Stop bashing beer or I'll bash your skulls in. O3...pfft....girlie is right, Hubka.

Well, presently I am sitting in the Mansfield Library on the Univeristy of Montana campus, fully registered for both of my classes (European Social/Intellectual Hisotry and Modern France) suprised that there were three other grad students that did not get TA positions, and one of them had a brother that went to Crown, I guess. McCleod? The name rang a bell, but maybe the rest of you know who I'm supposed to be talking about. How often has a man simply walked into your apartment and started a conversation with you, thinking that you're a guest in his apartment rather than the reverse? Well, a fellow walked into our apartment the day before yesterday, thinking he was in the same place two doors down. The poor guy went backpeddling out of our place, apologizing as I held back the laughter. That's what happens when you build apartments that all look alike and are not very clearly labled. If this is going to be a new record for me, so be it, but I need to get off the computer and get to the bus station. Can you believe I had to buy a class schedule listing here? And just in case you needed to be sure it's still me that's writing, there is one cute history grad student, a girl from Japan who's first name I can't pronounce but her last name is Endo, and she's terribly quiet, so we'll see if I can break into her shy life. Probably not, eh?
Lynnea, tell Krista I'm glad she's alive and well, and I hope to talk to her soon.
Brad, that's some classic reactions to the Olympics. I still don't like beer either, but I keep trying to like it so I can have a beer out with the guys and not be forced to buy a girlie drink like O3 out in public.
All of you not going back to school, is it weird like nothing else. Today wraps up the first week of Crown classes that have happened without us. Just to put a smile on your faces, Scott Johnson is in a Ratledge class, and Ratledge kept calling on him in class. Poor Scott. Oh, and I'm sure I'm never going to have stable employment. What a terrible thing, I guess. If you're just reading this and not feeling like you have something to contribute, look at the worthless stuff I'm tossing up and be sure that your voice is more eagerly desired. Write, write write. I mean, blog blog blog.

There was a an accident on a bridge in Detroit on Thursday. A four car pile-up. 2 cars totalled, one of them was Krista's. "My Jetta is now a little white box," she says. The car in front of hers, her boyfriend's, also totalled. The car that hit her from behind, her boyfriend's parents. How does one get into a situation like that, you might ask. Well, tomorrow Tyler starts his grad program at the U and in the process of driving all of his belongings to Minneapolis from Ottawa in a three car caravan, his brakes completely went out and he slammed into the car in front of him (which, consequently, carried a man holding a giant cup of coffee who was baptised by the contents), Krista then hit Tyler, and Tyler's parents hit Krista. Quite an insurance mess. Luckily, they are all okay for the most part, Krista got the worst of it and is covered in bruises and burn marks from the air bag. The bright side is that she was able to meet "two really cool tow truck guys" who gave her a fortune cookie declaring: "New opportunities await you." I wonder what those might be...

I just thought that I would drop a quick note to let everyone know what's happening in the good old northern minnesota getaway we like to call Menahga. Kate and I have been married for 1 year today so that is always fun stuff. I can't believe that it has already been a year! Married life is a great life. You should try it some time Steve :)

Not a whole lot is new here. The youth ministry is trucking along at a good pace. Both Kate and I really enjoy being here and working here. If anyone is every in Norther Minnesota, or whould like a free place to stay on a Lake, give us a call. You can ask Gabe how much fun it is to come and stay at our place. You can even have your picture taken by the St. Urho Statue. Now that is something to get excited about!

That is all for now. I hope to hear for all of you soon. Lynnea I know how hard it is to walk away from a camp, but I can't imagine what it would be like if that camp would no longer be there. Just remember, that camp changed the lives of many, including your own, and those changes will continue in the lives of the children (and adults) that it touched. The camp remains in the lives of the campers and staff, and nothing can take that away!

here is a picture of St. Urho for you all to enjoy! http://www.helsinki.fi/~pkaartin/statue.html

See you all later
Chris Folkestad

Today I sat on the dock of Silver Lake Camp reflecting on the countless hours I have spent in that same spot yelling at children, talking with Krista, dipping my toes in the water to prevent overheating. I sat on the dock and stared at the lake (empty of children) and when it was time to go, I suddenly felt glued to the dock. Knowing that I would never again sit in that spot, I could not leave. Now you are thinking, "Come on Lynnea, stop being so overdramatic, we all have to move on from certain chapters in our lives. For most of us, we left camp a long time ago…join us in adulthood." But this is different, really. You see, the camp has been sold and in less than two months, the whole thing will be torn down and turned into a state park. This means several things: First of all, I will never work there again. Okay, I can deal with that; it is time to move on anyway. I started working there when I was 17 and am now 22. Secondly, I will never visit the camp and reminisce, looking in the cabin I spent 5 summers sleeping in, or the dining hall in which I ate hundreds of meals. Being nostalgic by nature, this is difficult to accept, but being that I have no choice, I will get over it. But there is one thing that I can’t seem to get over: the 1000+ kids that came to camp this summer in order to escape an abusive home, to have a place to go in between foster homes, or just to experience love for a week will no longer have such an opportunity.

