! There is a small pine tree pictured between the girls' feet that isn't small at all. That's how steep and how far down this portion was. Here you see them trying to figure out what in the world we've gotten ourselves into. But Momma Thurston didn't raise no dummies (?). Here and on another portion of the trail pictured below they prove that if God has given you a backside, you sometimes don't even need a sled!But that doesn't mean you can avoid the occasional wipeout!!! And we won't discuss whether or not you think I might have had some wipeout moments myself. It is clear, though, that the sisters bring their own entertainment!!!Just when you think that God couldn't top such a phenonemal weekend, he did! When I got back to Colorado Springs on Sunday, Tim baptized a young deaf boy into Christ. The Deaf Church meets in a large room of the much larger Sunnyside Christian Church. For the baptism, the Deaf Church went over to the hearing church's sanctuary for the baptism. In this first picture, Tim is explaining to the hearing church about the teaching the young man has received and what he understands about Jesus.
After taking his confession, Tim then baptized him into Christ.
After the boy was raised from the waters of baptism, Tim shows his enthusiasm by flashing the sign "awesome" or "wonderful." I believe that is something we may need to incorporate into our baptisms at JRCC!
So, without question the Lord deserved a great big "Awesome" from me for an incredible week. Danette grabbed the camera from me when we were at the Lock and said I should sign "Awesome" or "Wonderful." That was the right thing to do, to praise God both for the blessings of his creation, and the coming blessings of watching a young boy become a new creation in Jesus Christ!
As usual, while I am experiencing God's blessings, it is not without missing you. You are all in my heart and in my prayers in a very big way!!
