DiscoveryBound Central Region

How to Help

2009-05-19T08:59:00.003-05:00

While in New Orleans on the road trip last year, I posted four basic ways people can get involved with DiscoveryBound. We all have our own method of giving and I came up with this list to encompass all possible avenues. If you can see another way to give and make it work, add your comments below!

Get Involved as a...

Chapter Worker - a member of the local board taking an active roll in planning local or regional events for CS youth and their friends.
Church Contact - ideally each church will have someone receiving information about DB events and will promote those events to their Sunday School Students and parents.
General Volunteer - someone who wants to help on occasion but cannot commit to be actively involved in the regular planning process.
Resource - From donors to folks who are willing to host an event on their property and/or have boats, ATV's or other toys available to be used by the chapter for an event.

So, if any of these look appealing to you, or you know someone who could give in any of the above ways, let me know or send this on to them.

Michigan Cross Country Skiing

2009-02-08T12:36:00.002-06:00

After nine consecutive weeks of heavy snow and cold temperatures, on Saturday, February 7th, southeast Michigan enjoyed a sunny day with a high of 49 degrees, almost a record. This was the setting for a fun event of cross country skiing at Willow Metropark. Five adventurers skied a three mile groomed trail that took us through the woods, around Acorn Knoll, by an old cemetery, and back to Washago Pond. Everyone took a turn leading. After the first mile we were peeling off coats and hats in the balmy weather. Fortunately there was still plenty of snow even as it melted in the warm sun. We stopped many times to throw snowballs and to study the animal tracks and droppings in the snow - coyotes, deer, racoons, and dogs was the consensus of our amateur naturalists. We concluded the great day by sharing a meal and conversation at a nearby restaurant. We look forward to our spring event!

Texas Tour

2009-02-02T09:27:00.005-06:00

I met Aaron, the Round-up Ranch Director from Adventure Unlimited, in Dallas to start our three-day Camp Show tour. We had a great turnout at all of the shows and lots of good questions were asked about life at the ranches. In Austin and Houston the DiscoveryBound chapters made use of this meeting opportunity. In Austin, they held a brainstorming session to plan out what the youth want to do for the rest of the year and in Houston the camp show was held at a climbing gym so everybody could go and get on the rock and play after the show.

From here, Aaron heads back to the Ranches for a few days before starting his West Coast road trip and camp show tour while I will be heading down to South Texas to help get a chapter going there.

More Photos!

Texas A&M GAD

2009-01-27T09:27:00.004-06:00

The TAMU CSO held their third annual GAD - Gathering of Active Disciples. The theme this year was "The Desserts of Life" and a number of discussion sessions were held, some with theme related titles, around that topic:
* How to break the ice - cream: Discussing CS with others
* Whirled Peace: Praying for the world
* Sin, baptism where do we fit in?
* Recipe for a Sweet Life: Finding balance in life
* Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll: Removing Temptation
* Being Perfect in a Material World: Evidence of a perfect you.
* Having a Sweet Heart: A look at relationships
* Life is Like a Box of Chocolates: Being grateful for the good already received

We also had Ryder Stevens, a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship give a talk on true Manhood and Womanhood. The title of his talk? Apple Pie: a la Mode

The weekend provided for an incredible opportunity to get ideas out and to gain inspiration on difficult topics. TMC Youth was there to do some filming so, look for an update on TMCYouth.com.

Thanks TAMU CSO!

A/U New Year's Stampede

2009-01-27T09:26:00.001-06:00

Christmas Camp 2008

2009-01-03T10:06:00.001-06:00

Snowshoeing To Lesson Rocks
Originally uploaded by offyonder

This year, I spent Christmas up at the Adventure Unlimited Ranches in Colorado. It was such a blast and so beautiful. My dad and brother came up from sunny San Diego and adapted to the snowy mountains rather quickly. We were skiing the first day, snowshoeing the next, then more skiing and tubing, sitting by the fire, and the food was amazing.

I've posted some videos, they're fun and a little silly. Check them out:

I'm also working on a video of the New Year's Stampede for 18-25 year olds. This was a great way to bring in the the new year with out dealing with any parties plagued with drinking and smoking and in a beautiful mountain environment. We went skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, played cards and had some great conversations on CS theology and healing.

If you had some DB/CS Youth holiday events, ask me about how you can post them here and share what you did!

Chapter Updates

2008-11-30T20:39:00.002-06:00

DBHorse3
Originally uploaded by drjaxon

Well... I've been trying to encourage chapters to contribute their own posts to share what sort of events they have been having. So far, only Doug Jackson in Michigan has contributed to the Regional Photo Pool on Flickr. Doug posted a bunch of images from their horse ride event in October. Thanks Doug!

Other events that have been going on include:

"Do the Boo" corn maze in Houston, TX
A Halloween party and Go Cart NASCAR style in St. Louis
DB goes to the Symphony and helps Habitat for Humanity in Chicago

Check the calendar or click on the link to the left to see what else is coming up!

If you would like to contribute a blog post, just contact me!

Road Trip Finale

2008-10-30T11:54:00.006-05:00

After a year on the road, I returned the truck and trailer back to Denver. I logged over 20,000 miles and 9,000 of those were with the trailer in tow. It was an amazing experience to see the Central United States from the road and the 70-odd posts before this describe that experience.

The trip was a success. There were only 2-3 semi-active chapters in the region when I started. Now there are eight active chapters (tear-drop marker) and eleven chapters in the start-up process or with expressed interest (push pin).

In the next year, I'll continue to travel to work to get those start-up chapters up and running and uncover further areas of interest. This blog will continue as a place for chapters to share what they are up to and the fun and growth inspiring events they are putting on.

A huge thanks to everybody I met along the way and have contributed to the building of these chapters, for planning and running events and for spreading the word. To get more information on contacting any of the chapters check out the interactive regional map.

Stay tuned! The Central Region is just getting warmed up!

Chicago Summit 2008

2008-10-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

With about 140 in attendance, the Chicago Summit was again an inspirational time for the area youth to come together and enjoy the wonderful lectures and workshops. The full schedule can be seen at TMC Youth (as well as videos, a slideshow and recordings of some of the lectures).

Seventeenth Church right along the river in downtown Chicago provided space for the summit and the out of town guests were housed at Hosteling International Chicago just a mile down the road. That made for a nice stroll in the morning before the event.

I, however, did not do much sitting at all. As a volunteer, I arrived on Thursday afternoon to receive the rented AV equipment, start setting it up, and organize how the space was to be used. Friday, we were all back at the church to continue with the setup process and just as things were coming together, the first pre-registration participants started arriving at the hostel.

Saturday was filled with many great sessions, most in smaller groups, but at times the whole gang came together in the main auditorium. Lunch, snacks, dinner and dessert were provided as well as a rousing scavenger hunt that sent teams, broken up by age, racing throughout the church to chase down clues for the fabulous prize of Coldestone Creamery gift cards for the winning team. I believe it was the 12-17 year olds group that pulled off the win.

Sunday morning many of the participants gathered for Church and Sunday School, followed by small groups going out to get brunch. At 1.30pm a small meeting was held for adults (30 y/o+) who could not attend the event for a debrief complete with a slide show from the day before.

TMC Youth and the local planning committee did a great job and put on a great event. Bravo!
Some photos

New Chapter - Twin Cities, MN

2008-10-12T16:39:00.003-05:00

With only a week notice, the Twin Cities area pulled about 30 people together for an informational meeting to learn about DiscvoeryBound at 3rd Church in Minneapolis. I stated from the start that the objective of the meeting is to form a chapter board, schedule the next board meeting, and start planning an OTM event for November. All of these were accomplished.

There were lots of good questions asked about local and national events. Emily and Anna of the National Leadership Council (NLC) gave a great presentation on what the NLC is and what their experience has been. The two of them joined the adults in the formation of the board and with a third friend have taken on the responsibility of planning the OTM events.

After the basic introductions of people and what DiscoveryBound is, we split the kids from the adults (save the NLC gals). The kids brainstormed on what sort of events they would like to do and the adults slotted themselves into board positions. After forming the board and scheduling the next board meeting (they were just jumping to get into agenda items for the next meeting!) we all regrouped with the youth and they rattled off a list of great events. The activities included a balanced assortment of parties (actually, they tagged 'party' on the end of all the events to make the sound more fun - clever, eh?), service projects, and fundraisisng events.

We talked some about how to build sustainability into the program as there was once a chapter here years ago, but petered out. This awareness is a crucial part of keeping it going and setting up a system that will continue on. There's already talk of a Boundarywaters trip... I'll be back for that!

Misc. Readings

2008-10-12T16:27:00.003-05:00

After church at 2nd Church in Minneapolis, I joined a group of gals who are reading their way through Mrs. Eddy's writings. Accompanied by muffins and juice, each person took a turn to read a paragraph and then the group would discuss the ideas presented. In the hour we had together, we read the articles on Contagion, Time and Thanksgiving. It's so great to see groups like this delving into the books and exploring the ideas together.

From the conversation about contagion, ideas were discussed about how much the pharmaceutical market really pushes drugs and how we can defend ourselves from that contagion of thought that we need drug assistance.

The article on time was amazing. Essentially, it says not to sit around and talk about doing things, get out there and do things! Such a great reminder and we all could relate to the circumstances described as the pitfalls of wasting time.

Of course, they were curious about DiscoveryBound, so I was able to tell them a little bit about the meeting at 1pm at 3rd church.

Minneapolis/St. Paul - Mens Group

2008-10-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

I rolled into the Twin Cities and dropped off the trailer in plenty of time to make it to the St. Paul Church for their Testimony Meeting. After connecting with the clerk about promoting our informational meeting coming up this Sunday, I got an invite by one of the members to join a group of guys from various churches around the area for lunch on Thursday.

Not unlike the mens group in the western suburbs of Chicago, these guys bring questions about the weekly bible lesson, how to apply CS to events in their lives, and to enjoy each others company. Not to mention the wide variety of choices provided at the Chinese Buffet they congregate at.

It was great to join these guys and to hear about CS being applied to their everyday lives. They were all very supportive of the idea of a DiscoveryBound Chapter in the area and had good questions about the function of a chapter and about the DB national programs.

Thanks guys!

Madison CSO Meeting

2008-09-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

Madison CSO meeting
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Ginger Mack moved up to Madison, WI to work as the CSO and residential manager from Chicago. She's organizing weekly meetings and is bringing some fresh energy to the campus. Tonight's meeting was on Love and Relationships. The students shared what they are working on and members of the group brought new ideas to the table.

Ginger is keen to see this amazing space they have get more use and is keen to host a DiscoveryBound event at some point and she's meeting with the interfaith community in Madison to learn more about what is going on around campus and to put Christian Science on the map for spiritual seekers.

Before this meeting, Ginger took me out for a sail, which unexpectedly turned into a swim... but we were undaunted. Once we got some help to pull the mast of the 14' sloop out of the mud, we were off. We did opt not to pop up the jib as it was pretty blowy... small whitecaps and all, making me guess we were dealing with 12-15 kts of wind. It was a blast however.

