today was aaiiiight

Today was my first day off since I got here. Let me tell you, I really needed it. I have worked my butt off day in and day out ever since I got here on the 13th. Today, it was time to chill. Chill is what I did. It started off with Maggie (fellow intern) and I leaving for Flagstaff around 11 AM. It was good to get away from camp. I love this camp, but day in and day out. . . . well it get's kind of old. It's all good though. I went into Flagstaff and Maggie introduced me to her roommate. Ya see, Maggie goes to school at Northern Arizona University (NAU). So, she lives right in Flagstaff. It was good. We did a coffee shop after we did a little restaurant called The Black Bean. It was real good.Maggie has her back facing me in the above picture. And Becky (her roommate) is in the white and purple. Then there is Kayley and Christine Kopicky (my bosses wife). It was fun I suppose. Fun enough anyways. Again, it just felt good to get away.

Then, as a group of interns. We went out to eat.There is a good shot of Maggie (sarcasm). She is the one in the NAU hoodie making the funny face.

Anyways, we ate and then everyone went to see the movie UP. It was soo good! Everyone needs to see it.

**MOM** If you are reading this BLOG, you and dad seriously need to go see that movie. It was extremely sweet.

God is doing a lot in me internally. At times I am extremely frustrated, because no matter how much I did not want to have pre-conceived notions about what God was going to do in me over the summer, I still made small assumptions. Those assumptions are biting me in the butt now. The cool thing is God is using them to do a work in me and reveal things to me that I may not want to see, but have no choice. If I am to follow Christ, and want what he wants in my life, then I can't ignore what he is saying to me. He is saying, "BE GENTLE, LET GO OF YOUR PRIDE, BE A SERVANT, LOVE WILDLY, BE A LEADER, BE EMOTIONAL, GAIN WISDOM." It is a lot to take in, but I know I am supposed to do it, so I am going to just have to bite my lip on this one and allow Christ to do a work in me, and to be challenged in new ways. Possibly ways I have not felt before.

hash it out

There was a whole lot of work that needed to be done today. It was interesting to see how I mustered up enough outright will power to get it done. The picture you see for this post was of the bucket end of a front loader. Ryan was in the driver seat, and I was directing him to hit one end of a long steel pipe that needed to run under a wide sidewalk. It worked out after a lot of slow pushing and renegotiating where the bucket should be placed.

The environment I am in is very strange to me. I find myself being prideful at times, but quickly shut it down. At times, I even get sarcastically short with people. I don't even really know why. I'm not like that with people back at home. I need to do a heart check & spend some time in prayer hashing this one out.

I think it has been, or is close to week 2. I love this place, even though it's not perfect.
-Grace&Peace

love God love people

Today was a real good day. This picture shows how the morning started off. . . We picked ROCKS! It is so weird/awesome to have people under me. I am so blessed to have the people on my crew that I have. They are real unique & God is doing great things in their life as well. God is so good.

For the campers, well tonight they heard the cross talk & the reality of what Christ did for us could, for some; sink in for the first time. There was so much prayer going out for them as they searched their hearts. Every Monday & Thursday the interns/staff get together. Tonight was a whole lot of prayer time. LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE-> DON'T MESS WITH THE REST.

-Grace&Peace

breaking free

Today left quite an impression on me. It did this for many reasons. Firstly because God is doing so much in me. He is constantly revealing new truth's about myself and life in general. He is guiding me, and changing me. Slowly but surely it's happening. Tonight, all the interns and camp staff met together like we have been to share life stories/testimonies. I love this, because it gives people an open floor format to be honest and real. If you asked me, "Hey mikey, what trait do you most adore in an individual?" I would reply, "genuineness." That is what we got tonight. Not only did it come from two interns tonight, but also from our intern coordinator. It was a very powerful and moving evening. A definite bonding moment, and a very special occasion. I am constantly realizing truth about my own personal testimony, and really taking a hold of what God has allowed me to go through without holding anything back. There are areas of my "life experience" that I have kind of glazed over, maybe as an automatic pain protection reaction, or maybe because I still hold some shame in my heart for things I have done or been through. Whatever the reason may be, God is breaking down those walls and allowing me to shine through, without guilt or feelings of burden silently plaguing my conscious.

