Kansas State of Mind

Monday morning I left St Louis for Colorado Springs, CO. One thing I learned on this drive - Kansas. is. loong.

The best way I can describe it is a 9 round boxing match with a world champion opponent, who's 2 weight classes below you. First three rounds - Not that bad. Pretty sure I can take this guy. Next three rounds - holy crap, he's got a little more fight than I thought. Last three rounds - just take me to submission. All that said, I made it to Colorado Springs.

Tuesday was by far the best driving day. 2 hours of driving and pure rocky mountain beauty. I checked into camp around 11 AM, and met the other interns for lunch in Buena Vista. It was very cool meeting the rest of the team. We are all different but have similar senses of humor, which has helped us bond quickly. I'm very excited about the next year and think I'll make some great friends.

Today (Wednesday) was mostly orientation and addressing housekeeping items. Zach and Amanda, our coordinators, talked about the program and what to expect. It was very humbling hearing their expectations from us, as well as our 'role' as interns. We spent some time in the Word, looking at various passages. One passage we looked at was in John, talking about Mary Magdalene. We looked at how faithful she was to Jesus, and how she loved Him deeply. Even after Peter and John left the Christ's tomb, Mary sat and grieved. We compared Mary to our views of discipleship, which made me reflect on how I follow Christ. I realized how far I fall short of Mary's loyalty and passion. It was incredibly humbling and reminded me how sinful I am, and that I'm in desperate need of a savior.

The next few days will be filled with more orientation. We start training for the ropes course next week. Looking forward to getting acclimated to the altitude!