The Face of Fear

Friends, if you haven’t yet checked out my wife Kathy’s well written follow-up to my International Youth Convention post, here is the link.  Alternately, a link to my original IYC post from Denver is here, paling in comparison.  I hope you enjoyed Kathy’s stint as guest blogger as much as I enjoyed my break from blogging.

Our all-guys backpacking trip into the Mt. Hood Wilderness ended yesterday.  I was truly impressed by the views from Elk Meadows, and also by the full-bore hiking pace of our high schoolers: Brandon, Claude, and Michael.  I’ll post some camping photos here when it’s time for the next BlogSpot E.P.I.C. student ministry update.

Meanwhile, those skydiving and birthday weekend pics from my friends are still M.I.A.  As we all impatiently wait for my friends to cough up those skydiving photos (you know I love you guys!), let’s hit this from another angle.

I shared during my sermon last week (The link to the free MP3 is here:  Who’s the Boss?, though after a totally sleepless night it took me a while to get warmed up as I preach) about the most terrifying 15 minutes of my life so far-- the Skydive Oregon plane ride that flew me and the gang up higher than 12,000 feet for the Big Plunge.

Personal cameras were prohibited onboard, so there is no visual record of the moments leading up to the conquering of my fear of heights AND of falling.  Fortunately, Elitch Gardens theme park in Denver emailed me a photo that approximates the look of fear that must have been on my face as the airplane door cracked open:

The only difference is that that the Boomerang roller coaster provided Aloha High School senior Will and me a restraint bar to grab onto as the G-forces came a knockin’.

If there is a moral to this story, it’s probably that facing your fears is at times an essential segment along the road to becoming a man of courage.

But other times, that stretch of road can reduce men of courage to quivering, traumatized crybabies.

Speaking of babies, here is a bonus video clip of baby Lena from our Denver trip:

Swaddle the “Play” button above for an irresistible video of Lena’s contagious laughter as she yanks Daddy around by his youth pastor lanyard, on Day 3 of our trip to International Youth Convention in Denver.

Coming next on BlogSpot...

Our daughter Lena turns one year old on Monday!  Let’s celebrate with a cutesy retrospective of Lena’s first year… followed by a roundup of my favorite recent hiking trails with Lena!

International Youth Convention: Denver (feat. Kathy)

Skydiving for my birthday last Saturday was incredible!  Stay tuned for some stories and pics from a birthday weekend filled with rock wall climbing, hiking in the Gorge, go carts, laser tag, worshipping with our church family, a party, multiple coffee/lunch/dinner get togethers with friends, a Los Lobos concert, and jumping out of an airplane from 12,000+ feet!  I can’t wait for my friends to send me some pictures from last weekend so I can post them here.

In the meantime, my wife Kathy has graciously agreed to give me a much needed break from blogging this past week.  In a rare appearance on BlogSpot, Kathy has picked out some photos and written a follow-up to my earlier Intermission: IYC Denver(From the road) post—Check out that link for more exclusive stories and photos from our IYC trip.

Dedicated readers are probably aware that I intentionally keep my BlogSpot as secular as possible, but I’ll occasionally break loose with a student ministry update.  And who better to write about what God is doing in our young people’s lives than my amazing wife?

Take it away, guest blogger Kathy!

IYC, Day 4- Impact: Denver Service Project- Students partner with other churches to restore a rundown playground and beautify a public park, on the second day of International Youth Convention.

July was the month we had been anticipating and working towards for two years:  International Youth Convention-Denver!    In July and August, we are dedicating two separate posts for IYC stories and pictures on www.garthhamilton.blogspot.com.

The theme for IYC this year was Free, Awakened, Empowered, and Connected, encouraging us to live out Romans 8.  Sunday night through Wednesday afternoon were our days to relax in Denver:

We visited Elitch Gardens theme & water park and explored the city of Denver.

On Wednesday night, Matt Papa led worship and snowboarder Zane Black opened the conference with a talk on being free in Christ and learning to let go of the things that hold us back.

On Thursday, we had the opportunity to give back to the city during the IMPACT Denver project.

