Week 8

This week has been an interesting week! Our internet crashed on Tuesday so that is why I have been without Internet for a few days! I will try to get back to your messages as soon as possible!!! We now have wifi between 1-2pm and 9-10pm (Swiss time). 

In other news the mountains are still here and we are still having loads of fun! On Tuesday a bunch of us went out and road in some fresh snow! We had a few unreal lines, but unfortunately I took a wrong turn and we ended up having to hike out of a reviene in snow up to our waist! Good sweaty times though. On Thursday we also road in the middle of a snowstorm which made for some good times as well! We just tried to go as fast as possible and hope we didn't die! 

On Tuesday night judy scored us free tickets to see the highest level team from the Davos Hockey Club play! It was an awesome time! They have huge flags and a big squad of people singing and chanting! It makes for a cool atmosphere! 

Our speaker this week was an Englishman who taught us about Biblical world view. On day one he started off with questions like: Where does God come from? What do we consider real? How did God create the universe? 

He was basically trying to give us all a headache! But it was really challenging and probably quite healthy for me to think like that. It helps you see and understand what your worldview is. We analyzed different scriptures with this lense on. We examined different passages that have to do with the major spheres of influence: the church, government, education, family, science, art, and economics. It was amazing to see how relevant the bible is to every day life in 2015. That was one of the biggest things I took away from this week. When God gave words for the bible he made it so that it would be applicable for all people and all ages and all generations!

On Friday we had a prophetic team from the Laxx Light House Church come to lead a service. It was awesome! Right before the service Judy was going down the line of students and she just told me I was going to prophesy that night. It was amazing! I prayed with people for almost an hour and a half which was so cool! Prophecy always makes me think about how awesome it is that God wants to reveal his heart for others to me so I can tell them what he thinks! 

Just got back from riding at the park the sun finally came out! It was beautiful and warm! Such good times. I hope all is well back home! 

Shout out to everyone starting rugby soon, miss you guys tons! 

Nick

Week Seven

Hello all! I hear southern Ontario is an arctic tundra! In case you were worried about our weather here it has been so warm! This week we have been riding in hoodies and even tee shirts! We had a great shirtless snowball fight outside in the sun yesterday too! It's been quite springish the past week, so we haven't gotten any fresh snow in the last two weeks. This means tons of park riding and goofing around which is way too much fun for us. As students we have each taken our turns being sick over the past week so I missed riding on Tuesday to rest and get better. Yesterday when the whole group was outside I had one of those "am I really in the alps?" moments. Tanner and I looked at each other and said "Wow we are playing worship music, waxing our boards, and chilling in the sun in the middle of the mountains." Sometimes  for a moment I forget where I am and how blessed I am to be here!

Our speaker this week was a hilarious guy named Jeff Waalks. He is an American currently living in Kyrgyzstan with his family building relationships with the people there and telling them about his relationship with Jesus. He and the local believers make frequent trips into Afghanistan to reach a group of Kyrgyz people that have very little contact with any people other than their own community. They are nomads who live in the mountains. 

He had some amazing stories and really challenged our thinking. He was talking about radicle obedience. He really challenged me with this thought: Does my relationship with Jesus match the radicle life I live playing sports or snowboarding? He showed us a video of a skater going off a massive jump and completely overshooting the landing. There's lots of people watching and most likely are loving watching this guy crash. I would guess they enjoyed watching him crash because I also loved to watch him crash! So we see this guy on his skateboard just go for it. He sends this massive jump and lands completely flat on the pavement. He didn't hold back or have any second guessing. Buddy on the skateboard thought this was going to be amazing, but he crashed. Even though he crashed people still noticed! Jeff asked us, what do you think the people watching are going to say about this guy? If I was there I would totally go tell all my friends about this unreal skater who crashed so bad and got hurt, but he tried this really crazy jump! 

