Suspending the Normal

Take a moment. Step into the mind of OLT member, Sam, as he strives to put into words the essence of his work with college students through the wilderness setting. He labors to explain and define the unseen power of God’s ministry to students through creation, community and Christ’s call on our entire life ...

“Leading trips in every condition with every kind of student has not only been deeply wonderful, but it has also made me acutely aware of one thing:

Suspending normal is as simple as replacing self-serving cafeteria lines and big tables in a clean environment with a bag of ingredients, a four inch "stove" and the forest floor. Add in a cold layer of snowflakes and a pinch of darkness, and voila! Mealtime is brand new, requiring inter-dependence among these experts on self-sufficiency.

Suspending normal means replacing i-Pods with silence, homework with play, and wrist-watches with listening to the natural cycles of hunger and sleep.
Furthermore, it means removing the distractions that keep many of them from dealing with essential questions about life and faith.

This is the heart of it for me. Students frequently say that God is more easily found in nature than other places (even if they aren't sure there IS a God), as though the outdoors were his living room where they feel comfortable sitting. For so many, their internal questions converge with the activities and experiences and conversations on a trip and they begin to respond to Christ's invitation, "Come, all who are thirsty...."

What a privilege it is to watch them grapple with this first-hand, and then later, to hear from campus ministers about how these students' lives continue to be transformed on their campuses.”

Francois and I are going to "suspend the normal" with students this summer in Ontario, Canada on a 30 day kayaking trip: Leadership and Discipleship in the Wilderness... more details to come!

One resolution

Happy 2007! One resolution I made was to post more on the blog. That wont be too difficult since I only posted 2wice last year.
This picture of Francois and our friend Ryan is taken on the summit of a mountain in Wyoming. Ryan works in OH and wrote an email recently looking for some help for his spring break trip. It is a good example of why we do what we do. Here it is:

"FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!! An all expense paid trip to FL, THAT'S RIGHT!!! There is no catch except the giant SNAPPER you will be eating for dinner! No need for certification but it is certainly not a problem if you have it! this is a great opportunity to apprentice with a veteran instructor or to work with a great guy, and work with some fabulous student leaders!

WHEN: March 9 – 18

Where: 10,000 Islands Florida

What: OWU Wilderness Trek, Canoeing. It is called, “Creation Speaks, a theology of ecology” The group will be looking at the connection between the ecology of the everglades and how it connects to the ecology of relationships and life together! The curriculum and design is being created by the student leaders. Your role will be to be present, Risk management, Assist student leaders in their leadership, teach technical skills that are beyond student leaders reach."

Here's another look at the Kayak-a-thon.

6th Annual Kayak-a-thon
(an event to raise funds for CCO ministries)

It was dawn when 10 kayakers started the day. 11 1/2 hours later, the last kayaker pried himself out of his boat in the dark and there was much celebration!
Francois raised a record-breaking amount of support this year, breaking over the $1000 mark! Thanks to all the people who made that possible!
Here are some pictures from the day.

Getting ready to go early in the morning.

The view of "dawntawn" Pittsburgh from the water.

Welcome to our blog.
Neither Francois nor I have ever blogged before, so it is an exciting step. This will primarily be a space where we share stories and pictures about our ministry in the CCO, but hopefully we'll add the occasional blog-like free-write ruminations about life and learning.
Enjoy!

On the sharp end

Sometimes, not as often as Francois, I get philosophical. I'm usually overtired and have had too much caffeine on a long road trip or I just get stuck with an image in my head that I can't let go. My latest image is rock climbing. When I step back and imagine what it looks like to the general public, I can understand the absurdity, meaninglessness, and apparent stupidity that I know many see. I think the same about things like nascar.
I heard Lynn Hill (world class cliimber) speak last week. She has lived and traveled around the world to climb rocks. A lot of very high rocks and ones with very little to hold onto. That does sound absurd. But I love climbing rocks, too. On the sharp end of what? a marshmallow stick? a cliff edge? a poker game gone bad? No.
A rope. A what? On the sharp end of a climbing rope.