We're going on a field trip.

Israel is the destination. We have spent this year studying the history, geography, and language. Now we are off for some hands-on learning!
Our adventures will be updated frequently through the Joshua blog:

http://joshuawilderness.org/stay-current/news/

Follow it. Because it will certainly be a grandest adventure.

(Talk to my mother and my family. They can fill you in on some details.)

Easter Break with Heidi

I spent the last week in Santa Cruz with Heidi, a fellow Joshua lady. We had several adventures. Not all were documented with photography, but here are the ones that were:

His name was Jesse.

at the Redwoods

at the Redwoods

at the Redwoods

at the Redwoods

at the Redwoods

on the Moon Rocks

on the Moon Rocks

on the Moon Rocks

on the Moon Rocks

Later

Sweet salvation! "Resurrection rolls".

Victorious Easter, Everyone.

"Paul and Timothy" and Finals Week

My 100th post?! Isn't that exciting. That means there needs be some great-type of news to go on this great-type of post. (Good thing I have some!)

We all passed Philippians! 

All fifty-three Joshua students have successfully memorized the book of Philippians. Well done, I say.
(Now the test is not retaining the words, but applying what they say. Here we go, Team...)

Photo borrowed from the Joshua blog. Taken by Brett.

And we passed our other finals, too.

Specifically, we passed our Israel Prep final, which means we get to go on a field trip!...

PS. Did you know Joshua has a weekly podcast? I didn't. Until I was on it! Hear Chris and Sal and Lexi and I talk with Rich about finals week. Listen on iTunes: Joshua Wilderness Institute (Ep.14 Finals Week).

...

Thank you for thinking of me.

...

Dealing with things.
In my head.
In my heart.
It is not easy.
It is not pleasant, either.
But it must be done.
And this is the place to begin doing so.

Surely good will come out of this.
I am confident of such.

Life Skills

We went tracking wild animals for class on Friday.

We took notes on different types of prints inside the classroom.

Then we marched into our “backyard” looking for examples.

Because that’s what you do when you go to school in the mountains.

(Our teacher’s name is Kip. He works on fulltime staff at Hume Camp. He is on the list of “Most Fascinating People I’ve Met”. … He was using a knife as a bookmarker in his wilderness guide.)

Theme Dinner: Purim + Passover

Purim: a Jewish holiday celebrated on Adar 14, in February or March to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from the massacre planned for them by Haman (see Esther 9)

The ladies dressed up as princesses.

The gentlemen dressed up however they desired.

And we had a party.

Rapunzel and the Paper Bag Princess

The Paper Bag Princess and Princess Buttercup (and Westley)

"As you wish..." -The Princess Bride

Wilderness Princesses

Passover (also "The Feast of Unleavened Bread"): an eight-day Jewish festival beginningon Nisan 15 and celebrated in commemoration of the passing over or sparing of the Israelites in Egypt,when God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians (see Exodus 12)

Rich (our director) walked us through a condensed version of a Passover Seder (as the holiday is quickly approaching). It was incredible to learn about the symbolism—for those who celebrated thousands of years ago (at the first Passover meal in Egypt, and then in Israel at “The Lord’s Supper”) and for those who will be celebrating this year. I greatly enjoyed myself and certainly have a growing appreciation for historical Jewish culture.  

special thanks to dictionary.com

Signs of Spring

I pulled out my sunglasses last weekend.

Our first picnic was this week.

We had lemonade at lunch.

Here comes the sunshine…

(And I received new shoes! A surprise blessing. Thank you, Pitzl Family!)

And My Roomie Got New Shoes, Too

Other Stuff in Week of Joshua

Broom Hockey, baby! 

I’ve got these crayons. They are meant for decorating the windows (and similar surfaces). A neat set of utensils, really. The sisters left me some drawings on the bathroom mirror. Yep…

Nature hike with Heidi and Alli.

Shiloh and Me. Just for fun.

The Sunny So Cal

We spent a week in Los Angeles for seven full days of hands-on learning opportunities.

Some were for expanding our knowledge of worldviews (Buddhist Temple, Self-Realization Fellowship, The Museum of Tolerance, The Getty Museum of Art, Griffith Observatory, Faith Inspirational Church of Compton).

Some were for our application of things we have learned at Joshua (Los Angeles Food Bank, The Dream Center, The Compton Initiative).

And some were for us to experience Southern California in its truest—by wandering the streets, seeing the sights, and talking to the people we encountered (Hollywood Boulevard, UCLA, Santa Monica Pier).

Our time was full. The circumstances were ideal, but I had a difficult time functioning in them. I struggled on this trip. I did not thrive in these situations. And that was an immense learning opportunity in itself.

Additional documentation can be found at the Joshua website. There are photos from the staff and there is also a blog from my fellow students (and myself—see “Day #4: Expectations”).

Highlight: The time spent with my van group. We went on adventures (intentionally and accidentally). There was a late-night run to one of the top taco trucks in the greater Los Angeles area. There was a spontaneous driving-tour of Southern California. And there were countless other hours of road trips, errand runs, and transportation that took place in our golden 15-passanger. Props to Chad our Fearless Leader.