More Details on Summer

Details are coming together regarding our summer. Here's the latest news.

First of all, we booked out flights to Anchorage and we will be there from July 4 through August 13. If anyone is wants to visit us while we're there it would best to do it right when we get there. We're actually arriving in Alaska 6 days before I start my internship so we can do some camping up in Denali National Park.

Some more exciting news about the trip is that Pam scored a job at a Starbucks in Anchorage. She will probably be working a lot, which means we'll definitely be able to keep our medical coverage and her status as a Starbucks employee in Michigan. She's really excited to show those Alaskan bumpkins a think or two about coffee-makin'.

Perhaps more applicable to the people reading this blog, we are planning a trip to Seattle/Lynden/Vancouver during the first week of June. Prospective dates for the trip are May 30 through June 6 or 7. It all depends on how long ya'll will let us stay at your places. We plan to hang out in Lynden for the first couple days at the Heisers and then up in Vancouver (where we'll meet our newest niece and nephew for the first time)!

Other than that, not a whole lot going on around here. I'm preaching my first sermon in class on Tuesday. Then I'm doing it for real the following Sunday at a Christian Reformed Church on a Navajo reservation in NW New Mexico! I'm excited but quite nervous. Why will I be in New Mexico you ask? I'm one of the youth leaders at our church and that's the location for this year's spring break server project. I plan on taking hundreds of pictures and maybe even blogging while I'm there.

What's going on with Pam and Mark?

Where in the world have Pam and Mark been for the last month? Are they so busy that they can't take an hour every few days to write a quick blog entry? Why does my breath smell bad in the morning even though I brushed my teeth right before I go to bed? The answers to these questions, as well as many others, will be answered in time my friends. But as for now, I just wanted to update ya'll on what Pam and I will be doing in the near future.

The biggest news we've gotten recently is that we'll be headed to Anchorage, Alaska for our summer internship. I'm supposed to be there from July 15 to August 19. We also plan on bookending our trip with hang out time in Vancouver and Lynden. Pam and I are really excited to be headed to the nation's 49th state. I'll be helping with the church's cross-cultural youth ministry, which reaches out to the local Asian and Native American communities. Hopefully we'll be able to fit in a quick trip up to Mount McKinley, North America's most scenic and tallest mountain. It's likely that Pam will transfer to a Starbucks in Anchorage, which would be great.

I recently started a new quarter at seminary. My winter quarter was very difficult and I'm glad to be taking 4 courses this quarter instead of the 5 I had last quarter. In case anyone is wondering what I learn at school, right now I'm taking Greek, Preaching, Church History and Evangelism/Missions. I am also getting more and more involved with our local church's youth group. In April (3-11) I'm going with the group on a serve trip to Shiprock, New Mexico.

Right now Pam's parents are in town and we've been having lots of fun playing games and seeing the glorious sights that Grand Rapids has to offer. Here are a few pictures of our recent activities. Including me helping my nephew Emmitt walk around my parents' living room.