Saturday, 28 July 2012
I Can See for Miles, Miles, Miles
Play this song while you read the update (for the full experience).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oCPAO3bp4Q
Hey everybody, sorry for not updating in a while. Life has been on the move.
Since the last update Levi and I have been pretty many places. We have been to Portland, Sequim (near the top of the Olympic peninsula), Seattle, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Glacier National Park, Levi's brother's Zach's place in Montana, Yellowstone National Park, and now we are in Fort Collins Colorado, so we could have a lot to talk about. But looking back, what really stands out to me during our times in these places and driving to them has been the beauty of nature. Cam, a friend we stayed with in Kelowna, words come to mind...
Searching for any sort of hold to latch my fingers into, which would allow me to work my way out of the overhang and onto the last slope of the climb, I quickly look forty feet below for some advice from Cam and Levi.
"If you look up and to your right, I think you can grab that ledge that is just sticking out. When you have that, swing your legs around and put your right foot on the holds that are a bit father away." Cam instructed.
"Almost done dude," Levi chimed in.
Focusing on the advice, I reach for the hold and swing my right leg around the edge and onto the narrow surface that provides me enough space to hold steady and use my leg strength to bring the rest of my body into a standing position onto the last slope of the climb. With my forearms burning and most of my legs muscles begging for a break, I lean against the slanted rock face, take a few deep breaths, and gaze into the distance from my new vantage point.
I can see for miles, miles, miles, I sing in my head, the line for that one Bon Iver song.
The view is to much. Powerful but rolling golden hills, spotted with vineyards and pine trees, descend into the giant blue lake that the city of Kelowna and all of the other development in the area is built around. The sun makes an appearance but is anticipating her retreat because of the billowing clouds that promise rain in the distance. A little closer, a rainbow of new little boxes with matching black roofs paint the foothills next to the lake, and shortly to the left, tall, thin, black remains of the pine trees that once were remind of the destruction that is possible and of natures strength.
"Are you ready to come down?" Cam asks.
"Yeah," I reply.
Taking in the last bits of my view from above I slowly sit back into my harness and allow physics to gently aid me down the rock face. As I reach the bottom, I bend my knees to brace myself for the solid ground and awkwardly bring myself to a standing position once again. I start to unbuckle the harness fixed around my waist while Levi squeezes in his shoes and Cam messes with the ropes.
"Good view right?" Cam asks.
"Yeah, super good." I reply.
"I told my buddy this one time when we were up here," Cam continued, "If I ever get tired of this view, kick me in the balls."
We have traveled through many National Parks, endless forest, dry desserts, and amazing cities. We have seen glaciers on the mountains in the summer, the painted red cliffs on the hills in the dessert, trees that are to big to see the top, sunsets that produce colors rarely seen; if I ever get tired of this, kick me in the balls.
We are on the home stretch and will be back in Lancaster like August 6th. We will be passing through Nebraska, Kansas, Chicago, Illinios Canto Ohio, and some other places yet. We look forward to seeing everyone again. Keep us in your prayers
Much Love,
Levi and Elliot
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
People and Places
With 80's rock-n-roll playing over the radio, people moving all around us, a surprising amount of undiluted degreaser, and some serious arm power, Levi and I cleaned off the dry grease caked onto a metal shelf which held dishes for the Los Angeles Catholic Worker House's soup kitchen. This snapshot captures many aspect of what our past few days have been like.
As I briefly mentioned last update, Levi and I were going to make an effort to stay with people rather than camping so much, and that is what we found ourselves doing this past week. This past week we got connected with some people who's houses we stayed at through Mennonite Your Way and also through Catholic Worker Houses. At these places we got to meet a lot of cool people, had lots of good conversations, learned some new things, and got to serve a bit.
