We spent the day at Sea World. I have never been. The shows were really well done (especially the dolphin show with macaws flying over our heads). They also had some very neat under water exhibits.
If you look closely, you can see the birds at the top of the picture about to fly over our heads! They did this at least 4 times!
Josiah dances with Shamu!
Videos to come later...
We decided to make tomorrow a down day. We are all dog tired from walking around two days in a row! We will go to Disney's Hollywood Studios on Thursday. They have a live version of one of Josiah's favorite shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) and the chance to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater in real life! I am not sure if Josiah is more excited or if we are more excited watching him be excited! LOL.
We ventured to Magic Kingdom today! It was a long day so I am going to limit to pictures even though we do have a couple cute videos. Maybe I'll share those later for the fam! Josiah is happily asleep as I type this - probably dreaming about Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy and chanting "Dreams come true!" :-)
Josiah finally conked out about 6 pm while waiting in line for the Buzz Light Year ride. We managed to get him to wake up just as it was our turn to get on.
Well - I am going to conk out too if I post any more pictures tonight!
The afternoon was very relaxed for us. We are all a little sleep deprived and took much needed naps! We then headed off to the pool for some relaxed play time. It's so amazing how much Josiah has changed in his appreciation for the pool. He usually is a little timid at first, but that has disappeared. He did not hesitate to jump into the fountains and splash around in the kiddie pool!
And finally for all the Grandparents and Aunts out there, here's a short video! :-)
Allow me to interpret - I've become something of an expert after 18 hours with a 2-yr-old in the car:
"Mikee" = Mickey Mouse
"Poo-whoah" = Pluto
"Chiknail" = Chip & Dale
"Wookapamtwee!" = Look! A palm tree!
On a more serious note, I have to say that this vacation is a complete blessing to my family. Last August a family at Catalyst blessed us with this week's free stay at their timeshare resort that is literally located across the street from Sea World in Orlando. In the months leading up to this trip, we weren't sure how we were going to be able to afford travel/food. In God's providence, a few days before Christmas an anonymous donor out of the blue gave us a gift that is fully taking care of our trip. Thank you for your gifts and thoughtfulness - they are a strong encouragement to our family in the midst of ministry!Â
We arrived in Orlando early this afternoon after a 1 1/2 day trek in the car! We left Ohio around 5:30 am on Friday and drove to Savannah, GA where we spent the night. We drove the rest of the way this morning. Josiah has done amazingly well with the long car rides. He loves getting to watch so many movies - a treat that's not allowed at this frequency at home. :-)
The accommodations we are staying in are soooooooooooooooooo nice!!!!!! We basically have a one bedroom apartment with a bonus jacuzzi tub and a washer and dryer! There are six pools on site. The resort staff have been so friendly too. We decided to sit through a sales pitch in the morning to get some discount tickets to Disney - this way we can go two days for less than the price of one. We stocked up on some groceries for the week to save on food too.
We ate an early dinner after checking in and then took Josiah to Downtown Disney. He was amazed by his surroundings. Boy is he in for a treat when we go to the actual park! Here are a couple of pics from the night...
Tomorrow we are headed to Cross Pointe Church (an Orlando A29 church). We plan to have a relaxing afternoon which may include the pool and mini golf!
- VUE cleaned? Check.
- Pug-sitter? Check.
- Paul Tripp podcasts readied? Check.
- iPhone/Mac left in Ohio? Check.
- Church recon chosen for Sunday? Check.
- Josiah hyper for Disney World? Check.
- Time scheduled w/Chan Kilgore? Check.
-  "  "   "     "    w/Phil Chalmers? Check.
- Orlando vacation underway? Absolutely.
Good-bye 2008 and HELLO 2009! Happy New Year fam & friends - we love you!
Here's Josiah playing with his favorite toys - some new cars!
I believe to my core that leaders are learners. When we stop learning, we stop leading.
I've discovered that I learn a lot from recon missions to other church plants. Nothing expands your creative horizons like worshiping in new portable environments.
Today eight of us from Catalyst ventured to a new church start-up meeting at a Regal Cinema in Green, Ohio - The Summit. Launched this past September, The Summit is a second campus of Canton Baptist Temple.Â
Worshiping at a movie theater rocked. I loved checking Josiah into the kids area in the auditorium right next to adult worship. Great peace of mind for this first-time guest!
All the volunteer workers were outgoing, extremely friendly, and on-fire for what God is doing through their efforts. Tom Hogsed, campus pastor, was genuinely engaging and contagiously compassionate.
What I found interesting is that unlike traditional multi-site, The Summit retains its own unique DNA culture specifically contextualized for Green. As campus pastor, Tom doesn't rely too much on video-venue sermons, but instead teaches live the majority of the year.Â
The relationship with Canton Baptist is also fascinating - the Main Campus in Canton underwrites the Green Campus pastor's funding while the The Summit attendees are responsible for facility rent each week. Intriguing method of expanding the mission!
Overall it was a great experience for our crew as we dream of new ways to engage the postmodern culture in the Akron/Kent metro-area heading into 2009. I'm thankful that God is raising up new church start-ups throughout north-east Ohio so that more damage can be done for the Kingdom.