Today ended our last camp of the summer and the last camp that will ever occur at Silver Lake and we certainly ended with a bang: It was a week specifically designed for children of inmates. We knew that it would be challenging being that most have some very serious anger issues, but we were in for several surprises: Three children were taken away in police cars for violently attacking their counselors, one child bit and punched Matt because he was trying to direct him to his class, Bryan had a camper placed in a room as an attempt to control his tantrum only to result in the child breaking a window, cursing and threatening anyone who came near. Down on the beach kids began to drown left and right simply because lying had become second nature to them and they convinced us and themselves they knew how to swim while they jumped into the deep end (yes, we saved them all). And now these kids filled with anger, lies, and violence who each year look forward to this week of freedom will not have this camp to escape to again. And so I sat on that dock as the faces of the thousands of kids from the last five years flashed past my face, and tears fell silently.

Amen, Pastor Gabe! Preach on, brother! I do have an excuse for my absence from the blog this week. My time was spent with my best friend home from Iraq and finally done with the Marines for good, and that time was a lot of driving. I got to see Michael Patrick in a small town in the middle of Wyoming a few days ago. You ladies are missin' out; that kid looks good! My truck somehow made the 850 mile trip meandering across Montana and Wyoming without a problem. It only cost $110 to gas up my truck for the entire trip. That's not too bad. While visitng a friend in Billings, I have decided that I can not have children because her seven-year-old sister drove me insane. I guess she mistook me for her best friend instead of her 21-year-old sister's. I've not been so annoyed since living with Bacheldor and Miller at the same time.
Kyle, I guess I haven't hit the wall of real world friends yet because my friend from the Marines is fearless to do anything around me. I was the shy one closing the door to go to the bathroom. It was just like being back in H3. Oh, and me and Brady saw Napoleon Dynamite. Holy cow that was freakin' good. Brady said it made him feel awkward for the rest of the day. All we could do afterwards is make references to it, about the liger and about having nunchuck skills and saying "Idiot!" at random times while trying to dance with our hands in our pants pockets. To all, I would highly recommend this movie. It's probably only in big city theaters, and strangely enough, Missoula as well, but nowhere else I've been to. And besides that, is it sacrelig to drink Guiness from your Crown mug? I'll probably never do it again, but not enough came out of the bottle's mouth for me to gulp down before I could actually taste it. If you want something more disgusting, pour it on bran flakes and eat it for breakfast. Well, maybe I'll just keep this one short and let the rest of you answer Gabe's call.
Bekah, I'm sorry that you're more scared about living alone after my experiences. It's really not htat bad and you get used to it soon enough (so much so that when your best friend decides it's a good idea to play guitar at 9:00 a.m. to wake you up, you are quite annoyed that people are around and wished to have your isolated freedom once again).
I hope you all are doing well. Go see The Village. I thought it was good. But between that and Napolean Dynamite, take the latter. Bye.

I am very disappointed at the overall lack of blogging going on this past week. Life is busy, but is it too busy to blog?? If that is the case then what are we living for?