Jeff challenged us, do we do this with our relationship with God? Do we step out and try crazy things knowing God has our back? What will the people watching think when they see me do something out of the ordinary? Even if I land or crash, and trust me, you will always crash at least once, we are humans and no one is perfect. 

I wrote in my notes: Am I living in a way that will get people psyched to live life different from the norm and live it to the fullest? I have been asking myself this a lot this week and I think I am more willing to do that with my snowboarding than with my every day life. 

I would challenge you to join me in thinking about this. Are you living out your relationship with God in a way that the things you do will catch people's attention? 

This was only one of the things we talked about and one of the things that changed my thinking! 

We are continuing to get excited for outreach and are still nailing down details for where we will be staying. We could continue to use your prayers for favour and for money for some from each team that still need it! God is doing some major strengthening of our faith as we prepare and begin to get excited! 

Miss you guys! 

Nick

Week Six

Hellllooo people! I hope life is good at home! Miss you lots! 

Riding this week was pretty great! On Wednesday I got to ride with Reto the Legendary Local (aka our base leader), and it was super fun! We cruised, got some powder turns, and met some hilarious English kids on the gondola! Then Thursday we went up to the park and it was super fun! It was at least 5° up on the mountain and we were all sending! I also acquired some new snow pants from one of the staff members and  it makes me look a little like a dental hygienist, I love it! 

This morning involved jumping off the roof of a bus stop, an early trip to the park, and an inflatable whale. Good times. The park was amazing this morning until the fog rolled in. The whole crew hit the money booter which made for some great shots and an extra dose of adrenaline. The 55 foot gap gets the heart going for sure! 

Our speaker for the week was a man named Femi Oni, he and his family were amazing! He was teaching on the nature and character of God. He was so challenging! One morning he spoke to us about the meaning of the word holy. In Hebrew it is Kadosh which means set apart for God only. It's his possession, whether it's time, money, friendships or anything! This was really challenging, but the feeling of surrendering to God what is already His is indescribable! 

We could continue to use prayer as a school as we prepare for outreach and seek God for the funds that are still needed! Also for myself personally I am speaking at the local Salvation Army church tomorrow evening! I am excited to share what the Holy Spirit has spoken to me and I could use your prayers! 

Missing you all back home! Happy Valentines day ;) 

Nick  

Week Five

Helllllllooo friends. Hope all is well back home! We continued to have another great week! Riding was pretty fantastic! We went to the park both days and had some good times! Tuesday was a beautiful day and it was nice and warrrrm. Thursday we went to the park and it was sunny for the first half hour and then the clouds rolled in; because it was impossible to see, we goofed around doing silly things it was quite hilarious. On the weekend a bunch of us were volunteering at local events on the mountain. A few others and myself were at the Audi Snowboard Cross Series and the others were at a free skiing event. The SBX course was fantastic yesterday, so warm and sunny; I may have got a sun burn too! Today the weather was brutal. Just imagine a terrible snow storm... but you're in the clouds the storm is coming from. They cancelled the event today and we were able to come home early and warm up! So nice! On Friday afternoon we went sledding, and in Switzerland sledding is no joke. Basically you ride these sketchy things down a cat track that switchbacks down the mountain! Obviously, they're no breaks or else it would be no fun! This is just a classic gopro pic from sledding.

The teaching this week was really amazing. Reto and Judy (our base directors) spoke on relationships. They talked lots about romantic relationships. Also, how to have healthy friendships or relationships with family. It really was a challenge but also so encouraging with where my relationships in life are at. On Friday morning we had an amazing ministry time with different "stations" where we could receive prayer and that kind of thing. Everyone heard from God; His peace and presence was so tangible! I really think it was a major turning point in all of our individual lives, as well as, us as a school! 

We could continue to use prayer for outreach funds and for God to set up connections for us while we are away! You could also pray for me for energy and no more homesickness! Just the classic missing the fam and my girlfriend too. I'm so thankful for everyone's love and prayers! 

Nick