Perspective

Wolf Creek Pass Summit, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

This past weekend we drove up to the Continental Divide near our home to see all the snow. As spring begins to arrive, this winter wonderland will soon be on it's way to the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico...if the farmers and cities don't take it first.

One of the other reasons to drive there was to take some pictures of the huge amount of snow, because, despite our distaste for all things winter at the moment, we know that a year from now we will be missing the seasons, what it is to see your breath, and shiver as snow runs down your back. So, a year from now we will be able to look at these pictures and be in awe that the place we will be living in, and those that we have experienced before are all on the same planet. Crazy!

Spring Flying in the Rockies

Poncha Pass at 12,500 Feet, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking a "quick" one hour flight north to Eagle airport, aka, Vail and back. The scenery was stunning as usual in Colorado, but I sure couldn't turn off the "fasten seat belt" sign. Due to the high winds in the mountains (over 50 MPH), it was very bumpy. In pilot speak, it was continuous light, occasional moderate...referring to the level of turbulence. Nothing particularly unsafe about it...just painful against the seat belt.

I am grateful my camera lens has an image stabilizer built into it. While this picture looks crisp and in focus, it wasn't due to the smooth flight. I was getting tossed all over the cockpit trying to get this picture and others (the autopilot was "flying"). Thankfully a few pictures turned out okay.

A Different Landscape

For My Friend in Burbank, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

This past week found us traveling to and from Eastern Kansas. While most of our time there was dominated by cloudy skies, temperatures were still warmer than we were used to in Southern Colorado. Spring has definitely arrived there as the grasses and trees were beginning to turn green. I didn't have a lot of time to get off the beaten path and take photos, but we did go for a "Sunday Drive" after I spoke at church. Being that the church we spoke at was in the middle of the country already, we just took the long way home and enjoyed hearing the old history of rural Kansas from Grandma. What a life she has lived, as well as those of her generation. We even saw the old outhouse still standing that almost claimed the life of my mother in law, who at the time was a small and scrawny little girl. But that is another story!

And Clyde, if you are reading this, I took the above photo, and a few others thinking of you now living in the Southland.

Standing Alone

Colorado Eastern Plains Winter, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Sometimes, when you are serving God in the way that you believe He has called you it may leave you feeling isolated and alone at times. Of course, He never leaves us, nor forsakes us and He is worthy to be trusted with every atom of our being.

Trying to explain to people sometimes why we are missionaries, and why we would want to willingly leave the "comfort" of the USA often falls on deaf ears. Usually, when someone asks that question, they don't really care to hear the answer. However, every once in a while, someone asks that question of us, because they feel God moving in their life in a similar way to what He has called us to. I was recently reminded of something I read in My Utmost for His Highest that sums it up better than I can.

“We are not told to ‘walk in the light’ of our conscience or in the light of a sense of duty, but to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light. . .’ (1 John 1:7) When we do something out of a sense of duty, it is easy to explain the reasons for our actions to others. But when we do something out of obedience to the Lord, there can be no other explanation—just obedience.” Oswald Chambers

Cannon MAF Video

Some of you may have already seen this video either in one of the churches we have visited or in your home. I thought I would go ahead and post it here on the blog as well. The video is basically a photo slide show of our time with MAF in Latin America and what the future may hold in Indonesia.

Springtime in the Rockies

La Veta, CO. Downtown, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

A few weeks ago we battled icy roads and snowy mountain passes to get to the small town of La Veta to share at a church. Although the going was slow, we love the opportunity to travel to the places we do because it is so beautiful. We try to travel with enough extra time to be able to stop and smell the roses when we see the chance to do so. Although we are tired of cold temperatures, we are trying to enjoy them and "soak" them up knowing there will be a day soon enough where we wish for the very thing that we cannot have...a cold day.

The Dust Begins to Settle

Sandhill Spring Return, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

After a crazy few days of moving, speaking, traveling, and what not, we are finally starting to get a routine back. We are thankful that everything has gone really well up to this point, and the girls are weathering this change like veterans. Now, we are back to the MAF fires as we continue to cast the vision that God has for us to others, and excite them to be part of something with us that is bigger than all of us. What a privilege!