Milwaukee

2008-09-13T10:52:00.002-05:00

Milwaukee
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Milwaukee has had a DiscoveryBound chapter in the past, but it fizzled out a few years ago. My recent meeting with Tom and Susan Bruno and Scott Wendelberger, all of whom were involved, went very well and we have a plan in place to start growing a DB presence in Milwaukee again. Scott just graduated from Principia in 2007 and has a great energy about him. Tom and Susan understand the need and have the desire to help build a strong spiritual foundation for CS youth and want to make it work. Making it work however means finding the right blend amongst the many other activities youth are involved in today.

We're going to start with getting our Church Contact network built up, then will move to OTM's. From there, we hope to attract some other members to the local DB board to join these three. They also get the information from the active chapter in Chicago and have even been down there for some of their events.

Be The Light

2008-09-02T11:01:00.003-05:00

In short, the DiscoveryBound Leadership Conference was a smashing success. This was the biggest DiscoveryBound event ever with over 500 participants. Thanks to all who came and made it the best ever!

The National Leadership Council (NLC) played a huge role in the event this year. Now that the founding class of 2009 are mostly seniors (as opposed to being sophomores at this event two years ago) the NLC was able to take on more responsibility and even organized an amazing awareness dinner called the Oxfam Hunger Banquet. This brought to light the realities of how the world is divided economically. Most folks appreciated it and felt it was a very effective way to illustrate what was really going on out in the world. Some were put off by it, and rightfully so as most of us (myself included) only got a meager bowl of rice for dinner. One student was particularly irritated because she doesn't even like rice. I asked her what if she really lived in this situation and rice was the only option, ever. She conceded she'd probably learn to like rice and be grateful she had anything to eat at all.

The whole conference kicked off Saturday morning with a great lecture by Ryder Stevens on identity. The lecture was well received and Ryder provided some engaging stories that really stuck with people including one about the pig and the chicken... you'll have to find Ryder giving this lecture to get the rest.

Everyone then went to their sessions. Some were active, some based on discussions. Adults and youth had separate sessions. The adult sessions focused on being chapter workers and volunteers to support events in their local community and the youth sessions ranged from better understanding personal leadership roles, how to shine with the Christ love in sports, relationships, school, working situations and more.

Saturday before dinner the youth formed a huge circle and shared gratitude and highlights from the day before entering into the Oxfam Hunger Banquet.

Group Photo
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Sunday morning started in the chapel with everybody for the responsive reading, a wonderful solo by one of the youth participants and a hymn. We all then filed out to the chapel green to collect into Sunday School classes. I had 15 year-olds and we had a good chat about the beatitudes - how being 'poor' in spirit means giving yourself 100% to God. We shared what part of our lives we could work on giving more of ourselves to God in - where we wanted to be humble and grow.

Sunday afternoon we all bussed down to the Principia Upper School Campus for a carnival, dance, slideshow and a very touching story told by Lona Ingwerson about letting our light shine. This was then illustrated by each of us holding an unlit candle and passing the flame around and seeing the glow of light grow brighter in the dark gym as we each let our light shine.

Monday morning everybody headed home and our DB Staff put the campus back to normal and we had a wonderful time going over the evaluations. Adults and youth alike shared how much they enjoyed the conference and many great suggestions were made so we can make the 2010 Leadership Conference even better!

We're always grateful for any feedback, constructive and complimentary, so if you think of something feel free to send it any time! info@discoverybound.org

You can see photos and/or contribute your photos to a group pool at:
flickr.com/groups/db-central

If you have your photos posted somewhere else, feel free to share the URL via a comment below!

Thanks again!

Principia Summer

2008-07-23T11:32:00.001-05:00

Mississippi
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Well, summer is now in full swing. Some of the chapters continue some basic events like ice cream social events, beach parties and OTM's. But for the most part kids are at camp, families are on vacation and DiscoveryBound chapters across the region are promoting the Leadership Conference that will be held at Principia College over Labor Day Weekend.

As for me, I just had a great weekend at Principia College at my reunion and ran into many of the folks I had met from my road trip over the past several months as well as with some of our trustees including Maddie Miles and Todd Herzer.

Since I have nowhere in particular to go, Principia has been gracious enough to allow me to continue staying here (in the trailer parked behind Williams Cottage) until our event on Labor Day. This is now the Central US HQ for DB and I'm working on getting those last few slots left at the DBLC filled by Central folks.

But along with that, I'm enjoying spending time on this beautiful campus, sunset walks along the bluffs, swimming in the new pool and spending time with friends on campus for Summer Session and otherwise.

Good times.

Cedars Camp

2008-07-05T10:27:00.001-05:00

Cedars Camp
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Warren, the Cedars Camps Director, rolled out the red carpet... he set me and the trailer up in a great location here at Cedars. They just had a bunch of rain, so things were a little soggy. Warren had a pile of wood chips delivered and the youth grounds crew (workers program) helped form a path around my trailer to keep my feet out of the soggy!

It's a big change-over weekend which gives me the opportunity to span two sessions to talk about DiscoveryBound. Much like at Leelanau/Kohahna Warren introduced me at dinner and I spoke briefly to the youth about DB and then the next day, Warren introduced me before the talent show where many of the parents who were here to pick up their kids from Camp were in attendance and I spoke to the group again.

I also had an opportunity to have breakfast with the Junior Leadership (JL) program for high school students and most of them had heard of DB and many have been involved. We'll get a new batch of JL campers tomorrow and I'll take some time to speak to them at a meal or something as well.

Like in Michigan, I've had great chats one-on-one with adults who are looking for a better understanding of what DB is and it has resulted in an interest in getting two new chapters started.

The weather has been incredibly mild. A little humid after a good rain, but very pleasant in the mid 70's. Thunderstorms are forcasted for tonight... thank goodness for my wood chip walk way!

Trailer Tire Blowout

2008-06-30T23:02:00.001-05:00

Blowout
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Well... In the few thousands of miles that I have covered on this trip, I have passed quite a number of folks on the side of the road changing a tire. Now I'm on the side of the road. Thank goodness for the double axle. Although, the danger is I had no idea the tire had blown out. I was only an hour or so out of Glenn Arbor, MI when a lady in a van pulled up next to me and tried to say something through my closed window.

I nodded like I understood... but really I was just guessing on what she was saying somehow thinking she was trying to tell me my lights were on.

So, I pulled over to have a look and there was the shredded remains of my rear right trailer tire. Just as I was placing the tiny jack that came with the truck under the axle, a voice from behind me asked if I would like to use a better (faster) jack.

Kyle, a highschool student from just a few towns over, was helping to paint some vacation cottages his grandmother and father run. He brought down a big jack, the trailer went up, the spare came off the back of the trailer and fit nicely into place.

It was an easy swap and it only cost me 15 minutes or so thanks to the industrial jack Kyle brought down.

Kohahna Sunset

2008-06-25T13:41:00.001-05:00

Kohahna Sunset
Originally uploaded by offyonder

I'm on my third day visiting Camps Leelanau and Kohahna in Michigan right on the shore of Lake Michigan. It has been nothing but heaven.

Instead of doing a general DiscoveryBound presentation to the whole camp, I was introduced at dinner and have been visiting the campers in their activity sessions and participating where I could. And in the little lulls between activities the campers have been asking me more about DB.

I've also had chances to chat with their Counselor Trainees (CT's) about the programs and how they can support the idea of growing and providing 'camp at home' during the school year.

Also, I've been getting some good chats in with the various adults who are here who don't quite have a clear picture as to what DiscoveryBound is.

Everyone has been so receptive and the camp very accommodating. It's great to see these programs in action. The enthusiasm and love expressed by the councilors is clearly reflected in the energy of the campers and everyone seems to like the idea of taking that energy home with them for the rest of the year until camp starts again.

Wicked Dinner - Chicago

2008-06-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

Wicked Dinner
Originally uploaded by offyonder

My third musical in less than a month! I know die-hard musical folks do much more than this... but I did my three in seperate parts of the country! Lion King in NYC, Drowsy Chaperone in Dallas and Wicked in Chicago. Whew.

The Chicago Chapter did a great job organizing this event for over 80 people. Eight of us checked out the "Behind the Emerald Curtain" backstage tour of Wicked before about 50 of us gathered for dinner where Kim Korinek, CS gave us some nice thoughTs on the theme continued from the NYC event "Man is the expression of Soul" (SH 477).

I spoke briefly about the upcoming DB National Event at Principia College on Labor Day and Cody Cosmic on the Chicago TMC Youth Summit Board announced the Summit coming up in October.

Wicked is a great show. It takes preconceived notions on good and bad, wicked and fair, and completely scrambles expectations. It pushed the message to look deeper than the surface - and that the depths of a person can be much different from what you think of them by how they look, or even who they are.

The Chicago Chapter has events planned through the rest of the summer and up to December. Check out the Central Regional events calendar - http://tinyurl.com/5w7ws8

Palatine Breakfast Club

2008-06-15T21:27:00.000-05:00

Men's Club
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Back in the Chicago area after a month on the road... er... off the road - in the air... anyway, I was invited to the prestigious Palatine Men's Club breakfast meeting where the boys get together every other week on Saturday morning. The conversation ranges from politics, to home repair, to church issues. Jeff, who brings the average age down by about half, told the group the previous meeting about his trip out to NYC with DiscoveryBound.

It's a great way to share the results of the trip. Jeff, as it turns out, will be flying to LA now to follow up with some folks he met at the NYC event and will be meeting up with one of the musicians he met in NYC.

Tomorrow we'll meet up with the rest of the Chicago DB board as they plan out the rest of the year.

Drowsy Chaperone - Dallas

2008-06-06T09:18:00.001-05:00

Drowsy Chaperone
Originally uploaded by offyonder

I finally caught up with the Drowsy Chaperone tour in Dallas where the Dallas DB Chapter organized both a before and after chat with the actors Cliff Bemis, Georgia Engel and Mark Ledbetter who are all active Christian Scientists.

This is the third in a series of chat-backs these actors have graciously agreed to do with DiscoveryBound Chapters, including Chicago and Houston. Next they head to Kansas City and they should be back in Austin, TX in August.

The show of course was brilliant and the actors answered questions from curious youth and adults about life as actors, becoming actors and about how they applied Christian Science to their careers. Also, how they supported each other as well as the rest of the cast and crew.

The three actors commented on how great it was for all three of them to be in the show. Georgia has been with the show from early on while Mark and Cliff joined for the tour. Cliff Bemis has worked with Georgia in the past as well as with Mark, but this was the first time for Mark to meet Georgia.

Mark made a neat comment about how the audition process used to be such a burden. But this was before he realized he could only end up in the roll that was right for him. He talked about 'the usual suspects' - the group of men about his age and look who are most likely to be at any audition he's going to be at, those who are vying for the same part. Mark is grateful for a unique comradeship amongst his 'competitors' because they support one another and congratulate each other for getting the part as they know they will each find their own place.

