Girls!

Is there any thing simple when it comes to the female sex? Now you may be wondering what brought this topic up for discussion? Normally it’s a topic that I do my best to avoid because it can easily lead to much trouble for me and it’s something I don’t talk about very often and try my best to not dwell on.

Any ways before I continue to dwell on my story I should give you a break down of what exactly brought this post about. We’ll ever since I’ve gotten back to Mammoth, I’ve been hanging out with my friend Abby quite a bit. And during that time I’ve pretty much have fallen for her. (Hey it can happen to the best of us.) I don’t know how it happened but it did. I had been giving her enough hints about how I felt and on Christmas day, she called me out on them and I ended up telling her that I like her and cared about her.
Now it would have only been simple if she had yes. But instead she gave one of the most horrifying lines guys can hear. “Can we just be friends?” Which is never fun to hear. But after a few days of thinking and praying about the situation maybe that’s the best thing for now. For there are a couple things that make this a complicated situation, one she’s a girl and not a Christian. Which opens up a whole mess of complicated situations. I know all about the verses that talk about the believer and unbeliever shall not be unequally yoked, and right now a dating relationship may not be the best thing for us. In fact I’m ready to sacrifice thoughts of serious relationship with Abby right now to keep our friendship intact and more importantly see her come to know Christ as her personal savior.

It’s a tough and complicated situation right now. With Abby not having an idea of what it means to have a personal relationship with God and because of that, nothing may happen until something breaks in her heart. And for me it’s tough, I have feelings for her and with all the other relationships stuff thrown in and my burden to see her life changed by God it is not simple . It’s not been an easy couple of days, as I have been doing my best to leave her alone and give both of us some time to figure things out.

And the fact that both of us work on the same mountain and we see each other everyday means that it will not be very healthy for us to be walking on egg shells for the rest of the season. So before long a good talk about expectations and other things is going to be needed and welcomed.

So All I know is that I need to just to wait on the Lord and see what happens for I know that sooner or latter I’m going to be telling her about the relationship I have with the lord and that she too can have the same thing I do. When that day happens it will be awesome. For I am burdened for her and I know a miracle will take place in her life. When that happens only God knows. Till then I try my best to just wait.

Christmas Carolling

Last night I had the enjoyable pleasure of going around Mammoth Lakes singing christmas carolls and handing out plates of cookies to unspecting and grateful residents around time. It was so much fun to see the faces of the people as we gave them thier cookies and sang joy to world. And venturing into employee housing was very much as we were singing we got invitived to a couple of parties and could have easily picked up a six pack of beer or two. It was much fun to say the least. It's going to be intresting to see the results of the baskets over time.

Finnally some pow!

After over two weeks of blue bird weather. We have gotten, just in time for the christmas break a much needed dump today. So far it's been over a foot of snow and counting. There's nothing like a powder day let me tell you. And there's even better news in the forecast later in the week. Five feet! Yeap! if we get that at once it will be awesome. And if it's only two to three feet. That's not bad at all.

So it's time to get some pow!

What I've learned about witnessing.....

During my time with the Yellowstone Christian Innovators, Lutheran Campus ministries at Minot State University and other experiences before and after becoming a christian . I have learned much about witnessing and what to do and not to do.

Among the most important lessons are

1. Listen
2. Don’t judge
3. Shut up
4. Listen
5. Hang out with them
6. Don’t judge
7. Don’t try to out proselytize Mormon missionaries, it can’t be done. Instead build relationships with them.
8. Listen
9. Always invite non Christians to your events,
10. Never condone them when you hear their stories of wild parties and questionable hook-ups.
11. Listen
12. Don’t judge.
13. And don’t forget to listen.


A few things not to do.

1. Don’t quote bible verses when people are engaged in sinful behaviors. People for some reason shut you out.

2. Don’t gossip.
3. And don’t do everything that you been saying not to do. It seems to quickly affect you credibility.

Naturally I could easily give you a lot more things of what to and not to do but they big lessons I’ve learned are this. Build Relationships and give voice to those that have none. If you do that you are really fulfilling the great commission in ways that truly are life changing.

