Fun Times With SPCS

Completed a 3 day retreat with nearly fifty 6th graders from St Pete Christian School!! What a blessing to host this group! Thank you to our small army of volunteers who helped us so much!!!!!

St Pete Christian School

One of our biggest events of the year starts in 2 hours! Can't wait to host the 6th grade retreat for St Pete Christian School!! Let the games begin =)

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PROPS

I know I'm going to fail to mention someone (sorry!), but I want to thank several people for their help while we were gone and as we depart (we just got back 2 days ago from running trips at the Grand Canyon and we depart today to run a 3 day retreat for St Pete Christian School followed by a day trip for First Baptist of Indian Rocks). Thank you Jessica Marie for taking care of the dogs & cats for 11 days, helping us prepare for the GC Trip, cleaning our office!!!, stocking my fridge with food, and tons of other extremely helpful actions!!! Thank you Andrew Roehm for taking care of the dogs & cats for 10 days and all of your help while we were away!! Thank you Traci Garner Vescovi for helping stay on top of emails and picking up the mail from the post office and all the many things you do while we are away!! Thank you Erin Powell, Alex Powell, Bobby Sikes, Jessica Marie, and every last second volunteer for helping us set-up for nearly 100 middle schoolers who will be a part of our ministry over the next 5 days!!! Thank you Chris Korte for arranging trips and taking the bull by the horns while we were away!! I know I'm leaving out some people (sorry!!), but thank you to everyone who prays for us and encourages us while we do ministry!!! We love you! God bless you all =)


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Our Bags Are Packed

Our bags are packed....and we're NOT ready to go!  We've had such a incredible time here in Arizona with friends and family while exploring a lot of what AZ has to offer!  Already we are counting down the days until GTD's 2015 Grand Canyon Trip!  Thanks Paula Mike and the entire England for all your hospitality. We love you guys! 

AZ Adventure Recon (Reconnaissance)

OH MY GOODNESS!!! This was one of the greatest experiences of my life!! Laurie & I canoed 15 miles of the Colorado River and camped out (in separate tents) at Horseshoe Bend. Words cannot describe how amazing this adventure was! We stayed an extra week in AZ to recon new adventures for next year's Grand Canyon trip. Our participants are going to love all of the new God-awesome additions =)

FINISHING STRONG! (GC2014 - Trip 2)

Our 2nd consecutive Grand Canyon Trip finished up yesterday... and the participants loved it!! On Friday we spent the afternoon in beautiful Sedona. Dr Walp wrapped up his 4th session of the trip at Bell Rock with a spiritual challenge to confidently charge forward in our walk with Christ. Afterwards we headed south to Phoenix (specifically Scottsdale, AZ) to check-in to our hotel, enjoy a victory dinner, and have our closing ceremony. It was a special trip with special people. We've put nearly a year of planning and invested thousands & thousands of dollars into these trips. There is a real satisfaction that comes from seeing so much hard work & sacrifice result in supernatural & life changing moments. God is soooooo good! ... In fact, we are already working on next year's trip scheduled for Oct 5-10, 2015... I already can't wait!

GC2014 - Trip 2 (Free Day)

We had a spectacular time yesterday taking part of the group to the South Rim on their free day. The rest of our crew enjoyed the beautiful rental homes & touring Route 66 in Williams, AZ.

GC2014 - Trip 2 (Horseshoe Bend, Slot Canyons, & T-Rex)

5 of our 23 participants elected to do our South Rim tour instead of the Havasu Falls hike/campout. I had the pleasure of being the tour guide for this fun small group for the past 2 days. Yesterday we visited Horseshoe Bend, slot canyons, and dinosaur footprints before reuniting with the Havasu crew for a victory dinner at Doc Holiday's Steakhouse. Great, great day!!!

