Autumn in Chattanooga, Tennessee

On the weekend of October 23rd - 25th, our family headed down to the Chattanooga area to enjoy some fall color. My parents are both retired and have become part-time RVers: out on the road doing service projects for about 6 months of the year. One of their fall projects was canceled, so they decided to join us.

We both reserved campsites next to each other at Raccoon Mountain RV Resort, a Good Sam park, just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The campground itself was pretty nice and somewhat secluded. From our site, we had a nice view of Lookout Mountain. Wi-fi and cable both worked well, and the RV park is only a few miles from Downtown Chattanooga and the attractions in the Lookout Mountain area.

Our campsite at Raccoon Mountain RV park, with Lookout Mountain in the background.

That Saturday, we had a nice breakfast together and headed to Lookout Mountain to explore Ruby Falls. After enjoying our time at Ruby Falls, we headed further up the mountain to Point Park to take in the scenery. After Point Park, we headed into downtown Chattanooga to grab a bite to eat.

Ruby Falls in all her glory.

Some views from Point Park, atop Lookout Mountain. 

My great, great grandfather Thomas Hicks served as a lieutenant in the Confederate Army. Records show that he fought for the Tennessee 29th Infantry. One of our family heirlooms is a sword that he obtained during the war. Family tradition tells that he found the sword (a union infantry sword) during the battle of Missionary Ridge - part of the overall battle for control of Chattanooga in late November of 1863. While we were at Point Park, one of the park rangers gave us the location where my great, great grandfather was stationed atop the ridge. Sunday morning, after packing up camp, we drove up to Missionary Ridge to find the spot where my great, great grandfather fought some 150+ years before.

Plaque marking the spot where my great, great grandfather stood and faced Union troops charging up the ridge. He fought in the 29th Tennessee. 

The view from Missionary Ridge (Lookout Mountain in the background) some 150+ years after my great, great grandfather stood here and fought.

Men's Retreat at Montgomery Bell

On the first weekend in October, the men of my church gathered in Montgomery Bell State Park for a prayer retreat. Most of the men stayed in the Inn there at the park, but a hand full of men decided to brave it out in the campground.

That particular weekend ended up being very wet and cold. It rained all weekend with evening lows in the lower 40s. All of the sites were saturated and any available wood was soaked, which made it pretty challenging for those camping in tents. I, however, was not camping in a tent. I was camping in my RV - on a nice creek-side site that I had secured a couple of months earlier.

Because it was rainy and cold, I didn't really get out and do much in the park, or take many pictures - which was good, since the focus of the weekend was the prayer meetings. I didn't have the beautiful outdoors as a distraction to what God wanted to accomplish. Once our meetings had concluded that Saturday afternoon, I was able to get in a short hike during a small break in the weather. I didn't want to get my Nikon out in the weather, so all pictures were taken on my iPhone.

Hiking trail through the iron ore pits. Montgomery Bell was one of the Nation's leading Iron producers in the early 1800's. Cannonballs used in the war of 1812 were probably cast here.

Inside a sandstone chapel built to commemorate the founding of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded on these grounds in 1810 at the home of Rev. Samuel McAdow. A replica of his home is near by. This chapel was built to commemorate the founding of the denomination.

Dam and spillway at Lake Woodhaven, one of the 3 lakes at Montgomery Bell State Park.

Pensacola Beach

During the week of July 13, 2015, while both of our kids were involved in our church's summer youth camp, my wife and I decided to take a quick vacation down to the gulf coast of Florida. Believe it or not, there aren't as many full-service RV campgrounds on the beach as you would think. I found one in Destin and one in Pensacola Beach. We ended up going to Pensacola Beach and camped at the Pensacola Beach RV Resort.

We arrived at the campground around 4:30pm that Tuesday afternoon and were quickly assigned a site.

The view from our campsite

Site 53, while not a "premium" site, had a great view of the campground beach on Santa Rosa Sound. Pensacola Beach RV Resort is a really nice campground. It is walking distance from most of the restaurants and shopping, and most importantly, the beach. Right across the street from the campground are 2 public beach entrances. Pensacola Beach RV Resort also offers complementary Wi-Fi and Cable TV. Both worked really well, which was probably a first for us. Usually, when a campground offers free Wi-Fi and/or cable, the service usually leaves much to be desired, if working at all. The campground also has a pool and 4 private and very clean shower/bathrooms. 

After getting camp set up, I headed over to the beach to see what it was like. By the time I got there, the rentals had shut down, but the beach was really nice and not crowded at all.

