CRU: Yellowstone Summer Project 2013!!!
Our first night in Yellowstone
This is a picture of all the students minus our student staff on our first hike together the day we arrived here. At this point in our project all of us had been together a few days. Before driving to Yellowstone National Park we spent a few days at the Mountain Top Retreat in Bozeman, MT. While we were in Bozeman we began to know each other through various group activities such as hiking, signs, monkey in the middle frisbee and learning about God. After just a few days we already felt like lifelong friends; God was building a community that would change my mind forever. We also had men's and women's time where we shared our testimonies (God's work in our lives). This time helped us realize that we all have struggles and can be here for each other to fight the good fight of following the Lord together.
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| We just hiked our first Rocky Mountain!!! |
Wow... so much has happened in three weeks I am blown away. Today is day 22 at the park, day 27 of project and day 32 of being with project people. I suppose I should start with the road trip here. All of us from UNH drove here together. Josiah picked Tommy and I up to drive to Haley's house in Temple, NH. Mack, Steve and Haley were already there. Ben arrived at nine and we picked up Dan the next morning. Later that day we picked up Colleen in Erie, PA. That night we stayed with a friend Gary in Ohio. The next day we were on the road 17 hours, finally arriving in Minneapolis at Deb's house. We drove to the Badlands, SD where we camped the next night. At this point we all started to feel like friends and the bonding began. Day four was spent touring South Dakota. We stopped at Wall Drug and Mount Rushmore and then drove a few hours to a camping spot. We roasted hot dogs for dinner and played on the playground. At around nine we realized we would be too early and started laughing because of the ridiculous hours we drove to get there. We played manhunt in the moonlight and rejoiced life. Our next day was easy and we drove through Wyoming to arrive in Montana where we again camped out for free! We were all excited and spent a lot of time together laughing and joking about our road trip. We finally arrived in Bozeman and were filled excitement about the amount of signs announcing Summer Project. The Mountain Top Retreat was an amazing place in the Rockies overlooking a beautiful valley. All the guys from UNH bonded one last time at a restaurant called Fudruckers where we ate juicy hamburgers.
Later that afternoon two girls named Hannah and Madeleine arrived. Mack, Steve and I started playing frisbee to pass the time. Everyone who was arriving started to join us and we started bonding immediately. Every time somebody received the frisbee they stated an interesting fact about themselves. We started to get to know each other right away. On our project there are Josiah, Tommy, Ben, Dan M., Steve, Mack, Haley, Colleen and myself from New Hampshire. Dan W., James, Jeff, Kayla and Mary Kate from Maine, Madeleine and Hannah from Illinios, Jennifer from California, Michelle from Pennsylvania, Joanna from Georgia, Jamie from Missouri, Maddy from Wisconsin, Will from Mississippi and Scott from Tennessee. Scott arrived on the second day and Maddy on the third. We spent a lot of time together in Bozeman getting to know our staff, acclimating to the elevation, bonding and growing in the Lord. We hiked a mountain together, did outreach at Montana State, praised the Lord, pinned clothespins, laughed, cried and ate a lot of ice cream. John and Laura Iamaio were there in Bozeman but did not come to the park with us. Our staff members are Andrew and Rachel Gilson from Yale and Tim and Pam Schuman from UNH. We are also priveleged to have some student staff; Peter K. and Bekah Schuman from New Hampshire.
Finally after a few days which felt like weeks we were ready to go Yellowstone. We convoyed to Gardiner, MT where we did paperwork and became employees of Xanterra. After that we drove to Mammoth Geyser to eat lunch. Then it was onward to Old Faithful where we would be living for the duration of the summer. Driving through the park for the first time was such an amazing experience. There was steam coming from the ground, pine trees, wild animals, beautiful landscape and snow!
Mammoth Geyser
Thermal Pool
This summer has been epic thus far and one night has stood out beyond the rest. June 10th was a Monday and normal day of work. In the afternoon I was helping Jenn make beds and I shared my testimony with her. I love being able to share with other project people but this time it was different. Part of my testimony is me giving up drugs and turning to God. This is probably the biggest part and it happened June 10th. While I was sharing I had no idea what the date was. That night we had prayer and worship during which I realized what day it was. I started weeping and shared with the group how it had been one year since I was free from drugs all thanks to God. I was drawn to my knees consecrating myself before the Lord. Peter, Scott and Haley all prayed over me praising God for His work in my life. At that moment I felt so loved and appreciated. I am so thankful to be here in the park scrubbing toilets for Jesus. There are so many awesome things that have been happening that I will be writing about in a later blog. Thank you for sticking through to the end and God bless.