The CS actors in The Drowsy Chaperone:
Cliff Bemis, playing Feldzieg
(“Murder she Wrote” and “Nancy Drew”)
http://www.cliffbemis.com

Georgia Engel playing Mrs. Tottendale
(“Mary Tyler Moore”, “Everybody Loves Raymond”)

Mark Ledbetter, playing Robert Martin (the groom).
("Marry Poppins", "White Christmas")
http://www.markledbetter.com

More detailed bios and info on the show at:
http://www.drowsychaperone.com/

TMC - Annual Meeting

2008-06-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

The Mother Church - Annual Meeting
Originally uploaded by offyonder

It was great to be able to attend Annual Meeting this year. As always, it was wonderfully done and inspirational.

Richard Bergenheim, Editor of the Monitor and President of The Mother Church, presided over the meeting and struck a wonderful chord as he explored human resistance to change and applied Mary Baker Eddy's emphasis on progress. Change and Progress.

I've always been a fan of both. I've often joked that my life is consistently inconsistent. Always on the go, always changing where I am, who I'm with and what I'm doing. But there is a constant to be found there: Truth, Love.

The simple harmony of Life is always there, and though the human condition seems to be in a constant churn, God is our rock. Simple.

Church, Central Park, Show & Cruise!

2008-05-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

Central Park
Originally uploaded by offyonder

After a workshop packed day on Saturday, we took things a little easier on Sunday. In part because most CS churches in New York don't start until 11am! So we had an easy morning before heading down to 1st Church NYC where we packed the Sunday School.

Afterwards we strolled over to Central Park where we had a pizza lunch, free time and some discussion sessions to relate our workshops to the metaphysical theme "Man is the expression of Soul".

We continued east to 3rd Church for our talent show. Adults and youth alike shared their talents in dancing, singing, playing instruments, reading poetry and monologuing.

To cap off the evening, we had an interesting time getting everyone from the upper east side over to Pier 83 on the west side of mid-town where the Circle Line cruise ship took us out on a great tour along the Hudson. We saw the western shore of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and the East River. All with the sunset and the sparkling city lights bouncing off the water.

Monday, everybody got packed up and headed home! Good times!

DLS:NYC Workshops

2008-05-25T01:20:00.002-05:00

Audition Workshop
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Today we divided the group of 110 youths into four groups: music, theater, visual arts & dance - and sent them off to various corners of Manhattan to meet with our awesome workshop facilitators. Each of these facilitators are professionals in the corresponding field and they provided a great program for the youth. They spoke on their experience, shared healings and testimonies, and provided practical tips and pointers related to the industry.

The photo is of the Audition Workshop by Peter Link, a notable director. He gave a half hour talk abut the the audition process, then let a few of the students apply what he said. This was a combined activity for the music and theater groups.

The dance group got to choreograph their own dance and the visual arts group toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then many went off into Central Park to sketch.

Later that afternoon, we all met up in Bryant Park and walked over to Times Square to check it all out before settling into an amazing performance of The Lion King.

More Photos

DLS:NYC Prep

2008-05-22T17:37:00.001-05:00

Suzy, Jeni & Lori getting stuff ready

We're all in New York now and the scene is abuzz. We all met at 9am at the youth hostel up on 103rd and Amsterdam to formulate a plan. Then we all fanned out across the city to put on the hands on touches at our various locations.

Many of us regrouped for lunch near Times Square and dispersed again to finish our tasks. We reconvened at the hostel mid-afternoon to stuff folders, build the name tags, sharpen pencils and continue to iron out the various details that is part of a program of this size.

We also learned that many of the planes across the country have been delayed on their arrival to NYC. But we are unphased by that and are eager for our participants to arrive and thrive in this amazing program.

Chicago Chapter

2008-05-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

Chicago Chapter Worker Meeting
Originally uploaded by offyonder

The Chicago Chapter picked up some new momentum last year and has been going strong since. While in Chicago I was hosted by Terese (left) and she has been great in organizing little lunches and events for me to meet more of the Chicago crew.

This photo is of Terese and Margaret who, along with Steve are the driving force behind the chapter. We were able to have a great meeting and look at the bigger picture of the Chicago Chapter.

The day before Terese and I went into the city to scout out a dinner venue for the next DB event: "Wicked the Musical". Terese has now coordinated about 80 folks to come.

The Chicago chapter also hosted a showing of "The Drowsy Chaperone" - a Broadway musical with three CS'ers who spoke to the group afterwards about how they use CS in their lives as actors.

Other past events have included a Chicago Bulls basketball game and a ski weekend.

Valparaiso, IN

2008-05-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Golf Pro
Originally uploaded by offyonder

While heading from the Detroit Chapter canoe trip to Chicago I overnighted in Valparaiso, IN. Liz, a Prin classmate of mine is back in her hometown raising a family. The current count: One husband, one son and one daughter. While the kids are still quite young, she loved the concept of DiscoveryBound.

I gave her a DB Handbook to check out and she was so impressed with how comprehensive it is and how flexible DB is to letting each chapter mold the resources to suit their specific needs.

Liz has already gathered some support from her own church (which, BTW is celebrating it's centennial this year) and is reaching out to area churches to join in.

Valparaiso is actually quite close to Chicago... not even an hour out on the train, so it looks like they'll be able to start working with the Chicago chapter as well as have their own events on the south side of the city.

Detroit Chapter - Huron River Canoe Trip

2008-05-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

I rolled into the village of Dexter, MI through patches of rain and overcast skies after driving up from Carmel, IN. Doug Jackson was standing at the end of his driveway with an orange traffic vest and walkie talkies to assist me with backing my rig onto his driveway. As it turns out, we didn't block any traffic and the trailer tucked nicely next to the garage.

The next morning we loaded the canoe and kayaks, met up with about 20 others from the Detroit Chapter and headed for the river. Ten boats hit the water, 8 canoes, a double kayak and myself in a single kayak.

It was a beautiful sunny day, high of 66F and 8 miles of cool refreshing water. Mostly calm water with a few riffles and some overhanging branches kept things interesting. Check out the video.

Indianapolis, IN

2008-05-09T21:48:00.001-05:00

Bridget
Originally uploaded by offyonder

While little Bridget might be a bit young for our national DiscoveryBound events she and her siblings are in perfect company to get involved with local DiscoveryBound events.

It turns out, her parents the Ferlands, may well be the ones who get the DB chapter going in Indianapolis. They are members of the Carmel church and had already had visions of putting activities together for the CS youth in their community.

The Ferlands just moved into a beautiful big house with a big yard with the intentions of having pool parties and social events. Perfect.

Bluegrass Folk

2008-05-08T07:53:00.001-05:00

Louisville, KY
Originally uploaded by offyonder

My first stop in Kentucky was in Lexington. Courtney, a friend from Principia, allowed me to park in her drive and she took me into church Sunday morning where I had a chance to meet with the Superintendent and sign her up as a church contact.

That afternoon, I continued on to Louisville where I happened to connect with Art whom I met while working at Camp Owatonna a few years back. It was his birthday and his family was taking him out to dinner. So, I got swooped up along with that, adopted to the family and really enjoyed meeting all of them. Art also let me park in his driveway and as you might be able to see from the photo, my rig took up all of it.

It turns out Art is the Superintendent of 1st church and he ran the A/U chapter in Louisville many years ago. He told me of trips to Florida and other great events they had. He's not sure the population is there to support a chapter today, but he knows what it can bring and is happy to promote DiscoveryBound events.

Art connected me with the Superintendent at second church as well. I told them about the Leadership Conference over Labor Day and suggested a strong Kentucky showing. It could be a fun road trip. I assured him road trips are fun. :)

Cedars Weekend

2008-04-29T09:44:00.001-05:00

Workparty weekend
Originally uploaded by offyonder

I met up with the Kansas City Chapter at Cedars Camps in Lebanon, MO for the work party they arranged with the camps.

Most of the work was done in the front corral of the camp where low branches were cut off of trees and the scrub cleared out to open things up for the horses. We piled it all up and made a big bonfire that burned all night.

The kitchen also got a good scrubbing. All the dishes that had been sitting on the shelves, collecting dust over the winter got washed as did all of the coolers that are an essential part of keeping cool drinks available for the campers in the sometimes 100˙F temperatures.

Sunday morning we built some shelving for one of the new bunkhouses before dialing into the Creve Coeur church near St. Louis to listening to their service. After church, we raked up some leaves and I got a nice tour of the camp to see most of the property and hear about the programs.

Next we helped organize the CS Books and other study materials that will go into each cabin for the campers over the summer.

We finished with a great lunch and packed things up to head out. It was a great event and the camp gained much from the process. There's already talk of doing it next year and hopefully we can get folks from other surrounding cities to join.

Fayetteville, AR

2008-04-16T22:50:00.001-05:00

The Plums!
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Arkansas. Though many Americans may have a hard time pointing it out on a map, it's clearly on my map and I'm so glad I decided to swing through.

Two days ago, I got to meet Jeff the COP for Arkansas and tonight I got to meet his family at church. After the service, we headed over to the Village Inn for some pie and ice cream and I told them more about DiscoveryBound and what the possibilities are. As it turns out, they had already been introduced to the concept, but it just hadn't quite clicked. Well, I think we got a resounding CLICK and there might soon be a chapter in Arkansas.

If nothing else, they are now in the know of what's going on around them and it sounds like we'll be seeing them at future DB events!

Little Rock, AR

2008-04-13T19:05:00.000-05:00

Departure Thoughts
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Through the Principia network, I connected with Tara and Daniel, who it turns out are the first and second readers at the North Little Rock church. We met for dinner on Saturday night and I got a good feel for CS in Arkansas.

They were so grateful for me to stop by and to now be 'in the loop' with DiscoveryBound activities. There's actually quite a lot going on around them and they're keen to help some of their Sunday School students get to as many of these events as they can:

April 26 and 27 Kansas City Chapter is sponsoring a Cedars Camp clean up weekend. There might be some folks to come down from St. Louis as well.

May 3 - St. Louis Chapter - Road Rally

June 5 - "Drowsy Chaperone" the musical with CS actors Talkback session in Dallas, TX.

September 2008 - Labor Day Weekend - St. Louis - DiscoveryBound Leadership Conference (DBLC).

They also recommended I head up to Fayetteville in the NW corner of the state where there are four churches. I want to promote these events to them as well.

Mississippi-Arkansas

2008-04-10T22:56:00.001-05:00

Mississippi Bridge
Originally uploaded by offyonder

It was starting to get a little warm in New Orleans! Not to mention in Jackson, Mississippi where I attended the Wednesday Evening Testimony service. There were only three of us in attendance, so we just sat around a nice table in the adjacent Reading Room instead of the church hall itself.

While the reader has been a Christian Scientist for many years, the other lady has only been coming since November. It turns out there's another person who has just recently started coming to the Jackson church in search of a better spiritual understanding.

From Jackson I headed northwest and have arrived in Little Rock to spread the word of DiscoveryBound and to develop some Church Contacts in Arkansas.

