Summit Ministries

Today was quite interesting around Summit Ministries in beautiful Manitou Springs, CO. It was far from a typical to say the least. Whether students opted to climb to the top of Pikes Peak or sleep in and enjoy a relaxing day around Manitou Springs, the general consensus was that it was fulfilling and satisfying. In this blog I will tell you about my personal day and some of the activities the other students engaged in.
" Sweet mid-Sundays at Summit Ministries in beautiful Manitou Springs, CO..." Such were the thoughts of my mind early this morning as I lay peacefully in the comfort of my bed. When I refer to early, I am referring to 5:20 am. This was the time the hikers were required to rise in order to embark on the strenuous trek to the 14,000 ft summit of Pikes Peak. I on the other hand opted to take the free day as a time of refreshment and relaxation. My day officially began around 10:00 this morning. To some of you, this may seem like a late start, but I would like to remind you that for the past 6 days we have woken around roughly 6:45 am. I would also like to add to this point that we are a group primarily made up of late teenagers to early twenty year olds. Anything before 9:30 pm, to us, is considered "early rising." Let me continue on in the description of the proceedings of my day. Soon after arising from my peaceful slumber and upon inspection of my second dresser drawer I realized that I was desperately short in the garment section of my packing. After a short evaluation I deduced that I was in need of washing the all of my clothing selection. However I quickly realized more so than my need of sufficient clean clothing was my need for sufficient nourishment. The decision to make a quick trip to the lunchroom was an easy one. I was greeted by the smiling faces of several other Summiters. These were friends of mine who had also opted to stay back from the trek. After greeting my friends I enjoyed a delicious bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats... did I mention it was delicious? A quick shower later, I found the laundry facilities. I then attempted to begin the process of laundry. I say attempted because it was at this time that I realized the importance of my wonderful Mother. I have minimal to no experience in the area of laundry. This, as you may have gathered, is a problem when in need of clothes and without a mother near at hand. I decided to play it safe and give my trusty friend Tressa Q. a call. She kindly understood my incompetence as an 18 year old male and directed me in the correct way to wash clothes. I pray she was right... my clothes look a tad bit smaller now than when I began. Tressa insists it is just me.
Moving on. After laundry, a group of friends and I enjoyed a splendid croissant deli style sandwich on the back dining porch. I might add at this point that the weather here in Colorado is balmy. A wonderful 80 degrees is my best guess at the average temperature here in the foothills of the Rockies. From that point on my afternoon was filled with relaxing on the front porch discussing the not-so-deep wonders of life and in general the creating of life long friendships amongst my fellow Summiters.
As I have mentioned, the other activity option for the day was the trek to the summit of Pikes Peak. This is the mountain Manitou Springs and Summit Ministries sits at the foot of. Because I did not personally choose this option, I do not have much to say on the subject. From what I gathered from other Summiters, the 14 mile trek was well worth the early waking and exhausting hike. They arrived back to Summit at around 3:00 pm. (did I mention they left at 5:30 am?)
This evening was also a wonderful time. For dinner a group of new friends and I went out to eat at a small restaurant. We enjoyed each others company and conversed about the first impressions we had received from one-another, and how we they matched up with what we have found to be true. At 7:00 pm we enjoyed worship in the chapel area followed by a Sunday sermon given by the local Pastor Anderson. He spoke on the need for Christian leadership and standing up for the true values of Christianity. We had a short break and then heard from Doc Noebel in our daily Bible hour. We ended our formal evening by viewing the new movie entitled "The Great Global Warming Swindle." This was a movie I would recommend to anyone interested in the topic of global warming. It discusses in detail the truths and myths involved in the global warming scare that is epidemically sweeping America.
The Summit Ministries program as a whole has been a time of equipping and informing. I feel that it is extremely important for young people to understand the world and how it works. That is exactly what Summit does all in the correct and sensible world-view of Christianity.
In conclusion, today was a wonderful day of relaxation, bonding and learning. I feel that this day of rest was much needed and appreciated. I am excited, however, to embark again on another full day of learning and activites.