The only bad thing about being on the Gulf Coast in the middle of July is: it's HOT! I think daytime temperatures were in the upper 90s with high humidity - much too hot to be enjoyable. Because of that, we tried to limit our out-door activities to the mornings and evenings.

Just as the sun was setting, we decided to leave the comforts of our air-conditioned camper and go exploring. This view of the sun set is from our campground beach. I love that I captured the silhouette of the kayakers in the shot.

We enjoyed a relaxing stroll along the beach.

As the sun dipped further below the horizon, it cast a pink glow over everything. Didn't need rose-colored glasses - just a beautiful sun set.

The next morning, we headed out to the beach after breakfast and stayed there a few hours - until we couldn't take the heat any longer. After lunch, we ventured out and explored some of the shops. Pensacola Beach has 2 dog parks - one on the west side of the island, and one on the east side headed toward Navarre.

After dinner, we took Angel out to the dog park at park west. This was her first time ever seeing the ocean.

She didn't know what to think at first, but definitely wanted to check it out.

She was a little scared of the surf and the waves...

But all in all, she enjoyed the experience.

Again, as the sun began to set, we got a display of God's artistry.

Sea Oats set against the sunset sky.

The colors in the sky were brilliant.

The next morning, I got up early to try and catch the sunrise over Santa Rosa Sound.

I walked out on the campground beach, just a few feet from our campsite, and was able to catch this shot. The sun was behind the clouds, but still made for a beautiful start to the day.

After breakfast, we decided to take in a little of the area's history. The Pensacola Bay area was actually the home of the first European settlement in the United States. Tristan de Luna landed on Santa Rosa Island in 1559. St. Augustine, FL wasn't settled until 1565 and Jamestown, VA in 1607.

Santa Rosa Island was also the location of the very first Christian Mass held in the United States. The cross marks the approximate location of that first worship service. Earlier this year, I got to visit the very first cathedral ever build in the new world when I was in Santo Domingo. Then I got to visit this place - the location of the very first Christian worship service on American soil.

The cross was placed here in 1959 by the Knights of Columbus to commemorate the 400th anniversary of de Luna's landing and the introduction of Christianity to the area.

Pensacola Beach is also the home of Fort Pickens. Fort Pickens, located at the Western end of Santa Rosa Island, was completed in 1834 and remained in service until 1947.

Fort Pickens was built almost entirely by slaves. Ironically, the same government that used slave labor to build the fort, would later use the fort to defend the nation against those who wished to maintain slavery in the south.

One of the things that impressed me about the fort was the quality of the masonry work. The slave masons were obviously incredibly talented and skilled. They built this fort so well, that it still stands 181 years later. There is a portion of the fort that was destroyed, but that was due to a freak explosion of black powder - not shoddy workmanship.

The officer that oversaw construction of the fort was Colonel William H Chase. During the Civil War, he actually joined the Confederacy and even demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens to the Florida Militia.

The demands for surrender were refused, and on November 22 and 23, 1861, Fort Pickens opened fire on numerous Confederate positions in the area and successfully defended Pensacola Harbor and the Navy Yard from Confederate control.

A little over 20 years after the end of the Civil War, Fort Pickens was used to imprison captives from the Indian wars in the west.

Geronimo and several of his Apache warriors were imprisoned at Fort Pickens during 1886 and 1887, and became somewhat of a tourist attraction.

During the late 1890s and early 1900s, Fort Pickens saw numerous "improvements" to respond to the change in military technology and warfare. The concrete structures in the picture above are thought to be the remains of a shelving system built to hold and store naval mines.

Several "modern" gun batteries were constructed in and around Fort Pickens. The gun above is a Civil War-era cannon, and in the distance is a gun battery built during the turn of the 20th century.

Fort Pickens is now part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The surrounding area contains a primitive campground, a bird sanctuary, and protected sand dunes.

After touring Fort Pickens, we went to Red Fish Blue Fish for lunch. After lunch, we headed across the bay into Pensacola.

While we were in Pensacola, we stopped by the local cupcake shop so Lea could try out their cupcakes. They were good - but I think Lea's cupcakes has their's beat.

For our last evening, we decided to have dinner on the beach - so we headed to Crabs We Got Em. While there, Lea wanted to experience the Island life, so she enjoyed a tasty Piña Colada (without the rum, of course). The food wasn't bad either.

After dinner, we went for a nice walk on the pier: a beautiful end to a wonderful time away in Pensacola Beach.

