a trip of firsts

yesterday ryan, spencer (who’s in town visiting from kentucky) and i set off on a quick overnighter to sioux charley lake. we had heard rumors that the canyon sioux charley calls home wouldn’t have a lot of early season snow and it was also an easy 3 mile jaunt, the main two factors which led us to choose it for this quick, nearly 24 hour trip. it was a trip of firsts for me.

first #1. trekking poles: for a while now i have been curious about these things. i finaly got a chance to borrow some and hike with them. for the first mile or so, it was awkward. i couldn’t really get into a groove with them and they kept getting in the way. by the time we got to the lake, i was much more comfortable. (shortening them helped alot) by the time we were off the trail today, i was sold. i finally got into a rhythm with them today and absolutely loved them. i’m definitely getting a pair.

first #2. cooking on an esbit: my in laws got me a sweet esbit kit for my birthday this year and i’d been looking forward to trying it out. an esbit stove uses an aluminum base and a fuel tablet which burns for about 13 minutes. my kit came with a small pot which fits on the base. the stove worked well, easily boiling water to make mre’s and even some hot chocolate for this morning. i did learn one thing, i need a wind screen. the wind was blowing and it made lighting the fuel tablet difficult. the screen would also help to centralize my flame, thus heating my water faster.

first #3. sleeping in a shelter: this was also our first trip without a tent, something we’ve been curious about for a while. we used the go lite shangri la 3 as our shelter of choice.

i loved this shelter. it was a very weird feeling not being in a tent, especially with snow on the ground, but it was a pretty cool experience. it was a bit tight with 3 pretty large guys and a dog but we made it work. the biggest plus to a tarp over a tent is weight. the shangri la 3 is under 3 lbs., pole and stakes included. it can also be used with a nest which makes it a tent. this makes it a very attractive option for me. i can use it as a shelter when i go backpacking but still have a tent for family outings.

first #4. bivy sleeping: first #3 naturally leads to first #4, sleeping in a bivy. unless you want to ruin your bag, a bivy is necessary when using a shelter as opposed to a tent. a bivy surrounds your bag and protects it from the elements. it also adds about 10 degrees to your bag’s rating. we borrowed some marine issue bivys from a friend of ours.

these things we’re legit. they’re gore-tex and they’re designed to be used alone without any shelter at all. they’re a little heavier then a backpacking bivy would be but they we’re great for our first time. i did learn something with these as well. my 3/4 length sleeping pad doesn’t cut it in cold weather bivy sleeping. you definitely need a full length pad and perhaps even two pads to insulate you from the cold ground, especially if you’re on snow like we were. i spent most of the night pretty cold even in a 0 degree bag. lesson learned.

here’s a youtube of the trip:

Isaac update

First off, let me thank you for all of your love and support over the past few weeks. We have been blown away by the love and prayers that we’ve received and cannot thank you enough.

We received some pretty devastating news today. The doctors have tried to link all of Isaac’s symptoms together and are pretty sure that he has a very rare genetic disease called ARC. Basically, his liver is not allowing him to absorb the calories and the nutrients that his body needs and his kidneys are leaking valuable protein and sugars that should be staying in his body. This disease is so rare that less than 100 kids have ever been studied and diagnosed. There are no known experts and no medical centers who have any kind of expertise on the disease. It will be a few months before they know one way or the other but his symptoms don’t really point to anything else. There is no cure and every child who has been diagnosed with ARC has died within the first few months to a year. We hope to be going home in the next few days and he will be able to live a normal life for as long as he has.

We want to be clear that we are not giving up hope. We are praying for a miracle and ask you to join us in that plea. We know that our God is a healing God and we are asking him to heal Isaac completely. Please continue to pray for strength and understanding for Andrea and I. This has been a very difficult evening for us and we continue to appreciate all the love and support.

Thank you so much for everything.

the company i keep

“i’m growing fond of broken people, as i see that i am one of them.”

