Harvard T-Shirt Goes to Mt. Harvard

(I signed the register as a South Carolinian. I felt we were a little under-represented.)


Two weeks ago, I climbed one of Colorado's 54 fourteeners, Mt. Harvard (14,420 ft). It's the third highest mountain in the state and the fourth highest in the contiguous United States.

It's not the prettiest mountain or even the hardest of climbs, explained below in a quote from The Harvard Crimson:

"[...]despite its height, climbing up Mt. Harvard is hardly a death-defying experience. 'It's an undistinguished lump on a fairly undistinguished range; it just happens to be very high,' says John C. Reed of the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. Reed, who has climbed the mountain once, describes it only as 'a long walk' of about three or four miles. Nor is the view from the mountain especially scenic, compared with Colorado's other 54 mountains above 14,000 feet. 'In terms of being spectacular, Mt. Harvard would not be really high on the list,' Reed says."

Regardless, Stephen and I had a great time backpacking and camping and hiking. Besides, who can resist a cheesy photo of a Harvard t-shirt at the top of Mt. Harvard (even if you immediately put on eight layers of clothes afterwards because it's freezing up there)?

Views

We are goofs

Sunscreen in my eye is no fun.

Chillicothe UMC

During the summer, Warren Village becomes overrun with youth groups on their annual mission trips. As much hard work as it is to supervise people doing manual labor, the experiences always remind me of what's important. Sometimes living in a city and doing the work we do, I can lose track of where I come from and why I started doing this in the first place. A vital part of who I am comes from spending part of my high school summers fixing up houses in low-income areas with a South Carolina program called Salkehatchie.

This past week, we were blessed (and I really mean that) to have a group of 50 teenagers come help us out from Chillicothe, Missouri. From the way they talk about their town, I was reminded a lot of Red Bank and Lexington. The kids and leaders worked extremely hard and got so much done for us. It's awesome to be accepted and to become an honorary member of their mission team, and to be reminded of what it really means to do mission in community. In the midst of overwhelming change and further pursuit of ministry, I feel revitalized.

So thanks to Chillicothe United Methodist Church, Greg and Jenny Hughes, the other leaders and the whole youth group!!!

The Beginning of an Ending

Yesterday marked my first sleepless night over the upcoming move. I hit the pillow and my mind starting making mental to-do lists in overdrive. The girls in my accountability group threw me a little impromptu going-away surprise last night, since it was the last Monday we could all be together before I leave. I'm horrible at goodbyes and prefer to live in complete denial of change until it smacks me in the face. I guess the gesture of a "going away" celebration did smack me around a little. I'm calmer this morning, but a little paralyzed with all there is to do.

Today, my class of US-2s made the GBGM front page. It's a little article I wrote up regarding our end term and next steps. The link is here:http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/full_article.cfm?articleid=4615

And just as good things are coming to an end, other good things are commencing. Here's the article about the new class of US-2s (two of which are coming to Denver!): http://gbgm-umc.org/global_news/pr.cfm?articleid=4613

August 20 is my last official day at Warren Village. Scary.

Mara and Neums ENGAGED!

Mara (part of my BFF Georgia Girls) just called me via a very fuzzy transcontinental cell phone connection. We kept getting cut off, but we stayed connected long enough for her to announce that she and Neumann are engaged! Mara's traveling through Europe for the summer with her graduate program in architecture at Georgia Tech. I haven't gotten all the details yet, but suffice it to say, Neums flew to Europe and proposed somewhere in Sweden (I think). The two of them definitely belong together. They were best friends for years before they ever dated. Finally, they both realized they should be together. I'll never forget when Mara told me she was in love with Neums for the first time...I almost drove my car off the road en route to the USC v. UGA game. Anyway, I couldn't be more excited. Geez...another best friend bites the dust, I mean...um, gets engaged. :) I'm just going to drink a lot at all their receptions...oh, wait, missionaries aren't supposed to say things like that.

Carter Can!

Warren Village is being featured on the HGTV show "Carter Can." They're redoing our Big Kids room. It's amazing what a TV crew and a bunch of hot carpenters can do to the chaos level of the Village. Madness, I tell you. Madness everywhere!