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Prayer Household of theMonth

Each month we will prayfor a household. Thismonth lets take the timeto pray for the ColoradoSprings Service Adventureunit.

Nick GehmanAlan SmithLiz ThomasJosh Widmer

Brent, Kirsten, Logan &Caleb Estep

October Birthdays4 Nick Gehman,

Colorado Springs

7 Rachel Kennel,Johnstown

11 Del Hershberger,MMN Staff

13 Svenja Trapp, Albany15 Leah Gusler, Raleigh15 Kay Schroeder,

MMN Staff17 Gabe Bauman Baker,

Albuquerque21 Christina Weaver,

Philippi29 Jonathan Fridley

Albany

October 2010

Meet the Colorado Springs UnitFor the next seven months, we will spend time introducing one unit amonth to everyone. Were starting with our brand new location, sothis month you will meet members of the Colorado Springs ServiceAdventure unit.

Back Row: Nick Gehman, Josh Widmer, Alan Smithand Brent Estep

Front Row: Liz Thomas, Logan, Caleb and Kirsten Estep

Nick Gehman:I am from Russia and was adoptedby American parents. Beforemoving to Colorado Springs, I livedin Houston, Texas and went toHouston Mennonite Church. I havebeen going there for 15 years. I justgraduated from Spring Woods High

School. After Service Adventure, I will go to a junior college and jointhe fire academy. I have volunteered at both Mountain View CareCenter in the activities department and Westside Community Centerin the maintenance department. God can put you in so many places.Who knew that I would live in Colorado for ten months and workfor several local agencies?

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Page 2 Service Adventure News

Josh Widmer:I work as an Education Assistant for Headstart; a childdevelopment program. I work with 3-4 year olds. At times it is

tough, but at the end of the day it is a job that I want to do. Thepeople here are so welcoming and easy to socialize with. I alsovolunteer as a Sunday School teacher for Jr. High at Beth-ElMennonite Church. That is also a fun challenge. I love it here andI can paint, do photography, ride my bike, and play music with theothers. Colorado is an absolute blast.

Alan Smith:

I grew up on a farm and was homeschooled my entire life. Withfive birth children and four adopted children, my parents havenever been short of helping hands on the dairy farm. With somany siblings, I spent a lot of time in my room alone. There Ilearned computer programming and at nineteen I became aprofessional programmer. I've always wanted to be an actor, andmy sister and her boyfriend convinced me to join an acting class. Istarted when I was eighteen and six semesters later I graduated. Ifthere's one movie I could watch over and over it would be "It's aWonderful Life."

Liz Thomas:I was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania which iswhere my interest in Service Adventure began. Aftergraduation I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life, so Itook a half a year off from school to continue working on myuncle's dairy farm. Then I took a few classes at a localcommunity college. After still being unsure of where my lifewas headed, I decided to join Service Adventure in ColoradoSprings. I work with young adults with special needs at Our

House Inc. The students and their provider spend the daytogether doing anything from volunteering in the community, going to museums, going to the state fair,or the zoo. If I am not working with a student, I help in the office or do cleaning at the center. I alsovolunteer at Westside Community Center with an after-school program with elementary age kids. I playgames, do crafts, or play on the playground with the kids. So basically, I get to play all day! :) Being theonly girl at Colorado Springs Service Adventure isn't as bad as it may sound. It's just like having threemore brothers with the plus side of having my own room!

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Page 3 Service Adventure News

Estep Family:We are Brent, Kirsten, Logan and Caleb Estep. We

moved here from the Johnstown, Pennsylvania area inJuly to be Service Adventure leaders for the next coupleyears. We have enjoyed our time here and getting toknow both our adventurers and the local area. BothLogan and Caleb have enjoyed having all sorts ofattention from the adventurers, and spending time inthe cities great parks. Logan has started kindergartenand really likes his school. Caleb enjoys his time athome but thinks he should be in school too. Our timehas been spent working on finding stipendedplacements for the adventurers and making connections

with local agencies. When there is free time, Kirsten enjoys reading and sewing. Brent always has manyprojects to complete, but also enjoys riding his motorcycle and bicycle when time allows. This is goingto be a great year!

Colorado Springs Service Adventure's favorite things aboutbeing here:1. Rappelling/rock climbing at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp2. Pikes Peak...Cog Railway3. Garden of the Gods4. Spending time at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp5. Super low humidity6. Hardly any bugs7. Amazing biking trails8. Using "altitude" as an excuse to be lazy9. $1 movie theatre10. So close to so many things

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Page 4 Service Adventure News1 Corinthians 13 "The Love Chapter"

Darrell from our supporting church, Beth-El Mennonite, has graciously offered to come every week tolead us in a Bible study. We begin with a time of open prayer and singing and then Darrell shares hislesson. We are currently digging deeper into the "love chapter." We are discovering that 1 Corinthians

13 has a lot to teach.

Before we even looked at the chapter we talked about what love is and is not. We learned the differentkinds of love and the kind of divine love that Paul is speaking of to the Corinthians. We talked abouthow the opposite of God's divine love is selfishness. God loves us out of the purity of Himself and allthat He does for us is because of His great love. The first part of the chapter talks about all the goodthings that we can do that may look like love to others, but when we stand before God if we have hadthe wrong motives then it's meaningless to Him. The second section of the chapter describescharacteristics, attitudes and behaviors that you will find in love. Darrell gave us a definition of a "dogooder" as one who merely uses other people as opportunities for practicing their acts of virtue, ofwhich they keep careful count. Often when we do loving things we are looking for recognition or to be

repaid, but when that's our motivation we will get tired and burnt out.

We have continually been challenged by Darrell to use the gifts that God has given us to serve Him andHis people. He has challenged us to not get stuck comparing ourselves to those around us, but tocompare ourselves in light of how God sees us. Then to be wrapped up in what He expects of us withwhat He's given us. And to be content with the blessings we've received.

Service Adventure is a great place for us to refine our ability to love. We have opportunities both in ourwork placements and also within our unit homes to be Christ's love. We will never be able to loveperfectly, because we are not perfect people, but we can use this opportunity to learn to love moreselflessly.

Worship nights have been a great time to focus on what God has to teach us and to leave all thedistractions behind. We are excited to learn more about God's love as we continue through this chapter.