-Pete :-)
Later that afternoon two girls named Hannah and Madeleine arrived. Mack, Steve and I started playing frisbee to pass the time. Everyone who was arriving started to join us and we started bonding immediately. Every time somebody received the frisbee they stated an interesting fact about themselves. We started to get to know each other right away. On our project there are Josiah, Tommy, Ben, Dan M., Steve, Mack, Haley, Colleen and myself from New Hampshire. Dan W., James, Jeff, Kayla and Mary Kate from Maine, Madeleine and Hannah from Illinios, Jennifer from California, Michelle from Pennsylvania, Joanna from Georgia, Jamie from Missouri, Maddy from Wisconsin, Will from Mississippi and Scott from Tennessee. Scott arrived on the second day and Maddy on the third. We spent a lot of time together in Bozeman getting to know our staff, acclimating to the elevation, bonding and growing in the Lord. We hiked a mountain together, did outreach at Montana State, praised the Lord, pinned clothespins, laughed, cried and ate a lot of ice cream. John and Laura Iamaio were there in Bozeman but did not come to the park with us. Our staff members are Andrew and Rachel Gilson from Yale and Tim and Pam Schuman from UNH. We are also priveleged to have some student staff; Peter K. and Bekah Schuman from New Hampshire.
Finally after a few days which felt like weeks we were ready to go Yellowstone. We convoyed to Gardiner, MT where we did paperwork and became employees of Xanterra. After that we drove to Mammoth Geyser to eat lunch. Then it was onward to Old Faithful where we would be living for the duration of the summer. Driving through the park for the first time was such an amazing experience. There was steam coming from the ground, pine trees, wild animals, beautiful landscape and snow!
Mammoth Geyser
Thermal Pool
We were all so thrilled to arrive at Old Faithful. Of course we went to look at Old Faithful geyser first then went to get our room keys and get settled. Chris, James and I got a cabin which only lasted a few days until some room in the Laurel dorm opened up. There was another dorm called Columbine where half the project students live. That night we all met up to hike Observation Point, look at Solitary Geyser then walk around Geyser Basin for a few hours. James and I made some ridiculous survival videos with Australian accents. We realized that we have similar personalities and bonded well instantly.
After a few days we were all settled in and Room Attendants who felt confident that we could do our job well. Our schedule here is the same every week. Sunday is a night of reflection and then G-3. Will, Dan M., Steve and I our together with Andrew as our leader. Monday is a night with worship then a message from the staff. Tuesdays are free nights for adventuring. Wednesday nights are faith groups then bonfires where a guy and a girl share their testimonies. In my faith group Hannah and Will lead Dan M. Steve, Colleen and myself. These are open to non-project people as well. I have gone on a few adventures here during my time off that have been legendary. My first time out and about we hiked through the woods without a trail to find Lewis Channel. I did not do any fishing but some other people did and we caught 8 fish collectively. Later when we got back to the cars we drove to the bank of a lake to gut then cook the fish. After a long day of hiking and exploring we ate the most delicious fish I have ever had. There is so much beauty here in the park below are just a few examples.
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| Lake Yellowstone |
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| Reflecting Pool |
This summer has been epic thus far and one night has stood out beyond the rest. June 10th was a Monday and normal day of work. In the afternoon I was helping Jenn make beds and I shared my testimony with her. I love being able to share with other project people but this time it was different. Part of my testimony is me giving up drugs and turning to God. This is probably the biggest part and it happened June 10th. While I was sharing I had no idea what the date was. That night we had prayer and worship during which I realized what day it was. I started weeping and shared with the group how it had been one year since I was free from drugs all thanks to God. I was drawn to my knees consecrating myself before the Lord. Peter, Scott and Haley all prayed over me praising God for His work in my life. At that moment I felt so loved and appreciated. I am so thankful to be here in the park scrubbing toilets for Jesus. There are so many awesome things that have been happening that I will be writing about in a later blog. Thank you for sticking through to the end and God bless.
-Pete :-)
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