Even though I said I would come to this summer internship as an open blank book, ready for God to do whatever he needs. I still had certain expectations for what may happen. Still a very open and willing heart, but I am just set up to try to figure things out. Maybe to just see if I can figure out what God is really doing. All the preconceived notions I held about what God "might do" have been completely torn down. God does what God needs to do. I am so thankful for that; for the fact that I can't understand how He works. It just goes to show that the Master plan is only seen by the Master himself. Amen to that.

There sure is a lot of heart and love in this camp in Arizona. God has really honored me by allowing me to be a part of it.

The kids have arrived

I am so glad that they are here too. It is almost a breath of fresh air. Ya see, we (landscape) have been hurrying and busting our butts to get these 300 tree's that have been donated to Lost Canyon. There is a lot of work involved, digging the holes, putting them in and giving them irrigation so they continue to grow in crappy soil. Yesterday evening I was up till 8:30PM shoveling and working the ground. Today, I was up at 6AM working and working. It is cool though, a lot of the time when we have work crew (high school kids who volunteer for a month @ the camp to serve other kids and God) kids I get to drive big machinery and feel important. I still work hard though.

ANYWAYS. . .Ya see, that building is called the bus depot. It is where the campers are dropped off, and welcomed by about 40 yelling and cheering smiling faces. Everyone stops and welcomes the kids to camp. It is such an awesome time. The kids can't help but feel special. I love it, a lot.

The kids are also greeted by a short performance from the program people. It is loud, funny, and very interesting. It's like a sneak preview. Then, they are told everything in camp is open. The Zip Line, game room, BLOB, coffee house, ice cream shop, and that there is free ice cream for everyone!This is the BLOB, and yes it is intense. There is just something really entertaining about seeing high school kids get plastered on their belly after flying 20 feet in the air. . sadistic? Only slightly.This is the Zip Line. It starts way up in the mountain, and is either almost or a little over 1/4 of a mile long. It is so amazingly fun. Lost Canyon is a dream for anyone. A homestead, a safe place where you can just be yourself, and meet Jesus on your own terms. If you're ready, sweet there are so many people to come along side you, if you aren't ready, there are still so many people who just want to love you and support you in everything you do. Young Life = LOVE

Arizona RUSH!

Wow, today was pretty insane. It was a total landscape rush & we have less than 24 hours to get the camp ready for campers. The kids come tomorrow @ 3PM and it is going to be so amazing! We have gotten 300 tree's and a lot of them still need planted & arranged. Tomorrow = have to be @ work @ 6AM to bang out a whole lot of work, but it's all gonna work out. God is doing so much in me and through me, I am supposed to be here and it is soo good.

-Grace&Peace

learning & the mustache

Things in Arizona are going really going super awesome. There are small times where I almost feel out of place, but that only is about 3% of the time. I love it here, I love the people, and I love my position. I am so blessed to be at this camp, actually getting paid. Anyways, something really awesome happened today. I had been praying for a long time running preparing to come here that God would do a work in me that needs to be done. Whatever it is, whatever He see's fit. Well, today one of the male staff (year round workers) pulled me aside and told me about some things that he saw in me that should not continue. They were not anything HUGE or nasty, but things that would build me up, and do good for the main goal here, which is allowing kids to see and experience Christ in all things camp. It was so cool how it happened too. I really respect him for doing it, he approached me and spoke to me firmly but out of love with good motives. It was all true too, and I was so glad it went down the way it did.

P.S. I have a mustache now, and will probably keep it through the summer.

Arizona update

Today was soo good, hard work, fun staff & interns. I pulled a lot of dead flowers (dead heading), weeds, sprayed weeds, built a cabinent with my boss. The picture you see above is a little intern bonding time. They are great group that I am so excited to spend the summer with. I keep getting tons of bloody noses, they keep telling me it's because of the altitude, I DON'T LIKE MY NOSE BLEEDING! Life is good, Jesus is great.

-Grace&Peace

camping.

We went camping, and it was awesome! Here are some pictures, I think they talk for themselves.