If more people are focused on those two things instead of worrying about petty minor difference like how they baptize people. (Dunking or sprinkling) The world could be a much different place.

For I know when I am doing things right. Questions about God, religion, faith and other spiritual matters come up naturally, never forced. And the conversations are deep and meanful, and once in a while somebody gets it and comes to know god on a personal basis. And when that happens it is truly awesome.

Just some thoughts.

Today I tried something new for the first time.

Okay this won't be a very heavy post like yesterdays. Which is a good thing. Though the only update I have is that Dustin went back home today and will be getting help, which is a good thing.


Now for the fun stuff.

Today I actually drove a stick shift for pretty the first time in my life. This experience happened as a result of an off hand comment I made to my friend Abby as we were heading back from June Mountain after riding today. The next thing I knew we were turned around and headed back to the parking lot of June Mountain where I got my first taste of using a stick shift. I only stalled out twice and had a few bad gearshifts. Which considering it was my first time driving a stick is pretty good. So next time its time to see what I can do on hills. :)

It was fun to say the least, and considering the fact that somebody is gracious enough let you borrow their car to give you a crash lesson in driving a stick shift is pretty cool. So that's the news of the day. Hopefully I'll get around to posting some pictures soon.

Mushroom trips and other fun stuff.

I was thinking about posting some really off the wall personal ads today, but life has a way of interrupting things, so maybe in a few days.

Any way here's what has happened.

Last night, after I dropped my friend Abby off at her place after the employee dinner about six thirty, I went home and just bummed around for the rest of the night. Yet for some reason I felt a really heavy burden for her and really felt off kilter for the rest of the night and most of today.

It wasn't till dinner I found out why.

Last night a fellow co-worker of mine at June Mountain, Dustin a 18 year old rental shop employee was getting ready to leave for home the next day. But before night could turn into to day. The craziness began. It wasn't a night full of drunken behavior that often accompies the last night of an seasonal employee's season. Instead it was something much more serious then having a few too many beers.

What happened will be a night that almost everybody involved will remember for a very long time. It seemed that the night was going on rather uneventfully until somebody noticed that they hadn't seen Dustin in a while. When they went and looked for him they found him, but not in good shape. Bleeding, cuts and abrasions all over the place is how they found him. A phone call to 911 quickly followed and the next thing they knew they were at the hospital's emergency waiting room waiting to see if he would make it out of his mushroom induced state.
In those long tense moments Abby, Rachel, Billy (Dustin’s) boss, and two of Dustin roommates sat in shock taking in fact that the young friend could end up dying before the night was over. Each one realizing that it could have easily been one of them in the Emergency Room instead of the waiting room. (Even though they weren’t doing any drugs that night or would ever) During the time they sat in the waiting room each one faced questions of their own morality and questions about God, justice, fairness and life and a really big one if I was to die today do I know where I would go?

Questions most young people don't think about until times like this.

For most of them the questions they asked themselves that night will not be answered for a while, for a night when a buddy almost died it will take time for the shock to pass and the true healing to begin. But only if they realize that they only way the peace that so many people are looking for is through Jesus Christ and not the drugs and the drinking that can be so prevalent in seasonal workers.

It was a sobering day among the June Mountain Staff and the people that sat and waited for Dustin to pull out. I wish I would have been at the hospital, but it was not meant to be. So instead my roll is going to be to listen to them, talk with them and share Christ love with them and not judge them at all and tell them Jesus died for them and that he loves despite everything that they do and have done, even the druggies, the lost, wanderers and seasonal workers.

All I know is that God is going to use this night to turn their lives upside down and open their hearts to his love.

So my friends just pray for Dustin's healing because he's out of the hospital and now home heading for rehab. And for my friends Abby, Rachael, Billy and others who waited in ER waiting room to come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

It's going to be an interesting next several days to say the least.