As I mentioned earlier we stayed at some Catholic Worker Houses. We randomly got connected with this network of communities through, seemingly a God kind of thing. One day we were sitting in a Starbucks in Las Vegas, we were looking for places to stay at our upcoming destinations and the Catholic Worker Houses came to my mind. I didn't really know anything about these houses, except that Dorthy Day started the movement and that they were geared towards severing the poor. I got the numbers of some of the houses through the Internet and made some phone calls. At some point in the conversations I would say something like,
"So, I'm pretty ignorant to what you guys do, but, would you be able to host my friend Levi and I for a night?"
To my surprise, both the Los Angeles Catholic Worker House and the formerly Catholic Worker House in San Francisco offered to have us for a few nights. At these places we got to hang out with the people who lived in the houses, listen to a speaker talk about serving the mentally ill and chronically homeless, have good conversations while walking the sidewalks of the city or gazing out towards the skyline while sitting on the third floor balcony, serve homeless people breakfast, clean a kitchen, and chill out. It was pretty sweet.
This next week we will be up near Portland Oregon visiting my friend Daniel Lister and checking out the city, Seattle Washington, and Vancouver British Colombia. We are expecting good things and delicious coffee.
Keep us in your prayers,
Much Love,
Levi and Elliot
As I briefly mentioned last update, Levi and I were going to make an effort to stay with people rather than camping so much, and that is what we found ourselves doing this past week. This past week we got connected with some people who's houses we stayed at through Mennonite Your Way and also through Catholic Worker Houses. At these places we got to meet a lot of cool people, had lots of good conversations, learned some new things, and got to serve a bit.
As I mentioned earlier we stayed at some Catholic Worker Houses. We randomly got connected with this network of communities through, seemingly a God kind of thing. One day we were sitting in a Starbucks in Las Vegas, we were looking for places to stay at our upcoming destinations and the Catholic Worker Houses came to my mind. I didn't really know anything about these houses, except that Dorthy Day started the movement and that they were geared towards severing the poor. I got the numbers of some of the houses through the Internet and made some phone calls. At some point in the conversations I would say something like,
"So, I'm pretty ignorant to what you guys do, but, would you be able to host my friend Levi and I for a night?"
To my surprise, both the Los Angeles Catholic Worker House and the formerly Catholic Worker House in San Francisco offered to have us for a few nights. At these places we got to hang out with the people who lived in the houses, listen to a speaker talk about serving the mentally ill and chronically homeless, have good conversations while walking the sidewalks of the city or gazing out towards the skyline while sitting on the third floor balcony, serve homeless people breakfast, clean a kitchen, and chill out. It was pretty sweet.
This next week we will be up near Portland Oregon visiting my friend Daniel Lister and checking out the city, Seattle Washington, and Vancouver British Colombia. We are expecting good things and delicious coffee.
Keep us in your prayers,
Much Love,
Levi and Elliot
White Sand New Mexico (bring sunglasses)
Sedona Arizona, Church on the Rocks
Grand Canyon at sunset
Yosemite National Park, you can see half dome in the distance.
Lakewood Church. Joel Osteen's church in Houston.
Apparently its the biggest church in the U.S.
The Alien museum in Roswell New Mexico.
After visiting we still don't know why Roswell is known for aliens.
Its a tourist trap...
My DTS friend Paul enjoying some In-and-Out.
Levi loves In-and-Out.
"We're in Vegas Baby!"
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Five and a Half Hours Later...
The trees are bigger, closer. There are more people, less winded. And the canyon is deeper, overwhelming. I thought to myself as Levi and I dragged our legs up the last few inclines of the Grand Canyon. As we rounded the last bend, I could see the railings, and the trail head bulletin board, and a lot of people, and I knew we were finished. With hunched backs and calves on fire, we strided up the incline. As people passed we could no longer spare the extra energy of giving a friendly head node but kept our eyes focused on the finish. I can only imagine the people's reaction to the sight of us,
\
"What a wreck, maybe the hike is a bit harder than I thought," would probably be the typical response.
My shirt was soaked in sweat, stained brown from all of the dust, and my facial expression was told people that I had a long day. Levi was no better. His earphones blocked out the noise of the excited sightseers, his scruffy beard was magnified by the dust that dyed everything, and his giant backpack showed that he meant business.