That day was crazy. I was driving a van with a hand full of interns in it through dusty back roads, and a tire on it exploded. I mean I have never seen a tire get shredded that bad before. Then, on the hike we ran across a rattle snake. The sound of their tail is freaky up close. And, I love all of the interns. They are awesome people, and I am excited to spend the summer with them. TA TA

P.S. Don't you love that bed Mike (other intern) and I made?

i've arrived

Well, there sure was a lot of planes today. I had to wake up @ 3:30AM. It was intense. I finally got to camp and got to meet with my new family for the summer. They lost my baggage, but thats okay, family will provide. Time to eat, i'm out.

-Grace&Peace

The trip starts now

Yes and deedy, the trip starts NOW. Well, after of course I said good bye to George, we had one last all you can eat Chinese buffet.All we ate was jello and pudding.

Then I went to work and said goodbye to all the kids and co-worker. I am going to miss those little guy's & gal's.Andrea was a very good boss, and made this for me. You can see all the signatures of all the kids. It means a lot to me.

Then I went home and finished packing the bags. It is currently 6:44 PM and I am blogging for possibly the last time for a while. I will be blogging while I am in AZ. I just don't know how frequently. I can always BLOG from my phone, and I may do slight updates from it.

I am going to be driving down to Indianapolis with my dad here real soon, we will be staying with one of his friends who lives there. Then tomorrow morning, bright and early I fly out of Indy at 6:30AM. I AM SO PUMPED! It's gonna be sweet. I got a whole lot of flying to do tomorrow, so I pray that all my connecting flights will not lose my luggage, and that me & my luggage both make it safely to AZ.

LATER!

no more doctor

Well, today I made myself available to serving my mother. She had a doctors appointment at 11AM and some errands to run before it. I got home from work and got her in the car. Oh, speaking of "THE CAR," my car (smurf mobile) no longer has breaks, so I am done driving it for the summer. I will get them fixed when I get back from Arizona. But, the awesome thing is that my cousin Matt agreed to let me use his car, and he is just using my moms car (i'm not allowed to drive my parents vehicles. . . because of past bad decisions). So, I packed my moms wheel chair in Matt's car, and off we went.She had to stop at Jo'Ann fabric's to get some string or something and to the bank, and some other things. Then we went to the doctors office to have her stitches removed. Wow, they really cut her up good. A serious operation in deed. I hope she won't mind me broadcasting her foot on the internet, but here goes. . .Yeah, the picture does not really needs words. I'll just let you fill in the blank____.

Well, back to work. Today was the 2nd to last day at the YMCA childcare for me. I am gonna miss these darn kids. I love playing with them.Especially this little bugger. Good ole Tony.

When I got home from work for the evening, I found out something that is not so good. I got a letter from the Indiana Center for Multiple Sclerosis saying that they are shutting the doors as of June 1st. :o/ This is going to make things kind of tricky on me, mostly because I not only have to find a new neurologist that will keep me on the TYSABRI, but will also take me as a patient. Tricky Tricky Tricky.

P.S. I HAD MY 15th INFUSION OF TYSABRI TODAY!!!

I thought that was a pretty cool hill to climb over. A hurdle to tackle, ya know? My health is going great, and I am so happy about that. I am not scared about the whole doctor/neurologist thing, because I have no idea who I am going to go to, so basically I have to just turn it over to God in prayer. I will be asking that God provides someone who will take me on as a patient and continue with my TYSABRI.

Also, today was my last BSF. I loved BSF so much this year, and God taught me so much through the journey of Moses and the Israelites. I learned that I am the Israelites. Also, that I am extremely hungry for the knowledge of the Bible and Truth. It is an awesome thing. I have to finish packing tomorrow, and also tomorrow I leave for Indianapolis. At 6:30AM, I leave Indianapolis and start my journey to Arizona!! WHOOP WHOOP!! It is going to be awesome, and God is already doing a lot. I LOVE JESUS!!

