Week One Overview

Monday September 9th

            Wow. One week in to my experience at Summit Semester, I have come to live a remarkably different lifestyle than I am normally accustomed to living. The normal schedule of my days(Tuesday through Saturday) are as follows:

6:00 - 7:30       -- Rise, Shower, Devotions, and Reading Time

8:00 - 8:30       -- Breakfast

9:00 - 12:00     -- Class (Under the tutelage of the visiting scholar, which varies by week)

12:15 - 12:45   -- Lunch

1:30 - 4:30       -- M-W-Th-S -- Sports Time/Free Time/Study Time

                        -- T-F              -- Work Crews

5:00 - 5:30       -- Dinner

7:00 - 9:00       -- Class (Again, under the tutelage of the visiting scholar)

9:00 -               -- Free Time/Study Time

On Sundays:

8:15-9:00         -- Breakfast/Pack Lunch

9:15                 -- Leave for Church

10:00 - 12:00   --Church at Grace(EV-Free) Church in Pagosa

12:15 - 4:30     -- Lunch/Internet/Sports Time/Shopping Time in Pagosa Springs

5:30                 -- Dinner at Snow Wolf Lodge

7:00 - 10:00     -- Movie Night

Mondays are generally our "Saturday" in the fact that we are able to lounge without having to do much hard work. While these days are for the most part open, we will on occasion have group trips to various locations(More on those later). Suffice it to say that Monday is our most lax day when it comes to tasks we must complete.

With this basic knowledge of what my schedule has looked like for the past week, and what it will look like for the coming 11 weeks, I can now explain some of the nuances of it.

Work Crews - This time is set apart twice a week by the staff of Snow Wolf Lodge for maintenance work-such as digging ditches, staining log siding, painting, and random tasks(To date, I have worked on running electrical lines-Not live, don't worry Dad- and plumbing). We also do a variety of weekly chores, such as cleaning the duplex(where the guest speakers stay while teaching), deep cleaning the kitchen, and general cleanup inside both lodges(Echo Canyon and Snow Wolf Lodge).

Movie Night - While this activity is optional, the purpose of the watching a movie is not merely to keep us sane while in the middle of nowhere without a great deal of modern conveniences(ahhem- internet) and cell phone service. While it is nice to see a form of entertainment on a weekly basis, the main purpose of watching a movie is to critically engage in the messages received from the film. After the movie, there is a discussion that takes place for 30-45 minutes.

Throughout the semester, we will have a variety of professors from all over the country travel to Pagosa Springs to teach us for the week. Generally, they will arrive Monday, teach Tuesday through Saturday, and then fly out/drive back the following Sunday.

This past week we were honored and blessed to have Eric Smith come out and invest his time our learning experience. This was the first of two weeks that Eric will be with us in Pagosa. His insight into the scriptures as well as prompting questions served as a great reminder and source of new insight into the areas of my faith and worldview that I need to study more in depth(or need to start studying in a few cases). While I can't fully disclose what occurred during the week, you should know that there was a great deal of reading assigned- somewhere along the lines of 4 books of the bible with numerous articles(and these aren't short articles) on the side. The biggest thing that I took out of the first week of Eric's teaching is that often we can elevate the Bible in our minds to the point that it becomes a god. Often times, the act of reading our Bibles takes precedence over truly living out the gospel or growing further in a different area. Don't take what I say out and distort it. This isn't to say that the reading of the Bible isn't worthwhile, or shouldn't be done on a  regular basis- it should. I just see it as a problem when an individual is putting the reading of the Bible over praying, or helping those around them the true spirit of Christ likeness.

A second point that I found very convicting that Eric made was the this: "We as Christians should know what we are for, not only what we are against." I found it convicting primarily because I enjoy shooting holes in others arguments. I need to know the weaknesses and strengths of Christianity, not only the weaknesses of conflicting worldviews.

In closing, the most exciting thing that has occurred this week would be the sightings, activities, and unwanted visits made to us on numerous occasions by bears. We first saw a bear the second night I was here. The baby cub was up on the porch looking for food before Josh, Gunnar, and I scared it off. It proceeded to come back 2 more that night before finally leaving the premises. This past Sunday however, the situation got a whole lot worse. When we returned to the lodge from church, we discovered that the bear had gotten in through an errantly open window. It made a huge(but luckily not too huge) mess of the kitchen and left two "presents" for us on the floor. Since then we have seen it numerous times attempting to get back into the kitchen via the back door. While at first it was scared off by human voices, it now will not leave until rocks are thrown in its direction. The Rangers have been out today to take care of that matter, so it will likely be resolved in due time. However, the cub that we once thought was an orphan has now brought his mother back with him to the lodge, which is even greater cause for concern. Please be praying for safety and for the situation to be taken care of in a timely manner.

Thank you Lord for a good first week of immersion. Please help me to grow more like you daily and to seek after the things that you would have me seek. Thank you for the protection thus far, and for the great friends I am making, please bless this coming week. Thank you for Dr. Bauman and for his willingness to be your tool in equipping the next generation of Christians with indispensible tact.