Malibu Update Number 2

Today has been a great day!!! I got today off and I have used it to refuel and re-energize both physically and spiritually. I have found it hard to set a time a part each day to just be quiet and still with the Lord. I work all day and when I am done I selfishly want to just sit down and rest and not have to think about or do anything. I have been reading a book by Brennan Manning titled The Ragamuffin Gospel and I have learned and been stretched a lot through it, but I have been replacing reading the true Gospel with reading this book lately and I have felt it as I go through my days here. After I had lunch today I went out to Flag Point by myself to be alone and talk with God. I read the first chapters of Ephesians and felt a sudden peace come over my heart that I hadn't felt since I have been here. I think that this has been the most important day that I have had here so far.

You might be asking, "Why does Pip have today off?" Well, I will answer that right now. On Friday we welcomed 320 campers for Discipleship Weekend and they left yesterday morning. I worked pretty long hours everyday this weekend and so did everyone else. So, we all got today off for rest and recovery. I LOVE when there is a camp here!!! It means that I actually get to work with ropes stuff and that is truly what I love!!!

Work Crew and Summer Staff for first session arrive on June 5th, training all day on the 6th and then the first week of camp starts on the 7th!!! I'm so excited for the summer camping season to start. This is what I have been waiting and praying for for so long and it is less then a week away. I am truly blessed beyond measure!!!

In Christ,
Pip

Malibu Update

So, I have now been at Malibu for 11 days!!! There still hasn't been a day that has been more interesting/unusual as my first work day. I am so blessed to be here and I am reminded of that every morning when I wake up and look outside and see snow capped mountains rising straight out of the ocean!!! It truly is INCREDIBLE!!!! I wish I could upload pictures on here to show but we are not allowed to upload pictures onto the internet because it takes to much bandwidth. Oh well.

We held our first weekend camp last weekend. It was a Mens Camp, so I was totally in my element!!! I got to work on the ropes course and zip line here for the first time and realized that the way it is done here is way different then what I am used to at Windy Gap. That is the reason I came here though so I am learning a whole new way to do things. The other interns that are here already I really like and we all get along well and work well with each other. One of the interns that isn't here full time yet but was here for the Mens Camp has a sleep walking problem. He yells in his sleep almost every night and one night he yelled "Don't worry guys, I'll get us out of here!!" and then preceded to cross kick our screen out of our window. It is going to be an interesting summer when Cody gets here full time and sleeps above me the rest of the time.

This past week I have just been working and getting camp ready for the summer. On Monday, we all had the day off to rest and relax and at night we went over to Harold's and Terri's place for an intern bible study time and that was refreshing and all around good. I started reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and so far it has been really good; I have only read the first chapter, but it was really good.

That is all I have for now. I miss and love everyone, and hope that you have had a wonderful summer so far!!!

In Christ,
Pip

The First Days at Malibu

So I have been at Malibu now for 4 days and my body is starting to feel it!!! It has been such a blessing to be up here working in such a beautiful place. I couldn't even begin to describe how gorgeous it is here. Pictures do not do this place any justice at all.

Well anyway, back to what I have been doing for the past 4 days that I have been up here. When I arrived at the office in Egmont I could hardly contain my excitement. We packed up our bags in a water taxi and there wasn't enough seats so I actually got to ride up to camp in a ski boat with my boss and two other interns. Water was a little choppy, but I was a fun ride with towering snow capped mountains all around us just shooting up out of the water. The boat ride took about an hour and a half. When we arrived at camp the full time staff was there to greet us and I unpacked my things in my cabin and then I went on a camp tour before dinner. That was pretty much day 1 of being at Malibu.

Day 2, has been and most likely will be the most interesting day that I have ever had at a new place. Woke up at 7:30 am to go to breakfast and when I got to the end of my top buck bed to get down the bed clasped and I feel through to the bed below. Thankfully, I was ok and the guy sleeping below me, Brad, was already out of bed. Great way to start my first day at work. Went to breakfast at 8 and started working at about 8:45ish. First day I did a lot of heavy lifting and moving. Then at about 3 I was getting off a boat to go get some tools and then hop right back on, well when I tried to get off the boat I feel into the water. That promptly ended my first day at work.

Day 3, went a lot smoother. Worked from 8-5:30. Finally got to touch ropes and carabiners, which was great!!! Organized the Ropes Course Shed and the Outer Dock, bolted the ladder onto the Outer Dock, and did some other things to get the camp prepared for the Mens Camp this weekend.

Day 4, I washed boats and replaced the volleyball net. I also scrubbed all the bird poop from the pool area. When the boat arrived at the Outer Dock that was carrying the men for the Mens Camp, I helped unload the boat of all the luggage and massive amount of food supply. Luckily we didn't have to load any old luggage on or it would have been even more crazy then it was. We refer to days camps arrive/leave as boat day and luckily for me, once summer camps start these days fall on my day off!!! I'm really excited about that!!!

