We are 10 days into our new adventure in Canon City, Colorado. Last Tuesday parents from California, Oregon, Iowa, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Connecticut, and Zimbabwe dropped off students at the dorms of the Holy Cross Abbey, and a new chapter in the history of Worldview Academy began.
The previous week leading up to opening day was a hectic one - planning meetings with Jeff Baldwin, our women's director Hannah Hall, and myself were used to fill in time around outfitting the dorms, and evenings were spent adjusting to the town and fixing up our personal rooms.
Off of a modest budget we were able to transform a bland dorm that was build in the mid 1960s into a space that felt like a coffeeshop, and each of out student dorms was outfitted with a rug, drapes, full-length mirror, and reading lamp. Needless to say, much of that list was Hannah's choice, and I was the toolbelt manager.
I have loved being a part of this start-up stage. I hope that the excitement stays constant as the year wears on. Students now are filled with joy, self-consciousness, and an extended grace to each other that comes from everything being new. We are pushing them to be involved in local community so many of them are trying out ministries like Awanas and YoungLife, as well as looking into different churches on Sundays. And with only two cars among them it means that Hannah and I are often delegated to the position of chauffeur, which we're glad to do.
On top of that, I am loving being in Colorado. After having visited the state for many years on vacation with family, it is like an appointment with destiny for me to move here, and there is so much to do in the outdoors here I feel I could go or do something different every day of the year and never have to repeat myself. I'm especially excited about the prospects of outdoor and adventure photography here, as what I lacked in West Texas was proximity to outdoor recreation, whereas here beautiful scenery is literally a 10 minute drive in any direction.
There are definitely some tradeoffs though. The small town of Canon City (pronounced canyon) limits options of fellowship with peers, and Hannah and I (both in our mid-twenties) have noticed the lack of other people our age around, especially in the churches. We would definitely appreciate your prayers for finding Christ-centered people in similar stages of life here.
Please keep our students in your prayers too! They are great kids, but just like anyone who leaves home for the first time, there will be growing pains, both for parents and students. Hannah and I also have the task of guiding them into becoming more independent and mature Christians, and there is going to be a learning curve as we remember just what it is that they don't know about living on their own. So pray that there would be grace and wisdom on both sides. That we would understand what to teach them and when, and that more than anything else they would learn to pursue Christ well and in a sustainable way this year.
Thank you for your prayers and support. The excitement among these students is omnipresent and infectious, and I can't believe I have the opportunity to pursue an opportunity like this.
I will try to post some things on here more consistently as examples of what students are going through that will be more topical than informative, so check back in a week or so and there will be something new rather than my regular 6-8 weeks.
Please check out our facebook page for Worldview at the Abbey. I am the primary updater of that page and I am going to try to post updates and photos of what is happening as well as relevant Christian articles regarding Christian worldview so that it can be a source of content and growth for those who follow us.
I hope to see each of you soon.
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