Hey all!  Well I've been out here for 3 wks and working for 2 1/2, it is going fast!  The last 2 Saturdays have been training whitewater on the Clackamas river.  We are one of only 8 commercial outfitters who have a permit to be on this beautiful river.  It is nestled on the west side of Mt Hood.  Picture towering mountains on either side, exposed rock, lush green trees and vegitation and cascading waterfalls on both sides of the river.  It is, from what the guys are saying, the nicest whitewater around (this for newbies like me means hold on and pray!)  It is pretty much continuous rapids of some class.  Rapids work off a Class rating of I-VI, I here VI is like a waterfall and most are illegal to run.  We had several Class IV rapids.  The favorite without a doubt is "Toilet Bowl".  The river changed over the winter, with boulders shifting causing in most cases this year, better rapids.  Coming to T bowl last week, 1st time out, as we were setting up to run it, Dave, our trainer and most experienced guide, informed us that "something wasn't right".  This involved a very tight contraction on my part.  He was trying to judge whether what he was seeing was a "rooster tail", in layman's terms, BIG SHARP ROCK AHEAD spitting water into the air...BAD news!  After further inspection he concluded that this was the biggest "haystack" (layman's HUGE UNSTABLE WAVE) that he has seen, and joyfully informed Josh, our guide, to "HIT IT!"  ...at this point I'm still holding a pretty firm contraction of every muscle in my body, particularly the ones preventing an embarrassing moment...For you farmers out there, picture one of those old school haystacks in the field, only this one alive and dwarfing our 12' raft!  The hit was beautiful as Josh hit it square, water poured into our raft, then a second wave nearly as big as the first then a third!!  By the time we got out the raft was full of water!  It was to our advantage that the raft was a "self-bailer", draining the water out the floor.   This last week all were not so fortunate, as the "Royal Fush" took 13 joyriders, in 2 boats, emptying one completely, and plunged them into the freezing water.  Fortunately this is a good rapid to fall out on, given the calmer water at the end of the waves.  All were swiftly back in the rafts, with a nice rosey flush to their exposed skin. 

     Much prayer and trust went into some of these experiences as the Lord is surely stretching me.  The first time out the Lord provided warmer weather (60s, last year snow and ice on the banks!), perfect river conditions (high unruley water levels predicted) and shifts in the river that increased safety and enjoyment.  What a good God we serve, knowing exactly where we are at and nudging us ahead, providing what we need, when we need it.  This last week I found some scriptures and was much more comfortable on the river.  Praise God!  Some of you I can perhaps see going into a worry fit at this time, it is my hope to curb that with a prayer...Lord, Thank You for life and for the courage to live it, knowing that if we are following You there is no safer or more blessed place to be.  Allow Your love replace our fears and give us Your peace that transcends all of our understanding.  Amen

Love you all, now let us press on toward the goal!