Report from Advance III (Tom, Temporal Echoes of the Eternal)

I got back from the Advance III last night, and my mind is still working through this past weekend, trying to pick out what I need to take away from it. To be blunt, it just wasn't as life-changing as the Advance II was in 2006. Then again, if events like that happened often, then they wouldn't be as life-changing.

It's not that it wasn't a good weekend...it just didn't match up to what I have been expecting for two years. It's not anyone's fault, per se. It's just...well, read on.

Things were OK on Friday night, in spite of a storm that rolled through. We listened to the testimony of Johnny Turnipseed, and had fun playing ping-pong.

On Saturday morning, they showed a movie titled "Most." It's a Czech movie with subtitles; you can see the trailer here:



It's about a man with a little boy...about Ian's age...who has to make a concious decision to either save his son, or a train filled with passengers. It's well-made, and I recommend that you see it if you get the chance. However, I couldn't watch it. Ultimately, I walked out once it became evident what was going to happen. The relationship between the father and son was too much like what I have with Ian. Seeing this man take such joy in spending time with his beloved son, then knowing that he would have to let to boy go, hit too close to home for me.

I stormed out of the chapel. There were a few men lingering around who were very perceptive, and picked up on the fact that something was wrong (probably punching the door on my way out was a clue.) The men with whom I talked understood completely, and were gracious about giving me the "permission" I needed to let my emotions out. As one of them put it, "You got to be strong when you get home to your family. You don't got to be strong here."

Unfortunately, it felt like I went around all day and evening on Saturday with an emotional toxic waste dump oozing out of my chest, and I couldn't find any place to put it.

Still, there were some very positive things that happened. It was still nice to get away to a beautiful area of Minnesota. I got to spend some quality time with a couple of men from my Heart of a Warrior group. Most of all, I got the opportunity to spend some time with a young man who reminds me very much of myself, and whom I am respecting more every time I see him. I was thrilled when I found out that he's planning on going through the Heart of a Warrior curriculum, and I look forward to hearing about that journey.

I was pretty lazy about taking pictures, and for some reason getting them posted is taking more effort than usual. Here's the ones that I got up tonight:

This is Frank Bower, former mafia enforcer, now a pastor. He's also a UFC fighter (14 wins, 2 losses). Looking at that picture, I feel absolutely ridiculous holding my puny fist up to this guy.

This is Dr. Greg Bourgond, the founder of Heart of a Warrior Minstries. He's one man whom I seize any chance I get to be around. His very presence is an encouragement.

Here are a couple of shots of the camp. Like I said, I was lazy;
these just don't do the place justice.

Additionally, I got to know some great men there. PJ, Chad, Damon, Brenden, and others. It was a blessing just to be in the company of men who love Jesus, and have a sincere desire to serve Him in their day-to-day lives.