Check-in/OK message from SPOT GTD (GPS Alert)

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Longitude:-112.71011
GPS location Date/Time:10/08/2014 19:14:59 EDT

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GC2014 - Trip 2 (Updates)

While Laurie leads 17 people on a 10 mile hike & overnight campout inside the Grand Canyon (Havasu Falls), I'm taking the rest of the crew to the South Rim and on a hike down Bright Angel Trail. This is another great group full of fun people! Grand times =)

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Latitude:36.25924
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GPS location Date/Time:10/07/2014 20:56:52 EDT

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GPS location Date/Time:10/07/2014 12:12:00 EDT

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The PERFECT Trip!!! (GC2014 - Trip 1)

How do you describe the perfect trip? A trip where 18 individuals become a family... a trip that no one wants to end... a trip in which everyday is the best day ever and then somehow the next day gets even better... a trip where everyone is compelled to say thank you, thank you, thank you over and over again... a trip where 70 year olds and 20 year olds fellowship like "Best Friends Forever"... a trip where laughter is the outspoken language of the day that cause the stomach muscles and "smile" muscles to hurt so good... a trip in which 18 hour long days are saturated with once-in-a-lifetime experiences... a trip in which the immense & majestic beauty of the Grand Canyon takes 2nd place prize to the immense & majestic beauty of spending time with the person next to you in the Grand Canyon... a trip in which you are willing to give up hours of needed sleep in order to spend one more minute with your newest close friend... a trip in which the activities are so thrilling & the thin line that separates life from death on the edge of thousand foot cliffs cause the fibers of your very soul to rise up fully alive... a trip in which there where no drugs, no alcohol, no cursing, no f-bombs, no sexual hook-ups, no drama, no critical words, no put-downs, no politics, & nothing else that the world shoves down our throats and says that we can't get along without, and somehow we not only did without, we fully lived & passionately celebrated without... a trip in which every night feels like Christmas eve... a trip where significant physical accomplishments are attained and inner satisfaction is savored from this moment onward... a trip where your life is positively altered in small & enormous ways... a trip where the Spirit of the Living God fills your heart, mind, strength, and soul to the point of overflowing... a trip where the fullness of life is embraced because of the finished work of Christ 2000 years ago is still the most relevant issue in your life today... a trip where secure grown men with big muscles shed tears of joy in an effort to express unspeakable appreciation... a trip where people speak into the lives of others words that affirm, heal, and spur-on... a trip where real science pursues truth instead of agenda... a trip where the teaching and educational value is so deep, so rich that it immediately changes lives forever... a trip that will never be forgotten and the people who participated will never stop talking to each other. After 18 years of amazing trips that have impacted and positively altered many lives, we have just experienced The Perfect Trip. A trip where nothing went wrong and everything went right. Like the rare experience of a Major League pitcher pitching a perfect game, we have just experienced the rarest of accomplishments, The Perfect Trip. And oh, how it tastes so good. We have 2 days until our next trip begins. It may be full of flat tires, monsoons, missed flights, injuries, or any other of one thousand potential mishaps inherent in an adventure... or it could be another Perfect Trip. Like an ice sculpture that melts or an artistically prepared 4 course meal that is devoured our Perfect Trip will be relished today. But tomorrow we move on. The inside jokes & special moments that were shared by 18 individuals last week will remain unique to those on that trip. But tomorrow we move on. With a fresh blank canvas we move on to create new inside jokes and special moments with a new group going on a new adventure. Tomorrow we move on. But today we savor. Today we relish. Today we praise God for delivering more than we could ever ask think or imagine. Today we walk into the presence of God to say, "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!". And then tomorrow we journey on. But today we relish.

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GPS location Date/Time:10/01/2014 15:49:10 EDT

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GPS location Date/Time:10/01/2014 07:36:00 EDT

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amAZing Adventures Already (GC2014 - Trip 1)

Tuesday was a PERFECT day on our Grand Canyon Trip including Session 2 with Dr Walp (on-site at Horseshoe Bend), touring the edge of Horseshoe Bend, kayaking & cliff jumping in Antelope Canyon, touring the breathtaking slot canyons, Rim-to-Rim hikers tour North Rim... and dine on the edge of the North Rim... and watch the sunset on the North Rim... and stay at cabins on the North Rim, all while travelling with 18 fun-loving & Jesus following adventure seekers, and all of it took place in perfect "deep blue sky" weather!! Absolutely a God-awesome day!