2012 In Review

This year has had some pretty big changes in my life.  It was wonderful to see both my brothers and their wives this year.  As well, I had a lot of fun hiking in the Yellowstone and Bozeman areas this year.  I think the most major event I had this year was my mission trip to Angola.

My brother Scott, his wife Amanda, and our friend Josh came to visit me in June.  I hadn't met Amanda since they got married about three years ago.  While they were here, they spent a couple days seeing Yellowstone National Park.  It really is tough to try to pack as much stuff into a two-day trip in Yellowstone as possible.  But next time they come, we'll still have more things to show them.

Amanda's the only one without glow-in-the-dark legs.

For me, one of the most significant events that happened while they were here was when I was driving back to Gardiner after a full day in Yellowstone Park with them, they prayed with me especially regarding my upcoming mission trip.  They more officially prayed for the mission trip before they left, but that impromptu point in time was special to me.

My other brother Kevin and his then fiancée Michaela (now they're married) came from Germany in August to see Montana and the family.  August is a great time of year to come to Montana because of all the activities.  They were able to see pig wrestling, and Kevin, Michaela, and I went to a demolition derby in Livingston.  Kevin and Michaela also came to Gardiner to see Yellowstone for a couple days.  We even hiked to the top of Mount Washburn.  I think one of Michaela's highlights was going to Chico Hot Springs.  Although this was a difficult trip for the two of them because of outside circumstances, I was glad to meet Michaela and see them.

Kevin and Michaela at the top of Mount Washburn

I hiked all over this part of the country this year!

1. I hiked around Rescue Creek March 30 with Mike - 3 miles;
2. I hiked on the ridge on Sepulcher Mountain outside my window April 21 - 3 miles;
3. I hiked to Cache Lake with Adam and Mike May 15 - 10 miles;
4. I hiked to Crevice Lake with Mike May 23 - 12.2 miles;
5. I hiked to Mount Washburn with Kevin and Michaela August 7 - 6.4 miles;
6. I hiked to the Hoodoos with Jared and Kassie August 16 - 3 miles;
7. I camped at Tom Miner Basin with Greg on August 26 and did a short hike the next day - 1 mile;
8. I camped at Rock Creek with Greg on September 7 and hiked along the creek the next day - 10 miles;
9. I hiked to West Boulder Meadow with Jaret September 15 - 6 miles;
10. I hiked to Pioneer Falls with Jaret September 22 - 7.5 miles;
11. I hiked to Lava Lake with Jaret September 29 - 6 miles; and
12. I hiked to Natural Bridge with Jean October 2 - 2 miles.

Mike hikes near the Yellowstone River.

Adam wades through snow on our way to Cache Lake.

Kassie and Jared along the trail through the Hoodoos

Me and Greg near Rock Creek

Jaret along the trail to Lava Lake

I went on a mission trip to Angola (in Africa) at the beginning of July.  We showed the JESUS Film to about 1,400 people in 5 cities on 6 different occasions and saw about 250 people come to know Jesus as their personal Savior.  Our team was fairly small—only five people—but we were very blessed during the entire trip.  God protected us and our equipment in a riot.  Our team was interviewed by the national newspaper and radio regarding our mission trip.  Our presence was able to encourage believers there in that country.  Even though we didn't have a translator as we anticipated, most of our encounters went smoothly.  I was able to gain a new perspective on Christian ministry and now I see many things (Christian and secular) from a new point of view.

Our JESUS Film mission team and some members of the church in N'dalatando at Lucala River

A couple sad things did happen this year.  Adam, one of my friends, had to move away from Montana, and Jean also had to move from Montana to the Seattle area.  I'm pretty close to both of them so it's pretty obvious that I miss them both.

Jean sits in the opening of a coke oven near Gardiner.

This year had a lot of major events!  I didn't cover some of them.

My grandaunt Betty passed away March 22, 2012 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease.  She had just turned 88 years old when she died.  I got to see some of Betty's family here in Montana when they came for her memorial service.  Since then I've been trying to handle her affairs.  It's amazing how many things have to be done when a person passes away.  Believe it or not, there's still a couple of lingering items that have to be done—though nothing terribly important.

Betty around 1980

Dad and Bonnie moved into a new house this year and sold the house I grew up in.  Kevin's no longer in the army and was honorably discharged in July.  Kevin and Michaela got married October 5 and live in Hanover, Germany.  Amanda's pregnant, and I'm going to be an uncle in June sometime.  A lot of other family dynamics have also changed this year.

I've started going to church in Bozeman on a regular basis.  I haven't been able to really attend church in many years (in part because I needed to work on weekends because I work at a hotel), so I've greatly appreciated the ability to be around other believers.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot.  I haven't really said anything publicly about this until now, but I've been looking for suitable work in the Bozeman area for about five months now.  I'm still looking, but nothing's turned up yet.  With my grandmother's house up for sale, I know it's a matter of time before I have to move, so I've been looking for opportunities.  I still take care of the pool at my hotel, but otherwise haven't been working at the front desk since I went to Angola.

I wish all my friends and family a happy New Year!

Christmas Change-Up

I celebrated Christmas a little differently from in the past few years.  Jean is now in the state of Washington, and Grandma's in a nursing home.  I pretty much have the house to myself.

On December 8, I went to a Christmas party hosted by Calvary Chapel Bozeman.  Hosted at Pastor Ted's house, we had a good time.  There was a white elephant gift exchange and lots of good snacks.