As we approached the last few feet of the trail head, Levi turned around with a big smile and gave me a high five. I slapped his hand with the little remaining energy I had left. Although we only got looks of curiosity from the surrounding people and my legs barely had enough strength left to carry me to the finish line, in my head I was getting a standing ovation with my hands raised in victory.
As we walked past the end of the trail, I asked Levi, "You want to get one last look at the canyon?"
"I had enough of the canyon." Levi responded.
I went over to the guard rail and starred down into the miles of deep, wide, brown walls of the canyon. I climbed that, I thought. I am capable, I did it. And with victory, a new appreciation for the canyon, and more respect for nature I took my last look than walked to the bus stop to take a seat.
That was a bit of our experience hiking the Grand Canyon. It was super sweet, but extremely challenging at the same time.
The past few days we have also been to Yosemite National Park, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. At these places we got to catch up with YWAM friends, Paul and Tina, and got to see God's crazy unique and awesome creations.
Next we will be heading to Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. We plan on trying to utilize Mennonite Your Way, Couch Surfing, and Catholic Worker Houses more often. We think it will give us a chance to hangout with locals more which we have found to be highlights of the trip. So hopefully that will work out.
Keep us in your prayers,
Much Love,
Levi and Elliot
P.S. We found out that our car doesn't do to well on mountains, so keep that in your prayers.
Victory
"take my picture"
Our bearded sage friends we met at the beginning of the trip
gave us advice we have been following,
"If you see something cool, stop."
So we stopped at this random lake in New Mexico.
Abandoned house in New Mexico.
Hmm...
Pit stop along a Texas highway
\
Drive by picture of the Alamo. Parking was to expensive.
Oil thing
We went to Lakewood. Joel Osteen is the pastor and
apparently it is the U.S.'s biggest church.
The French Quater in New Orleans (Naw-Lans).
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Sleeping Under the Stars
Last night Levi and I slept at a rest stop in Western Texas, on our way to Roswell New Mexico. We laid back our seats and crashed in the car, well sort of. The car was toasty, and finding a comfortable position to sleep in was impossible for me because I was stuck on the drivers side, where the backrest only goes back to a position which is not quit lying down but still kind of sitting; uncomfortable. I grew restless, and decided to just sleep on the gravel right outside the car.
I laid out my sleeping bag, set my pillow down, and snuggled up inside. It was actually much cooler outside the car and a slight breeze complimented the temperature. I found myself starring up at the night's sky where stars covered the huge expanse.
Although I was gazing upon so much beauty, I was still slightly uncomfortable. The eighteen-wheelers were occasionally driving by and I was slightly paranoid that a scorpion or a spider would crawl on me or in my sleeping bag while I was sleeping. But amid my complaints, I felt God wanted me to thank him for all the things that I could be thankful for. My sleeping bag, my pillow, stars, friends, health, the breeze, I thought, and suddenly there was a huge list of things I had and could be thankful for. I began to think, I have all of these things to be thankful for, and I still complain, but so many people around the world are sleeping in conditions much worse than mine. Through this realization and the ground shaking rumble of a tractor trailer going by, I felt a transcendent connection to all the people around the world sleeping on the ground, and outside, and worrying about bugs biting them.
And then I chundered (threw up) everywhere!!!!
Haha, sorry about the abrupt ending, the last part didn't actually happen, but everything else really did. Sorry about ruining the moment. I hope a decent amount of my and Levi's friends get the reference. If you want get a quick laugh and enjoy the joke more watch the link below. Hopefully you find it as funny as we do...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU
Anyways, currently we are in Roswell New Mexico, searching for aliens. Haha, we are planning on staying at a national forest, going to Phoenix,and then the Grand Canyon over the next few days. The trip has been great so far. We have visited a lot of friends and family. Thanks to all y'all (for those southerners) that have hosted us thus far. Levi played a gig in Texarkana the other day, that was pretty sweet.