G.O. Team Santo Domingo

This post has nothing to do with camping, but I wanted to do a blog entry on my recent trip to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Last month (June 10-22), I got to be part of a G.O. Team from our church to Santo Domingo. "G.O." stands for gospel outreach. I'll share a few of the pictures I took in the blog. If you want to see more, they are in this online photo album: Santo Domingo - 2015

Our trip began with a short 4-hour van ride down to Atlanta, GA. Our non-stop flight to Santo Domingo departed from Atlanta on the morning of June 11th, so we drove down the night before and spent the night in a hotel near the airport.

After challenges with the morning shuttle to the airport, we boarded the plane with just minutes to spare.

Arrival

After a quick 3-hour flight, we landed in Santo Domingo and were greeted at the airport by Charlie and Darla, our long-term mission partners in the area.

After loading our luggage in the back of Charlie's truck, Darla treated us to a scenic drive along the coast on our way into the city.

We arrived at our home away from home for the next 10 days: A Free Methodist Church in Santo Domingo, about 5 minutes away from our church congregation Cántico Nuevo (New Song) -  Santo Domingo. The 3rd floor of the facility has mission team housing with a kitchen, dining area, and several rooms with bunks. 

This was the view from the dining area.

There were different fruit trees planted all around the church building. This is one of the mango trees that was growing just outside the dining area.

After getting settled, we headed to the El Cafe community to lead the Thursday evening community gathering for a newly launched Cántico Nuevo congregation in the area. Before the gathering began, we broke up into two teams and walked the streets, inviting people to the meeting. A couple of the boys from our team engaged some of the local kids in a 2-on-2 pick-up basket ball game (we lost).

For the gathering, we led a few songs in worship, then I shared a short message (translated by Erick) in which I explained the gospel and gave an encouraging word to the congregation. After I spoke, Charlie gave a call for salvation and two people responded. We then had a time of prayer where we prayed for various people. It was a powerful and encouraging start to our trip.

Day 1-2: Evangelism and Leadership Seminar

For the first part of the day, we headed to the local university to engage people in gospel conversations using the God Test.

Luke, Blake, and Erick talking with some students on the Library steps.

During our team prayer time that morning, Aaron had a vision of him speaking with a dark-skinned man in a black shirt. Near the end of our time at the University, these two young men walked past, and Aaron's vision became a reality. They weren't even students at the university, but were just passing through. Scott and Aaron got to talk with them both about the gospel and living fully for The Lord.

Charlie conversing with a young man who was shining shoes.

Friday evening and all day Saturday, we hosted a leadership seminar for leaders in Cántico Nuevo and another church in the Las Palmas community.

Several of us shared our testimony. Felicia shared about how she has been transformed by the Love of God and the power of living in a life-giving community of faith.

This was Jessica's first time sharing her testimony before a group of people. She did a great job.

I had the opportunity to give an example from my own life of God's faithfulness to His Word and how following the ways of God leads to blessing and fulfillment.

Scott Weaver, our executive pastor, led 4 sessions over the course of the conference. He took us through Ephesians and talked about the family that grows together.

Everyone from the conference left encouraged and better equipped to lead the people in their congregations.

Day 3: Sunday Services

On Sunday morning, we got to join our family at Cántico Nuevo - Santo Domingo. It was a great service. The worship team led some familiar songs in Spanish and English (which we appreciated) and Pastor Scott brought the message.

Throughout his message, Scott invited various members of our team up to give a testimony that would help to illustrate his message points.

That evening, we had the privilege of worshipping with some of our Haitian brothers and sisters at a Haitian Foursquare church in the Los Alcarrizos community. 

Here are some of the kids waiting in the church foyer.

These two led a powerful time of worship. There were no instruments, no lights, no lyrics projected on the screen...

But that didn't prevent the congregation from passionately praising and worshipping their God and Savior. We could all learn a lesson from them.

Here is your Haitian family saying "Hi" to you.

The church building was packed full, and not everyone could fit inside, but that didn't stop one little girl from being a part of the service.

After Pastor Scott's message, we all had the opportunity to pray for and over everyone.

We definitely got to experience a taste of heaven, worshipping with our Haitian family - an experience we won't soon forget.

Day 4: Sightseeing and Couples Event

Monday was our day to do some sightseeing and souvenir shopping. While we were waiting to be picked up, some of our team decided to walk the neighborhood and meet some of our neighbors.

Next to the church where we were staying was a small business.

Here are some of our team members sharing the gospel with the store clerk.