It was such a relief to have the temperatures drop from the mid 80's down to the mid 60's and we even got some rain and a bolt of lightning or two!

Texas is really taking off. There's talk of stepping the Austin May camping trip up to a regional event and the Houston chapter is getting geared up after a big boost of excitement from the Summit.

There's also stuff brewing up in Milwaukee... more on that as things develop.

Houston Summit Recap

2008-04-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

Houston Summit
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Sunday after church, the membership of the many Houston churches were invited to come hear about how the summit went. John Cheney, the event photographer put together a great slide show of the event and Bill Warrick of TMC Youth gave a similar recap to my previous posting. There was also a chance for folks to ask questions about the event.

Naturally, one of the questions was about how to continue this momentum and keep youth, not just interested in CS, but pro-active in it. Bill Warrick admitted TMC Youth did not have that planned out beyond the realm of Sunday School. But Blake, who with others, is keen to get a DiscoveryBound chapter popped up and announced to this group that the DB Chapter board for Houston was already being formed and moving forward.

A number of parents and interested parties came down to meet with Blake, Lindsay (the Houston Summit Chair) and I about launching into a DB Chapter for Houston.

The support is phenomenal.

Houston Summit

2008-04-06T01:43:00.000-05:00

Houston Summit
Originally uploaded by offyonder

The Houston Summit was a great success! Bill Warrick of TMC Youth started things off and set the tone of the meeting. He introduced the TMC Youth staff and explained how the sessions would work.

There were four lecturers:

Christine Driessen - Sharing Christian Science: Building Bridges
Ginny Luedeman - Plain Talk About Love and Relationships
Don Wallingford - A Spiritual GPS: The Presence of God's Goodness
Ron Ballard - Why Healing Spiritually is Crucial

The youth had the opportunity to hear any two of those.

Then there were workshop sessions: Talking about CS, CS Nursing and the Practice, CS Publications, Sunday School, The Christian Science Monitor, Class Instruction, Committee on Publication, Christian Science Organizations for college campuses and the new CS Chaplaincy program.

Again, there were only two sessions to attend any of these workshops but a neat addition to the schedule was the free talkback time given where the attendees could freely wander amongst the presenters and ask specific questions.

There was a full group session on Answering Tough Questions and how to address those. Some of the questions included: Does CS work? Do you ever go to the doctor? Why don't you believe, like most Christians, that Jesus is God?

To wrap things up, the Christian Science Board of Directors took the stage and fielded questions about the future of the movement and what they were thinking about things. They also made it clear that they cared about what the membership thought of it all and were receptive to ideas being thrown out. Explanations about going beyond the KJV of the bible, formality in church, music styles and Sunday School were openly discussed as well as how the attendants of the summit can help in the movement.

Afterwards, we were all bussed to the Cheney's house where a delcious fajitas cookout was served complete with a three guitar mariachi band and ice cream!

Summit Beginnings

2008-04-05T01:07:00.001-05:00

Rego
Originally uploaded by offyonder

It is ON in Houston. After a full day of volunteering with the Summit Committee at 7th Church to get it all set up: hanging posters, setting up chairs, prepping drinks and snacks, fixing signs... we headed over to the hotel to start getting folks checked in.

It has been so great to see many of the folks I met while making my rounds in Texas, it's like a big family reunion.

Ye-haw.

New Orleans, LA - Big Support

2008-03-15T21:50:00.000-05:00

Acts
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Dick Davenport gave a great workshop today on the first 8 chapters in the book of Acts. He brought to light contemporary themes for us to consider as we continue the work Jesus started.

There were about 55 folks in attendance and Dick introduced me just before the lunch break and allowed me to tell everyone about DiscoveryBound and how they can help. I basically break it down into four ways... none of which are exclusive of the other:

1) Chapter Worker - a member of the local board taking an active roll in planning local or regional events for CS youth and their friends.

2) Church Contact - ideally each church will have someone receiving information about DB events and will promote those events to their Sunday School Students and parents.

3) General Volunteer - someone who wants to help on occasion but cannot commit to be actively involved in the regular planning process.

4) Resources - From donors to folks who are willing to host an event on their property and/or have boats, ATV's or other toys available to be used by the chapter for an event.

New Orleans has all of the above save someone willing to step forward as the Board Chairperson to lead the group forward. Over 20 people have expressed interest in a supporting role. I think it's just a matter of letting the buzz work it's magic and we'll have someone soon.

French Quarter Lunch & Chat

2008-03-14T18:37:00.000-05:00

FQ Stroll
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Dick Davenport is doing a bible workshop on the beginning of the book of Acts this weekend and he found some time to go out to lunch with Sherwood and I near his hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

Dick was the Dean of Men while Wood an I were at Principia and it was great to connect with him to talk about our time at Prin, to get a sneak preview of the workshop and to share with him how DiscoveryBound is doing and where we're heading.

During the workshop, just before the lunch break, Dick will introduce me and allow me to speak to the group for a few moments to try and kindle some interest in getting a chapter going here in NOLA.

At this point, I need someone to take the lead here. I have, as always, found strong supporters, but the to be chairperson is remaining elusive.

On the organizational side, Kathy - introduced to me by way of Michelle in Austin, has take the charge of helping me recruit church contacts for all the churches and societies in Louisiana. We're using GoogleDocs to stay synchronized and it's working great!!

It would be amazing to have a Church Contact Coordinator like Kathy in each part of the region. Thanks Kathy!

Leelanau-Kohahna Camp Show

2008-03-09T18:10:00.001-05:00

Camp Show
Originally uploaded by offyonder

After the DiscoveryBound whilrly ball and laser tag fun, Clark Shutt from Camps Leelanau-Kohahna spoke to everyone at The Leaves where a huge banana split was built for all to enjoy... this thing was 10 feet long!

Many of the youth and parents who had been to camp shared what was so near and dear to them about camp and everybody enjoyed the huge banana split.

DiscoveryBound Dallas wasn't done yet, however. Some of the new board members and other volunteers sat down to work out some of the details for an amazing event.

The Broadway Show "The Drowsy Chaperone" is coming to Dallas and there are three Christian Scientists in the cast. The Dallas Chapter is going to host an event to attend the show and then to have a "talkback" session after the show to let the three CS'ers speak to the DB crowd about what it's like being on a touring Broadway Show and how they use Christian Science in their work. The show will be in Chicago and the same event is being organized up there.

Dallas Chapter Event

2008-03-09T18:03:00.001-05:00

Dallas
Originally uploaded by offyonder

BJ has been doing a great job keeping the Dallas chapter going and put on a great event of whilrly ball (think lacrosse on bumper cars) and laser tag today after Church. There were about 25 youth in attendance, including a contingent from Austin.

The sad thing is BJ is off to college next year and we need to get some others involved to run the chapter. Sloan, who I met a few days ago was there, and we also found Dan who is keen to see the Dallas chapter continue. They are all going to meet with BJ and keep things rolling.

The Dallas chapter is also getting a bus organized to get folks down to Houston for the summit.

Lecture - Fort Worth, TX

2008-03-08T17:53:00.000-06:00

Kevin Graunke gave a great lecture and he and the lecture board were gracious enough to introduce me and DiscoveryBound at the end of the lecture and allow me to speak to the many attendants of the the lecture at 2nd Church Fort Worth. I just spoke shortly and asked anyone keen to help with the new Fort Worth chapter to come down to the front afterwards. We had a good half dozen of so show interest and Elizabeth who is heading the chapter up got their contact info and she'll work on constructing a board with those volunteers.

Kevin, it turns out, was on the Milwaukee Chapter Teen Council when he was a youth and really enjoyed the experience. It was great to meet him and great to have that opportunity to round up more volunteers to help Elizabeth.

Sunnyside Foundation - Dallas, TX

2008-03-01T10:15:00.000-06:00

Last night I had the great opportunity to dine with Jane, the Executive Director of the Sunnyside Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to supporting CS youth in Texas. She manages funds to help college students with buying books, paying rent, and I believe tuition. Sunnyside also sends kids to camp, any camp, not just CS camps. She is very keen to see DiscoveryBound ramp up in Texas. It was great to be able to share this blog with her as well as tell her about the chapters cropping up in every corner of Texas.

A proposal and grant request is being drafted to submit to Sunnyside to support these Texas chapters individually as well as providing funding to get some regional events scheduled in Texas.

Also with us was Jane's husband and a family/church friend, Sloan, who has offered to help with the existing Dallas chapter. It looks like we'll get him on the Chapter Board. The interesting thing about the Dallas Chapter is (as far as I could tell), it has been nearly single handedly run by a high school student, BJ. Well, BJ is about to head off to college and we need to get some replacements in to cover for the great work BJ has been doing and keep the chapter active and growing.

New Chapter - Fort Worth, TX

2008-03-01T10:06:00.001-06:00

Fort Worth Crew
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Dallas has had a chapter going for some time. And while their metroplex partner city, Fort Worth is geographically close, logistically, it can be quite a chore to get from Ft. Worth to Dallas for DB events.

Thus is born the Fort Worth Chapter! Elizabeth and her son Peter met with me Friday for lunch to talk about what we needed to do to get things going. Elizabeth was at the Abilene Sunday School Workshop, and while she had to skedaddle home afterwards, she left me a note expressing interest in getting the chapter up and running.

Still, some tight communication and coordination will need to exist between the two chapters to be sure events don't overlap and to work in a complementary fashion.

This should become pretty easy to synchronize with the new DiscoveryBound.org website. It will include a community calendar so each chapter will see what the other is up to.

As these chapters get established, the two of them are going to be able to unite and get some amazing regional events together that should draw from all over the state as well as Oklahoma City and New Orleans.

Thanks Elizabeth and Peter!

Dallas Digs - Arlington, TX

2008-02-28T10:11:00.001-06:00

Dallas Digs
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Last night I visited the closest church to where I'm parked in Arlington, TX - the Arlington church. It turned out one of the members was moving to Florida and they were having a farewell party for her and they invited the total stranger visiting their church to come along. Ok... so I wasn't a total stranger. The organist, Mary, and my mom were roommates at Principia together. Mary had just had me over for dinner the night before. I also gave a testimony about seeing the message past a metaphor (the non-fruit bearing tree Jesus withered away from a few weeks ago) and about the "Science" of Christian Science.

Once the group figured out what I was up to with DiscoveryBound, they invited me to address the group at the party and talk about what was going on here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The response I got afterwards makes me believe we'll have some good participation in the newly forming Fort Worth chapter from Arlington!

Sister Chapters

2008-02-26T08:51:00.001-06:00

Sunday was a double bonus feature day with the creation of two new chapters for DiscoveryBound: West Texas and Minneapolis.

Liz from Mankato, MN contacted HQ in Denver curious about what a DB Chapter was after her daughter attended the DiscoveryBound Boston Youth Meeting in conjunction with Annual Meeting at the Mother Church. I contacted Liz and we had a great chat and she's keen to get a chapter going. Talk about dedication though, she hauls her family 80+ miles to get to church in Minneapolis!

