Our first
group trip(on September 24) was the Ouray, Colorado. It is a mountain town that is about a three
and a half hour drive from Snow Wolf Lodge. We packed the vans around 7:30 and
arrived in Durango around 9. We stopped for a coffee run/ breakfast, for those
of us who dislike coffee. :) We arrived in Ouray just slightly after 12 and
quickly downed our brown bagged lunches before walking the town. Some of you
might have been so keen to pick up on the fact that the drive time from
SWL(Snow Wolf Lodge) to Ouray took about 4 hours(not counting the half hour
stop in Durango). This discrepancy in the time of the trip is due to the Aspen
Trees in late-September. Along the way,
we drove through a myriad of beautiful now changing color trees. The bright
yellow/orange lit up the mountainside during the majority of our trip. We were
able to stop twice to take pictures that didn't fully capture the beauty of the
creator's work. (See Facebook for Pictures). We were able to spend roughly
three hours in Ouray. We toured the town, ate ice cream, and looked for gifts
for those back home. I really enjoyed the scenery and the homely town. Our
first trip was a success due to the fact that all of us, the students, were
able to decompress from 20+ hours in class the previous week with Bauman. We
were able to take our mind off of class, read for pleasure, and gaze at the
beautiful landscape for the day.
Our second
group trip(on October 8) was to 'The Great Sand Dunes". When thinking
about the Colorado countryside, I generally think of mountains and valleys, but
never of sand dunes. Yet, they are at
the foot of a mountain range and are quite large in size. Due to the sandy
aspect of the trip, I didn't take my camera- so sadly there will be no pictures
of the Great Sand Dunes on Facebook. We were able to spend three hours or so
hiking, sledding, sand-boarding, and playing volleyball before heading back
"home". It was a great experience to spend the whole day in the car
with fellow classmates- getting to know them better and discuss key ideas-,
while having a fun time. While driving
back through the pass, Ryan and I(mainly due to Ryan- since he had a gps) were
able to discover that we topped 10,600 feet above sea level. To us, "flat
landers" from Michigan, it was really neat- for him just because he can
bike up the hill and for me just because the road's construction was a feat in
itself.
The past
two weeks of academics, as noted earlier, were extremely time consuming, yet
fulfilling. The first week( September 25 - 29), Dr. Bauman was back in Pagosa
for another week of classes that would prove to result in the discovery of, yet
again, more questions that require answers. We began to dive into the questions
of "what is love?", "what is a good life and what good is
life?", and "what is a good death and what good is death?" While
I am fairly certain on my answers to the question regarding life, I have yet to
find a practical and reasonable syllogism for the questions regarding death and
love. Before this week of classes, I didn't realize just how elementary my
views and beliefs regarding death and love really were at their core. I have an understanding of what it means to
love and to be loved, I am just not certain on how to fully express the views I
have within a coherent argument(as will be required on the final exam). On the
question concerning death on the other hand, I have yet to find a strong basis
for what defines a good death. I know why it can be considered good, but a
further strengthening of even this view is in the cards.
The second
week( October 2 - 6), we had the opportunity to learn under and be guided in
our beliefs with respect to the Scriptures by Eric Smith. I really enjoyed the
week of classes with Eric in so many ways. Eric doesn't come at you as much as
Dr. Bauman(which is a nice break- and that's not to say that Eric doesn't step
on your toes, he certainly does). Instead he helped us comprehend the
foundations of the Bible and how the covenant in the Old Testament fits with
the covenant made through Jesus Christ. The greatest source of discussion and
controversy within the class was the "debate" of how the Mosaic
covenant and law fit into the new covenant that Jesus ushered in with his
sacrificial death. Ask yourself how you view it- does Scripture(what Jesus
said) make sense within your view?
This past
Thursday, we have the opportunity to watch the Presidential Debate. Being the
political thought lover that I am, I had a blast taking in what each candidate
said(and what they claimed the other candidate said). I really thought
firsthand that Mitt Romney did an excellent job at getting the base of his
campaign across on the issues of taxation, federal spending, and the deficit.
However, I have to concede that current President Barack Obama did a
commendable job on making the voter base(at least myself) question what Romney
will do should he be elected on the issue of healthcare. While I don't agree by
any stretch of the imagination with Obama's policy on healthcare, I did begin
to wonder how conservative Romney's policy on healthcare really is in its
nature. Is it any better than Obama's? Certainly.
Another
development that occurred in the last two weeks was my acceptance into the
Summit Oxford Programme. After a short interview with Program Director Kevin
Bywater, I was informed that I had been accepted. For more details on the
Oxford application, acceptance, and my decision- whether or not I will attend- please see Blog Posts entitled "Summit
Oxford: ...".
Dear Lord,
Thank you
for accepting me the way I am and not requiring me to pass a spiritual "physical
test" in order to be found in your grace. Your grace still amazes me.
Regardless of my heart attitude, my actions, and my desires, you still accept
me and call me yours. I love you Lord. Amen.
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