My MUM's day

Mothers day this year started out at Alliance Community Church. My parents went with me again, and I truly love going there. The people are so kind and loving. The pastor, assistant pastor, and other elders have taken me out to eat, and always really embrace me and what I am doing for Christ. Pastor Brian laid hands on me after the service and blessed what I am about to do in Arizona. There is a lot of love in that church, it is the kind of love that can only come from Christ too. I love that kind of love. :o)

We went back home and my mom opened her mothers day card, and I got suit cases around for the trip. I really needed to pack today, but somehow ended up not getting anything packed at all. OOPS!This is the last time I will be having church at Dave's house for a long time, if not forever. Because next Sunday, the first PRE-LAUNCH service/informative time will be held at a former hair style place called Fusion Salon (2793-A Maplecrest Rd., Fort Wayne, IN. 46815) The first meeting will be at 7:00PM, and it will just tell what we are all about, and what God is and has been doing. Then there will be a time for Q&A. I so wish I could be there for it, but I will be in Arizona. George will be there though and Dave and Richard and the Renyolds (spelling?). Dave Church was super good, we just lifted each other up and there was just a lot of fun and love going around. Dave and Margie and Rachel and George all laid hands on me and that was a big blessing.

I have like a MILLION thoughts, ideas, weird things, awesome things, wow things, contemplations, pains, joy's, and others going through my head. I am just going to try to go to bed though. Time to simmer down the brain.

Peace OUT!

landscaping, zoo, & movie

My morning started off with some hard work. Ya see, for parents of kids who either can't afford to pay completely for their kid to go to camp, or want their kid(s to take an active part in bringing in the funds to make to go; we provide opportunities for kids to get the money. I helped kids today to mulch and do some yard work. I believe there was 7 girls, and Kevin. Kevin is the kid who I just got to know by hanging out at his lunch room table, and for months inviting him/them to come to club. Well, not only did he start coming to club, but I got him to agree to go to camp, and NOW HE IS PUMPED!!The girls and Kevin really worked hard out there today. They made it look good too!It was fun. As I was taking Kevin home, he first told me that I am crazy (the good kind) and that he never thought he could have so much fun doing yard work. That is what it is all about.

Once I dropped off Kevin, I went and picked up Nicky. Then, we met up with Jared at the ZOO. It was a fun day at the ZOO, I forgot how much I love the ZOO.You can always find something awesome and fun to do at the ZOO. And we did, it was a whole lot of that stuff. Ya know, the fun stuff. I think that my favorite picture to share from this experience would be from the American alligator exhibit. Check this guy out.
Now that dude had some teeth!

After we were done at the ZOO, Nick and I went back to his place and just chilled for a bit. Then I went over to Tom's house. I am talking about the Tom that I had as an English professor last Fall semester at IPFW. He has been wanting me to come over and watch this movie called Brother Sun, Sister Moon. It is the story of St. Francis of Assisi. First, Tom cooked an amazing meal for me. Home made meatballs, and an amazing sauce with a suburb salad. The meal was "that good," and the conversation was non-stop fun and intelligent Godly conversation. I love that kind of conversation SO MUCH! It was good to just kind of get a re-cap of Tom's year, and it was exciting for me to explain what is about to shortly happen with my adventure to Arizona. Then we watched the movie. We had tried to do this once before, but it didn't work. This time it worked good, as Tom slipped the DVD into his fancy new Blue Ray machine. The movie was soo good! Now I understand why he has wanted me to watch it for so long. Everything that man went through, and the process of life events that God created to bring him to the point of accepting redemption, was astonishing to watch. I want, and will continue to try to attain what he brought to the world. Watching the story of Francesco (St. Francis) brought me closer to Christ, it also challenged me in how I love myself and others. I kept asking myself, "what does it really mean to deny yourself?" I keep coming up with real and applicable answers to that question, and it is exciting! Today was a good day, a real good day.

My friday YO

I got out of work, and went directly to school. I sold 2 books that I used for the semester and got a little over $100.oo for um. That's SICK compared to what I paid for um, but ehh, that's the life of a college student these days. The picture of me above is me waiting outside a bookstore called The Bookmark. I wanted to see if they would take 2 books that my school book store would not. THEY DIDN'T! Ohh well, I got my Bible Study done anyways.I took the money that I made from my text books, and went to the Anchor Room. The Anchor Room is this really cool Christian book store that is in Fort Wayne. I have been wanting to get a new Study Bible for a long time. My old one got ruined from water damage, and I have never had the extra cash lying around to go and spend on it. Well, selling these textbooks finally allowed me to go for it. So I did just that. I got the Life Application Study Bible, and it is super nice. It is leather bound to go with my other Bible that has my name on it, and I just SUPER LOVE IT! It has profiles of the different people in the Bible, and it is just extremely awesome.

