Hi Folks,
Wow, it has been such a long time!!!! Some of you haven’t heard from me in a long time . . . while others have maybe seen and heard from me more than you wanted! :) The last year and a half has been quite a roller coaster for me, as I survived an accelerated nursing program in Pueblo, Colorado. It was every bit as intense as they say, maybe even more so. But in the 14 months of school there, I obtained a BSN and soon will have my RN (if I pass my boards, that is).
But that is all in the past. I’m assuming you would like to know what I’m doing now and in the near future. Well, the biggest thing coming up is that I’m going to Bolivia in less than one month!!!!! Hmmm, can’t tell that I’m excited can you? :) Gospel Ministries International has a mission aviation outpost and a media center in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Part of the aviation program includes a home where patients who have been brought to the hospital by the mission plane can stay. Many of them cannot afford to stay in the hospital, yet they are not able to return to their villages because further care is still needed. I will most likely be working at this home, helping to provide the care they need. I learned about this opportunity from Daniel Adams, a mission pilot there who is a very good friend of mine. He and I worked as student missionaries together in Venezuela back in 2006 and part of 2007. We bumped into each other again at the last Generation of Youth for Christ conference (GYC) and he invited me to come and work with him in Bolivia.
In the meantime, I have been staying with Daniel’s parents, Fred and Diana Adams, in Placerville, CA since my own parents are currently nomadic as they work towards their goal of returning to Papua New Guinea. Over the past month I drove up through Oregon and Washington to visit my parents in Moses Lake, WA where they were building an airplane. If you don’t get their updates and would like to, go to www.cosample.hopeonwings.org and sign up for the e-newsletter. I spent several weeks with them and visited other friends and relatives on the way up and back down.
I went on an adventure while driving back down from WA to CA. I decided to stop and camp in the Diamond Lake/Crater Lake area, which is where my family used to go camping during the time we lived in Sutherlin, OR. I have so many amazing memories of the family time we spent there, that I wanted to go again and relive those memories. Even though I was going alone, I decided to hike in 4 miles towards Mt. Thielson and then camp at the base of the mountain. My dad, brother, and I had done this a while ago and had found an amazing rock shelter with a view of the mountain, and I wanted to find that shelter and camp there for the night. I got a rather late start, though, and by the time I was two miles in, the sun had set and dusk was fast turning into dark. The moon was only a sliver, but I was still able to see the trail ahead so I didn’t turn on my headlamp immediately. It was an incredible experience to walk through the woods at night … and surprisingly I wasn’t afraid. In the past, being in a forest at night with all the sounds and rustling was a frightening experience, but I knew that my angels were walking with me and I had no need to fear.
I arrived at the base of the mountain at about 9p, but rather than setting up camp, I continued on the Pacific Crest trail heading down the other side of the ridge and going beside the mountain. Somewhere just below the trail was the rock that I wanted to camp under, so I left the trail and headed down a wide ravine looking for it. I had my light on by now, but nothing looked familiar. It was obvious that avalanches had come through in the past winters and the new growth was difficult to push through at times. After about an hour of looking, I gave up and went back to the top of the ridge to camp. I unrolled my pad and bag and crawled in. As I looked at the starry sky above me, I couldn’t help but think of the God who created those stars . . . and as I thought, I realized some lessons that God wanted to teach me. God has created a path for me to walk in . . . He whispers ‘this is the way, walk ye in it’. This trail that He has set for my life is not necessarily easy; it has ups and downs, twists and turns, that are often unexpected by me. On this trail, shortcuts are not a good idea because I don’t know where this trail will lead me next; I have no way of predicting the next twist or turn. But if I do choose to try a shortcut, I miss out on the blessings that would have come by sticking to the trail. Even then, though, all is not lost because God is able to create trails leading from wherever I end up back towards the purpose He had for me originally. But I must choose to follow. As I walk along this trail, the most important thing for me to do is search for the Rock, only this Rock will always be found by those who look.
The next morning I woke up early and decided to again look for the rock . . . but I never was able to find it. I had just enough time left to climb to the top of Thielson, looming more than 1000 feet above where I had camped. The trail to the top was only a mile, but the elevation gain made that mile seem a lot longer! But the view from the top was totally worth the climb! I have uploaded pictures to my Picasa web albums (http://picasaweb.google.com/
I’m now back in California at the Adams’ home, doing last minute studying for the NCLEX (nursing board exam). I take the exam tomorrow. On Wednesday (29th) I’ll be flying to Mexico for one week, then it will back here for another two weeks before flying to Bolivia on the 20th of Oct. Life is moving fast and God is leading and blessing tremendously! I’m looking forward to seeing where He takes me in the future! I pray that God will bless each and every one of you as well. I plan to send out a monthly (or more) newsletter via email, just to keep everyone up-to-date on my mission adventures. If you don't want to be on my list, let me know.
Blessings,
Corrie
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