After we were picked up, Darla gave us her bus tour of the Colonial District. Here are some of the sights that we got to experience:

Columbus Lighthouse

The lighthouse was built to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Discovery of America. The monument was funded by the Latin American states and is built in the shape of a cross to represent the Christianization of America.

Fortaleza Ozama

The Fortress is a sixteenth century castle built by the Spanish at the entrance of Santo Domingo on the Ozama River. It is the oldest formal military construction of European origin in the Americas. Construction began in 1502 and was completed in 1505. The castle served as a prison until the 1960s, when it was opened to the public.

Alcázar de Colón

The Alcazar is the oldest Viceregal residence in the Americas. The palace was built under Diego Colón (Columbus), the son of Christopher Columbus, when he became Viceroy of La Española in 1509. It was from this building that many of the Spanish expeditions of conquest and exploration of the new world were planned.

Catedral de Santa María la Menor

This is the oldest cathedral in the Americas. It was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1504. Construction began in 1512 and was consecrated in 1541. Sir Francis Drake used the cathedral as his headquarters when he captured Santo Domingo in 1546.

We all stopped for a brown-bag lunch in Columbus Park, beside the cathedral. While we were eating, a young boy came up to us begging for money. Almost like the story of Peter and John in the Bible: silver and gold, we did not have - but what we had, we freely gave him...

Erick sat for a while and talked with him and shared the gospel with him. After hearing the good news, the boy freely received the gift of salvation... and got some free lunch as well.

After lunch, we took a self-guided tour of the inside of the cathedral. This is a view from the back of the nave.

This is a stained glass window in one of the side alcoves: Jesus being ministered to by an angel in the Garden of Gethsemane, while the disciples are sleeping.

After our tour of the cathedral, we headed to one of the gift shops to haggle with the shop owners and pick up some cheap souvenirs.

After sight-seeing and souvenirs, it was time to head to Cántico Nuevo for a couples gathering. Several ladies from the congregations involved went all out to decorate the church for the event. Caterers brought in food, while everyone on our team served the couples. After dinner, Scott and Nancy Weaver led an informal discussion about Christ-centered marriages. Again, another powerful time of encouraging and equipping believers to live a submitted and sanctified life graced by God.

Day 5: Painting at Las Palmas

On Tuesday, our main assignment was painting the main gathering room of New Hope (Nueva Esperanza) Christian Church in Las Palmas. The pastor of New Hope is a woman who used to be a spiritist before she came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Now she pastors a powerful and life-giving church.

This is the community of Las Palmas. When Neuva Esperanza first began meeting, the met in the little green house on the left side of the picture.

This is where the church meets now... across the street from the little green house. Before the church occupied this building, it was a raucous night club that would have loud music blaring while the church was trying to have service. Eventually the nightclub shut down, and Nueva Esperanza moved in. Now it is a thriving ministry center in the heart of the community.

Here we are, taking a lunch break before applying the 2nd coat of paint.

While we were there, Winter and Erick got to have a conversation with the Youth Pastor of the church.

Day 6: Children's Hospital, Rehab Center and Las Palmas

Wednesday was scheduled to be our busiest day. First stop that morning was a Children's Hospital.

The first place we went was the surgical waiting room. In this room, were the families and friends of children that were in surgery. We broke up into small groups and began praying for the different families. Pictured above is a family whose child was hit by a car and was in surgery.

While we were waiting to go into another room, Erick and Blake prayed for a father and his child that was standing out in the hall.

Soon after, we went to one of the surgery recovery rooms. Again, we broke up into small groups and went bed to bed, giving out small gifts and balloon animals, and praying for the kids and their families.

It was so great seeing the children's faces light up when we came to their bed to talk with them.

After we made our way through the recovery room, Erick and Felicia were given the opportunity to pray for kids in the oncology ward.

While Erick and Felicia where ministering to the kids in the oncology ward, one of the security guards invited us to come down to the waiting area. Once we got there, it became a free-for-all with balloon animals and bubbles everywhere.

After lunch, we headed to another part of town to minister at a drug and alcohol rehab facility. One of the leaders of the facility is a member of Cántico Nuevo. After we were introduced, we presented a short drama that we had prepared. It was amazing to see the impact the drama had on the men. Most were in tears by the time we finished. Next, Erick gave his testimony of how he was once an alcoholic until Jesus saved him and freed him from his addictions. After Erick finished, I took a few minutes to explain the full message of the Gospel and then gave a call for salvation. Four men raised their hands and responded. I then led them in a prayer, and then opened it up for them to receive additional prayer from our team. During that time, one of the men also received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was a powerful time!