-paul meany of mutemath

the gospel

yellowstone or bust

about 2 hours ago, i took my parents back to the airport so they could fly back home to kentucky. the eight days they spent here in montana went by very quickly. instead of recapping the whole week, i thought i would blog about one of the highlights of the week, an impromptu trip to yellowstone national park.

you see, my father has always dreamed of making it to yellowstone and so he was determined to go at some point during his trip out here. i spent the better part of two months trying to talk him out of this. yellowstone is about 3 hours from billings. not too far, but the park is so massive that it’s still tough to make a day trip out of it, especially if you want to try and see all the major landmarks. instead, i told dad that we should stick closer to home because if we went to yellowstone, we would spend the whole time driving, hopping in and out of the car and being rushed. to no avail, his plan was to rent a car on one of the days i had to work and drive down himself. he wasn’t going to be this close and not make it to yellowstone.

so on monday, we decided to head south to red lodge and camp in the beartooth mountains. just a simple overnighter, and then we could spend the better part of tuesday doing a little day hiking. the plan was to be back home by dinner. we found a site, set up camp, had dinner in red lodge and spent the rest of the evening sitting by the fire and listening to rock creek rush by.

we rolled out of our sleeping bags on tuesday around 9am. (ok, ok, i rolled out of my sleeping bag around 9, pops had already been up for a couple of hours) we tore down camp, and headed into town for some breakfast before beginning our hike. we weren’t in any particular hurry mind you, we had plenty of time to hike the 5 to 10 miles we had planned on. we even took some time to browse through an outdoor store in town.

as we headed out toward the trailhead, we decided to head up the pass and hike around on top of the mountains as opposed to the base. our plan was to hike in and around the twin lakes area, a couple of glacial lakes that sit around 10,000 feet. once we got there, we decided that the lakes were so pretty from the road, there wasn’t much point in hiking down there. we at least stopped to take pictures.

so where to next? at this point, it was around 1 or 1:30. we we’re about halfway to yellowstone. after some prodding (read: begging) from pops, i relented. we would push on to yellowstone and see as much as we could before dark thus saving him an extra trip and money to rent a car later in the week.

so off we went, zig zagging down the pass and making a few side stops when we saw something we determined worthy of stopping for. eventually, around 3pm, we came to the east entrance of yellowstone national park.

i guess i never realized how truly beautiful the park really is, sections downright breathtaking. we headed into tower junction, south to canyon village (where we spent most of our time), west to norris geysers, and back up to mammoth hot springs. We didn’t get to see anywhere near all of the park but what we did get to see in the five hours or so was pretty amazing. the highlight was definitely lower falls and the grand canyon of yellowstone. we, along with hundreds of other tourists, walked down to the brim of the falls and back, a pretty steep climb back up. i was also amazed by the amount of foreign tourists there were. at one point, there were about 10 other people around us on an overlook and i believe we were the only two speaking english. pretty cool. here are a few pictures from lower falls.

i’m definitely planning a trip back soon so that i can explore more of the park. i found it ironic that i spent so long trying to convince dad that you couldn’t do yellowstone in one day and then ended up doing it with him in half a day. it was certainly a trip that neither one of us will soon forget.

“he will laugh”

just about 48 hours ago, at 11:57 am, we welcomed isaac andrew hall into the world.

his birth didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped it might and thursday was a very long day for all three of us. wednesday night andrea came to the hospital to begin the inducing process. with isaac already a week over due, we we’re all eager to start this process. she was able to get some rest through out the night with only a few minor contractions.

thursday morning, they started her on an IV on pitocin. immediately, the contractions grew both longer and stronger, however, she wasn’t making much progress in the way of dilating. around 10, she got her epidural. this provided great relief but she was still only 3 cm. on top of that, isaac was not reacting well to the pitocin and his heart rate was extremely fast. with both of those variables factored in, the doctors decided that she needed to have a c-section around 11:30.

it all happened very quickly. within 15 minutes, our room was filled with hospital personnel. i quickly changed into some very flattering purple scrubs (they were a bit young on me) and in no time we we’re heading down the hall to the operating room. once there, the procedure also happened very quickly. within 10 or 15 minutes, they were holding our son in their hands. like many before me, i can’t even begin to describe the feeling that came over me the first time i laid eyes on him. they asked me how much i weighed when i was born and when i replied, “8lbs and 3oz” they said, “yeah, i’m pretty sure he has you beat”.

