Memorial Day 2013

On April 26 I blogged about the flood mitigation work ongoing at Glen Eyrie.  The work was hampered some by snow and rain, but I am happy to share some new pictures of the green green grass of (this) home.

We are starting Memorial Day weekend, and the weather is just gorgeous.
There are weddings, graduations, and memories of those who have gone before us.  It is good to be in this place of quiet memory of a man with a vision, namely William Jackson Palmer, who built this place for his home.  
For the protection of the Almighty, to preserve this place for its current function.  
For the insight of the Navigators, who share this place with the public; for retreats, contemplation, rest, and restoration.   

A quiet place in a busy world.  Even the animals know this and some come here to graze and rest. 

 



Our tenure here will end on June 2, after which we shall return to our home in Johnston, Iowa for most of the summer.  

 
On our past day off, we went to Pueblo.  Here we enjoyed great day of relaxing as well.  

Walking the river walk, enjoying the down town area and relaxing for a cup of coffee. The river walk also commemorated Medal of Honor recipients, as well as service members of all branches of the military.  
 A nice prelude to this Memorial Day weekend.

Cowboy Church

While we were volunteering at Glen Eyrie we attended church at the Flying W Ranch. The Flying W is a Western hang-out in NW Colorado Springs. It is only about 10 minutes from Glen Eyrie. We were invited by another volunteer to attend church here, with her the first Sunday we were present on the grounds of Glen Eyrie. Although our job of hosting the Pink House usually involves work on the weekends, we are able to break away to attend one of the many churches in the area. The Navigators are not a church, or a denomination. So, they do not operate a church on the grounds.
This does not mean, of course, that one cannot worship on the property.

Obviously many guests do exactly that. The serenity of the place, the peace it exudes, no cell phone signal in may areas, and no TV make you appreciate your surroundings.

The handy work of the Creator is manifest all around. The quiet wild life one may encounter, the rock formations, trees and flowers, and the beautiful sights seen on any of the many hiking trails.


But let’s go back to Sunday Worship at the “Cowboy-Church. The winter dining area is set up as a worship center.


The stage area contains the pulpit and also accommodates the Praise Team, which leads the congregation in singing and helps to focus on God. As you enter the rustic worship center, you are encouraged to take a pillow along. The pick-nick table benches get somewhat uncomfortable after about a half hour.

Old time hymns with guitar and mandolin music accompanying, makes for a great time of singing together. The sermons are very much Bible based, yet contemporary and helpful for daily living. No strange theology here!

We continued to attend worship here, except for our last Sunday. We had a great wedding celebration involving both of us on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Maybe I’ll share some pictures of this in another blog.

VACATION

Vacation.
What is in a word?
Vacant
Vacancy
Vakantie (Dutch)

The word seems to imply an emptiness, void, or space.
So, why do we rush so form place to place to fill our “vacation” with busy, glitzy places?
Things to see, things to do, money to spend?
Do we really understand the need to be “vacating” from work so we can be recharged in order to function with joy in our daily drudgery? Many vacationers seem to need a “vacation” to recover from their vacation.

When we “retire” - which does not mean to change a tire, but could mean: to go to bed in order to go to sleep; do we “rest?” Or do we pursue other quests which wear us out?

I do enjoy the more leisurely pace of this season of my life.
Traveling on secondary roads, seeing small towns, enjoying the budding trees, dogwoods; going some-where ...
Yes, we do still have goals, and I still don’t have time for golf ☺
Sometimes we have to get “there.” Volunteering is an interdependent activity - but we are volunteers, not staff. There is a certain freedom here. Freedom from worry, of being in charge.
Planning helps.

So, enjoy, your vacation, lie on the beach, but don’t get burned
even if it means to fill it with trivial things,
but skip the drudgery!

Our work at CEF.

(the pictures are clickable for larger views)



Although most of the volunteers here work at the Mailbox Club, some of us work in different areas, like maintenance and grounds for many of the able bodied men. Corrie and I usually work in the production department. We are involved with collating, punching and comb-binding books of “flash-cards.” Some of these books also contain text and songs, for use in clubs. The CEF press here also publishes Spanish versions; some of the international books contain just the flash cards. Also we have been helping pack kits for the various Gospel Clubs, like the Five Day Clubs, or Good News Clubs. The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that Good News Clubs can be conducted in public elementary schools, so many kits are prepared for use in Good News Clubs held at these schools.

Corrie is the one volunteer who is trained and trusted to make “Wordless Books.” These booklets use color to tell the salvation - gospel story. Green is for Salvation and is the outside cover. Black signifies our sin, Red the blood of Christ, White is the washing away - purity, Gold is heaven, the presence if God. Many of the club leaders like to use these little books. They are made in strips, which produce 6 booklets. In a day a person can make about 200 strips, or 1200 booklets. CEF press also still makes flocked pictures, which can be used on flannel boards; again, there continues to be quite a demand for these as well.
Most of this work is labor intensive, therefore the use of volunteers is very beneficial.

For relaxation we have a country band sing along, called “Picking and Grinning” once a week, usually on Thursday night. We do a lot of old “homecoming” songs, and some fancy guitar picking goes on as well. All good clean fun. Many evenings we go for a walk on the grounds, but this time, the weather has not been cooperative. It has been cold and rainy, most days. So we have been relegated to watching some DVD movies on our computer in the room.

Glen Eyrie again

Last Saturday we went up Queen’s Canyon to go to Dorothy falls and the “Punch Bowls” on top. These are like “shut-ins.” It was a difficult climb, but beautiful none the less. We saw some awesome sights, creations is so majestic here! Our map said it would take about one hour to climb to the falls, but we took 3 hours, because every time we stopped and looked around there was something else to see and marvel at; we love the Glen Eyrie area.



















As I mentioned before, it is located just north of the “Garden of the Gods” and has similar mountains, but this area is private and soooooo incredibly peaceful. Your whole being comes to rest and you know that God is in this place. You don't have to go looking for Him, He is right here, giving you peace and rest, even on a difficult hike...
The organization that runs this place, “The Navigators”, is a nondenominational Christian organization, well known for emphasis on discipleship training. They provide a restful place for a weary bodies and a restless spirits. Even though the work is hard sometimes and we come home tired, after just a little rest, you can go on again, because of the serenity of this place.

We see lots of wild life here. The Big Horn sheep sometimes come down to meadow at our elevation, turkeys roost in the trees in front of our cabin. Every night, at sundown, they take a running start to fly into the trees, it seems they crash into their roosting place.

Deer come take a drink in our little pond and if we are very quiet, they will let us take their picture...






There are all kinds of birds and small animals as well. The local rabbit has adopted us in his territory, but the squirrels continue to be skittish. This is a wildlife preserve, and the animals have the right of way. We ate having a marvelous time.

At work: in the dining room

At work: The work shop Joh uses.