As a result of the very successful Sunday School Workshop hosted by The First Church of Christ, Scientist Abilene, TX, their first reader, Emily stepped forward and said she wanted to see this happen for the West Texas youth. We talked some at the workshop and Sunday after church she was ready to take the point on getting the chapter together. This is a very ambitious and unique chapter. Just for kicks, I calculated the area it covers... wager to guess? Try 96,000 sq miles!

Seeing as these chapters were started on the same day, and as they are about as far apart as they can be from one another in the Central Region, I'm declaring them 'Sister Chapters' and maybe some day we can get an event organized with the two of them together... "Meet me in St. Louis?"

Sunday School Workshop - Abilene, TX

2008-02-23T19:28:00.001-06:00

Abilene, TX
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Abilene Church put on a great workshop for Sunday School teachers today. They had 40 people in attendance, the largest group came from Amarillo, a four hour drive!

It was great for me to hear that one of the objectives for the group was to network. They wanted to connect with each other and share ideas and get the kids together. The term "regional events" even cropped up.

The event organizer, Shellie, allowed me to speak to the group for about five minutes and the idea of a West Texas Chapter was thrown out. We'll see if I get some traction on that. I also spoke to the seven youth that came along and had their own workshop, similar to the one at the Mother Church during Annual Meeting last summer. They liked the idea of getting the CS youth from West Texas together more often.

This was a group that has made youth a priority and it showed. It was a wonderful fulfillment to reach out and meet people from West Texas as I was not going to be driving out that way.

A huge thanks to the Abilene crew!

New Chapter - Austin, TX

2008-02-18T12:58:00.001-06:00

Camp Show
Originally uploaded by offyonder

The joint DiscoveryBound and Adventure Unlimited show in Austin, Texas was a great success! A handful of volunteers came forward and were willing to invest the time and get a DB chapter up and started. We even got an event on the calendar, an OTM to sync with the rest of the region - the first Wednesday of the month. The new board will be meeting a week from today to round up more volunteers and plan out the next three months of activities.

Aaron, from the A/U Ranches, and I presented our programs to a room of about 20 people from the Austin area. Most of them were from the near by Third Church, but a key few from First were also in attendance and the new DB Board is an even mix from the two.

It turns out there are also some CS Societies near by and they might get included in future OTM events.

City Life/Ranch Life - Austin, TX

2008-02-16T09:42:00.001-06:00

Tigger... a little bouncy... more cuddly.
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Things have been going very well in Austin. First the lecture on Saturday with Ryder was great. Sunday I went to First Church, the sponsors of the lecture and met the Sunday School Superintendent who already had copies of the upcoming A/U & DB event all printed out and ready to pass out to all of the students.

Unfortunately, the flyer didn't really describe what it was I (the mentioned DiscoveryBound) rep was going to be doing there... so, as I explained the objective of DB and the idea that the objective of this meeting was to get a chapter going, more people took an interest and a flyer with them. Mostly adults whose children have grown and gone, or those who don't have children. It will be great to get everyone involved as children really need to be seen as a community asset and responsibility, not just that of the parents.

Over the week to come, I had follow-up meetings with a few of the folks I met at church and the lecture, went to two Wednesday Testimony meetings: noon at First and the evening service at Third.

Today, Aaron from A/U gets in and we'll have our info meeting and camp show and potluck luncheon under cloudy and cool skies. I feel kinda bad after touting what warm weather we've been having on the staff conference calls, and now that Aaron gets here, it's cooled off. Maybe that's better for him... to ease into it after being in the snow blizzard at the Colorado Ranches.

Oh, yes... the photo above... I was staying at a RV park in the city for the first week, which was great for meeting with folks and for getting to First Church. Just yesterday, I moved out to Rusty's Ranch (see Flickr Photos) and one the ranch cats came into the trailer for a visit and tried to help me with my e-mails and such last night. He was really more into cuddling.

Post Lecture Chats

2008-02-09T19:37:00.001-06:00

Daniel, Whitney, Holly & Cameron
Originally uploaded by offyonder

After Ryder's lecture I had a chance to meet some of the folks from the area and each time I introduced myself as working with DiscoveryBound, a look of appreciation was reciprocated to me.

I promoted the meeting coming up in a week where Aaron from A/U will be talking about the camps and I'll have a moment to see if there is interest in getting a DB Chapter going.

After the lecture I went out with Daniel, Whitney and Holly. Daniel is a Junior at the University of Texas and Whitney and Holly came up from Texas A&M. They're all involved with their respective CSO's and they seem eager to support DB.

I chatted with them about how middle school and high school might pay them more attention than folks their parents age and how DB is a natural feeder to get students interested in getting involved with the CSO of their college when they go off to study.

Marissa in San Antonio is about to have her last Sunday School class and she's kinda bummed about it. She's just getting the CSO started at Trinity College, but I told her that was a perfect environment to help buffer the transition from talking about God for an hour to sitting still and listening about God for an hour. The CSO has a great opportunity to even invite local HS seniors to come and participate and to understand what a supportive community is available.

We all had a great time talking about this stuff... not to mention some good snacks like my root beer float, Whitney's chocolate chip cookie a la mode and very liberal and decorative whipped cream while Holly and Daniel split some cake. Good times.

Ryder Stephens Lecture - Austin, TX

2008-02-09T19:23:00.001-06:00

Ryder Stephens Lecture
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Ryder gave one of his newest lectures, Manhood and Womanhood: Your Sacred Identity in Austin today. He provided an in depth comparison of Genesis 1 and 2 exposing the limited thought represented in the story of Adam & Eve. Adam was formed of dust... nothingness and therefore can only express that - nothingness.

An interesting point he made was the story of Adam and Eve was actually stolen from the Egyptians. Ryder says it was an old folk story that the enslaved children of Israel picked up while building the pyramids.

We are not Adam, or Eve. We are the word of God, we are the infinite expression of light and love - Soul. Our identity is the reflection of Spirit. There is no dust, no breath in nostrils, no need to recognize any limitations... and we need to see that for ourselves. That's the hard part, to see ourselves in that perfect image. It seems like it would be so much easier to just succumb to the oppressing notion of death and decay.

Ryder charged us at the end to go as the children of God. To express that unconditional Christ love. It will help us see ourselves with the unlimited resource of God and it will help others see themselves that way.

San Antonio Chapter

2008-02-07T22:01:00.001-06:00

San Antonio
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Six brave souls attended the San Antonio Chapter start-up meeting. Interestingly, they were all people who either had grown up children or no children at all (although Ron is practically starting over with his adopted kids)! We need to get some parents involved!

While this group may not be the chapter board in the long run, they have agreed to work towards getting an OTM (Operation Testimony Meeting) going at Third Church on Wednesday 5 March (The first Wednesday of the month) and a big kick-off event down on the river including rafting or floating down the river on tubes or some such. It seems it was an event they did years ago and it went over really well.

One of the concerns presented was the distance of things. It seems many of the church members are scattered all around the outskirts of town so larger more substantial events might work better than little gatherings like OTM's. We'll see.

A huge thanks to this crowd: Ron, Marisa, Carol, Fielding, Susie and Tina for being a part of the seed group. Though, to the credit of a few other folks, there were some other meetings going on at the same time. Hopefully this seed group will be able to reign them in and get things going.

New Braunfels, TX

2008-02-07T14:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I headed up to New Braunfels, about 30 miles out of San Antonio (see map at right... markers are CS Churches in the area) to visit with Judy & Chris Schwab. Judy has been through a number of careers including as an opera singer in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera, she's worked as a teacher and is now in the Christian Science Healing Practice. Judy is very active with the youth in the area. They have about 15 students in their Sunday School now, and with a generous grant from the Sunnyside Foundation they will be hosting a weekly Bible Study workshop with local disadvantaged youth, many of whom will attend the CS Sunday School as well.

Judy put me in touch with Jeanne, the church clerk who, with the board, approved letting me speak to the membership about DiscoveryBound. There were about 10-15 folks in attendance and along with giving a quick overview of what DB is, I invited them to attend the meeting tonight as we work to get a San Antonio Chapter Board constructed.

As it turns out, after telling of our bi-annual Australia trip, one of the New Braunfels members used to work at the Australian Easter Camp many years ago!

There was also some interest in the Adult Expedition trip to Turkey!

Elden Stalnaker - San Antonio, TX

2008-02-05T16:39:00.000-06:00

I had a great lunch meeting with San Antonio mover and shaker, Elden Stalnaker. He is working with some students at Trinity College to get their CSO up and running and is very keen on seeing a DiscoveryBound chapter to bless the community as well.

We spoke on a number of topics including some ideas I introduced to him when we first met after the lecture on Saturday and when we were out to lunch with a large group from 1st Church on Sunday.

He was keen to hear about the Monitor Prayer Watch project underway in New York City and I suggested a conference call with the very active CSO at Texas A&M college who meet on Tuesdays at the same time as Trinity plans to meet.

Elden runs a ministry on Lackland Air Force Base. He wakes up at 4am on Sundays to drive to the base to run a bible discussion workshop with an eager class, then comes to church to run a Sunday School class and has a CS healing practice the rest of the time. He also works with Rob and Lauren Nofsinger in Boston who are working towards becoming CS Chaplains in the US Army.

It was great to spend some time with him to brainstorm and share resources. As mentioned in the video, we came up with a theme word, or words rather, for our work in San Antonio: Omni-Action: Action in all directions and in all ways... and I suggested Meta-Action: Beyond Action. He liked that.

Lecture - San Antonio, TX

2008-02-02T18:29:00.000-06:00

I went to a great lecture today by Elise Moore. She spoke on the topic "God is Speaking to You." She made a great point about how God is always speaking to all of us, it's just a matter of listening. Are we being receptive to God's thoughts? I really appreciated her asking everyone to pray that children are listening to God. She told a few stories of how God speaks to everyone - and while children have the ability to hear God speaking to them the don't always listen (no surprise, eh?). But God is also speaking to those around the children to be watchful to keep them safe. Elise stressed the point that we need to be active in not limiting children and to pray for their ability to hear God (and for adults to recognize they can).

This spoke directly to what DiscoveryBound is doing. We take time every day to pray for children, our programs for children and those who work with children. We pray for the volunteers who take time to take action for and with children and to help them grow and learn to listen to God.

Elise spoke of our Spiritual Sense - our capacity to recognize good from bad. She likened it to a radio. All we had to do was to 1) Turn it on. 2) Tune into God. We are all born with Spiritual Sense, meaning children have this as well.

It was a great talk, and she mentioned some Bible and Science and Health citations I have yet to delve into.

Elise has a great website - www.elisemoore.com

Rodeo - San Antonio, TX

2008-02-01T14:41:00.000-06:00

I was just sitting in my trailer... plucking away when suddenly I realized I was surrounded by horses and horse trailers and lots of flags and a bit of ye-haw!

Wednesday I visited 3rd Church and met some great folks who are keen to help with getting some DB activity in San Antonio. I've also connected with folks from 1st and 4th churches.

