Glacier is Magical.

Jackie:

Last Sunday Brenden, myself and three other friends went to Glacier National Park for the afternoon. On the drive up the sky was gray and there were a few sprinkles here and there. I quickly prayed in the car that on our hike in the park we'd have a few solid moments of sunshine...although it wasn't really looking too promising. We hiked a short trail to Avalanche Lake where the mountains seemed to create a large bowl with a lake in it. We couldn't believe that this was only a small portion of the park...how beautiful. We also saw a big black bear up on one of the cliffs. Here are some pictures which are better than my words to describe the view.

Oh also, the sun did come out right when we reached the lake. The prayer worked.

Brenden-

Jackie and I have made it through our first week of dts. At first it was a little rough getting used to living in a much different environment than we have for the past three years, but after a week I have really begun to enjoy the simplicity of life.

We live in one room. We brought only the things we need to live on the base, including clothes, books, backpacks, things we will need on our outreach trip overseas and a couple other small comfort things. However, all together we have drastically minimized the amount of stuff we actually have to live. It is great. I have really loved pulling physically away from possession. It is so awesome how little we need to truly be happy.

It has also been nice to not watch tv. I am amazed at how many hours we waste letting our brains go numb. Life really begins to open doors into new creativity when we are not trying to cram it full of crap to keep us busy.

As well, the over use of sugar and salt in food in general seems to have made our taste buds ache for things that are unhealthy. But when you begin to cut a lot of that away it makes little things seems so much greater. I have been drinking coffee and water everyday with no sugar or flavoring. Much to my surprise, having a cup of pink lemonade made my taste buds freak out. It was seriously the best cup of lemonade I have ever had. As well, Jackie and I and another couple went to McDonald's a few days ago. Best Big Mac and Fries ever (I must say they were also made exceptionally well). I know it sounds a little intense, but we have really just been experiencing some freedom from typical western American culture and it feels great.

Lakeside

We are now here in Lakeside, MT living in our little dorm room on the YWAM base. We have befriended our neighbors Alyssa and Jay- a Canadian married couple. Everything else is going well...just getting through all the introductions and trying to remember people's names. It seems like we have a really neat group of people in the DTS this fall so it will be refreshing to get to know some new people from all over the country and the world.

The Hot Sun's Last Chance

Jackie:

As I mentioned before, Grandma Koenig passed away last week. Brenden and I decided it would be just as easy to drive from Montana to Arizona as it would to get a flight. Mainly, I hate flying, airports and all that it involves and would much rather be confined to the ground.

Today, Wednesday, was the funeral and it was very beautiful to get to be there with everyone and to put Grandma head to head with her husband, reunited for eternity.

YESTERDAY was quite a different day. Dad Koenig and his brother decide we should go to a famous place called "Heart Attack Grill". We get to this white building with ambulances parked out front and realize what we're about to get into. The servers are dressed as doctors and scandalous nurses tend to the bar, which has a mirror below for the bending-over view of their rears. Luckily we were with my sister-in-law, Sister Mary Ark of the Covenant, to make sure we could vigorously pray against the despicableness of this place. Just kidding. But, we did have an undercover-nun with us!

After we ate pure lard fries, burgers and buttermilk shakes we (Brenden, Sr. Mary and I) decide to go on a hike in the Arizona heat of the day. With our "bypass surgery" wrist bands on, we made it to the top of the rocky CamelBack mountain. I'm confident to say that I think we might have burned off all the fat we ate earlier that day.

And we're off- en route to Montana to get ready to start school at the YWAM base.

Notch Bottom

Here's some photos from southwestern Montana.



Jackie:

Before we head to northern Montana we stayed with my aunt and uncle for about a week. Unfortunately, we had to make a detour-drive to Phoenix, AZ to attend a funeral for Brenden's 91 year old grandmother who just passed away. So here we are in AZ. We started out yesterday morning chipping the ice off the Saturn and ended up here in Phoenix 20 hours later with the palm trees swaying and the sunshine shining.

Rocky Mountain High Colorado

Jackie:

Thanks Kathleen McCormack for letting us stay in your rad old mountain house and for being an excellent driver.