It was a particularly slippery night on the roads between Gardiner and Bozeman.  There was ice everywhere, and since church services were the next morning, I decided that it was best to stay in Bozeman overnight because I didn't want to drive over all that ice two extra times more than necessary.  Since then, I've decided that this winter when I got to Bozeman or Livingston to always have an overnight bag with me just in case the weather turns sour.

I took care of Greg's and Sabina's cat Tigger this month for a couple weeks.  They went on vacation to Mexico, to where the Mayan ruins are, in time for the "world's end."  Tigger stayed at my house in his own room.  Although he was pretty upset over the change in venue, he accepted me as the giver of food and near the end of his visit would allow me to pet and scratch him for a short time.

I went to Livingston Christmas Day where I picked up Dad, Bonnie, and a lady I hadn't met before named Lori (I'm not sure how to spell her name, so if she reads this and it's spelled wrong, my apologies).  We drove up Wineglass Mountain to Bonnie's half-sister's house.  There, Bonnie's half-sister Mary Lee and her husband Paul made a wonderful Christmas spread.  Their house was filled with their relatives and was quite cozy.  I enjoyed the afternoon there, and liked the wonderful view they had of Livingston from their house.

We did have a minor disaster while we were there.  One of Paul's and Mary Lee's grandchildren fell out of his small plastic chair backwards and hit the back of his head on the step behind him.  The little toddler boy cried for a couple minutes.  At first his mom thought that there was cranberry sauce on the floor until she realized that his meal was still on his plate.  The little guy had this huge gash on the back of his head.  He might have needed stitches, but it wasn't an emergency.  His dad took care of the wound there at the house, at least for the moment.  I was surprised that for such a bad wound, that little guy hardly cried.

Lori didn't like the mountain road that was drifted with snow.  I had four-wheel drive and felt pretty confident on the road, but because of all the slipping and sliding everywhere, Lori was a bit uncomfortable.

This past Friday the 28th, Greg and Sabina had me and the lady who house sat while they were out of the country over for dinner to thank us for taking care of Tigger and their house.  Sabina cooked a great meal—rosemary chicken with garlic, potatoes with rosemary and onions, and a couple salads.  While we were there, Greg and Sabina showed us their photos from their vacation.  If I ever get the opportunity, I'd love to be able to see the Mayan ruins too.  It looked like they had a wonderful time there.

Movember

This past month hasn't had a lot of activity, so I didn't bother to write a blog post.

My brother Scott and his wife Amanda have announced that they're going to have a baby in June!  I'll be an uncle for the first time.

On November 2, I went to the 2012 Cru Fellowship Dinner as I do every year.  Unfortunately Dad's and Bonnie's RSVP didn't make it back, but accommodations were made for them.  I enjoy seeing how God has changed the lives of college students at MSU.

I am a proud voter, but with Montana's laws changed, we had a lot of outside advertising.  I was constantly receiving phone calls for surveys.  People on Facebook tended to be fanatical over their political party and over the people they wanted to vote for.  I wished that there was a filter on Facebook that would eliminate all mentions of any presidential candidate.  In any case, I was glad that elections were over after November 7.  Not to say that I think anything is going to change in Washington...

Somehow or other I found a way to mess up my back this month.  November 12, I seemed to be doing alright when I woke up, but by the time I went to bed that night I was in horrible pain and could hardly sit in a chair just to watch TV.  Most of the pain was in my neck and right shoulder.  The next day I went to my chiropractor who has been helping me with this problem for the remainder of the month.  Apparently I pinched my brachial plexus nerve cluster.  Now it's mostly fixed, but the story doesn't end yet.

The day before Thanksgiving (November 21) I jumped off a four-foot ledge in the yard, but I haven't been doing a lot of physical activity lately, and so put my lower back out near my hips.  It wasn't very fun to stand or walk.  Since it happened right before Thanksgiving, I had to wait until the following Monday to have my chiropractor look at it.  Fortunately it seems to be a self resolving issue, so at least no harm done!

My birthday was November 16.  I decided to treat myself out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse in Bozeman and then watch Skyfall at the movie theater.  Now that Jean no longer lives with me, it is a little odd to be going to the movies by myself, but I still enjoyed it.

I got to take care of my friend Lori's cat Toby on the 15th-17th.  I enjoyed getting him fed every day.

 On November 19, I had a visitor come by the house for a few minutes:

Thanksgiving was spent at a neighbor's house about half a mile away from where I live.  I've known Greg and Sabina for several years, and this year I went camping with Greg a couple times.  They invited me to their Thanksgiving with some of their friends.  It was a very enjoyable holiday with them.  Greg and Sabina really like an organic diet, and that's what the meal reflected.  They had a rice stuffing with cranberries and cashews, Ethiopian potatoes (that was super yummy by the way), turkey of course, and green beans.  After dinner we played Hedbanz.  Basically it's a 20 questions game.

On Saturday, November 24, Greg and I burned some of the grass that's on his property around his house.  The wind was relatively calm that day, and we didn't have any difficulties to speak of.  Apparently I must have gotten too close to the fire at some point because I ended up singing my soul patch, and my eyelashes and my eyebrow on my left eye.  That night I decided to just shave it off and I've had a clean shave since.  I've had that soul patch for a long time.

No more soul patch!