Our group, along with a couple of other churches, cleaned up a park in downtown Denver.  There was playground equipment to seal, trash to pick up, and debris to be swept away.  The lady from the Parks Department was so thrilled that we were there.  She said that due to cutbacks, the playground hadn’t been sealed in over 10 years and they couldn’t afford to have people pick up the trash.

We were so proud of our students.  They worked hard and didn’t complain, even though it was the hottest day in Denver that week.  

That night, Margaret Feinberg shared what it means to be awakened.  We each have a unique purpose in the body of Christ and being free in Him allows us to be awakened by the Holy Spirit. 

On Thursday and Friday mornings, there were different conferences for the students to choose from: understanding Islam, sharing Christ with and loving Muslims, having Christ-centered relationships, and having a powerful prayer life (just to name a few).  The youth pastors had the privilege of hearing Steve Fitzhugh, a former Denver Bronco.  His encouragement to us was to live for the prize.  Ministry can be tiring and discouraging, but we need to keep our eyes focused on the prize as we run this race.

Friday night, Harvey Carey shared with us on living empowered by the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who can empower us to make a difference for the Kingdom.  The closing service was on Saturday morning.  We had another awesome worship time led by Charlie Hall, with the final message from Francis Chan on being and staying connected to God.

This is just a snippet of a fun, life-changing week in Denver.  We believe that God was at work in our lives and the lives of our students.  Thank you so much for all your prayers and support for us.  And for those who are wondering:  Lena did come along with us, and she charmed everyone!

Thanks for sharing, Kathy!  Here are a few other pics from IYC Denver that Kathy wanted to include here:

Day 2- The group relaxing in between rides at Elitch Gardens theme and water park

Denver IYC, Day 2- The evening before International Youth Convention kicked off, baby Lena and Will kicked and flailed together on the girls' bed in our Grand Hyatt hotel room.

On Day 3, we had lunch at Johnny Rockets on the opening day of International Youth Convention.

And our lunch on Day 4 was at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Day 4- Impact: Denver Service Project- Garth took turns performing acrobatics with a member of an outdoor wedding party to knock down a moldy, maggot-ridden burrito from the roof of a park shelter.  Nasty!

Coming soon on BlogSpot…

Skydiving stories, photos, and other assorted birthday excitement from last weekend!

Intermission: IYC Denver (from the road)

We’re all in Denver through this weekend, but check back here next weekend for the conclusion of my Tokyo travelogue.  I’ll throw in some pics from the touristy part of my quick visit to Japan.

We made it!  Since Monday, a small group from our E.P.I.C. student ministry has been breathing mile-high air here in Denver, Colorado.  International Youth Convention 2012 officially kicked off last night, but we flew in a couple days early for a little fun.

A wet and wild day at Elitch Gardens water/theme park got our adrenaline pumping on Tuesday.  Aggressive water slides like the mind-scrambling Tube Top and the various speed slides kept us cool for most of the day.

That evening, our bravery was tested on the rickety wooden roller coaster Twister 2 (seen in the background of the photo above, which, if you look closely, features me and Will hanging on for dear life in the 6^th car)… and especially on the up-down-forward-backward-upside down-sideways G-forces of the notorious Boomerang.  I lost all feeling in my face.  Is it possible for internal organs to liquefy?

The opening session of International Youth Convention was last night.  Thousands of teenagers sang along with Matt Papa’s passionate worship set, followed by a message from skater/boarder/surfer Zane Black. My conversation with Zane after the late night Group 1 Crew concert convinced me that he is a man of authentic faith who has truly been called to speak into the lives of teenagers.

Zane’s message led into an intimate time of reflection, response, and sharing with our students outside of the auditorium last night.

This morning, our students selected various breakout sessions to attend while the adult leaders were encouraged by energetic former Denver Bronco defensive back Steve Fitzhugh at the Youth Ministry Institute conference.  The IYC High School Band led an unbelievably gifted time of worship before the session!

In a few minutes, we’ll be leaving the convention center for our Impact: Denver service project.  Partnering with some other youth groups from across the U.S.A., we’ll be restoring and beautifying an inner city playground and public park.  It’s time to do some good!