Sitting in SLC airport and thinking about some major blessings.

About 17 hours ago I woke up to a horrific truth. My insides were quite determined to make themselves my outsides. This continued for many hours and to spare you the gory details I didn't sleep much at all. My gracious host n hostess (my big bro and his wonderful wife) discovered this horrific fact in the early morning. From then on they became even more gracious, supplying me with Gatorade, Tylenol, Pepto-Bismol, and so on and so forth. It's quite nice when you're all messed up to have sympathetic people around to make you feel less guilty about being miserable. 

In fact we were all concerned about my ability to travel today as scheduled... to the point that I was offered the ability to stay longer, and even nudged that direction (before I fully recovered just in time). I couldn't help but remember a similar situation a few years back when I was spending the weekend at some dear friends house in Casper, WY. Unfortunately their regularly scheduled weekend guest also became ill, for the better part of a week... this didn't faze them in the slightest and despite my cave-dweller recovery period I was well taken care of. And when I finally left I genuinely felt like they were sad to see me go. 

Having been through a similar situation twice now, I can't begin to express how blessed I am. Both in the friends and the family that I get to orbit. As I sit here waiting for my layover to end, watching episodes of Top Gear on my phone, I am content. (thanks to wendys and a rapid recovery my belly is full too) The road ahead just gets more and more filled with things, but at the same time I'm less frightened and more eager than I've been in a long time. 

-Nick

On Rest and Adventure, and the elusive concept of normal.

I haven't written in a month... and what a month it has been! (aren't they all?) As is typical the last month went by in what now seems like an eye-blink. But somewhere in that instant was packed weeks of projects and final exams, new responsibilities, successes, and failures. I know I should post more when I forget all of the things that I've done since the last post... but alas that's difficult to do and no one wants me to post another apology about that... so further up and further in!

Finals went well albeit hectically and it was with no small amount of melancholy that I bid farewell to a hall full of crazy, loud-at-the-oddest-hours, friendly, eccentric men. It was a good year and I learned a lot about myself and how I've changed since I was last in that environment. It was a great year and in many ways Omaha is as much a home as anywhere else because of those guys. I can't wait to get back and do it again in the fall.

The day after the semester closed down I zipped off to the (not) cool and breezy place known as Phoenix Arizona to spend some time with my Brother, Sister-in-law, and two nephews. I also had the opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon with one of the guys from school, and to hike a lava cave outside of Flagstaff on Monday. It was an incredible study in contrasts with the sheer scale and dusty majesty of the Grand Canyon set against the cold and smooth darkness of the lava tunnel. Well worth the sunburn.

This week of vacation has been anything but normal, but it has also been the most restful and recuperative time I've had in months. I've been outside of my normal by a fair bit, both in the big ticket adventures (see above) and in the ones that I hope I remember for a very long time (such as running around the house with my nephew). I've slept a great deal, been blessed by amazing food, and am honestly humbled by the experience of being welcomed into an already busy home and made to feel like I belong here.

I can look back and see a year of faithfulness. Where the call to Omaha has led me through some incredible things. When I set out from Rapid having never been to Grace, I remember saying that if all I had was a few months that I was supposed to spend it in Omaha, and looking I don't regret a minute of it. I feel the same certainty for next year and who knows how long any of us have? I know this is a place and a ministry field worth being involved in, and until I'm called away it's where I'll be.

My heart is full, and despite my head being borderline (or more) frantic with camp just around the corner and far too many things not going as anticipated with planning. I can rest on this fact, that whatever the next wild-and-crazy year holds (I have a few guesses but I don't really know) It'll be a crazy ride and that all the eccentric bunny trails I took to get to this point will only be helpful as I move forward.

-Nick
P.S. camp season is coming soon, and with it return the daily updates for the third year!