Pictures and videos should be making an appearance shortly
Stay posted,
Much Love,
Elliot and Levi
I laid out my sleeping bag, set my pillow down, and snuggled up inside. It was actually much cooler outside the car and a slight breeze complimented the temperature. I found myself starring up at the night's sky where stars covered the huge expanse.
Although I was gazing upon so much beauty, I was still slightly uncomfortable. The eighteen-wheelers were occasionally driving by and I was slightly paranoid that a scorpion or a spider would crawl on me or in my sleeping bag while I was sleeping. But amid my complaints, I felt God wanted me to thank him for all the things that I could be thankful for. My sleeping bag, my pillow, stars, friends, health, the breeze, I thought, and suddenly there was a huge list of things I had and could be thankful for. I began to think, I have all of these things to be thankful for, and I still complain, but so many people around the world are sleeping in conditions much worse than mine. Through this realization and the ground shaking rumble of a tractor trailer going by, I felt a transcendent connection to all the people around the world sleeping on the ground, and outside, and worrying about bugs biting them.
And then I chundered (threw up) everywhere!!!!
Haha, sorry about the abrupt ending, the last part didn't actually happen, but everything else really did. Sorry about ruining the moment. I hope a decent amount of my and Levi's friends get the reference. If you want get a quick laugh and enjoy the joke more watch the link below. Hopefully you find it as funny as we do...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU
Anyways, currently we are in Roswell New Mexico, searching for aliens. Haha, we are planning on staying at a national forest, going to Phoenix,and then the Grand Canyon over the next few days. The trip has been great so far. We have visited a lot of friends and family. Thanks to all y'all (for those southerners) that have hosted us thus far. Levi played a gig in Texarkana the other day, that was pretty sweet.
Pictures and videos should be making an appearance shortly
Stay posted,
Much Love,
Elliot and Levi
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Saturday, 16 June 2012
Small Worlds
Levi and I discovered during our stay with YWAM Nashville that YWAM and Lancaster County have a lot in common: there is a surprising amount of Mennonites within YWAM, there is a lot of YWAMers that come out of Lancaster County, in YWAM you play "The Mennonite Game" by trying to connect and find mutual friends from different bases, and you randomly run into people you know.
All these discoveries happened within the first thirty minutes upon our arrival at the Nashville base. Levi and I got to the base a few minutes after diner began. We walked in and were greeted by friendly and welcoming faces. There was only a few people eating and on the base because the base had just sent out a DTS on outreach, so we quickly met everyone there. We grabbed our plates and got some food. The meal was mac and cheese, broccoli, and salad, but after eating only peanut butter and saltines for breakfast and lunch it tasted like a five star meal. Levi and I sat down at the table were the base staff was finishing up their meals. We began talking with the staffers about our road trip, where we were going, where we were from, where we did our DTSes, and similar topics.
One of the staffers commented and asked something along the lines of, "there are so many missionaries and YWAMers that come out of Lancaster, are you Mennonite by chance?"
I explained how I am Mennonite and Levi explained how he has kind of been grafted into the Mennonite Community. The base staff began listing off people they knew from Lancaster and asked if we knew any. With common last names such as Zimmerman, Weaver, and Hurst, we thought we recognized some of the names but didn't know any of them.
"There are so many Mennonites in YWAM," said a staffer. "I think there is a like secret club within YWAM of Mennonites. Like half of the staff here is Mennonite."
While our conversations floated around Mennonites and YWAM, the door behind our table was opened. Taking a bite of mac and cheese I turned my head to see who opened the door. With a double take and a wave of shock, I recognized the person who came through the door. It was our high school friend Jordan Keener who Levi and I went to school and played basketball with and who turned out to be a staff member at the YWAM Nashville base. Keener was just as shocked as we were to unexpectedly see someone we knew in the countryside of Tennessee. He stumbled backwards and laughed with his distinct tone in amazement. It was a familiar laugh, and Levi and I felt like we were back in Lancaster. It was pretty funny, randomly running into a friend from back home. Lancaster... and YWAM... small worlds.
