Coming up for air

Sorry we have neglected to update in a while. The past three weeks have been absolutely crazy! The past few weeks of class have been exciting and life changing. We have come to know the Holy Spirit in new and intimate ways. It is hard to even begin to put into words what we are learning. One week we discussed spiritual warfare and deliverance. We were introduced to the fact that Christians can be influenced (not possessed meaning owned) by evil spirits. Our repeated sin can give Satan a foothold in different areas of our lives. In turn we are denied the freedom we are entitled to in Christ. These things can be so subtle, almost unrecognized and they are not discussed much within the body of Christ. However, many of us are living lives of fear, shame, condemnation, addiction, anger, etc. and missing out on that abundant life we are promised. Satan would have us all live under lies, not allowing us to see or become the amazing men and women the Father fashioned us to be.

We also spent a week on the Holy Spirit and gifts of the spirit. We can now tell you from experience and eye witness that the gifts are alive and well! 1 Cor. 14:1 says that we are to "eagerly desire spiritual gifts". Maybe we don't see many miracles today because we have not desired the gifts to perform such miracles. We are learning that if we want to see people healed then we need to ask for the gift of healing, to receive words of knowledge and the wisdom to share them then we need to ask for those gifts. The Father wants to use us to bless others, we need only ask for the power, contained in the Holy Spirit, to do so. I don't want to give you the idea that we are now these amazing Holy Spirit super heros, =) notice I said we are only learning about these things. We have been encouraged, and would like to encourage you, to be naturally supernatural. We are human, but we are also spirit and, as such, we need to operate in the seen and the unseen.

These are huge topics that we are still working through, so forgive us for the meager way in which we have tried to explain them. We just want you to get a glimpse of the truths we are learning and to let you in on what the Lord is doing in our hearts!

Question, "Do you get bored out there?"

Fact. Our classes have been incredible. Each week, we have been blessed with great speakers who have encouraged, challenged, and stretched our faith and understanding of God. The class schedule, combined with our required reading assignments, journal entries, small group meetings, and work duties, often leaves us in need of some kind of mental break. We are in an incredible location with a lot of local attractions. There is the Air Force Academy, the Pro-Rodeo Hall of Fame, and the Olympic Training Center, just to name a few. With the added pressure of leaving for India soon, we have felt the need to get out and check out some of the sights. Here are a few pics of our adventures.

Our team took a break from learning and went to see the local AAA baseball team, The Skysox. Yes it is June and yes we are bundled up as if was 38 degrees. Because it was. Um hello, summer anyone?

The USOC was pretty cool. Kasey and I broke away for a bit on Saturday hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. We ran into some guy named Michael Phelps. I don’t know much about him, but he is TALL and he eats a lot.

Michael Phelps trying to ignore the paparazzi (aka me).

A Story about Overcoming Fears

(Warning: Objects in pictures are MUCH LARGER than they appear)

So apparently when the hiking guide describes a trail as "difficult" it REALLY means difficult. We started an otherwise beautiful day on the beautiful trails of Glen Eyrie (Navigators retreat center near Garden of the Gods) and Tim was feeling rather adventurous. Assuring his wife that the trails couldn't possibly be THAT hard, they ascended the "Punch Bowls" trail.

"See," he said, "it even has bridges to cross the stream." Little did he know that the bridges were a short lived luxury and they soon began scrambling over rocks, trees, and the cool stream below. While strenuous at times, the hike was beautiful and they soon arrived at a serene pool with a cascading waterfall.

Determined to reach the "Punch Bowls," Tim persuaded his lovely bride to press on further and somehow convinced her to scale a 60+ foot wall of rock, gravel, and mud. Overcoming her fear of heights, Kasey bravely scaled the mountain side, all along praying, "Spirit of Fear I cast you out in the name of Jesus..." Buoyed by the Lord's strength and her husbands assurance that this was surely the hardest part, she conquered her fear and ascended to the top.

Little did they know that their fun was just beginning as deeper streams, giant granite boulders, and downed trees would have to be overcome before they could reach their destination. But they persevered and arrived at the three tiered "punch-bowls."

However, their frolicking in the icy snow melt was cut short by the crackle of thunder and the large, pelting drops of a Rocky Mountain rain shower. Clinging to wet boulders over icy waters, Kasey muttered to herself, "Why did I listen to him?" Suddenly, she realized she would have to descend the same 60+ foot mountainside, only this time in the middle of a thunderstorm. Again with some help from the Lord and the promise of flat ground ahead, she made it to the bottom, vowing never to let her husband pick the trail again.

The End.

The weather has finally turned warm (at least for a little while) so we got off campus to enjoy some of the great parks that are nearby. We hiked up a series of small waterfalls called Helen Hunt falls, a nice hike with some pretty good views. We found a great place for lunch by the stream that feeds the falls. Tim scrambled around the mountain until he reached the top while Kasey enjoyed a quiet time on a nice slab of granite that bordered the stream. We then drove to the top of the mountain and found a couple of dirt access roads. Tim of course chose the "high road" which was a winding dirt road that went to the top of the mountain. The views were amazing, although Kasey didn't really like being that close to the edge of the mountain.

Helen Hunt falls (named after the 19th century author, not the actress)

Where we ate lunch.

At Inspiration Point (aka make-out alley to the locals.) Really cool views both day and night.

Stream in Manitou Springs

Outreach Location!

We will spend our outreach in Pune, India. Pune is located near Mumbai on the western coast of India. It is the eighth largest city by population (3.5 million people) and is known for its educational facilities, having more than a hundred educational institutes and nine universities. It is also an industrial center where several multinational corporations have large manufacturing sites. While the city contains a significant percentage of Brahmins (highest class in the caste system comprised of lawmakers, scholars, Hindu priests, and educators), nearly 40% of the population lives in slums. Hinduism is the most commonly practiced religion. We are excited to learn more about this fascinating country. Tim lived in Singapore for three years and never made it to India. It's fun to think that 20 years after he left South East Asia, he is finally returning. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us there.

Father Heart of God

This has probably been one of the more challenging weeks emotionally and yet one of the most fun. Our speaker was Claude Bonjour who is the Swiss version of our friend Jack Kody (minus the beard). He lives to share the Father’s heart and we became fast friends with him. The class spent a lot of time on forgiveness, which was surprisingly difficult. Tim found that forgiving himself was the most difficult task. Kasey learned a lot from Claude’s teaching that “it’s not what happens to us in life, but our response to what happens to us that is important.”

It was an incredible week that opened our eyes even more to how much God loves us. Seriously, He REALLY loves us. Not because He has to, but because He WANTS to. As humans, often times our image of God is colored by our relationship, or lack thereof, with our earthly fathers. We make God into our image and likeness when in reality we were made in His image and likeness. God is perfectly loving. He is perfectly just. There is absolutely nothing we can do to make Him love us more or less. NOTHING. (Romans 5:8). We couldn’t ask for or even dream of a better Father.

Delawhere?

Last weekend (April 23-25) we flew back to Tim's old hometown of Chadds Ford, PA (near Wilmington, Delaware). I (Tim) was in a wedding for one of my oldest friends, Aaron. It was great to be back in the area where I have so many fond memories of my adolescent years. Kasey was gracious enough to let me walk down memory lane as we visited the houses I grew up in, my old school's, and even a few of my favorite spots to hang out. We didn't get a chance to go to the Charcoal Pit (best milk shakes in the world), but we did get a chance to wander around the amazing grounds of Longwood Gardens. Here are some more pics:

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