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!

Tomato Battle: Portland

IMG_8378_edited-1.JPG, a photo by gkhamilton on Flickr.

FOOD FIGHT!! Kathy, me, and Brett study the art of war at Tomato Battle- Portland

If only La Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain wasn’t so tricky to reach flying standby. On July 21, those of us Portlanders choosing to remain in the U.S. this summer assembled for the next best thing-- Tomato Battle: Portland!

Fun loving Northwest tomato warriors (14 years old and up) showed up in droves for this massive food fight/concert/costume contest at MacTarnahans. It was tomato juice drenched chaos.


Many readers will be justifiably horrified about wasting food in a world where so many needlessly go hungry. Don’t worry, no “edible” tomatoes were used as ammo. With that issue put to bed, Kathy and I each came prepared for battle with a fighting spirit and a clear conscience.


In the abridged words of the organizers:
The Tomato Battle unifies as many as 5,000 fruit-chucking fanatics for an afternoon of dancing to music and flinging 300,000 pounds of roma tomatoes at one another. Mosh in a ketchup-covered fray with live entertainment and a costume contest. At 4:00 p.m., soldiers converge on piles of past-ripe tomatoes and set about pelting people with fruits like sentient apple trees avenging the initial-carving of amorous teenagers. Beats flow until past 7 p.m., when ruddy troops lay down their arms and rinse themselves clean of pulp and juice. An extra set of clothes is highly recommended.

All of the tomatoes used during the exhibition will have been previously marked for disposal, making the Tomato Battle an efficient and entertaining use of nonedible waste. Onward.

In other words, since all that red fruit was headed for the trash anyways, it would be a waste to NOT throw these tomatoes at people.


I passed up the earlier festivities of the day in favor of spending some time with baby Lena. By the time Kathy and I showed up at MacTarnahans, Tomato Battle was already underway. Here’s what we missed:

The first few hours of music


The costume contest


The opening salvos

[Both photos above are courtesy of Kyle Helstein’s Facebook uploads and his "Clever Brilliant Mad" BlogSpot page].

Kathy and I arrived as clean as freshly laundered tube socks. We then learned, in spectacular fashion, that charging into a Tomato Battle already in progress makes you the hottest targets in the yard. A random girl cheerfully leaped up and latched onto me with a lingering tomato pulpy arms & legs bear hug. Tomatoes pelted us from all directions. The festive mob heaved, shouted, laughed, tackled, and showed no mercy.

Passing the camera around led to some interesting photos, but most of them were blurry and ludicrously framed. Here are a few good shots, mostly taken as the battle was winding down:





Sharp readers will recognize that Tomato Battle action shot of me, cropped down from my “Food Fight!” post on Tuesday. I launched a double-fisted aerial tomato counter assault on a retreating attacker. Believe me, he flung first.


This leads us to the one fatality that was inflicted during Tomato Battle. Our Canon digital camera, taken along with me on dozens of overseas trips, met a tragic demise. The camera was on its last legs anyway, so I thought it fitting to honorably send it afloat in a tomatoey grave. R.I.P., trusty friend.

It’s anyone’s guess how Kathy managed to stay so clean while my friend Brett and I got saturated with tomato slush and ketchup rain. But I and my fallen camera-in-arms shared a similar fate as we left the battlefield that day. We were both…

…completely and utterly PWNED by tomatoes.



Coming next week on BlogSpot...
My wonderful wife Kathy makes a rare appearance here on www.garthhamilton.blogspot.com to follow up my previous International Youth Convention post with her favorite moments and photos from last month’s IYC in Denver, Colorado.


And after that, I’m praying that I’ll still be alive to blog about this upcoming weekend’s adventure:

Birthday Skydiving!!

Preview: Food Fight!

A853603-R1-13-12A_edited-1.jpg, a photo by gkhamilton on Flickr.

Why am I assaulting this poor man with two fistfuls of tomatoes as he is obviously running for safety? All will be revealed on Thursday morning when I finally get around to uploading my “Tomato Battle- Portland” blog post!


This summer has been nonstop. After walking in the door just now, I have about 15 minutes to freshen up baby Lena and run back out again.

Admittedly, I announced (read: overpromised) in last week’s Japanese Potty Training post that you my readers would be feasting your eyes on some Tomato Battle pics and stories today. Thanks for stopping by BlogSpot this evening, but…

Check back here later on Thursday for a rundown of the tomato throwing frenzy!

Japanese Potty Training

Now that we have Tokyo Drifting 1, 2, 3, and some summery fresh updates from IYC Denver and wave riding in Banks Lake WA (links) behind us, I have a small clarification:  

In my first “Tokyo Drifting” blog post, I had mentioned the utter lack of English signage in my Tokyo neighborhood.  That wasn’t completely true.  The more touristy shops and restaurants in the area sprinkled their Kanji displays with a Yankee phrase or two, and English instructions were ubiquitous throughout the Hostel Kawase Tokyo and Capsule. 

In fact, my capsule/hostel went the extra mile and added a helpful illustration to their posted English instructions for using their Japanese toilet:

Don’t laugh.  Odds are, countless American college backpackers have welcomed said instructions as they opened the WC stall door and found themselves staring down at this:

You just got learned.

Coming this Tuesday night on BlogSpot… Photos and tales from the trenches of Portland’s biggest ever food fight:

TOMATO BATTLE PDX!!!

Tokyo Drifting 3: Fleeing Sumida

CameraZOOM-20120612123724889_orig_1_Salomon.jpg, a photo by gkhamilton on Flickr.

The Tokyo tokkyū limited express train is a splurge. Good thing I’m made out of Yen, right?


