Dominican Republic Trip - June 26- July 3rd

(Left to Right: Pastor Janel, Jim Maynard, Adam Long, Damion Johnston, Barb Dokter, Mercy Tucker, Gregg Tucker, and Pastor Bello)

We arrived in the Dominican Republic on June 26th after a thankfully uneventful trip...and with all our luggage. Barb Dokter and Jim Maynard and I flew down together while Damion and Judah Johnston would be joining us the following day. We met up with Gregg & Mercy Tucker with their two kids, Taryn and James who are down in the D.R. for a month this summer.

(From a blog sent two days into the trip)

Jim Maynard, Damion and Judah Johnston, and myself are staying with Tito, a good Dominican friend we have known for years.

On Sunday morning, we headed off to a town close to Santa Dominica to a recently built church that the youth of La Victoria are reaching out to. Pastor Janel joined them to serve the community.

So... here came a bunch of kids on a bus to love the kids of this community! They were also praying about the possibility of trying to create a community center in that area.

We were in the top room praying together with open hands with what God wanted to do. We asked that it would not be our idea but God's.

And then it hit me.

What they were doing -- coming to God in openess -- is what we from Lookoutare doing by coming down here. We want to come with open hands, listening to how God wants us to connect with them. Much like life in Christ, we need to walk with open hands asking God where he is working.

Sweating for Jesus,

Adam Long

McKye's Dance Video

A Merry Christmas from McKye

McKye is finally walking.

McKye's 1st Birthday

On Friday, Oct. 2nd we celebrated McKye's 1st birthday. Angie and I both were reminiscing a year ago when we found out that we would be having our child five weeks early and the craziness of everything...even Angie projectile vomiting across the room after she gave birth. Well, a year later and we have a very active cute little boy. I still look at him and marvel at how he is turning into such a little boy. He is not walking yet but he climbs up on everything (I think he takes that from his dad) and wants to explore and figure out how things work. Angie did a phenomenal job of creating a rubber ducky theme party. There was probably about 20 adults and 7 kids, many of them under 2 years old. At first I was wondering why throw a party when McKye won't remember anything. Well, I think it has helped us remember the past year and God's faithfulness through the ups and downs of everything. And it is fun to have a party.

Angie's impressive rubber ducky cake she thought of and made herself.

There is the birthday boy. Interestingly enough, when we all started singing "Happy Birthday" our social little boy got pretty shy and started sinking into his high chair.

Here is McKye with a bunch of his friends as we watch a video I created of his first year. Getting a handle on Mac's iMovie.

Oklahoma State Fair Seniors King

My father in law who lives in Shawnee, Oklahoma went to the state fair and on a whim he ended up being crowned the King of the Senior State Fair. He was one of many possible Kings but after he shared about his most memorable moment of singing to his wife in the middle of a cruise ship with a couple thousand people watching, they asked if he would sing for them right then. Well, he sang and got crowned King. For the rest of the day he had to be on floats and do the whole royalty thing that he ended up missing a lot of the booths at the fair. And he got his picture with Miss Oklahoma State Fair and Oklahoma State Fair Outstanding Teem...only in Oklahoma.

Capitol Peak - Labor Day Weekend 2009

Stephen Anthony (a friend from seminary), Aaron Nelson (a friend from college days), and myself on our second annual Labor Day hike attempting Capitol Peak.  We first took the wrong side trail that detoured us for about 50 minutes, extra hiking we really did not need with 40 lb. packs.  After about three and half hours we finally made it into Capitol Lake at 11,600 ft. where we camped out.  

At 4:45 am my alarm went off and I could hear it sprinkling outside, not a good sign for the start of a challenging hike.  Climbing up wet rock and being butt early in the morning just does not wake you up.  So we slept till 6:00 am and I decided we had nothing better to do that day so we might as well try to summit.  

First we needed to get up to a 13,000 ft. peak called K2 and then take the ridge to Capitol.  Take a look at the talus and elevation change we scrambled up in this video.

After K2 we headed to the infamous knife edge.  It really is the exposure that gets you and not necessarily the technicalness of it.  So if you focus on the rock ahead of you, you can do okay going across.

As you can tell we were in the clouds up at this elevation.  Maybe it was a good thing so we could not see how far of a fall it would be.  The first part of the video below gives you a sense of the cloud cover and exposure.  The rest of the video will make you dizzy - almost like you have altitude sickness.  This is shot by my friend Aaron Nelson.  

We finally made it to the top after three hours and forty five minutes of intense exposed hiking and climbing up rock.  It was a white out situation with the clouds but we were thankful that we made it to the top.  

The weather cleared up in the afternoon so that we were able to hang out at beautiful Capitol Lake.

 Some people ask me why I do this?  Why risk your life to make it to the top of a mountain?  Well, I was asking myself the same question during difficult stretches thinking I need to find an easier hobby.  But then when I get to the top and accomplish this great feat of summitting a fourteener, then I remember why.  I feel like the strenuous journey up helps me become less of myself, quiet my mind, so that I might fully dwell in God's presence all around me in His creation.  The fact of the matter is that when I am truly pushed and exhausted I believe I let go of myself and grab more of God.  The physical reality of this often leads to a spiritual reality with Christ.  It is a privilege do this with friends who are also passionate about Christ and I think that is the way God would want us to do it - become less of ourselves and more of God as we journey with others.  Probably the best part of the trip was coming home to my beautiful wife and cute son...it also helps you appreciate what God has given you.