Community

Living high up in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, among the largest trees in the world, I have come to discover the people here are what amazes me the most. As I see it, there are two types of people here. The individuals living and working here just like me, and the many hundreds of individuals coming and going each day in order to visit the stunning sights that this wonderful forest has to offer.
One of the first things I pictured living in a National Forest is the crisp, clean, and beautiful air that would inhabit such a place. Apparently I am one of the few that enjoy this aspect of living in a National Forest. My personal guess would be that 80% of the individuals that work here smoke. While this does not make them bad people or anything like that, it does surprise me. I am fully aware that many thousands of people smoke in the U.S., but to be honest I did not think they would care to dwell in a National Forest where the air is clean to breathe. I guess the Forest has other aspects to offer them (side story: Living high up in the mountains the air is cleaner, but it is also thinner. Meaning it has less oxygen. This often affects people, but I was happy to find it did not me. That is, until I attempted to go for a run. It was like a slap in the face. While I am not a huge runner that can go for miles, I can defiantly keep a steady pace for a few miles. Not here. Thirty seconds into my run my body finally discovered what it meant to have thinner air. I only got a measly mile until I was beet). To expound on the type of people I work with, I will also say that many of them excessively drink and cuss. Not to put them down in any way, but to merely give you an idea of the people I work with. Many of them are actually really net individuals (many of them are also old enough to be my parents). Luckily my rooming situation is the best I could really ask for, because I room with a fellow ACMNPer about the same age as me. While I am able, for the most part, run away from the smoke of the cigarettes, I am not sure sure how I would have handled living in the same room as an individual that smoked. In a whole I get along with my employees and often even go on hiking adventures with them. Fun people to be around.
The visitors are another story. Not to say I do not like them, but to be honest they are not what I expected. Again, my personal guess would be that about 80%, if not more, of the visitors that come through our doors are speaking a language that I cannot understand. Maybe that was something I was just completely oblivious to that some of you would have expected, but I sure did not. Our National Park is a bigger draw to people living outside our country than to the individuals living right next door. I just find that very interesting.
So there you have it. The community I am currently settled in. Much different than SAU, but it is the "real" world and that is where much of the ministry is. While I love SAU and CLBC, I cannot stay boxed into a christian world where the majority of the people are dedicated disciples. It is great to live and work in a green house such as SAU or CLBC, but the point of a greenhouse is to build an individual up enough so they may not only survive out in the world, but thrive. Thrive in such a way as to be able to let go and allow Christ to shine through. That is what I hope to do. Let go of my life, so Christ may have His way with me. No matter what that may entail. Keep those prayers coming!