At last… I present the breathless (for me, anyway) final hours of last month’s quick trip to Tokyo. Will this live up to the melodramatic teaser ending from my previous Tokyo Drifting 2: Senso-ji Temple post? Let’s pretend it will.



A friend from the journey recommended that I seek a peaceful contrast to my previous evening of Tokyo nightlife craziness. Sumida Park fit the bill.

In about four hours, my flight home to Portland would depart from Narita airport. Being mindful of the time, I followed up my tour of Senso-ji Temple with a walk down to the Sumida River. The nature park that stretched alongside the river banks would be a relaxing place to unwind before beginning my train connections to the airport.



A young Japanese gal rode up to me on her bicycle as I gazed at the flowers growing along the footpaths of Sumida Park. She must have assumed I was interested in the bike-friendly aspects of the area. We walked over to the specialized bicycle tire grooves carved into the stairway of a nearby underpass, and she enthusiastically demonstrated for me the ways of a seasoned recreational bicycler.


At some point, it finally dawned on me how long I had been standing there, struggling to understand her. In less than 10 minutes, my train was scheduled to depart from Asakusa Station. The problem: Ever since I left my capsule/hostel that morning, I had been walking AWAY from the direction of the train station.

I abruptly excused myself and began to run as though my life (or at least my job back home at Delta Airlines) depended on it. The beautiful scenery of the park blurred past as I frantically sprinted through it for several minutes. No way would I catch that train.



I leaped down the stairs of Asakusa station, clutching my small backpack and gasping for air. There was still time to catch a number of local trains to my next stop, but I had blown my connections to Narita airport. Painfully resisting my budget backpacker traveling sensibilities, I slapped down the big Yen at the kippu jidō hanbaiki kiosk to purchase a premium express train ticket, direct to Narita Airport.

The tokkyū limited express train [photo at top] sped to Narita Airport in just under an hour, which put me back on schedule.


My friend Kevin, flying home on standby from the Philippines, was waiting at the airport gate when I checked in for the nearly full flight. His boarding priority dwarfed mine. Despite shrewdly (or foolishly) using one of my S-3 low priority seating requests I was assigned one of the last seats in the Business Elite cabin before the flight doors closed, with Kevin and I onboard.

After nearly 3 days overseas with virtually no sleep, I flew home from Tokyo in Delta's Business Elite cabin. Somehow the traditional Japanese meal course that I ordered on the flight home managed to be even better (Fresher ingredients from Japan? More irradiated?) than the one I ate on the flight over to Tokyo.

With a belly full of French caviar, crab, scallop quenelle, grilled chicken, cod roe, wasabi tofu, and marinated tuna… I slept.


Bonus pic:
On Kathy's birthday, Lena plays with the Japanese toy I bought for her in Tokyo’s Nakamise-dori street fair. I hope that Lena will come along with me for my next visit to Asia this year.


Lena can pick out her own souvenir toy next time!

Intermission: Banks Lake, WA Wakeboarding (from the road)

DSC_0807_edited-1.JPG, a photo by gkhamilton on Flickr.

Catching a little air with my wakeboard at Banks Lake, WA.

Sorry for the delay, folks. The conclusion to my “Tokyo Drifting” blog miniseries will be posted after one last on-location interruption. I’ll add more pics from Japan on Sunday (or Monday)-- I promise!

From last Tuesday: Another year, another annual family boating/ camping trip to Banks Lake, Washington (link). Spread out over the last six days, this vacation is coming to a close as my mom gives me a ride back to my Jeep in Beaverton.


The Hamilton and Sorensen families have had a roller coaster ride of wild weather this week in Coulee City, but hot sunshine/wind/rain/lightning are all par for the course during any extended weekend in Eastern Washington. My solo ride over to Banks Lake was no less tumultuous:


Portland: A series of unrelated mishaps on the Portland MAX rails delayed me so much that I had to sprint across Chinatown to just barely catch my train to…

Seattle: During my train layover at Zeitgeist Coffee, I received some tragic news regarding the drowning of my friend Shawn's son, Caleb. I was so distraught that, back at the train station, I apparently blocked out the final boarding announcement for my train (it left Seattle 10 minutes ahead of schedule) to Ephrata. Out of options, I schemed with a couple of girls who also missed the train about bumming a car ride with three complete strangers to race the train to…

Everett: By recklessly weaving our way through Seattle’s rush hour traffic, my new friends and I managed to beat the train to Everett by eight minutes and climb onboard. My train car was the wildest, most out of control frat party on rails I’ve seen since our “Sound of Music” tour in Salzburg, Austria.

Ephrata: My brother-in-law Mike graciously picked me up that night and drove me the rest of the way to...

Coulee City:  The fam vacation was already in progress!

Sadly, I had to say goodbye to Kathy, Lena, Mike, and Summer when they left Coulee City on Sunday afternoon. It was also unfortunate that we had to miss our annual visit to the local First Presbyterian Church. One Sunday each year, we’ve always looked forward to mixing it up with the locals and hearing an inspired sermon from local Pastor Clifford Bresee. We’ll catch you guys next year!


Before most of the gang left us on Sunday, our 10 month old Lena had a couple of lifetime firsts:

Lena looked stiff as a board (and oddly disabled, in some of the other shots from that day) when trying on her very first life jacket.


Lena giggled uncontrollably as she played on a swing set for the very first time.



Summer had a few good runs on the wakeboard before heading home with most of the gang...… leaving me the water toys all to myself for the rest of the vacation.  My dad drove the boat, my mom spotted from the back seat, and I played.




I wakeboarded to my heart’s content.



I went old school with the slalom waterski.



I even dusted off the old knee board!

Miles of glassy smooth lake water, solitude, hot temperatures, and the friendly community of Coulee City all add up to make each Banks Lake vacation worth the long, dusty drive.

Let’s do it again next year!