I had a visitor!

Today is my last day in Colorado! The last few days I had a friend by the name of Eric come and visit me from New Jersey! Eric and I were roomates when I lived in New Jersey, and works at New York City Relief! He flew in on Friday and we didn't do much of anything but hang out on the porch, and talk. Then on Saturday we went to a Christian Rock Festival called Heaven Fest. Kingdom Building Ministries was one of the sponsors and it worked out that Eric got to meet one of his favorite bands and get his picture taken with them. Yesterday we went on a little exploration trip and went to the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. It was absolutely amazing, and I have never seen anything like it! We both got feeling a little funny at the top of Pikes Peak, but was an experience neither one of us will forget! It has been great to have one of my best friends fly in and spend some time with me here! I am so thankful for my experience here in Denver, and everyone that I have been able to meet!

God Bless!

dropped in the drink!

Well, today great! We went white water rafting for the 2nd time this summer, and we got to do it on two different rivers! The first was the Lochsa in Kooskia Idaho, and the second was on the Wenatchee River somewhere in Seattle! This is the leader picture, and it is hard to believe that the Lord put together this mangy crew to do his work for the last 16 days! We are exhausted, but keep finding the energy from somewhere to keep going! Please keep us in your prayers! Matt and I are driving the RV's back to Denver starting tonight, and we are both tired. So pray for safety while we travel, and strength and energy for Terrence, Bennett, and Cheryl as they stay with the students here in Seattle for a few extra days! I will try to post some more stories once I get home!! God Bless!

Meet Denny

We travelled to Eastern Washington to a City called Wenatchee. It was a really amazing driving, and we were going to work at a program for 50 - 100 homeless men called the Hospitality House. I met an incredible man named Denny, he was the garden manager, and has been living at the house for about 2 1/2 years. He is 62 years old has two children, and 3 step grand children. He served in our armed forces in Vietnam and worked several different jobs over his life time. He went on to tell me how his wife left him for another man, and when he came home from a week long bender his soon to be x-wife had taken everything including cleaning out their bank account. Within the next 6 months he found out that she had a brain tumor and had passed away. He was devistated, and he talked about it took many years for him to learn how to forgive. When I asked him to speak to our students he didn't talk much, but said "Don't let it take 62 years before you get serious about your faith." I thought it was incredible about how much passion he had for the homeless shelter turned into his home, and how much he loved it there. We had an opportunity to pray for him before we left, and it was a pleasure to have spent the day with him!

I had some help with this one!

I asked these two young ladies to write something that I could post on my blog. They are both students on our 16 Days RoadTrip that I have been involved with this summer! From left to right, Lauren and Imani who are both from Michigan!

"We had amazing experience, ministering to people on the inner city streets of Denver, Colorado. Our team set out on an adventure that included ministering to different people on the streets. After going through several people trying to find one person that God had put on our hearts to talk with. We encountered a man from Africa who worked at a sunglass hut. He had moved from Africa twelve years ago with his brother, and he seemed like an amazing person. Our team had begun talking to him and about his past, then we realized it was passed our meeting time. When we started back to our meeting place I felt that I had done a pretty good job talking to him. We were rushing to get where we needed back to our team meeting place, Imani started to tell Matt (our leader) how she was disappointed that one lady we tried to reach out to wasn’t willing to talk to us. Then I realized that I hadn’t prayed for the man at the sunglass hut, and I started to cry. I felt that God had put it on my heart to go back and pray for him … He needs it. God told me I just knew that I needed to go back. So we figured out a plan we had fifteen minutes they said so we headed back to the sunglass hut, which was about a block away. I was very excited about the opportunity to go back and pray for him. We browsed around for a bit because we had been there once before, and I said “Is there anything that you need me to pray for?” Then Imani asked if we could pray over him and he said “yes!” We could tell God was there, and we then bought sunglasses and headed back to our group!"

I travel back to Colorado tomorrow to pick up another set of 16 days students! Keep us in your prayers!

A day that makes you think!

Today we started out in Seattle, Washington, and travelled a few miles down the road to Country Children's Home. This is a place where 8 severally physically handicap children live upon dismissal from the hospital, or if there parents are unable to continue care on their own. We were not able to take pictures of the children, but one of the things that I helped with while there is the sorting of the toys. We had to find out which ones worked, and which ones didn't. It was just something that the staff there just didn't have time to do. It was amazing to watch our students play with these kids who could hardly move, and couldn't talk. Most were very tentative at first, but as we moved on through out the day they became much more interactive. There was one young lady who was 16 years old, and was in hospice care. She has Huntington's, which disease that attacks the central nervous system and started with being unable to move her legs, and has worked the rest of the way up her body. She is assumed to have only a couple weeks to live. Huntington's is a genetic disease, which her mother was unaware she has when she and her husband had 3 children. Her mother passed away a few years ago, and all 3 children have this disease. I have had a really hard time today imagining being this Dad, and having to watch my wife and 3 children pass on in such a way. I don't know what I would do, or how I would react to such a thing. If you could remember this family in your prayers it would be appreciated.

Also, we have spent alot of time traveling over the last several days, and I have been able to have some very good talks with our students. I would also ask for prayer because there are several working through some very deep wounds. I pray that during this trip that the healing process is started, and that God will use me to speak into their lives.

God Bless,

Andy

Good Morning!

Early mornings, late nights, and long drives have been the norm lately. The drive from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Salt Lake City Utah yesterday was the most spectacular drive of my life. There was one time in particular that stands out above the rest. We were driving in somewhere in Wyoming when we round a corner, and there it was! Up close and personal with a magnificent snow capped mountain. Unlike anything I have ever seen. Just then one my fellow drives gets on the CB and says “How can you tell me there isn’t a God?” That is the question I asked myself the rest of the day, corner after corner of unbelievable views it was a day that reaffirmed that there is a God and how awesome he is!

And we are off!

The students arrived on Wednesday, and they have spent the last 2 days in intense study and discipleship time. Last night we surprised them with a 11:00 p.m. wake up call to go bowling. I think all the leaders are paying for that today! Today they are playing what is called "The Game," and will be trouncing all over Denver using only public transportation on a scavenger hunt. We will then pick them up and head out towards Seattle. We will be making stops along the way for different experiences, which is everything from picking apples with the homeless to white water rafting! We will be taking 3 RVs on this trip, and I am driving one of them. It is about 1600 miles one way, so if you would please pray for safety, patients, and strength as we prepare to pour into these students for the next 13 days. I again will update as much as possible along the way, but I am not sure how often I will have Internet access in places like Kooskia, Idaho! God Bless