There's a lecture on Saturday by Elise Moore titled "God Is Speaking To You". I'm not sure which church I'll visit on Sunday... probably 1st, but we'll see.

I hope to get to see more of the rodeo. I just met some folks who were on the ride and they set me up with a day pass to visit the grounds and to see what all is going on.

Giddy-up, partner!

Texas BBQ

2008-01-29T16:51:00.001-06:00

Lunch
Originally uploaded by offyonder

On I-10 from Houston to San Antonio, you can't miss Jerry Mikeskas Bar-B-Q.

A small hexagon shaped building sits right at the mouth of the first westbound exit to Columbus, TX. Ample parking for cars, semi-trucks and RV's made it easy to get there. The lot wasn't full, but I did follow a semi-truck into the big lot.

Inside... the best way to set the stage might be the antler chandelier hanging in the middle of the single dark room. On the walls hundreds of hunting trophies - animals of all sorts - watched you as you considered what sort of meat you wanted to eat. Then, they all watched you eat. A handful of truckers sat scattered around the room, eating their solitary meal while young and old couples and even a few families with young children filled more tables.

For not quite $8 I got a nice selection of meat, BBQ sauce and three sides - spinach, beans and boiled potatoes. The BBQ sauce was pleasantly sweet, while I would have appreciated something a bit more tangy, smoky or spicy.

Despite the food not being quite as amazing as I had hoped, I can see how this eatery could easily become a tradition for those who frequently travel between Houston and San Antonio.

It's a true piece of Americana... rather Texacana. If you can handle all the critters on the walls, I recommend the stop.

Houston, TX

2008-01-28T23:21:00.001-06:00

Heatwave!
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Good times in Houston, but it's time to move on. After some very good meetings with folks here, it's clear they are all very busy with getting ready for the TMC Youth Spiritual Activist Summit.

DiscoveryBound has been in Houston in the past, but with the number of kids dwindling in Sunday Schools... it's been difficult to keep the momentum going. The folks I've chatted with here seem to think the Summit will lead into an interest to continue having CS related activity for youth henceforth and if there is any spark of interest in that, I'm told DB will be off and running. Until then, we're supporting the work being done for the Summit and I'm off to San Antonio to continue the work and to promote the Summit. I plan to be there in April!

Oh, and a side not one Houston and road signs... I can't sort it out. It can be a confusing city to drive around in. Often times the signs are hidden behind a concrete pole or are too close to the junction. Maybe it's just me.

To the Alamo!

Texas Glaze

2008-01-22T09:46:00.001-06:00

Glaze
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Texas can have some gnarly ice! This morning I woke to find my windshields totally glazed over. It took quite a scape to get it clear. The roads were wicked icy as well. Slow and steady I head south to get out of the freezing weather.

Oklahoma City might just get themselves a chapter going. My point person, Dawn, is working on strumming up some interest and we'll see how that goes. She has the chapter handbook, good intentions and lots of energy. Go Dawn!

I also got a call from Ann the SS Super in Wichita, KS. She is very excited about the prospect of DB and though a full chapter might not work in Wichita, she's keen to support the chapters in Oklahoma City and Kansas City. Hopefully she'll be able to get a van load of folks to come up to the Regional KC and STL are looking to get rolling.

Speaking of rolling... it's time for me to roll south!

Wash Me!

2008-01-17T22:43:00.000-06:00

Don't get me wrong... I love snow. But I love it in the mountains, blanked over rolling hills, or as each unique and individual flake fills the air. Even if it's blowing at 90mph. But where I don't like snow is in th city and on roads. When it turns from white to brown slush... sludge really. And that's just what was caked on the front of the trailer after driving out of Wichita. Ech. See the video.

This morning I was up much earlier than I expected. Two things happened. I noticed while lying in bed at 5am that it felt oddly cool in the trailer and I couldn't hear the familiar rush of air being drawn into the heater. The twin propane tank system is supposed to switch from the empty tank to the full tank automatically. I suspected this did not happen. So, I rousted myself from my warm nest, dressed for the cold and troded out to switch the tanks.

Back in the trailer, the heater still had not kicked on. I turned on a light to see what was going on... and the light seemed a little dim. The batteries were low. Double bummer. I think it was the cold that gave the batteries such a hard time (like 17˚F!). Regardless, there was only one solution. I wasn't close enough to a power outlet in the Wichita Church parking lot to plug in, so I had to bust out the generator. I swept clear a spot on the asphalt of the 3 or so inches of snow that had piled up, got the genny running and got back in the trailer. Ahhh. The heater was rolling.

I opted not to go back to bed but started my day with a cup of tea (or three) and did some reading.

I met with some of my cousins who live here for breakfast and got back on the road for Oklahoma City, which is where I sit now in 1st Church's lot after hitting the car wash as you can see in the video above. There are also a few photos on the flickr site.

After the fundraiser banquet for the community center Casey works at in Yukon, we talked about DB some and they made some phone calls and gave me some numbers to call to try and get a group together after church on Sunday. I think OKC is big enough to get a chapter going. We'll see if the folks here think so as well.

Hutch & Wichita, KS

2008-01-16T22:59:00.001-06:00

Snow?
Originally uploaded by offyonder

What is going on here? When I arrived in Hutchinson, KS it was beautiful, sunny and 50˚F! Overnight, the weather blew in and I woke to a light dusting of snow scattered everywhere. The whole plan was for me to stick to the warmer weather!

Well, the trip to Hutch was eventful. I got to meet with my friends Amy and her dad George and got to meet her mother for the first time.

Also, I met with Marilla and her dad, Dan, who is the Superintendent of the Hutchinson Church. They only have sporadic Sunday School attendance, but Dan was happy to be the church contact for when they do get more kids in the SS.

I made the snowy drive to Wichita and parked in the large church parking lot and waited for the 6.30 service. I got to meet a number of nice folks including Doug & Carolyn whom I joined for dinner at a local eatery. They are very supportive of DB and what we're doing. Carolyn is going to connect me with the Wichita SS Super as another Church Contact. I'll also let the Chapter in KC know about the gang down here so they get included on any KC events. It's a bit of a drive, but maybe for a weekend overnight event folks from Wichita will be willing to drive up.

Tomorrow I drive down to Oklahoma City where my friend Dawn has arranged for me to be able to park in the church parking lot there. There's supposed to be 4-6 inches of snowfall tonight. We'll see how the roads are!

Southbound II

2008-01-15T22:03:00.001-06:00

Kansas City
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Glenn was gracious enough to let me park the trailer in his driveway while I was in Kansas City... it's hard to tell in the photo, but the truck and trailer actually takes up the whole driveway.

Anyway, Glenn wasn't even there most of the time. He got back Monday night and I took off Tuesday morning. It was good to see him and hang out, albeit briefly.

I made it down to Hutchinson, KS and met with a few of the church members... OK... I met with the Andrews - Amy and George - whom I climbed Kilimanjaro with in September. Hopefully we'll get some of the kids who make sporadic appearances at the Sunday School here involved with the amazing DB energy building in KC.

Next it's off to Wichita to do more of the same.

Thanks to the Hutch Church for letting me park in their lot and a huge thanks to the guy who lives next door who let me plug into his power outlet! I just wish there was something other than a six-pack of beer that could convey the simple 'thanks' that it seems only a six-pack can convey. Any ideas? Quick!

And Toto, too.

2008-01-13T14:29:00.000-06:00

Kansas City is in good hands. Janna joined the standing team including Jeff, Margie, Keith & Donna and brought a whole entourage of help with her. The aforementioned core members of the chapter board met last night at Jason's Deli (pictured). I provided an overview of how DB works on a national level and how each chapter and each chapter worker fits into that system. We also discussed the need to develop church contacts and Janna has developed a contact for every church in Kansas City so every Sunday School student will know about any events in the area.

Next steps for Kansas City includes meeting with the larger group of volunteers to start planning activities and delegating duties to that end. There is also talk of coordinating a regional event with the St. Louis chapter in May. Stay tuned!

I visited 6th Church today where Janna had recruited many of the volunteers and went to lunch with a fun bunch to the BK Lounge... a regular event for the 6th Church gang.

Also, a big thanks to Glenn who let me park the trailer in his driveway while I'm in town. Glenn has been away since I arrived but will return Monday to see how my setup fills his entire driveway! Hopefully we're not freaking out his neighbors!

On The Road Again

2008-01-11T22:45:00.000-06:00

Good times in St. Louis... but now it's time to head west.

I pulled the trailer out of storage from the Principia Upper School (thanks!) and have restocked all my goodies onboard and jumped on I-70 towards Kansas City. It was an easy drive and I connected with Roland and Judy for dinner.

They took me to Rob's (Nof) favorite BBQ joint - Jacks. I knew Rob had good taste... and this just confirmed my notion. Another friend, Glenn, who is out of town is letting me use his driveway as a camping spot and the Nofsingers spotted me as I backed this behemoth trailer around a tight corner from a narrow suburban street into an even skinnier driveway. I'm glad to say I nailed it on the first try. Whew.

Now, with power and water hookups, the heater cranked up and tunes rocking the trailer is once again home and I'm ready to head to bed and crash.

Good night!

City Shutdown

2007-12-18T11:51:00.001-06:00

Sunowday
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Well, I would have thought Detroit to be a city able to handle a sudden dumping of snow a little better than they did. It wasn't even that sudden, they knew good and well there was a heap of snow blowing in Saturday night/Sunday Morning. I got a call early in the morning saying church had been canceled, and it sounded like I would have had a hard time getting a cab anyway.

The next call that came was to say the concert was still on at 3pm. That was late enough in the day to get some of the main streets in the city cleared off, but it still made for a dicey ride from the hotel to the hall.

Then the word came in from those who don't live downtown saying the snow is still piled up on the streets and there is now way of getting into town for the concert. Sadly, this was one of the best selling shows of the series. The DSO said they had sold 95 per cent of the hall but only a small fraction of that actually made it in to see the show.

This was the case for all of my dozen or so DB participants to come to the event. Alastair (the conductor), Jenn (the soloist) David (with the DSO) and I all had dinner together on Friday night. David offered to let us use the DSO greenroom for our event. It is such a beautiful room.

Well, all is not lost. There is a good chance that Alastair will be conducting there again... maybe not in the holiday season and hopefully we can get an event like this organized again.

Keith and I were able to meet on Friday for breakfast. The snow is not keeping him from rallying the troops and some amazing event ideas are bouncing around for the Detroit Chapter.

Stay tuned!

Snow!

2007-12-15T11:11:00.001-06:00

Snow!
Originally uploaded by offyonder

I managed to dodge the snow in St. Louis, but it found me in Detroit.

I arrived here Thursday and was able to meet with Keith, the point man for the new DB chapter here in Detroit, on Friday for breakfast. Alastair was able to join us and as it turns out Keith's wife and Alastair knew each other at Prin in the late 80's. Go figure.