Wow, you guys are so faithful in writing. I know that I haven't posted since the very beginning, but life has gotten away from me. Mainly it is because I have two brothers that like to be on the computer until 3:00 in the morning. That doesn't really work with my schedule. This summer has been such a challenging one for me. I have learned to trust God in more ways then I ever thought possible. I was finally able to find a job after months of looking. It is funny how things work out sometimes. I ended up taking a position at the Financial Planning firm that I have been working at for the last 2 1/2 years. The originally told me that they could not afford to hire me on full-time. But God worked things out and the created a brand new position for me. Praise Jesus-I was running low on funds! Luckily my parents have been very grateful to let me stay with them until I could figure out a living situation. I am finally going to move out into an apartment at the end of this month. I am going to live alone-which I am not sure how I feel, and reading about Steve's experiences, even a little more scared. But I think that it is something that I need in my life right now. I am definately feeling what Kyle said about relationships being a bit different in the "real world." It makes me realize how much I was blessed by all you Crownies. One huge God story...last year my church hired a new youth pastor and this summer he decided to do an evangalistic event with our Jr. High students. We put on a week long thing every night. They were split into 4 teams and got points for different things like games, spirit, and friends that they bring. They get the most points for friends, so that the team that brings the most gets a discount on their Valleyfair ticket at the end of the week. We were not expecting a huge turnout since it was the first year that we did this type of event. But God had other plans. We have an average of 40-50 students a week at youth group. During the week, we had over 110 students come to the event. We had more friends than our regular church kids show up. At the end of the week, at least 15 students we know about made a first time decision to follow Christ. Anyone who ever said that Jr.Highers can not be on fire for the Lord, needs to come and visit my youth group. These kids are amazing! I pray that everyone is doing well and adjusting to life outside of the "bubble."
God Bless!
Bekah

Hey ya'll! I haven't posted on this mother in forever so here goes nothing...Life in the Lou is pretty good. I can't say that it is all that exciting, but I am having a good time. I have a couple of friends that I can actually say are somewhat close, but I am finding that in the "real world" a close friend is different than in the "Crown world". Case in point: it would not be awkward at all to be in your underwear or even be naked in H3, but in the real world even a mention of taking your pants off would get awkward stares. I haven't mentioned this difference to any of my new friends, but I think there is just something special that happens with friendships when you live with people instead of just chillin a couple of nights a week. When I met a guy named Ted I found that it is also awkward to tell him that my nickname in college was Ted, because then he desired to know WHY I was called Ted, and then he looked embarrased when I actually told him. What is so scary about back hair?
Church stuff is good, we had 15 first time visitors on Sunday that showed up out of the blue. It was great. We have 3 small groups running, one which I am heading up and that is probably the most enjoyable part of my week. Hey Gabe, I have the PERFECT book for you the read. A New Kind of Christian by Brian McClaren. I read it in March and it challenged me in more ways than I can describe. It is about what it REALLY looks like to be a Christian. Alright dawgs, thats all I've got this afternoon. I enjoy readin your posts so keep it up! Talk to ya soon........

