Week seven had the usual components--great eating at Tami's cookery and thorough instruction in Tim's bootcamp :). I have thoroughly enjoyed the time in their home and I can't think of anywhere I would have felt more comfortable. By Thursday of each week the schedule calls for me to hit the road. I travelled alone to a hotel on the north west side of Denver near Golden. My plan was to use that as a base from which to scout out Mt. Bierstadt, near Georgetown, one of Colorado's 14,000 ft mountains (above -- Mt. Evans on the left, Mt. Bierstadt on the right). My brother Ron and I attempted to hike that one a few years back, but the leg muscle I was nursing pulled with about a mile and a 1,000 feet of elevation to go to the summit. We had to turn back. I was hoping my trusty mountain guides, Danette and Donna, could get me to the top this time. However, the front range mountains have all had so much snow on them, we weren't sure it would be possible. So I decided to spend some time checking it out. The first day was totally overcast and rainy/sleety the entire day. I still made the drive to the trailhead at 11,000 feet, but even that close I could not see the summit of Bierstadt or nearby Evans.
That first day made it seem impossible to think about hiking Bierstadt next week on my last weekend. There appeared to be so much snow, not only in the parking lot, but on the trail that it just would not be doable.
However, day two saw the sun shine all day with beautiful skies and warming temperatures. The mountain had an entirely different look.
Above you can see me on the trail to Beirstadt. I didn't go far, and there was a lot of deep, melting snow as well as mud and water on the trail :). Still, reports from a couple of hikers this weekend made us think that with another week of snowmelt, we will go for it this next Saturday. I'll keep you posted.
After my time in Denver, I was scheduled to do my first public signing in the Deaf Church. I practiced hard to be ready to sign both an opening Scripture and prayer. I was plenty nervous and I think practice went better than me "live," but the deaf people seemed proud of me and the progress I have made. Above I am signing a Scripture, and below I am leading in prayer.
The Clergy Renewal grant called for me to have a "send off" Sunday for the Deaf Church similar to the send off we had in Kokomo. Because of Father's Day on my final Sunday, we moved it up a week. I was able to take the entire Deaf Church out to eat at the Golden Coral with the idea that they would be sending me back to Kokomo having begun to learn a new and important skill--sign language.
We had good fellowship, and any time I was with the deaf, it ended up being another classroom situation for me :). But that was good. There is no other way to really learn except to be with the deaf and learn from them. They have been very patient with me, but also interested in helping me learn, so there were many opportunities for them to teach me.
I surprised Tim by asking to speak to the Deaf Church after our lunch. Even though I am still a "baby" in sign language, I wanted to talk to the church and thank them for all they have done for me. Even though I made a number of mistakes while signing, again, they were very patient with me and seemed to really appreciate the effort I am making to learn.
However, day two saw the sun shine all day with beautiful skies and warming temperatures. The mountain had an entirely different look.
After my time in Denver, I was scheduled to do my first public signing in the Deaf Church. I practiced hard to be ready to sign both an opening Scripture and prayer. I was plenty nervous and I think practice went better than me "live," but the deaf people seemed proud of me and the progress I have made. Above I am signing a Scripture, and below I am leading in prayer.
The Clergy Renewal grant called for me to have a "send off" Sunday for the Deaf Church similar to the send off we had in Kokomo. Because of Father's Day on my final Sunday, we moved it up a week. I was able to take the entire Deaf Church out to eat at the Golden Coral with the idea that they would be sending me back to Kokomo having begun to learn a new and important skill--sign language.
We had good fellowship, and any time I was with the deaf, it ended up being another classroom situation for me :). But that was good. There is no other way to really learn except to be with the deaf and learn from them. They have been very patient with me, but also interested in helping me learn, so there were many opportunities for them to teach me.
I surprised Tim by asking to speak to the Deaf Church after our lunch. Even though I am still a "baby" in sign language, I wanted to talk to the church and thank them for all they have done for me. Even though I made a number of mistakes while signing, again, they were very patient with me and seemed to really appreciate the effort I am making to learn.
Before coming to Colorado, I knew two signs, one of which was the sign "boring" pictured below. Of course, I have to thank my sister-in-law, Danette, for getting such a lovely candid shot!! :)
But I now know, literally, 600 or 700 signs or more! I am still slow putting sentences together, slow recognizing when the deaf sign (they are fast!), and still forget some of the signs, but I am improving. But it is a lot more than just learning words. I will need to learn sentence structure in American Sign Language which is different than in spoken English, so I will have a lot more work to do when I get home. And, facial expression is a huge part of how the deaf communicate. Below you can see me working on that part of it while I was talking to the Deaf Church.
As we were ready to head out the door, one of the elders of the Deaf Church came back to thank me and shake my hand. I appreciated that and told him that the Deaf Church has done a lot more for me than I could dream of doing for them.
This marked the end of week seven. That means I have one more week in Colorado before coming to Kokomo for a few days, then off with the Carpenter clan to North Carolina. It has been one amazing ride and such a tremendous learning opportunity for me. I can't wait to get home, but there will be some sadness about leaving my Colorado family and my Colorado church :). But this time next week I will be feeling the rush of knowing that in a few hours I will be boarding a plane and getting to see Linda at the airport late on Monday evening!! Until next week, my love to one and all in Christ!
But I now know, literally, 600 or 700 signs or more! I am still slow putting sentences together, slow recognizing when the deaf sign (they are fast!), and still forget some of the signs, but I am improving. But it is a lot more than just learning words. I will need to learn sentence structure in American Sign Language which is different than in spoken English, so I will have a lot more work to do when I get home. And, facial expression is a huge part of how the deaf communicate. Below you can see me working on that part of it while I was talking to the Deaf Church.
As we were ready to head out the door, one of the elders of the Deaf Church came back to thank me and shake my hand. I appreciated that and told him that the Deaf Church has done a lot more for me than I could dream of doing for them.
This marked the end of week seven. That means I have one more week in Colorado before coming to Kokomo for a few days, then off with the Carpenter clan to North Carolina. It has been one amazing ride and such a tremendous learning opportunity for me. I can't wait to get home, but there will be some sadness about leaving my Colorado family and my Colorado church :). But this time next week I will be feeling the rush of knowing that in a few hours I will be boarding a plane and getting to see Linda at the airport late on Monday evening!! Until next week, my love to one and all in Christ!