I went to the holiday concert on Thursday night and it is a great program. Alastair and the orchestra will do 7 shows before the weekend is out and we'll have the DB group all together on Sunday at the 3pm show.

Yes, "White Christmas" is one of the songs.

Principia Planning

2007-12-14T12:12:00.001-06:00

Principia
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Gina and Sue were in town and we were able to catch up on how the road trip is going. I was also able to join the planning committee for the DiscoveryBound Leadership Conference (DBLC) that will take place at Principia next fall.

The DBLC (formerly known as the National Teen Leadership Conference and Chapter Workers Workshop... or something like that - NTLC for short) is a great opportunity for teens and adults alike to come together and explore in their role with the DiscoveryBound community, their local CS community and how the work they do blesses the world.

Last year, sessions addressed how to combat the onslaught of sensational media, developing team building skills and more.

This year proves to be another amazing event. Mark your calendar for Labor Day Weekend 2008!

Facebook

2007-12-11T16:04:00.000-06:00

We're all pretty aware of Facebook, but I'm just getting to the point where I'm going really use it as a tool to get the word for DB events out.

The is a DiscoveryBound group on Facebook, it was started by a participant named Jeff who was kind enough to include me as an admin so I could help the group grow and to use the amazing communication facilities of the system.

Already by reaching out to the members of the group, I've gotten a few responses back asking questions about the events, expressing concerns regarding not having enough funds, and just elation that these events are on. The results have been amazing. One of the dialogs has inspired a participant to organize a fundraising concert to help her afford getting to the NYC event.

I've started some discussion threads on the group site where members can share how they are getting funds together, share gratitude and provide suggestions on how to improve the events. Check it out:

http://facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204864338

Mighty Mouse Fix

2007-12-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

I would like to report today was very exciting. But it wasn't. It was a relaxing wet, cold, gray day. Which is good for getting things done inside.

An email from Kansas City today brought good news of strong support continuing to build for the DB chapter there. I sent along a pre-formatted spreadsheet to collect chapter worker and chapter contact details.

The Detroit event continues to develop. I head up there on Thursday to meet with the growing crew to serve on the DB board and for our event up there.

I forget if I've described it before, but here's what we're doing: Alastair Willis, a good friend of mine who is a symphony orchestra conductor is conducting a Christmas Pops concert series in Detroit. The newly formed chapter board (as a result of the TMC Youth Summit in Chicago) has been bustling and recruiting members to the board and promoting the event. We're getting folks to the 3pm show on Sunday, the finale. Afterwards we'll all head backstage to meet with Alastair and later Alastair will speak to the group about how he uses Christian Science in his daily expectation for harmony in his work as a conductor.

Oh, and the other 'exciting' thing is I took my Bluetooth Apple Mighty Mouse apart to fix the scroll ball that decided to get gummed up and not scroll down any more. I found a great site, www.mightymouserepair.com, that gave me step by step instructions. I had called Apple first (mistake) to get their suggestions but they ran me through all the crazy questions and whatnot about what OS I was using and to take the batteries out and put them back in and blah, blah, blah. I wish they would have just admitted it's a common problem (comon, someone built a web page around it all) and made their non-warranty cleaning suggestion - just use water.

Anyway, after taking it apart and not loosing all the small parts, my down scroll works again! And it'd brilliant.

It's too bad we had such a short turn around time, but it's likely we'll be able to do more of these events as Willis keeps me posted of his upcoming concerts.

Sunsets

2007-12-07T12:15:00.001-06:00

Wow
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Gina and Stodden from DB HQ are heading out this way so I'm camped out in St. Louis for a bit.

In that process, Kristin invited me to come and meet with and speak to the Upper School kids heading out on the Teton Science School trip. This is where the kids go live and play in the snow for a week and learn about science, art and life.

As we were walking back to the tuck behind the boy's gym (also where the US is being kind enough for me to store the trailer for a stint) we saw this sunset.

Sorry my little phone camera can't quite capture the deep red and orange... but just so you know, it was amazing.

Things are rolling along nicely with organizing an event up in Detroit later this month for DB and the STL and KC chapters are ramping up. Omaha should be getting going once winter break starts and Deb our lead there has a moment to breathe. Thanks all!

DB:STL

2007-12-03T01:34:00.000-06:00

Saturday afternoon half a dozen of us gathered at the Napper's house. This was different than the meeting described before. This was not a meeting about building a DB chapter for the kids, but building one for the adults.

It's not a completely unheard of concept. I was involved with getting such a group going in New York City and others have sprung up in the Bay Area and LA. DB isn't really designed to have adult chapters but they are willing to accommodate the needs in the movement that are not being satisfied other ways.

As the NYC group has shown, these groups don't really need DB, but there are some perks if they choose to take them. It's more like the legal stuff of being under the DB 501(c)3 umbrella for fund raising and the like. But it is still a great resource for DB to find chaperons for various events. We have an event coming up in NYC and we'll likely have many of the members of the CS:NYC group helping.

It sounds like the crew in STL is good with being a DB chapter. We're still sorting out the best way for them to stay connected. There's a Facebook Group right now, but I don't think it's quite as powerful as the Yahoo! Groups system. Oh, I hope the new DB website will work as promised. Communication is such a vital key to all of this... and a close second is eliminating as much admin work as possible for the volunteers. They should just be blasting out an e-mail:"We're going camping next week. Come on!" and that's it.

Winterize

2007-12-01T12:06:00.001-06:00

Winter Sky
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Well... ya know, plans are really just the foundation upon which change occurs. It's nice to think you have a plan, to make it appear to others as if you're all organized and you have everything sorted out... but change is the inevitable and variables are truly infinite.

In shot, I'll be in St. Louis a bit longer than expected. Gina, our National Director, just got back from Peru and was not around for the prep, buildup, launch and even the beginning weeks of this road trip. I got a call from her suggesting I stick around as she has a trip scheduled for mid-December to come to St. Louis to meet with The Principia as it is and wanted to catch up with the road trip as well.

Temperatures have dropped quite a bit here in the city of the arch and since the Serafini's have been so great to allow me to continue to stay with them and since I'll be heading to the Great Northwest for Christmas and New Years - away from the trailer it just seemed to make sense to set it up to be cold for a while and not to burst any pipes.

I found Howard RV south of the city and they had the best price after some calling around to compare. Mike and Dave took care of everything, including emptying my black tank (sewage) which I've not had to deal with... yet. Thanks boys.

They also pointed out a few tips about storing the batteries. There are a few systems that will constantly draw on the batteries. So, they suggested disconnecting them and storing them inside - on wood, not on concrete (concrete sucks the acid out of the battery). Clever.

It's all part of learning about life on the road... or rather, on and off the road in freezing conditions.

So, I'll head towards Kansas City in the New Year when I get back and then down to Oklahoma City and into Texas, where hopefully I can find warmer temperatures.

Phone calls and e-mails out to Kansas City and back up to Iowa and Nebraska have been abounding as well as connections to Detroit as we try to organize an event up there.

Serafini Studios

2007-11-29T01:07:00.001-06:00

Admin Day
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Coming up on the end of the month, I had to get all my paperwork organized. Credit Card receipts, church contact lists, upcoming regional events, contacting folks in my next city, Kansas City, checking up on when I might get the license plates to my truck (I got very lucky when I was pulled over to have a totally legitimate story and being let go even though I had no proof of ownership of the truck).

Gabriel and Kristin have been very kind to let me hang at their house in St. Louis. They work for themselves in the home office you see, which also doubles as a dining room table when needed, or game surface (see previous flickr image post).

It was nice to sit around and work and organize all day in my sweats, but we did get dressed to head to the Layfette Square Christian Science Society for their Wednesday Testimony Service. It was great to see more folks I knew from Camp Owatonna and to meet new folks like Eric, who lived in Europe for some time and we were able to yak it up in German. Afterwards, Gabriel, Kristin and I were joined by Emily to have dinner at Bailey's Chocolate Bar and we just chatted it up until about 11.30pm! Hence the reason it looks like I missed a day in posting a blog, but it's only because it's after midnight now and it will look like there are two entries for 29 November.

Tomorrow looks like it will be more of the same as I start to get ready to head to Kansas City. I'm waiting for a shipment of Chapter Handbooks from HQ before I can move on... but fear not, there is plenty to do. Though, it might be a bit of a challenge in keeping the blog posts about all that interesting. But then, if you've read this far, my odds are good. Good night.

St. Louis Chapter

2007-11-27T21:58:00.000-06:00

After a great stint in San Diego for Thanksgiving, I arrived back in St. Louis where Carol had arranged a meeting with a few folks to talk about getting a strategy together for the DiscoveryBound chapter.

As I mentioned in the previous post, it's a unique situation here with Principia and the development of CS youth activity. DiscoveryBound really is the perfect means of bringing the Principia and non-Principia crowds together.

The group also wanted to see if there was interest in the young adult age group in doing more activities together. I told them about the development of the CS:NYC group in New York City. How activities range from playing Frisbee in Central Park to Monitor Prayer Watch events where an article from the CS Monitor is read and the issue it presents prayed about. Then the group meets at a cafe to discuss what they each worked on.

So, folks got pretty charged and I helped them with specific tasks to grow the chapter. The next step is to work on getting the church contact network established in the area so when events are planned the word can get out about them. They're also keen on the Operation Testimony Meeting event to visit other churches and show what DiscoveryBound is about.

Tomorrow is looking like an admin day. Now that I have just enough experience in getting around to churches, connecting groups like eastern Iowa and figuring out how to keep track of it all, I need to set up my "office" to support that work flow.

I also need to figure out how to partially winterize the trailer. Some friends from college who live in the area have put me up and the trailer is parked at the Principia Upper School. There are still some liquids in the system, and while it hasn't gotten cold enough yet to make pipe bursting a concern, it is something I need to learn about. It's all part of the trailer life. Yee-haw.

St. Louis

2007-11-18T18:13:00.001-06:00

Fun dinner party at Michael's
Originally uploaded by gserafini

Here's a better photo I took of the dinner crowd with Gabriel's camera. See the previous posting for the details, or click on the image.

Today I visited the Creve Couer (pronounced 'core') Church and met with Carol who is keen to keep DiscoveryBound rolling in St. Louis. It's such a unique situation here with the huge Prin populous of CS'ers in the area. Principia has it's own schedule to adhere to regarding it's events over the course of the school year, but there are many CS folks, and their youth, who are not part of the Principia program. The mission of DB here will be to eliminate the concept of their being a Prin Crowd and a Non-Prin Crowd.

We will have to work around the Principia schedule for many things and there is a totally harmonious and progressive solution to provide a service to all.

Tonight there is rumor of another dinner party, this time in St. Louis at Gabe and Kristin's house (sitting at the end of the table in the photo above). I'm not quite sure what it will be, but I know it will be good and odds are they will blog about it on their flickr site (click on photo).

Tomorrow I'm off to San Diego to spend a week with my dad, brother and good friend Alastair. Then, it's back to St. Louis to meet with Carol and other DB chapter workers to devise a long term sustainable plan for DB in the St. Louis area. That is going to be fun.

