What is on my mind on this beautiful fall Sunday in Maine? 3 things of course…
1) A place that has absolutely captivated my life-Wind River Ranch.
This place is so special. It is a christian family dude ranch out in Estes Park, Colorado that specializes in family ministry and restoration in the beautiful setting of the Rocky Mountains, as well as inviting veterans, first responders, in-need families, pastors, and missionaries, and sex-trafficking victims to stay at the ranch basically for free. Wouldn’t you know it, but two years ago in my freshman dorm this yankee girl ended up living right next to a real-life cowgirl named Gabrielle who worked there for FOUR YEARS! One night at a potato party (you know you live in Maine when people get together and eat potatoes for fun) I asked her what she did over the summer and she said she worked at a place called Wind River Ranch in Colorado. I thought that was pretty cool, applied after my jaw dropped looking at pictures of the place, and actually got hired to be the videographer and to start in May with ZERO prior videography experience. Ever since, my life has never been the same. The same goes for all the families and young men and women that go to the ranch to vacation or to work on staff. Now, I am a part-time cowgirl and can ride horses, rock cowboy boots, and know what it means to work really really hard.
My boss and summer dad, Aaron, said to me before I left that he wished I could stay for Autumn up in the mountains, and I looked longingly up at Longs Peak shrouded in clouds and said “me too.” My time there was only for the summers, and God blessed me with two of them. Some stay to work into the fall, but alas, school. When school starts, it’s hectic enough where my mind doesn’t wander back to the mountains so much. But once things start to settle down and get cold, it’s like the wind that blows over the ranch comes all the way to Maine just to whisper to my heart how much I love that place and miss it. The fact that I might never see the aspen trees turn golden yellow, or to feel so free on my favorite horse loping through our front meadow in the afternoon, or that I might never see some of the friends I made there over 2 years ever again truly makes my heart hurt. Being on staff was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Where else can I go and eat, sleep, work, play, cry, laugh, and sing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a whole summer with 35ish individuals who are completely different from me, yet have everything in common like the early church in Acts 2:44. To all my WR friends, I am praying for you, and love you so much more than you will ever know…
My ABSOLUTE favorite picture I have taken at the ranch-thank you Ashley for being a gorgeous sunset model for this picture.
I think the most beautiful girls find their way to work at Wind River.
Julie and I after getting into the lava cake batter as Friday night servers!
Jori and I sitting in the barn loft looking at this beautiful place and savoring it. This was taken on my very last day at the ranch, like literally my shuttle to the airport was coming in 2 hours to get me.
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2) Something that takes up an awful lot of my time and heart-Navigators!
No seriously though. Don’t join Navigators if you’re not ON FIRE for Jesus. We don’t mess around. I’m in the collegiate branch of the Navigators at USM, and boy, am I glad I joined when I got here. This group has been REVOLUTIONARY to me. Here, they taught me what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, of those older than me, and how to disciple and care well for others. I am even going to join Navs staff in 2 years when I graduate to do EDGE ministry. To go back and disciple other girls to Jesus, and to be on fire for Him and incite change in one of the darkest places in America-college campuses. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ anymore, but ‘when’. How God called me to that and what my mentorship relationship is at the moment is a story for another day.
We have started the year and are hitting the ground running at USM. Nav nights are steadily populating and as the craziness of the first few weeks of school start to die down, we are providing a safe place for on-campus christians to find community, as well as inviting our non-christian (yet) friends to come and see who this Jesus person is. Since I am the president of our group and a student leader, expectations for me are held high, as they should be. I not only accept that challenge, but welcome it. I know underclassmen are looking to me to be a solid person in this time of transition for them away from home maybe for the first time and into college on their own. And so I shall be. There will be days when I fail, surely, but it is then I look to my fellow student leaders to lift me up and come alongside me, so that when I leave this campus in 2 years, there will be people who have been made better because they met the Jesus that lives in me. Would you join me in praying for my campus and ones like us all over America? That God will show me the girls who are ready to be discipled, and that more and more will come to know their Savior every semester? More updates and prayer requests on Navs at USM will surely come as we move on into the semester…
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3) Benzaldehyde!
Haha, not just benzaldehyde, but all organic molecules. This semester, I am FINALLY finishing up the necessary chemistry classes for a B.S. in Environmental Science. After passing a whole year of General Chemistry, I am now into Organic Chemistry I. DUN DUN DUN!!!!!!
In all seriousness, this is probably the hardest class I will take here at USM. Organic Chemistry is an infamous GPA murderer across the nation. However, I am working very hard so I can pass this class and the 4 hour lab that comes with it, hopefully with grades that will not tank my GPA, and move one step closer to graduating college. The funny thing about chemistry though, is that God has actually on several occasions spoken very clearly to me through it. I did not take chemistry in high school at all, and when I got to college, I was at a huge disadvantage. It was/is the bane of my academic career, but He uses what I learn in the class to illustrate things to me in a way that makes sense. I wish I could explain it better or try to give an example, but I fear I might either be blasphemous or chemically incorrect, so I will refrain. At this point in my life, I don’t know which one is worse. Please keep praying for me as I’m going to need a lot of support to get me through this class!
EW!!
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I’m thinking posts will be at least weekly, but if there’s something really cool going on, we might do two a week or so! Shalom for now!
~J
Water from the Rock 