Well, I don't want to worry Gabe the babe, so here I am, much to your chagrin, I'm sure. You know, I'd really like to know what a chagrin is. So I'm here in Missoula, tasting my last days without a roommate, but Sunday night was my last night completely alone. It's amazing that I've spent nearly three months alone here in Missoula, two months of that in my apartment, and I have gotten quite used to it. Hopefully Robbie and I won't fight about the dishes. That's a roommate joke, for those of you not from H1 or H3. Can I just say, I hate this growing up whatever we're doing crap. I'm a man who likes things to be predictable, regular, and all kinds of things I bet the rest of you were glad to leave behind. Oh well.
So today I hiked the "M" above the University of Montana campus with my best friend, Brady Lyles, who has been to Iraq twice courtesy of the Marines. The story has more of a serious side to it than my normal strange stories. It showed the difference in "mettle" between myself and my friend. We decided to venture past the white concrete capital letter three-quarters of the way up the mountain, but after not much more hiking, I found myself sitting in the grass by the trail, watching my best friend hike further up the mountain. When I see no purpose in going any farther, I surely don't. Brady, on the other hand, is going to meet a challenge, and keep going despite difficulties. I'm a quitter, Brady is not. It'll be great it I'm ever addicted to cigarettes, but otherwise it is not a character quality that I proudly bear.
So since I'm being more serious than usual, I think I'll venture an answer to Gabe's question about the look of a Christian. I'll answer it in a short story format, something that I prefer often to the straightforward knack many of our friends hold to. One may ask what does a normal fruit tree look like, and some things can be said that they hold in common, but quickly enough the author of such a description must become vague due to the wide variety of fruit and trees that produce them. Many people would like to hear about the average number of limbs and leaves, the size and exquisite nature of the fruit, and the size of their trunk and length of their roots. Then they could look at their own tree and cut off branches that were above normal, get rid of fruit that seemed abnormal or somewhat bland. When the question is asked as Gabe has asked it, people want to hear specifics, because wouldn't it be nice if that was all we had to do to be a Christian, to read our Bibles so many minutes a day after praying for so many hours after helping old ladies do their yardwork after going to church three times a week or whatever. There isn't a normal tree on the earth, but the only good fruit tree is a the tree that produces good fruit. That tree can look like crap (some of us have two different-sized roots and some skinny limbs), but the fruit is what matters. One piece, a million, big, little, whatever. I think the Bible gives us a wide range of trees that look quite different, yet were all there following Jesus, for good. We have Peters and Thomases and Johns and Marys and Marthas, all people that were there following Jesus, and all way different. So much for story format. What scares me is the tree farm mentality of the church, looking for trees to grow to the same height and to look about the same, to stand in a row and produce the same amount of pears every year. We got freakin' banana trees with some blueberry bushes, and things all over the place in-between, and we should let the fruit fall and call it good rather than try to produce more by our own will. Okay, enough crazy-time soapboxing with Steve. I'll get rid of serious. I don't do it as well as funny-in-a-socially-awkward-way.
I'm glad we have Wakefield around now. It's about time we had somebody to break the silence with the absolute worst thing to say in any given situation. Wakefield, here's to many years of happy blogging at your behest.
So back to those stories that define my life. This one ends in a question for all you young ladies out there, though I already have the universal answer from Anne Ebling, so like all my other questions, you needn't bother. So I was down at the University, standing in the Financial Aid line on the recommendation of all those great professors that I met the Sunday before, and in front of me was a wonderfully attractive young lady with a little sun tattoo on her ankle. I apologize to all those who find me a terrible human being for being attracted to a cute girl. So she scootched (I've never written that word before) down the counter to fill out some paperwork, and there I was beside her having a lively conversation with the lady behind the counter. Before I knew it, the lady behind the counter had run off to find something for me to fill out, and I turned to this girl. She looked up at me, and she had silvery-gray eyes. My heart melted in my chest. Apparently my cognative abilities to handle the situation melted with my heart because I just kept looking right at this girl, and we were only a foot apart. Something inside my conscious being was shouting, "Say something that she wants to hear!" and so rightly I sat with wide eyes and a dumb mouth watching her pen slide across a standarized form while she glanced up intermittenly to see if I was still there, staring at her. I would apologize for my brain functions, but I think I must apologize for their lacking presence. Soon enough, she handed the paper in and scuttled off as quickly as she could. The only line that was sitting in my head was something like "So, financial aid... me too." I know it's obvious why I'm single. So my question is... what on earth do girls want to hear?
Totally different question now thanks to a mid-blog phone call (married spouses, please remind yourselves of your unique position and how this doesn't exactly provide for the response I'm seeking): Say your boyfriend/girlfriend is planning to have friends over to spend the night as they are passing through, old friends that have known them for many more years than yourself and claim to have a very close friendship with your significant other. This is not the first time they have stayed the night with your significant other, and you know nothing would happen with them that is problematic because there are other people around. Would you feel uncomfortable with the situation anyway? Would you ask your boy/girlfriend to not house his or her friend if it did make you feel uncomfortable? That's all I got right now. Guys, here's to long talks with good friends. It's actually 2:36 in the morning. Adios.

Hey Everybody,
Good to hear from all of you.
Wakefield, I am glad that you joined the Crown Alumni Elect.
Marty, I must deeply thank you for creating the sacred F.F. It will be a fun time.
Folkestad, where was the phone call last weekend? If you were in the cities and did not call I will be mad for at least a week. (By the way I have been praying for you and your ministry.)
Hubka, it has been like a week and you have not blogged. I am getting a little worried about you. I agree with Duerkop that your musings are very entertaining to read.
Duerkop, if you tell me who to vote for I will do it.
Lynnea, I disagree with your claim to be the greatest putt putt teacher. I think that I could give you a run for your money. I am a pastor now and we are automatically great at golf!
Josh, it has been a long time since you have blogged. I am starting to worry if you where ever really an elect crown alumni or not?
Kurbis, Pop the question. She has waited long enough!
Miller, is SYG still alive and kicking? Tell robbie that he is overrated.
Brad, I really want to play home run derby.
To all, if you do not have the Casting Crowns CD, go get it! Great Disc.

So there is not much new going on over here. I am currently trying hard to start a small group ministry at the church. This is made more difficult by the fact I no nothing about small groups. The parsonage is still great and I am attempting to do some landscaping. (Brad I need you!) Perhaps the most exciting thing thayt has happened to me is that I am starting a fantasy football league among the men of the church. This sounds like it is a silly little club, but it has opened up doors to meet and connect with people like nothing else I have done since I have been here. Here is the big question that we are trying to raise and answer at my church. What does a normal Christian look like? The answer that we are given in scripture is quite different then what we see in the Church today. This has been a huge challenge to myself and I would encourage you all to look into finding the answer.

Have a great day everyone.