So long...For now

I have a few minutes to spare before a team meeting and thought I should pre-explain why I am not going to be posting for a few weeks. I suppose it would be helpful to explain with which team I am preparing to meet.

On Wednesday morning I am joining the 5 other Colorado Springs members of our Ukraine Camp team for the early morning ride to DIA. From there we will go to Chicago to meet the other member and hop the pond. We will be in Kerch, Crimea, Ukraine for 2 weeks running a camp for disadvantaged/orphaned children. I've never been to Europe and I wish that I could savor the time leading up to our departure. Unfortunately, as the coordinator for all the other international teams from our organization, I have been trying to get 3 weeks ahead. This leaves little time for enjoying my preparation time. I have been assured by more experienced team leaders that the kids are nothing but delightful and I can't wait to play a little soccer (probably with the youngsters as the older teenagers would wipe the pitch with me). It will be long, yet exceedingly fulfilling days of trying to see God's children as he sees them.

Please pray for us.

My Father's Day/Anniversary Tie-in

I know I was remiss in not blogging about my wife for our recent 4th anniversary, but sometimes a heart full of love doesn't translate to a mind full of text. Due to last Friday's (my actual anniversary) 12-hour stomach bug, we celebrated our 4th and Father's Day on back-to-back days over the weekend.

This made for an interesting anniversary dynamic; a day of being babied while vomiting, a day of trying to be vaguely romantic and then a day of being honored as a Father. Despite this, I was able to reflect on my life as a husband and a daddy. I came to the conclusion - as I always do - that even with the frustrations and quirks of daily living, I wouldn't dream of changing a thing. When I get home from a tough day and my boy says "dada" in the way only he can followed by his slobbery imitation of the sound of my truck and my beautiful bride asks how my day was - even if my only answer is "fine" - I know God's blessed me far beyond what I deserve.

Thanks for loving me guys!

Karma hates hunters

I'm not trying to be grotesque, but this picture needed to be seen.

This is the deer that my boss hit with his car this afternoon; an event which, other than the inconvenience, was not a big deal. Once I found out that Lars was OK and that the deer didn't suffer very long, my mind and blogger's imagination began to wander. Here is the strange irony of this situation.

I'm a hunter...I've spent countless hours in the past 4 years sleeping on the cold ground, sneaking through the woods, hauling heavy loads over miles at a time and generally working hard to be good at my chosen pass time...I can eat a ridiculous volume of wild game meat...I saved money and Visa rewards for 18 months to buy a quality deer/elk rifle...I sacrificed other things that I wanted to obtain my cammies, boots and other apparel...and yet I only have a small 4-point buck and a single turkey to my credit.

Lars is a nearly retired foreign national who cannot even own a gun...his health precludes him from nearly all athletic activities short of moderate walking...he eats cultured meals at nice restaurants...and he plows a burgeoning 8-10 point buck (as the picture shows, the buck is still in velvet and his rack is not fully formed for the season) with his Buick - a car he was just about to get rid of - on a city street next to a Carl's Jr.

Where is the justice?

Podcast Superstar

I just finished listening to the most recent Ryan Dobson podcast for Kor Ministries. It was State of the Man Thursday (a little late due to Ryan's bout with food poisoning) and his special guest was none other that my great friend Marshall. I have known him for a long time and have always known him as a witty, charming and funny guy. That said, I hadn't really noticed how great of a voice he has. Check out this podcast and listen to how well his voice and presentation comes across. Also, if you get a chance, stop by his blog for information about supporting he and Lindsay at OC International.

Update: I completely forgot to mention that Ryan's podcasts are also available on my audio player on the right tool bar. It will alwasy play his most recent, which is currently Marshall's show.

Futbolito

Futbolito is the term that the Spanish speakers with whom I did landscaping used for any small field or indoor soccer - literally meaning "little soccer." It is also the most accurate description of what transpired at last night's game. There was a lot of futbolito played - the futbol by the other team while we supplied the -ito. We had 5 players (1 short of a full side) so we played a man down with no subs. For the second time in 3 games they stopped counting our opponent's goals at 15. On paper I did OK, with 2 goals and 2 assists, but overall I was very dissatisfied with the performance. I must have had 10 horrible passes where I plain missed my target completely. Slicky had some truly inspired runs, (I haven't checked with Stacy but I think he also has 2 goals/2 assists) but I could tell his heart wasn't in it at all. I really don't blame him as he has experienced much more legitimate competition than we were able to muster. Their numbers and general talent advantage made the game into an odd-man shooting drill for their strikers.

I may be invited by last night's opponent to join them for next season due almost completely to my fitness level and effort. It was a good confidence builder to be wanted but I have no intention of playing without Slick. Stay tune to see if we join them or transfer to a higher level house team for next season.