Rock N Roll Janitorial

So this is where I live. I thought I was getting used to the mountain scenery, which sucked, but then I looked at them again. The weather is really cool here too. I was watching it snow on some of the higher peaks from the sunny porch of the administration building the other day.

My job is also pretty sweet. We're in charge of cleaning some of the public buildings daily and some weekly. We also drive around in sweet trucks delivering stuff to cabins and cleaning up puke and other such messes. My boss actually hasn't been there much because he has a son overseas in the military who went out on patrol and didn't come back when he was supposed to. He also had to have some minor surgery on his finger and is on pain killers. He seems like a very, very cool guy though. I'm sure he would appreciate any prayers you might be able to give. We've been riding around with some of the other employees until we get our drivers test, and one of the guys is a lot of fun to work with. We also get to use sweet radios and say stuff like "111 Tyler to 109" and "111 clear".

Spiritually, I have been shown some interesting things so far. For example, during our opening service I realized that many of my goals for while I'm out here are pretty selfish. One such goal was to get better at meeting people and getting to know them. I realize that this wouldn't benefit only myself, but I discovered that perhaps God brought me out here to learn how to better communicate with Him rather than with other people. I think focusing on that will allow God to make me better at these other things instead of me trying to do it by myself for my own reasons. I know that I've heard that before, but hearing things and learning things are often totally different for me.

Also, this one guy in my project group started calling me Tdogg. I am positive I made absolutely no mention that it was my nickname. I must just look like a Tdogg.

24

Here's what I did in the first 24 or so hours of my trip.

• Met at Ross's house in Normal, said goodbye to my dad, and promptly got to showcase my skills at Medal of Honor (Graham and Steveo, I beat the game if you didn't notice).
• Packed up the cars and began our trip to Colorado.
• Stayed up nearly the entire 15 hour trip and really connected with the dude I rode with. I bet we talked for 10 of it. I drove for 4 somewhere in there. The trip seemed fairly short except for the last hour or two. Ugh.
• Checked in at the Y after waiting for the office to open and eventually found my room.
• Slept for about an hour until my roommates got here (who are cool by the way).
• Went to lunch with some people even though I wasn't really hungry.
• Checked in at housekeeping and found out that I'm actually in janitorial. I think this might mean crazy hours, but possibly driving around in a truck. Sweet.
• Took another, longer nap.
• Got ready to shower, but instead found people about to go hiking that I went with.
• Hiked up (and down) Eagle Cliff.
• Ate a delicious dinner and finally showered.
• Explored the Y with a few people, during which I talked to a stranger who was from Naperville because I heard him listening to Flatfoot 56.
• Sat around for two hours deciding what to do and then ended up not doing anything (awww, just like home).
• Went to bed.

Keep in mind that all this time I was meeting and talking with cool new people, which is going quite well for me. Anyway, the past 24 hours gave me a great idea for a new type of TV show. The story takes place in real time and there are 24 one hour episodes aired weekly that comprise one crazy day in someone's life. Nobody steal my idea.

Shrouded in Mystery

During my last two trips to Colorado, I have enjoyed watching the mountains appear on the horizon and become more spectacular as we approached. This time, as we approached, the entire visible mountain range was covered by clouds. As we got closer, the fog was so thick that we could only see the road right in front of us. I thought this symbolically mysterious, as though my summer and the things I will see and do were also hidden except for the path directly ahead. That's quite alright with me. It has been unexpectedly awesome so far.

First Post

Hi! For those of you who don't know, I will be working and living at the YMCA of the Rockies this summer, which is just outside of Estes Park Colorado. I am participating in a program called LT (leadership training) sponsored by GCM (great comission ministries). Illini Life, my church down at school, is part of GCM. Anyway, this is where I hope to write down some of my LT stories for you all to read at your leisure. I'm not going to promise any certain number of posts, but I will try to keep you all updated to what's going on as best I can. I figure this is the best way to share what I can from my summer. Nonetheless, I would also like to hear from you, and if you write me, I will do my best to get back to you.

I leave in 4 days for Bloomington, and from there it's Colorado or bust. I'm excited for the opportunity to throw myself into a summer with God surrounded by people that I don't really know yet. I have very little idea of what kinds of things I'm going to learn or do, but that's alright because God always exceeds any ideas I have anyway. Don't get me wrong though, I'm also nervous, and I'm going to miss everyone at home. As fun as it might be, I'm also hoping that this summer I am challenged in ways that aren't necessarily going to be easy. I appreciate any prayers you can give me this summer, and please let me know if I can do the same for you. Well, I should probably go goof off for 3 days and then start packing.