Brenden:

Last year in the middle of the summer Jackie and I drove around the country in our little Saturn. It was filled to the brim with crap we didn't need. Two things included a tent and stove. Our plan was to camp out at a few different destinations like my parents used to do on their ridiculous odyssey road trips. Unfortunately we discovered it was much different then we had anticipated. The camp sites we stayed at were always considerably lonely, beautiful, but lonely. It didn't have anything to do with the environment or layout of the camp. It had to do with people or lack there of. We discovered that often it was very difficult to start relationships with people at a campsites. Typically we were arriving late and leaving early and we didn't spend more than a night at one site. Even if we had, we didn't expect our neighbors to do the same so we always felt like a relationship might be hard to foster.

Before driving out to Montana this time, we tossed the tent. Our goal was to be anything but non social. I am not saying that staying at a campsite does not give you the ability to make relationships. Some people flourish in an environment like that. But we wanted to actually stay with people. Our line of thinking was that when someone invites you into their home there has to be some kind of investment made on both ends. We didn't want to force that but we believed that relationships can be more accessible when both sides are already willing to commit to some level of discomfort. It is amazing to see how generous everyone has been. Truly though it has been a far richer experience this time around.

In the end, I don't necessarily believe it has anything to do with how much time you spend with an individual it has to do with the quality of that time. Since driving out here we have had the privilege of staying with many different types of people, all unique but all equally great people. We have also had the opportunity to meet people who are friends of a friend, which is at times the best thing because eventually they become our friends as well. And finally we have met the randoms on the street corner who have offered to give us a piece of their life if only for a few seconds to have a small conversation. This country we live in is beautiful and God has made an incredible creation, but in the end we see that the beauty is something to be shared. Thank you to all those we have stayed with and the relationships we have made along the way. We are truly thankful for you guys.

OK-lahoma!

Oklahoma Where the Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plains

We left Nashville around 7 a.m and headed slightly south west to stay with our good friend Suzanne for a few days in Oklahoma. We made it to Tulsa Tuesday night just in time for a nice home cooked meal made by Mrs. Bartley. Suzanne's two older sisters, Karen and Tricia came over that night too. We also got to have the pleasure of meeting Tricia's little girl, Emma, who is 2 1/2. She's quite the entertainer.

I always love to see people I love in the context of their family and it was a treat to see all the Bartleys in action! Great family.

We got to be there for Suzanne and John's engagement party Wednesday night and Thursday Mr. Chapuis took us out on his boat to one of the lakes in Oklahoma. John showed us his moves on the wakeboard while we tubed and water skied. Those Oklahomans have to find fun somehow so I guess the lakes will have to do. Watch out for the 600 lb catfish lurking below.

A special thanks to Pat for her meals, hospitality and especially her famous road trip goodie bag full of all you could ever dream of! Thanks Pat!!

Roadtrip Tip: If you ever travel through Oklahoma make sure to have a pot of gold- the tolls will empty you. Total Toll Count- 13.

Goodbye East Coast (Earl-simmer down!)

1st Leg: Richmond --->Nashville

We finished packing everything Sunday night at about midnight. I think we both kind of avoided the reality that we had to pack for 6 months so last minute seemed to work best for both of us. Monday morning it was hard to leave home. Good things (doing YWAM) are often hard things (leaving home, knowing I won't see my family until February).

Thanks to Tommy and Elizabeth Verna, we hooked up with some of their friends who live in Nashville. This couldn't have worked out better. We got in town around 6:00 and ended up at some Honkey Tonk bar for a drink and a bite to eat. We walked around the super-touristy area of Nashville and really enjoyed the fact that in every bar or restaurant there was a band playing. Everywhere we walked there was someone walking by with a guitar.

After a little taste of the Country Music Capitol we went back to the Goodsell's house and spent the evening getting to know them, exchanging music and stories. Earlier in the night we had gone into a country music record store and almost bought a random cd since we didn't have much music for the road. He didn't realize that our music collection was completely lame and almost non-existent but our new friend Rusty ended up burning us 7 mix CDs for our road trip. Rusty- if you are reading this, thanks for getting us through Arkansas.