I let you know what develops for I have a heavy burden for Abby and the rest of the June Mountain employees. Because I know big life changing things that only come from God will happen this season at June Mountain.

So more updates as they become available.

The Brazilian Invasion has begun.

Well it looks like this year that Mammoth Mountain has done some recruiting in South America and we are just starting to see the results of that recruiting effort here. In the last couple of days we have gotten the last roommate to fill up my place. And he is from Brazil. This gives my place that is full of Americans a perspective that can't be found until you hang out with people from different countries. For dinner the Brazilian and three of his brazilian friends are cooking up a great meal of pasta and hot dogs. I can't say too much other than it's almost two star fare for bachelors, which these guys are. And in case anybody is wondering my place is easily in the top ten percent for meals prepared by the residents at home in employee housing. Even with a couple of people not doing any cooking. It's interesting to say the least. Consider the biggest problem is finding space the refrigerator and figuring who is going to replace the olive oil and cumin that we use here. It's much more fun the drama filled place one of my friends is around. She is surrounded by a bunch of 20 year-old boys who brings a whole bunch of problems with it and when you throw some alcohol in the mixture it can get very crazy to say the least. I think I’ll take battle olive oil, over 20 year- old boy toy drama any day.

Where's Seattle on the list?

>

American Cities That Best Fit You:

65% New York City

60% Boston

60% Philadelphia

60% Washington, DC

55% Chicago

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

This lists feels pretty right about me. For I would love to get back to DC and being in Philly would be pretty cool. Now where's seattle?

Where to get snowboard gear.

This is a answer to Steph's question. And despite her recent eiltest nonsense that has come from her direction. I'm going to go a head and answer the question.

A good to place to look for snowboard gear is in the rental shops and ask if they have any equipment from previous years for sale. They are usually very happy to get rid of it a really good price and you should be able to get some good stuff that slighty used but will be in good shape. Also make friends with people that work on the mountian they might get you discounts on gear.

You need a few things to get started.

Board
Boots
Bindings
goggles/sunglasses
snowpants
coat with perferably a powder skirt
wrist guards(because when you start out you will be falling alot.)
and a face mask,(because you never now what the conditions will be.)


And you thought getting into snowboarding was going to be easy on the wallet.

And I would recommed for the first time you go, to rent the gear. Because there is so much equipment out there I can't even tell you were to start looking. And till you been riding for a while you don't know what you like or don't like. So until you have been down the slopes a few times rent don't buy. And if you get on the mountain several times this season. Buy! You save a lot of money in the long run. Even it's a chunk of change to get all the gear. It will be worth it.

FIrst days

After six days and 1700 miles I made it to Mammoth Lakes safe and sound. With stops in Big Sky, West Yellowstone, MT and Reno, NV and a few places in between. I have some pictures from the trip that I will be putting up shortly when I get them.

Now that I am back in Mammoth Lakes, I will say that my first day back was a good day of catching up and seeing who’s around and what happened during the summer. In short all I can say among the people I knew the summer was a season of weddings. I believe there was something like four weddings and couple of other engagements thrown in. During the summer it is Needless to say it was busy at the alter. Now it’s all about the snow.

Which brings me to reflecting about the first day in employee housing. Last year my first day in employee housing was quite an eye opener.

25 empty beer cans, including four in the bath room.

The beginnings of a raging party.

One of the guys hooking up with his girlfriend that night, who were so into each other they forget the fact that was now somebody else now staying in the same room with him.

And that doesn’t count the overflowing trashcans.

Needless to say, the next day I moved out of there the next to a much better place and to roommates from around the world.


This year.

A clean living space.

A bunch of books about the vegan diet and lifestyle on the kitchen counter.

Now I’m living with the RA for the building, who is also one of the bus drivers for the mountain.

And for the other two roommates that have arrived so far. One is working at June Mtn with me and the other is a bus driver I knew from last year and Denali.

It’s a small world.

It’s been a good start, now it’s time to see what shape June Mtn. is in.