Quetico Canoe Trip: Aug. 5 - Aug. 14

Day 1: This is the whole group just before setting out on our 10 day journey in the wilderness of Quetico Park in Canada.











Day 2: Blueberries!!! Just as the rain clouds were coming we landed on Blueberry Island, unloaded the canoes, and huddled under the tarp. There were tons of blueberries and they were delicious. It was a blueberry filled birthday for me :)








Day 3: This is what lunch times generally looked like: bags, twisties, shaker bottles, and a food fest. We survived til dinner ongorp, velveeta, beef jerkey, crackers, dried fruit, PB&J and Ritz, Bakers chocolate, and hard candies. Yum yum.








Day 4: Morning fog over the lake by the campsite.











Day 5: Had to push the canoe over a small beaver dam.











Day 6: Paddling through a stretch of water lilies. Beautiful.











Day 7: Took a day trip to check out some of the waterfalls.














Day 8: Pretty chill day of paddling. We found our campsite early in the day. Our canoes were flipped over once we got into our campsite for lunch.











Day 9: A beautiful sunset to end a challenging day. We finished our last portage of the trip, checked-in at the ranger's station before leaving Canada, paddled through some rain and rocky waters, then crashed once we set up camp in the U.S.









Day 10: A sunny last day of paddling in the Boundary Waters.

We made it!!

Preacher Preference

For anyone who has spent a long enough time in school, one comes to realize that a teacher can make or break your opinion of a class. Sometimes you can take a class on a subject you are really interested in, but if the teacher stinks, it can ruin the experience. Also, even if you do not particularly like a subject, you can still enjoy a particular class on it because the way the teacher presents the material. Furthermore, a good teacher can even change your mind about the subject that you may have not understood or appreciated before.

I realized this is also true from the church's perspective. The preacher, pastor, pope, or whatever you want to call him or her is essentially a teacher. Many people end up judging religion based on their experience in church which is highly shaped by the manner of the preacher/teacher. Just like teachers can ruin classes for students, I think preaching styles can also potentially ruin a person's experience with the church and thus with Christianity. Especially if that person has no other experience with other preaching styles, they will likely think that all churches are taught in that same manner and in the same setting.

Did you know that some churches have choirs that wear robes and the church sings traditional hymns, but that other church communities have people dance to hip hop and do spoken word in the name of Jesus? Some teachers of the Word read directly from the scripture, some speak very formally, some speak very casually, some will make jokes, some are very animated and loud, some are very mild-mannered, some wear a suit and tie, some wear t-shirt and jeans, some wear dresses, some wear robes, some will sound like they are talking to you, some will sound like they are yelling at you, some give examples in their own life of how the Word is true, and some let the scripture speak for itself. Thank God that not all churches are taught in the same style! I wish more people knew that the gospel can be presented in more than one way, in more than one setting, in more than one culture, by more than one type of teacher.

We all pick out our own favorite teachers because different teaching styles appeal to different people. In the same way, I think someone should experience church in a teaching style that appeals to them and in a setting that makes them comfortable. It is important to learn to appreciate different ways of "doing" church even if it may not be your style or culture. As long as the truth of Jesus Christ is represented, there is no right way to teach the Word or to worship our Lord. Figure out your own preacher preference so that you can ENJOY learning about your faith in a church setting!

Words on Hope

"Ultimately our gift to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. It is what we all need - hope that comes not from going around suffering but from going through it."

pg. 170 Velvet Elvis. Rob Bell.

Hope that stares pain and suffering right in the eyes... that statement really gets me... it makes me long to have that sort of audacious hope in the face of a suffering world.

If you like good quotes and going "hmm" when you read, I highly recommend Velvet Elvis. While reading this book I stopped on nearly every page multiple times to write a quote down in my journal or just process what Bell talks about, but also the way he talks about things. If you want to know what it is about, I guess I would say it is about repainting the Christian faith. It is a fresh perspective, but is rooted in what God, Jesus, and Christianity has been about all along.

Car to Car Communication = Chaos

Seriously, when the primary form of communication among cars is a horn, you're just asking for trouble. According to driver's training, car horns are supposed to be used mainly to alert other cars of dangers of unsafe situations. In practice however horns seem to be used to annoy others, take out your anger, or alert other cars that they did something stupid.

The other night, I was pulling up behind a car who was still at a light that just turned green, so I slowed down behind them first waiting for them to see the sign to "go." But then once I got up behind them I honked my horn just once to get their attention. It was my way of tapping them on the shoulder as if to say "Excuse me. The light is green, so you can go now." Plus you never know if cars behind you will realize they need to stop, so overall I figure it was safer to get the car moving for the sake of traffic. The driver quickly realized and went on it's way ahead through the light. No problem.

Then there was the driver I encountered today. It was the middle of the day this time, but basically the same situation as before. I slowed down at first and then after waiting a few seconds I gave a courtesy honk to let them know the light was green. Then the car sped up and the driver stuck his middle finger through the sun roof at me. Frankly, I was shocked, I didn't realize my one honk was so offensive to this driver. I can only assume he interpreted my honk as rudeness, impatience, or even a swear word perhaps. But I didn't respond and proceeded to follow the car through the light and turned into the parking lot I was headed for soon after that. And that was that.

I shook off the experience pretty quick, but I did ponder it for a little just trying to understand the other driver and why he got so upset. So what I have decided is that car to car communication is just inherently badly designed. For one thing, most of the time, all drivers are facing the same direction, which does obviously not lend itself to helpful face-to-face communication. Secondly, the only built-in form of "vocal" communication is the horn which makes the same sound for "excuse me," "watch out," "idiot,"and "f-you" among other things. And unfortunately the interpretation of this sound is left up to the receiving driver who will most quickly and most likely assume the worst. Plus, it doesn't help that car horns are typically so loud and offensive sounding.

For the longest time I have wished there was a sign or something on cars to communicate an "I'm sorry" to other drivers, but now I also wish there was an "excuse me" too. Anyways, car culture on a regular basis is just isolationist and frustrating in general. The majority of everyday driving is solitary, stuck in traffic, passing by so many things and so many people without a care. Driving is a privilege and I do enjoy the time it gives me to listen to the radio/music, to think, and get from one place to another. However cars are just no good in terms of relationships and communication.