After we finished at the drug and rehab facility, we headed over to Las Palmas to participate in their Wednesday night bible study. For the service, we led worship and then Winter gave a very encouraging message on walking in faith. It was great worshipping with another dynamic part of our extended church family.

Day 7: Evangelism

On Thursday, we headed back to the University to engage more people in gospel conversations. It's amazing to think that the university was founded in the early 1500s. In fact, the entrance to the campus says that it was the first university in the Americas.

The first person we met on Thursday was Claudia. She was a pleasure to talk with. After we got to know her a little, we shared Jesus with her - and she gave her life to the Lord.

We then spoke to the young man in the background. Blake felt that he was asking God for something. We found out that he is a strong Christian and actually was asking God to move in his life. We were able to prophesy and pray over him. He was visibly impacted. Before we left our conversation, we gave him a copy of the God Test and encouraged him to use it to share the gospel.

Then we met Genesis. At first she was very skeptical about Christianity and especially about church. She talked about how Christians were more concerned about outward appearances and wondered if it was even possible to know the truth about God. We shared the full gospel message with her as well, and before we knew it, she was ready to give her life to Christ.

After a few more hours at the university, we headed "home" to prepare for the upcoming Youth Retreat - but not before stopping at a street vendor and trying some fresh coconut.

Day 8-9: Youth Retreat

On Friday, we headed up into the mountains north of the city for a Youth Retreat. Participating in the youth retreat with students and young adults from Las Palmas, Cántico Nuevo - Santo Domingo, and Cántico Nuevo - Santiago.

Once everyone arrived, Luke explained how camp was going to work (with a little help from Juan Carlos). And a big part of camp was, of course, the games!

After all the rules were explained, the team leaders got ready to assemble their teams. From left to right: Las Vacas (cows), Los Chivos (goats), Los Gatos (cats), Los Perros (dogs) and Los Caballos (horses).

The first game of camp was a relay race with 3 stations. Each team would send a member to complete the challenge at a station and then run back to send another member. At the first station, the team member had to put Vaseline on their nose, then move cotton balls from one bowl to another, using their sticky nose.

At station 2, the team member had to "hike" a football through a hoop.

And at the third station, they had to shoot cups off a ledge using a marshmallow blow gun.

Once the team completed all the challenges, the entire team had to run and find their colors, and then run back to the meeting place. First team back with their colors on won.

After the games, and after dinner, Winter gave a solid teaching on the Holy Spirit. At the end of her message, Winter invited people to come forward to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. One by one, people responded, and we had a powerful closing to the service.

The next morning began with another game!

One by one, team members had to blow up balloons and form a long chain. First team to finish with all their members in the chain - without dropping any balloons - won.

The theme of the retreat was "Caminando Como Jesús" (Walk Like Jesus). For the second session, Luke gave a stirring message on how the Holy Spirit has helped him walk like Jesus.

After lunch was the last and final game. Teams had to form a long chain between a pool of water and an empty bucket. The first team member had to pick up a saturated sponge with his feet, then pass it to the team member behind him. The sponge would continue to get passed from team member to team member...

...until the last team member got the sponge and squeezed it into the bucket.

The sponge wound then go to the start of the line and the whole process would start over again. The first team to fill the bucket to the red line won.

After the final game, everyone gathered for a message from Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos is currently the head of the Foursquare Church in the Dominican Republic. After his message, we had a powerful time of anointing all of the youth with oil and praying over them.

Day 10: Sunday Service and Resort

Sunday morning, we joined our Cántico Nuevo family for church service. This Sunday, we had a blended worship team made up of people from New Song Nashville and Cántico Nuevo Santo Domingo. It was great worshipping together once more.

After service, we headed to a resort in nearby Boca Chica for our last night on the island.

At the resort, some of our team enjoyed a few games of sand volleyball.

And while they were playing volleyball, I managed to capture a picture of a rainbow.

Departure

After a great night sleep in an air-conditioned hotel room, I woke up early to try and capture a caribbean sunrise.

After breakfast and a nice final debrief with Charlie, Darla, Juan Carlos, and his wife Licelot - we headed off to the airport.

We arrived in Atlanta around 5:00pm. After making it through customs and picking up our luggage, we loaded the van and headed for home.

A little after 11:00pm, we pulled into the New Song parking lot to a crowd of happy family and friends. We were home!