Today we are just outside Birmingham Alabama visiting my good friend Nick Johnson. Monday we'll head to Atlanta to visit my boy Kimyung Kim.
In Honor of Alabama:
Much Love Yall,
All these discoveries happened within the first thirty minutes upon our arrival at the Nashville base. Levi and I got to the base a few minutes after diner began. We walked in and were greeted by friendly and welcoming faces. There was only a few people eating and on the base because the base had just sent out a DTS on outreach, so we quickly met everyone there. We grabbed our plates and got some food. The meal was mac and cheese, broccoli, and salad, but after eating only peanut butter and saltines for breakfast and lunch it tasted like a five star meal. Levi and I sat down at the table were the base staff was finishing up their meals. We began talking with the staffers about our road trip, where we were going, where we were from, where we did our DTSes, and similar topics.
One of the staffers commented and asked something along the lines of, "there are so many missionaries and YWAMers that come out of Lancaster, are you Mennonite by chance?"
I explained how I am Mennonite and Levi explained how he has kind of been grafted into the Mennonite Community. The base staff began listing off people they knew from Lancaster and asked if we knew any. With common last names such as Zimmerman, Weaver, and Hurst, we thought we recognized some of the names but didn't know any of them.
"There are so many Mennonites in YWAM," said a staffer. "I think there is a like secret club within YWAM of Mennonites. Like half of the staff here is Mennonite."
While our conversations floated around Mennonites and YWAM, the door behind our table was opened. Taking a bite of mac and cheese I turned my head to see who opened the door. With a double take and a wave of shock, I recognized the person who came through the door. It was our high school friend Jordan Keener who Levi and I went to school and played basketball with and who turned out to be a staff member at the YWAM Nashville base. Keener was just as shocked as we were to unexpectedly see someone we knew in the countryside of Tennessee. He stumbled backwards and laughed with his distinct tone in amazement. It was a familiar laugh, and Levi and I felt like we were back in Lancaster. It was pretty funny, randomly running into a friend from back home. Lancaster... and YWAM... small worlds.
Today we are just outside Birmingham Alabama visiting my good friend Nick Johnson. Monday we'll head to Atlanta to visit my boy Kimyung Kim.
In Honor of Alabama:
Much Love Yall,
Sunday, 10 June 2012
- We began this Sunday with an episcopal service in Lewes Delaware, soaking in the tradition and the early morning sun from stain-glassed windows as we sang "it is well with my soul." I liked to think that was the line that set the tone for this day... as it went very well.
After a great breakfast Bob and Joane took Elliot and I out on the boat where we had an amazing time cruising the Delaware Bay and then doing some tubing in the ocean.
The evening closed off with a relaxing dinner at a restaurant called "Kindle" that seems to be quite the hot spot for the Lewes Natives. A big thanks to Joane and Bob for their hospitality and for touring us around on their boat all day.
As this night is winding down I still feel the last few rings of It is well with my soul chiming out of my heart.
(Nina and Pinta are casually docked in the pictures above. NBD)
Friday, 8 June 2012
Into the Wild
After much planning and anticipation our journey begins -- Into the Wild -- of Pitman New Jersey. Haha, no its not quite the wild, but it is New Jersey...
Pitman is actually a pretty cool town. The reason we decided to come here first is because Levi was able to get a gig at a music cafe during a town festival. Levi has a family friend here, Vic, who owns the cafe and has a leadership role in organizing the festival. The most interesting part of the festival is that there is a facial hair competition happening. Lots of competitors from a few different states are coming to show off their many months worth of facial hair and put on a show. Tomorrow will be an fun and interesting day full of music and beards.
Much love,
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Tentative Itinerary
June!!!!!!
8-9- pitman
10th-Delaware, rehobeth
11th- Harrisonburg , VA
12-13-Lynchburg
14th raliegh NC
16th Nashville
19th- Birmingham, AL or Atlanta GA
23- mobile, Alabama
24th new Orleans (ywam base?)
26texarkana Texas leave the 28th
28th...? Dallas?
29 roswell NM
30 Phoenix, Arizona
July!!!!!