Then I was tearing down my weight set, because I wanted to sell it in a big garage sell that is going to go on for Young Life kids to go to CAMP. Well, when I was taking apart the bench bar, I left some weight on it and let go of the other side. . . . well, then this happened.Yeah, geeze gravity was working really good today. Them weights are perdy heavy too. I went to work, and realized that there will be no more Friday movie days. I don't think I will be doing YMCA childcare next year. Pretty excited, not because I don't love the kids, because I do. But because God is opening up some other doors. And I am excited to walk through them.

Then there was one more movie.

STAR TRACK!!

That is correct, Star Track. I went and saw it with George. I am not a fan, but the movie was great, and George really enjoyed it a bunch. The shirt I was in above was Georges shirt from a while ago. It fit me good. lol, it was fun to play the part.

restored

So I am smiling for several reasons. The first is because I just left my last final and that means I am officially done with school for the semester. Secondly, I am feeling much better physically, spiritually, and mentally from yesterdays bout of unpleasentness. God's GRACE amazes me once again, and man is it enough.

I love the Lord my God with all my heart, I really do, and it is a powerful love.

-Grace&Peace

barf day

Sick sick sick. I was incredibly sick today, puking from the moment I woke up, till when I went to sleep again at night. I missed out on the last CLUB, which saddens me. . . .

-Grace&Peace

VICTORY! & my thought

so, today I consider to be a great success. Nick, my buddy that I have been spending a lot of time with has agreed to go to camp this summer. This is awesome and to me obviously God @ work. The picture above is of Ted, Nick's dad. He does not have a car right now & so I picked him up from work tonight to take him home & to stop to get the deposit for camp. It is seriously official and that's amazing.

On a more personal note; I have a lot of internal personal and spiritual work to do. Ya know, God is working in me just as much as the kids he is drawing to Him. At times, I have a drawing to go back to my old ways. I am always held back, but sometimes my timeline does not line up with Gods. Actually most of the time. It seems I struggle with not having that special someone, with being 22 & living at home, among others. I know this is where God has me, and that I must find peace in it, but that doesn't mean I don't personally struggle with it at times. Living a life for Christ is not an easy road. The path is wide and the path is narrow. There is no doubt in my mind as to what is Truth and what is not. Only slight internal frustration. I know it will only get easier and I trust God's great plan. I really do, it's just that my great trust in God's promise can get messed up sometimes by my humanness.

george @ BSF & Tony

My day started off by me going into the MAC computer lab. I really like using these computers, they rock hardcore, BUT, the lab is freezing. It seriously feels like it is 50 degrees in there. Maybe cold concentrates the mind, and energizes the soul. OR, maybe the thermostat is broken.

Tony, who is pictured above and I waited for the buses to come and drop off kids. More or less it was just an excuse to hang out with my buddy.

On a sweet and awesome note, George came to BSF tonight because they had an intro class and he wants to be in the study next year. PRAISE THE LORD! GOD IS SO GOOD! Seriously that is such an awesome thing to me. It shows commitment, and that George is striving to do and seek more for his life. Committing to engage in Christian accountability is the best thing for someone seeking a followers heart. To George it may not have been that big of a deal, but to me it was a huge step. I know God is working in his heart.

P.S. on a funny note, I tried to be sneaky and snap this picture without George knowing. I thought my phone was on silent. But it was not. Not only was it not on silent, but when I was at work, I wanted to show Andrea that my phone has a setting that says, "SAAY CHEESE!" right when you snap a picture. Well, it was still on that setting, and of course it played loud and clear right during the lecture. It was perfect Mikey fashion.

-Grace&Peace

Bay forest, pelz rocking, could it get better?

