Covenant Annual Meeting, Estes Park

I arrived home yesterday after a great week in Estes Park, CO.  I was commissioned along with other Short term and Project Missionaries for service through the Covenant Church.  Here is a video if you are interested in the service (our section starts at about 19min in the video): http://vimeo.com/25469164

It was great to see old friends and make new connections too.  I sometimes forget about the supportive church family that I have spread throughout the country and the world.  I was thankful for the opportunity to speak with so many people who have been in Congo and have a heart for the work there.  I had a Congolese flag attached to my name tag, and that's how I made a lot of new friends.  People would yell from across the room "Congo?!" and I would respond "Congo!".  Instant friends.  

Of course we were in stunning Colorado so I had to take advantage of the awesome hiking around us.

My friend KB and I at the top of Bible Point, Estes Park.  KB will be a missionary in East Asia teaching English.  

It was called Bible Point because there was a young man who died in an accident in the early twentieth century.  This mountain top was his favorite place to come and reflect on life and God, so his family keeps a Bible in the mailbox, and honored him by putting a cross at this site too.

Anyone could write their prayers on a notebook in the mailbox, so KB and I added our meditations. 

The last two days I spent in Fort Collins, CO with the Noren's.  Here is Karl with baby Michael near the top of Horsetooth Pass.

Ruth was a super trooper! She climbed one section of the mountain all by herself! Everyone we saw on the trail were very impressed with little Ruthie.

And here is the whole Noren family with Mama Mary.  It was a lot of fun to get to know them better through our hiking excursion.  They will be serving in Rainforest International School in Yaounde, Cameroon.

And our gracious hosts! David and Debbie Williams will be serving with me in Congo, so it was great to see their home and learn more about their community and family.  Their granddaughter Jayla was great to get to know too, I hope she comes to visit her Grandparents in Congo!