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PLAN B! Despite the government shutdown and the great lengths they've gone to in order to block access to the Grand Canyon, GTD is set to deliver on our 3rd annual trip to this amazing natural wonder of the world. Over the past 7 days I've put about 100 hours of work into re-planning an event that took one year to build. With the exception of a few hours of sleep each night I've been spending every second on creating "Plan B" so I sincerely apologize to those I haven't had a chance to call back, text back, message back, email back, etc... I've been on a mission to overcome the literal barriers that have been placed before us. And I'm so excited to announce that Plan B is ready to go, and may even be better than our original "Plan A". We have 23 people eager & ready to embark this Thursday on a "grand" adventure!! I can't tell you how blessed I've been to see the Godly and encouraging reactions from those who are signed-up to go on this event. They have invested time, money, energy, training and altered their lives in small and big ways in order to go on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure only to come face-to-face with an obstacle last week that threaten to block this event. For a few days it looked like this was going to be called "The Grand Canyon-LESS Trip". They all responded with a great level of maturity, understanding, and support. I love working with Christians, especially when they are living out what they say they believe. In the midst of disappointment and potential loss they were ready to roll with the punches and laugh about it the entire way. I've been so impressed and encouraged by their response!! Thankfully the government shutdown doesn't affect Indian Reservations located in the Grand Canyon. They were the first place I started looking for hiking access, but they were already booked up. But I kept calling back, and praise God, some permits became available and we were able to get 23 of them!! We also found some other amazing locations (mostly on Indian Reservations) that we will be visiting as well. In many ways this trip is becoming a trip to all the other places we've wanted to go visit in and near the Grand Canyon, but haven't had a chance to. And our group of 23 couldn't be more excited. I've actually heard several people say they are so excited about Plan B that they now want it to become Plan A even if the government shutdown ends. Our journey begins this Thursday and I invite all of you to venture with us through our Facebook Page & blog on this 6-day Christ-centered God-awesome once-in-a-lifetime adventure to the Grand Canyon. Thank you for all of your prayers & support!! I also want to thank Jason Lazzaro for his immense help in finding some of these new destinations!! In addition, I want to express a special thanks to Dr Aaron Walp who had already put hundreds of hours into preparing to teach on this trip and who has gone out of his way to adjust his lessons based on some of our new destinations. He is an amazing man who has volunteered his time to teach us more about God's incredible creation. We can't wait!! God bless! -DUG <><
