YWAM SALEM

I made it home. Josh and I left Twin Falls around 10:30 and pulled into Boise with perfect time to get something to eat and fly on my way back to Salem. This flight however was maybe the most painful I have ever experienced. Just a few days before, I started to get sick. Nothing bad. On the plane however, I got the worst plugged ears EVER! I felt the plane go from 30,000 feet to about 12,000 All in my head! I thought I heard a baby screaming on the plane but I am convinced it was my sub-conscious. This hurts. I have never had a problem with this because I can "pop" my ears pretty simply without making a scene. I just yawn and it seems to work for me. (I can even do it with my mouth closed.) I don't know if thats cool or not but whatever. This time I actually had to pop my ears. Crazy! Anyways, now I can understand babies a little more.

On a total separate note. Today, I got to climb a tree on the course that we have just added stuff to. Its called a Staple Climb. I wish I had some photos but I was too excited, I just grabbed my harness out of my room. Anyways, all you do on this one is climb up a tree (on belay) to the top of the tree! It is so cool! On the way up there are mainly only 10 staples or so the rest your climbing on tree branches. A lot of the ones that are near the ground are cut off to about 8 or 12 inches but once you pass that thresh hold its like when your a little kid again, You get a feeling that you are much safer just because there are branches around and your climbing on and around them. Eventually, I climbed so high that EVERYTHING crystallized almost instantly. All the needles on the tree were green with a layer of ice on top of it. Spiderwebs you could see every detail!

I finally reached the top and looked behind me. I could see above all the other trees on the base and see all the other trees with ice christals throughout the valley. I looked over to my right and could see I-5...to the left was the vineyard. Amazing!

This reminded me of when I was growing up there were different trees all over my neighborhood, (which consisted of miles and miles of forest and farming land in Oregon.) and there were trees that I loved to climb. I would always find a way to climb. (I think about it now and its weird how everything works together.) These were some of my favorite times growing up I think. I could climb a tree and be away from everyone and not be bothered. I could hide and no one could see me. I look at it now and these were probably the times when The J-Man and I would talk the most, where I got the most rest, where I looked and listened.

Fast forward however many years and I find myself climbing same sort of trees in the same area and strangely enough the same safe feeling that I had when I was a kid. The last 2 years I have been up in trees and have been able to minister to people that are now in the same tree as me. Its so cool to see what God has in mind for a persons life. I had so many different ideas of what I was going to do with my life, back when I was a kid maybe my concern was to always have fresh dirt between my toes running down Marion Berry rows. Today, its a little different then that but, I still love to get my hands/feet dirty...I still love to climb trees. I am not always positive about this but I heard a voice that I am all too acquainted with, maybe my ears are bigger up there...I don't know.

Good times today.

So for the Photos.

The First one is kind of obvious....Moms Christmas Gift that she hasn't gotten yet fully. Trust me its coming. One Happy Family there. Mom, Dad, Rob, and Ryan. (Christmas was good. I got to see my brother.)

Photo #2
Just a little more light painting I did with my little cousins in Vegas. (AKA Teaching Them/Goofing around.) Fun times.

Photo #3
My ride up to Boise with Telcia, Orren, and his dad Troy off on the far right. His wife Bonnie is sitting shotgun. This ride was such a blessing to hang out with Tel* for a few days.

Trents Wedding.
Trent got lucky (thats what she said) and married Nicole. There wedding was a blast and I am excited to see how I get to work along side of them in the future...You may remember Trent from another post...then again. Maybe not. Congrats man.