he did. isaac was 9lbs and 3oz at his time of birth. his length was equally impressive, 21 and 3/4 inches. the doctors said given his size (and given andrea’s size) that even if she would have tried to have him naturally, it probably would have turned into an emergency c section. so in retrospect, we’re glad that it happened the way that it did.

we had to spend the first couple of hours of his life away from him, that was hard. his heart rate was very fast so he had to be taken to the nicu so that they would keep an eye on him. fortunately, after a short time, it dropped down to normal. the doctors say he was just very stressed after the birth.

now, two days later, mom, baby and dad are recovering nicely. ok, ok, i’ll admit, i definitely have the least amount of recovering to do but hey, this hospital futon is uncomfortable! it still hasn’t quite hit me that he’s ours to keep yet. it just kind of seems like we’re babysitting some one else’s kid. it’s crazy that tomorrow we’ll take him home and that we’ll be entirely responsible for him. my constant prayer is that we’ll be godly examples in his life and that we’ll be tangible expressions of god’s love and grace for him.

thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. here’s the happy family!

what’s better than a good old fashioned baptist joke?

one that includes beer…

question: which is better? fishing with one baptist or two baptists?

answer: two. if you take one, you’ll have to share your beer. if you take two, you’ll have the beer to yourself because baptists won’t drink in front of each other.

update on life

i apologize for not updating more frequently. i’ll try to do better.

i thought i should just give a quick update on life in general and let you guys know that i’m still alive. nothing extraordinary has happened recently but life is chugging along at a pretty fast pace.

the church is going well. we’re still gathering 20-30 people each week and community is definitely developing. we’re stating to see some familiar faces week after week and it’s cool to see some people jumping on board with our vision for how church ought to be done. the past week, a couple showed up and when we asked them how they had heard of us, they said, “we’re friends of some friends of some people who have been coming.” it’s cool to see word of mouth really starting to make some progress.

we’re also starting to get more missionally involved in the city. this thursday we’ll be involved with the local rescue mission’s walk for hope and dignity. it’s a 4 mile walk through the city designed to raise awareness of homelessness in billings and what the mission is doing to provide assistance to those without a place to call home. the second sunday in august we’ll be volunteering to help build a habitat house at the montana state fair. we have about 10 people signed up to help from our church and we hope this is a baby step toward our church sponsoring an entire build next summer.we’re also looking to launch small groups this fall, so i’ve been doing some planning for that.

last week was andrea and i’s 4th anniversary. we spent a relaxing day together hanging out around town and got some dinner together. it seemed wild to think that 4 years ago we we’re packing for our honeymoon and this year we we’re packing bags to go to the hospital.

speaking of which, we still don’t have a child. isaac was due on the 22nd and it’s the 28th as i type this. he’s clearly taken after his father in the area of procrastination. if he doesn’t come today, we’ll be heading to the hospital tomorrow night so that andrea can be induced. we’re anxiously awaiting his arrival and excited about becoming parents.

andrea’s mom has spent the last week and a half here waiting for isaac’s arrival as well. she was kind enough to come out and help us out for the first month or so. however, now that he is so late, that month is quickly turning into 2 weeks or so. even so, i know we’ll love having the extra help. maybe it will allow us to get a little more sleep. my parents will be coming out the second week of august and spending about 8 days here and i’m definitely looking forward to that. i haven’t seen them since xmas and they have never been out to montana. i’m especially looking forward to taking them to my home away from home, red lodge and the beartooth mountains.

on the subject of mountains, i’ve become absolutely obsessed with backpacking and backpacking gear. it’s always been a love of mine but now that i’m out here, it’s reached an all new level. i spend stupid amounts of time online lusting over gear that i largely can’t afford. however, my birthday is coming up in september and i have a very detailed list of gear i want. feel free to request said list at anytime.

i suppose that’s all for now. next time i update, i will have a son.

pretty crazy.