Well that has been a short overview of my time so far. I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to server and work here this summer and thank you all for your prayers and support.

In Christ,
Pip

The End of the Beginning

So, I am just sitting in my living room right now realizing that I am going through my series of "lasts" here in Wilmington. Sunday was my last Young Life Leadership, Wednesday was my last Young Life team meeting as a leader at New Hanover, Thursday was my last Young Life Club, today was my last Team Leader Meeting, Sunday will be the last Young Life event I go to as a leader in Wilmington when I go to the end of the year party. The reality that I won't be a Young Life leader at New Hanover High School come next August has not at all sunk in yet and when it does I will no longer be able to hold back my tears.

I am so excited for this summer and the opportunity that I will have to work as a Ropes Intern at Malibu Club in British Columbia. But I am fearful of what the Lord has in store for me after I'm done in September. I know that His plan is perfect and good, but I still I don't like the feeling of uncertainty. I can't believe that I am about to be done with this phase in my life.

I have been truly blessed to be in Wilmington the past 4 years. I can't imagine spending a better 4 years anywhere else. To all of my friends that made this time in my life the best time, I love you deeply and I want you to know that I will always be here for you no matter what.

In Christ,
Pip

The lyrics below are from "You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham. This song is my prayer to the Lord. That I will be able to look at everything and see His beauty.

You're Beautiful - Phil Wickham
I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You’re beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You’re beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity’s shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we’ll sing
You’re beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful

Christ is REAL!!!!

I am so happy to be a Christian. There is no way that I would be as happy in my life if I didn't know that I am a beloved child of God. I was just randomly on Google searching for quotes not to long ago and I stumbled on this one from an Unknown source.

Buddha never claimed to be God. Moses never claimed to be Jehovah. Mohammed never claimed to be Allah. Yet Jesus Christ claimed to be the true and living God. Buddha simply said, "I am a teacher in search of the truth." Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Confucius said, "I never claimed to be holy." Jesus said, "Who convicts me of sin?" Mohammed said, "Unless God throws his cloak of mercy over me, I have no hope." Jesus said, "Unless you believe in me, you will die in your sins."

What a great point that is made by this quote. Why follow someone just as lost and sinful as you are? None of these other guys lived a perfect and sinless life and then paid the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of everybody!!! To this day you can go visit the burial site of Buddha and Mohammed and their bodies are still there in the grave. Where is the burial site of Jesus Christ? Where is His body? It's not there!!! That's because He has risen into Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father!!! Not only is Jesus' spirit risen, but also His human body is risen!!! When Jesus appeared for the forty days after His death, He didn't appear as a ghost or a spirit of some sort; He appeared in His human body. He ate with people, Thomas and the other Disciples touched the wounds on His body, He gave His mom a hug!!! This is the God I want to follow. This God gave up EVERYTHING and expects NOTHING so that a filthy sinner like me can have eternal life and become a coheir with Christ in Heaven!!!

In Christ,
Pip

First Blog Ever!!!

Soo... this is the first of what I hope to be many blogs about, well anything I so wish to write about. So, without further ado, my first blog!!!

This past semester has definitely been a one-of-a-kind type of semester. I only have 4 credit hours and that only consists of going to class one day a week for one hour. I know what you're thinking, "what a slack semester of doing nothing." If I would have done this semester as late as last semester you would have been right; I wouldn't have done anything at all for the whole semester. I would have laid around my house and watched ESPN all day and would have slept until about 12 or 1 pm everyday. However, doing it this semester has been great for my walk with Christ.

I have spent the majority of the semester on Student Staff for Young Life here in Wilmington and continued my role as Team Leader for the YL team at New Hanover High School. These two responsibilities I have taken on with great importance and have dedicated my time to doing the best job that I can do. Since I only have one class a week I don't have many other things that are scheduled for me to do weekly other than work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Having my schedule so open sounds great, but it is actually one of the biggest obstacles that I deal with in my Christian walk. With an open schedule like the one I have, my natural tendency is to become very lazy and apathetic about everything. However, this semester the Lord has taught me how to be more self disciplined and intentional with my time. For the most part I have been waking up at 9 am every morning and starting my day off with solid time in The Word and in prayer. Starting the day off right has changed how I approach everything during my day. I have been able to keep myself busy and productive during this semester even without a full schedule because the Lord's pursuit of me during this year.

This semester is proof to me of the Lord's faithfulness and grace towards me during any season of my life!! Thank you for reading this, my first blog! I hope and pray that you can gain at least a little bit of truth from this post.

In Christ,
Pip