From the east coast!

Sorry for the long time since the last update....I've been very busy.

I write this message from the east coast, as I'm on vacation at Myrtle Beach with the family for the week, until Sunday. The normal trip is Sunday-Sunday, but I could only come for Tuesday-Sunday, which was more than most get for vacations, so I was very pleased.

Since the last post, alot has happened. The past Thursday and Friday we had our men's retreat, which normally takes place in Mexico on the beach, but due to a last second travel advisory that the United States placed against Tijuana due to some abductions and other violence we decided it was best not to try it out - Mom was very pleased when she heard. Instead, we went to a Christian camp about 40 miles in-land from San Diego, and I got to see how nice the weather on the coast really is. Just that short of a distance inland the temperatures were close to 100, still with low humidity, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable.

At the retreat, we had some meetings, free time, a delicious BBQ with ribs and sausages, and a very important ceremony at night. At the ceremony we were to agree to 6 commitments, if we chose to, which go along with the Authentic Manhood series that has been developed for college guys. The commitments are very serious and aren't easy to uphold, but I suppose that's the reason there is a ceremony instead of just acknowledging that one will follow them. The retreat was very uplifting and gave me a great perspective on what a Godly man, as well as father, looks like. The next few days back on the beach were still man-time filled because as we got back, the girls left for their retreat.

On Sunday, the guys decided to make dinner for the girls as they returned, and we purchased long stem red roses to give to each of them just as a show of our appreciation and respect for them. It was alot of fun to see their reactions to being called up individually to receive the roses with everyone cheering them on. Sunday was also when the leadership for the project was selected. Saturday is when the staff leave, so they choose the leaders early in order to allow a transition period to occur during this week and any big issues can be addressed. One of the guys from my Growth Group, Joe, was selected as the Project Director, and he is a very qualified choice. Two other girls were put on the main leadership team as well as someone to fill the "Operations Director" position which deals with the money. A guy and girl were also selected to lead each of the ministry teams(Prayer and World Vision, Friday Night Live, Evangelism, Training, Communications, Spiritual Health, Community Life). Every single staff member leaves on Saturday, so when I get back the project will be entirely student run. The main directors come back at the end of the summer to help with packing up, but the rest of the project is basically ours.

On Monday we had the staff farewell banquet, which was held at SeaWorld. It was a great time of music, food, and an opportunity for each Growth Group to say some words about their staff leader before they left. We gave Dan, our leader, a golf driver, glove, and some tees as a thank-you for everything he had done. Monday night I said bye to all the staff people, since they'll be gone when I get back, but I'm confident I'll see many of them in the future at reunions or just sometime when we cross paths.

Tuesday morning I left very early to fly out here to Myrtle Beach. It's been a great trip so far, with Mom, Dad, Ed, Aunt A, Uncle Dewey, and Nick, Sonja and Campbell visiting. I'll leave here Sunday morning to fly back to San Diego and will be there until August 4th. The food here in Myrtle is delicious as always.

That's about it for now - I'll try to make the next post sooner rather than later!

On Monday night we had the staff farewell banquet