Principia Visit

2007-11-17T23:29:00.001-06:00

Bluff Sunset
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Friday and Saturday were the last days of the quarter at Principia College, my alma mater. It was great to pop up there for a visit, see some friendly faces, meet new people, tell them about DiscoveryBound (some didn't even know about our Labor Day event there!) and, as it turns out some friends of mine were having a diner party and I was absorbed into the festivities.

I ended up sleeping there for the night (hence no up date yesterday) and enjoyed a day of continuing to catch up, visit a farm share stand, move a work bench from a bike repair shop and enjoy a nice sunset walk along the Bluff Trail.

The love I felt for that campus came rushing back in a very unexpected way. I was suddenly thinking about how I could really enjoy figuring out some sort of teaching position (though, I have no idea what I would teach) to allow me to live and work on that campus again for a stint. It was really great to get away from there after graduation, but now I think the breathing time has done its deed and it would be safe to return for a bit. I think that was the way for many of my classmates. We all went off on our own adventures in the world, gained worldly experiences and can bring them back for the current student body.

Tomorrow I should be meeting many of the active members of the St. Louis DiscoveryBound chapter and on Monday I fly to San Diego to deep fry the turkey with my dad and bro. Good times.

Southbound - Part I

2007-11-15T22:46:00.001-06:00

Oops.
Originally uploaded by offyonder

It was quite the effort to get out of the skinny driveway at the Iowa City church. A big thanks to Molly, whom I met at church the night before, who came out to spot me as I backed this sucker up.

Once on the road, I checked in for our staff conference call and just as things were wrapping up, the ole red and blue light show came to life behind me. I knew I wasn't speeding, I had the cruise control set. But it was just as I figured: they had a hard time seeing the temporary plates taped in the tinted back window of the truck.

The boys in blue (well, one in blue, one in khaki and one fury friend) were very friendly and even let me get a photo with the pooch.

K-9 Check. All clear. Whew.
Originally uploaded by offyonder

The rest of the day was very productive. George from Iowa City had provided me a nice list of folks around the state at other churches to contact and I made a few phone calls. Of note was my conversation with Dennis in Cedar Falls who has two teenage kids and as I was describing our NYC program focused on the arts he was amazed and sounded keen to get his kids there. His daughter has shown some interest in the theater so it sounded like a perfect match.

One Week Down
Originally uploaded by offyonder

The Church Contacts are filling in and I think Iowa is going to be very well connected.

The sunset from I-55 was amazing over the vast flatland to the west and after night fell and I crawled through some traffic from some sort of hic-up in St. Louis, I pulled into the Creve Coeur church parking lot where Jim Andrews met me and we headed off to dinner. Another big thanks for Creve Coeur church for letting me camp in their lot.

Fallen truck bed leaves
Joyful gusty swirling
Southbound

Iowa City, IA

2007-11-14T23:37:00.000-06:00

The winds of fall have made themselves known in Iowa City. The morning started with me strapping on my inline skates and gliding downtown to meet with longtime friend Japhet who is working here on the Edwards Presidential Campaign. Then, I scooted back to the church where I met with George Gregory who is the Sunday School Superintendent at the Iowa City Church. As it turns out, George is also the Committee on Publication for Iowa and travels all over the state, so it was nice to be able to connect with him here.

George was very appreciative of my coming through and was glad to see such an effort being made for CS youth. We talked about getting a chapter going here, but we still need to do some research to see if it could really be supported. We'd have to look well beyond Iowa City. He suggested the possibility of getting an Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois group going and my meetings tomorrow will contribute to that idea as I meet with folks from Davenport and hopefully Peoria and Springfield as well. Maybe we can rope in the folks from Des Moines.

We also have some stirring in Detroit. After attending the Chicago Spiritual Summit, I met Keith who is starting to ramp up some activity.

I had my first guests in the trailer tonight. I never managed to get a photo off, but Japhet took one. Hopefully he'll send that along and I'll post it when I get it. We also had Molly, who as it turns out has worked with Japhet in the past! Sara, who currently works with Japhet at the Edwards Campaign came over as well and we all had a nice cozy chat with hot tea and an Antarctic slide show. Go figure.

Tomorrow, I blow out of here. Molly has agreed to come back in the morning to spot for me while I try to back this trailer out of here. Oh boy.

Gusts & Squeeze

2007-11-13T17:53:00.001-06:00

Though I was up with the sun again this morning, I didn't rush in getting out of Omaha. I let the morning traffic clear and made a smooth, unobstructed departure. A slight headwind bummed out my already poor gas mileage. It also kept me alert when gusts from the side tried to force an involuntary lane change. Not good while being over taken by someone... especially a big semi truck.

Yes, most folks pass me on the freeway, but an informal experiment shows I get one whole mile per gallon better by driving 65 mph versus 75 mph. Oh yes, the truck has the power to do 75 with the trailer no problem... it even still has some pickup when I need it! The MPG experiments will continue.

But I like to savor my time on the road, so I'm in no rush. Unfortunately, it didn't work out to meet with anyone in Des Moines, but they were all very friendly and appreciative of my effort on the phone and they want to hear what Omaha gets up to.

Now I'm in Iowa City and when I pulled in I tried to back the trailer into the very narrow driveway of 1st Church. A poorly placed sign post caused me to go around the block to reset, but then I just pulled in head first and even that was a tricky squeeze. The true test will be backing this thing out of here Thursday morning. Here's a little video as I assume to take on the challenge:

Yeah. Right.

Tonight my good friend Japhet is taking me back west a ways to Grannell where he's giving some sort of talk to the college for the John Edwards campaign, where he currently works. More on Japhet at http://floatingark.blogspot.com/

Omaha Chapter

2007-11-12T22:28:00.000-06:00

Today was a successful day of meetings and it looks like Omaha may soon have a DiscoveryBound chapter. Deb has been working on getting something together - including a summer program for the kids. When I handed her the chapter handbook, her eyes bulged and she exclaimed "this is all so organized!" Well, I'm glad she thinks so and I hope it helps her put a board together and gets things rolling.

We met at Burger King at 10.30 and I was still working on my breakfast, but shortly after the meeting was over a touch of hunger struck and I struck back by heading to the grocer "Bag 'N Save" to pick up some sandwich materials. Things were going so well in building my sandwich, I decided to video it for you!

The afternoon included making phone calls into Iowa and resulted in the invitation to park the trailer at the Iowa City Church. Sweet.

This evening, Fred, the would be Sunday School Super of 1st Church Omaha took me out for a great (world famous really) Omaha steak dinner and a tour of downtown Omaha with interesting historical sketches of what buildings have come and gone and the such.

Tomorrow morning I'll bid Omaha farewell and will continue east. Stay tuned!

2nd Church, Omaha

2007-11-11T22:03:00.000-06:00

Much thanks to 2nd Church Omaha who saved me from the Wal-Mart parking lot and set me up with power and water hookups in their parking lot. What luxury to have constant power (not having to set up the generator and run it with that drone in the background) and to have solid water pressure. My shower tomorrow morning is going to be a treat. Now, I have been showering most mornings already and though the little water pump on the trailer does very well the pressure isn't quite consistent. So, I'm not complaining, just appreciating the change.

It turns out there is quite a bit of interest here in Omaha to support activities for CS youth. I met the Clerk, Tom, and the Sunday School Superintendent, Gabrella of 2nd Church and the lot of us, including Gabrella's family went out to lunch together.

Tom then helped me with getting the trailer situated and even had a piece of coaxial cable to connect my TV to the antenna. He suggested I start a wish list which I might just do. Check the left column. He also offered me a white gas Colman camping stove after I mentioned I would like to get a grill. It was close but not quite what I needed.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with Deb and Renata who have spearheaded some local CS youth activity. Hopefully we'll be able to get something up and running for them.

It looks like I'll be heading to Des Moins, Iowa next. I'm not sure if I'll be staying there the night or just passing through. Such are the thrills of reckless ambition and blind adventure - much like this road trip.

Ciao!

Admin Day

2007-11-10T19:46:00.001-06:00

Omaha Sunrise
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Today was fairly uneventful, but highly productive. I'm on this early rise kick, so I got to enjoy the full range of the sunrise with a cup of tea in hand. I miss the smell of wet prairie from my first night out (see map).

The productive elements include picking up a printer, organizing my files, (and filing system), setting up my expense report, entering all the data, the usual barrage of email's and a handful of other things. Nesting really. Getting used to life in a trailer. Granted, this trailer is probably twice the size of my old apartment in New York City and on average, the views are much nicer. Granted, it might be a draw looking out over the Wal-Mart parking lot, but the photo of the sunrise blows the brick wall view I had away.

Tomorrow is church and I'm looking forward to meeting folks. Today was a difficult day to get in touch with people as there was a big football game in Lincoln.

Now, it's time to steam some broccoli, warm up the rotisserie chicken and pour a nice cold glass of milk. Dinner along with some reading should set the day nicely to rest.

Omaha, Nebraska

2007-11-09T22:46:00.002-06:00

Finally on the road! With what seems like months of prep time (not to mention that silly trip to Kilimanjaro which pushed the schedule back a few weeks) I'm finally rolling along in my new home: a 30' Keystone Sprinter travel trailer.

Sure, I've pulled a trailer before... like a canoe trailer, but never something this big. There is going to be lots to learn about life on the road, in the most literal sense ever for me. Take this morning for example.

Last night I was eager to get to Nebraska. Once I crossed the border on I-76 and merged onto I-80, I pulled off at Big Springs, tucked myself in the shadows behind an abandoned gas station and set up to camp. The next morning, I woke early (what a sunrise!) and the truck battery was dead. What? The trailer had plenty of juice, but the truck wouldn't start. I tried to send some power from the trailer back to the truck by starting up the generator, but no luck.

So... with some roadside assistance from USAA, I got a jump and was back on my way. Of course I had a nice cup of tea while I waited for my jump to arrive.

Nancy, Anabeth and Cameron in Lincoln, NE
Originally uploaded by offyonder

Once in Lincoln I met up with one of our trustees, Anabeth, who as it turns out was a very strong proponent in getting me the funding for this trip. Nancy from 1st Church Lincoln joined us as well and we had a good meeting about getting things going in Nebraska.

On to Omaha, where I now sit and write this in the comfort of the Wal-Mart parking lot. Ahhh... that and the pulsing sound of my generator to power and charge the very computer I type to you on.

Scratch that. The Genny just ran out of gas. Back on battery power.

Anyway, it's pretty clever of Wal-Mart to allow folks to camp in their parking lot. I'm not even much of a consumer and I just spent $130 there! Granted, I still had not stocked any food on the trailer nor did I have any office supplies. But hey, Wal-Mart got my business because they gave something of value to me away for free. I must admit... I'm still not a huge Wal-Mart fan. I know they have pushed themselves into communities where they were not welcome and force the closure of smaller stores. But for while I'm in Omaha I guess they'll do.

Moist prarie air
Flat, rounded horizon
Sherbet bars begin