Today started off with me getting a phone call from Dave. We talked a little bit about location for Lifelight Ministries (Dave church), then he told me that he was going to go to Woodburn Missionary to hear Bay Forest speak. Bay Forest is a motivational speaker/evangelist/follower of Christ. I first heard him speak with I was very young at a youth camp called CDYC (Central District Youth Conference). He was a part of the initial "tugging on heart work" that God started in my life when I was very young. I would show you, who he is from a past post, but apparently it got erased. SUCK! This was a picture I took of him talking at a church out in Woodburn, IN. It's a small farmer town about 25 minutes away from where I live. I met Dave in the parking lot as I was walking in. Dave was exiting, and I was entering. We had some more small talk about Lifelight Ministries (Dave Church) and then I went in to listen to Bay talk. Bay was talking fast, he did not have much time and I got the feeling he knew he was a little rushed. We went over Mark 2:1-12, the story of the paralytic. It is a classic, and most Christians have heard it many times. When it talks about how it was so crouded that the friends could not get their paralyzed buddy to Jesus, the story almost asks the question->

• What in my life is crouding me from Jesus?
• The friends tore through the roof of a strangers house to get their friend to Jesus.
  

-What am I doing to get the message of Christ to others?
This can show you that working for Christ can get messy (it would have been extremely messy ripping through a roof), really messy. I don't want to be afraid to get messy for Christ. What could this mean in my life?

1. Talking to people even when it is extremely uncomfortable.
   
2. Spending time with people in "uncomfortable" situations, to show them the LOVE of Christ.
   
3. Being there for people, even when you could be doing things that are more appealing and logical.

When I left Woodburn Missionary, I went to school to STUDY. First, I made a little stop by an old favorite Bible study location.That's right, THE PARKING GARAGE. I posted up on the top of it, and got some studying of the Word done. Then went in the library to study for Finals (boooo!).

Then I went to a Young Life leader meeting. We have a killer Young Life team. And everyone seems extremely dedicated and awesome. As soon as the meeting was over, I high tailed it out to Fox Island County Park. Yes, that's right. I went there because there was a little music festival that Dave & Richard (from Dave Church) were playing at.Yes, a little music festival called Sol-Fest. Sol meaning sun or something like that. Anyways, I didn't give a darn about any of the other bands, just Richard & Dave. And I loved watching them up there very much. I'm proud to be able to associate myself with those two guys, and glad I am able to call them my friends.It was so much fun just to be able to support Dave & Richard, and enjoy others enjoying them. Richard had a string break on the first song and that kind of freaked him out for the first 2 songs, then he pulled it together, and did an awesome job. Here comes the sun ROCKED! They did an awesome job.

lacross & hoedown

Today started out with a very bright and perfect weathered Lacross game. Ya see, there is this kid, Brandin who I met at Snider (school I do contact work @ for Young Life) last year, and well he has been wanting me to go to one of his games. Don't remember Brandin? Well, ~CLICK HERE~ or ~CLICK HERE 2~ and you will see who I am talking about. Well, I woke up this morning and I went to his game. It was pretty cool.I don't fully understand the sport, and I super don't understand why they don't wear leg protection. But, it was good to watch, especially on a day like today.

Then I went to the library and did my BSF, YEAH BABY!!Nothing like a little library that get's me going! I did really like being in the word though, there is no sarcasm there. But prepare yourself for this sarcasm because it is coming at you fast.

THEN I GOT THE CHANCE TO STUDY LAW STUFF!! YES, THE CONSTITUTION! The constitution is so sweet to learn! I just want to memorize the whole thing word for word. . . Then the sarcasm stopped. And the truth came out that I am going to be so happy after Tuesday when I don't have to learn this stuff anymore. It is literally going to be dropped out from my memory. Good use of college credit's? No, but that is just how it is sometimes.

Then the afternoon progressed into the evening, and soon I found myself at a Young Life Hoedown! That is right, get your boots and cowboy hat on because we are square dancing!It was all nice and howdown like in that barn. Pictured above is Ryan, you remember him from when I went to Chicago not to long ago. Here is my dancing partner. Ain't she just the prettiest thing East of the Mississippi? Miss Jenny is what they call her round these parts.