what matters more to you?

that is the question posed by singer/songwriter derek webb in his controversial new single, “what matters more”.

derek webb (formerly of caedmon’s call) has been one of my favorites for years now and has been at the forefront (perhaps because he’s the only one willing to go there) of thought provoking, edgy christian music. in my opinion, he’s one of the few christian artists worth listening to. his lyrics have been an inspiration to me and this is not the first time that they have made their way onto my personal blog.

his new album, and particularly this one song, has caused quite the stir among the christian community. his christian label refused to release the new record as is so he has released two versions, a “clean” version and an “explicit” version. he wrote in an email to his supporters,

“..it seems i’ve finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently i’ve crossed it…the majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which i consider to be among the most important songs on the record. so we’ve decided it’s an appropriate time to break the rules.”

once again, i have found his words inspiring so i wanted to post them here.

“what matters more”

you say you always treat people like you like to be
i guess you love being hated for your sexuality
you love when people put words in your mouth
about what you believe, make you sound like a freak

’cause if you really believe what you say you believe
you wouldn’t be so damn reckless with the words you speak
wouldn’t silently conceal when the liars speak
denying all the dying of the remedy

tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

if I can tell what’s in your heart by what comes out of your mouth
then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it’s about
it looks like being hated for all the wrong things
like chasing the wind while the pendulum swings

’cause we can talk and debate until we’re blue in the face
about the language and tradition that he’s coming to save
meanwhile we sit just like we don’t give a shit
about 50,000 people who are dying today

tell me, brother, what matters more to you?
tell me, sister, what matters more to you?

if you want to hear the song, you can find it here. i suggest you head over to his website and download the whole album. it may just be his finest work.

evidence

“he makes springs pour water into the ravines, it flows between the mountains.”  psalm 104:10

the past two days were spent in the absarokee-beartooth wilderness on a backpacking overnighter with ryan. neither one of us had been backpacking for quite some while so the plan was to ease back into it. the trail we had picked out reflected that desire. it was about 5 miles in but only a slight elevation gain (about 350 feet). then we would set up base camp in quinnebaugh meadow, drop our packs and day hike up to lake mary.

turns out, the road to that trailhead is closed for repair. thus we had to call an audible.

we decided to hike to lake gertrude, set up camp and day hike up to timberline lake. this trail was similar in length, four miles to gertrude and another half mile to timberline, however this trail ascends nearly 2,000 feet, hardly easing into it. it absolutely kicked my butt with 40 lbs. of gear on my back but as usual, it was well worth it.

the first mile or two was through a burn area from a forest fire back in 88. it didn’t provide much shade from the early morning sun. eventually we began to get into thicker forest. the closer we got to lake gertrude, the more snow drifts we began to see. at one point, i was up to my calves in snow. we finally made it to lake gertrude around 11. we scoped out a good camping spot and began to unload some of our gear. you have to be a little more strategic about things in this part of the country since it’s right in the heart of both black and grizzly bear territory. your cooking area has to be at least 200 yards from your sleeping area and of course, both your food and your packs have to be hung 10 to 20 feet from the ground.

after setting up camp, we hiked the extra half mile up to timberline lake. the best way to describe it is breathtaking. it’s definitely in my top 5 coolest things i’ve ever seen list. the lake is surrounded by a granite basin still covered in snow. the lake itself is at around 10,000 feet and silver run peak that it sits below is more than 12,000 feet. even though the pictures don’t do it justice, here’s one i snapped:

we spent the late afternoon doing some strategic planning for the church and praying.

we hit the sack pretty early since we needed to get up at 5 and be back on the trail by 6. coincidentaly, 6 am is prime bear time. it’s when they’re most active. all the books say to sleep in and not to hike until at least mid to late morning. since we had to hike early, we did our best to be as loud as possible. we did run into one bear cub on the trail. luckily, we never saw it’s mama but it was enough for us to hike the rest of the way down with bear spray in hand.

all in all, it was an amazing trip. i’m looking forward to getting out and doing it more often. here’s a link to the youtube video ryan made of our trek.