1st-4th Grand canyon/red rocks
5th - las Vegas
7th- Los angeles YWAM
8-9th Yosemite
10th san Francisco
11th Sacramento
13th Reading California
14th Albany
15th-16th Portland OR
17th Seattle
17th/18th Vancouver
19-21st calgary
21st-24th glacier nat park, zach, Yellowstone
25-26 fort collons Colorado
27th boulder co
28tg Chicago
30th- 4th August Indiana (vacation)
August 4th canton Ohio
8-9- pitman
10th-Delaware, rehobeth
11th- Harrisonburg , VA
12-13-Lynchburg
14th raliegh NC
16th Nashville
19th- Birmingham, AL or Atlanta GA
23- mobile, Alabama
24th new Orleans (ywam base?)
26texarkana Texas leave the 28th
28th...? Dallas?
29 roswell NM
30 Phoenix, Arizona
July!!!!!
1st-4th Grand canyon/red rocks
5th - las Vegas
7th- Los angeles YWAM
8-9th Yosemite
10th san Francisco
11th Sacramento
13th Reading California
14th Albany
15th-16th Portland OR
17th Seattle
17th/18th Vancouver
19-21st calgary
21st-24th glacier nat park, zach, Yellowstone
25-26 fort collons Colorado
27th boulder co
28tg Chicago
30th- 4th August Indiana (vacation)
August 4th canton Ohio
Thursday, 31 May 2012
The Beginnings
Looking out of the large glass windows facing the busy street and the afternoon traffic I can see a group of middle school kids hanging out and enjoying the sunny afternoon.
"Levi," I say to get the attention of my long time friend, "we were those kids not to long ago."
It's crazy how time flies. To think only a few years ago I was in middle school, wondering what the locker filled hallways of high school would have in store for me. Now I have just completed my first year in college and am looking forward to my next step in life. A few weeks ago my friend Levi Schlosser and I got together, talked, and prayed over some Starbucks coffee about what our next step/summer plans are looking like. We were in contact over several weeks about the possibility of a long summer trip around the states and wanted to begin to get serious about our ideas. Through a few hours of serious talk and consideration about the possible forms this trip could take, we punched out a general vision for the trip and figured out some tentative details. We decided that the trip will have a goal of seeing the country at a grassroots level, creating the possibilities for God to use our musical gifts and talents for his glory, and experiencing God in a more intimate way through his creation and the his people.
Levi and I are super pumped for the trip to begin. We are leaving June 8th and have given ourselves two months to be away and travel the country. We plan on driving Levi's Honda Accord. Levi and I have several friends throughout country because of our time with YWAM and we plan on visiting them, meeting new people through Mennonite Your Way, camping at national parks, and going to many major cities.
Keep us in your prayers,
Much Love, Elliot and Levi
"Levi," I say to get the attention of my long time friend, "we were those kids not to long ago."
It's crazy how time flies. To think only a few years ago I was in middle school, wondering what the locker filled hallways of high school would have in store for me. Now I have just completed my first year in college and am looking forward to my next step in life. A few weeks ago my friend Levi Schlosser and I got together, talked, and prayed over some Starbucks coffee about what our next step/summer plans are looking like. We were in contact over several weeks about the possibility of a long summer trip around the states and wanted to begin to get serious about our ideas. Through a few hours of serious talk and consideration about the possible forms this trip could take, we punched out a general vision for the trip and figured out some tentative details. We decided that the trip will have a goal of seeing the country at a grassroots level, creating the possibilities for God to use our musical gifts and talents for his glory, and experiencing God in a more intimate way through his creation and the his people.
Levi and I are super pumped for the trip to begin. We are leaving June 8th and have given ourselves two months to be away and travel the country. We plan on driving Levi's Honda Accord. Levi and I have several friends throughout country because of our time with YWAM and we plan on visiting them, meeting new people through Mennonite Your Way, camping at national parks, and going to many major cities.
Keep us in your prayers,
Much Love, Elliot and Levi
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