Boulder Dash

For our most recent Project Day, we went to Boulder, CO for some outreach. Most of the other project groups go to Pearl St., a closed off walking area with a bunch of shops and street performers, to talk to people, but we decided to do something different, joining in the nonconformist atmosphere of Boulder.

Instead, we went to the campus of the University of Colorado and talked to students who were chilling in the main Quad. CU's campus is beautiful. I have never felt grass so soft or thick. Here are some pics of us hanging out on campus:



There were quite a lot of students hanging out for a summer semester, and so we broke up into groups of two (mine was the odd three) and went out. My group talked to only two people, but both conversations probably lasted half and hour. They were VERY interesting and I feel that I've grown a lot in having those types of conversations from my interactions with them.

The first person we talked to was Michael, and he was a character. He is trying to find the answers to life and is very interesting in spiritual things. His plan right now is following a different religion every month. Of the ones he's tried so far are Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism, Baptism), Islam, Hinduism, Paganism (currently for the month of June), and next he will move on to Christian Science. He was a pretty eccentric guy, an English/Philosophy major, who often (it seemed) said outrageous things to test the waters with us and gauge our reaction. For instance, he said that he has tried animal sacrifice with baby kittens, and God didn't like it. I think it helped our credibility a lot by not judging or acting offended, because he was very open with what we said. He seemed a little confused by certain things, especially areas of morality, but I commend his efforts in searching for truth open-mindedly. Please pray that Michael finds what he is looking for!

The second person we talked to was Chelsea, a philosopher follower. She liked to pick and choose various ideas from philosophers and religions, especially Buddhism. We talked about morality, whether humans are innately evil (she believed that every human has complete control over their actions and could be perfect if needed), and happiness. Looking back, a mistake we saw was that we dwelt to much in abstracts and didn't personalize the conversation to her life. That aside, I think it was a great conversation and hopefully she will reflect on it many times. I think the best way to pray for Chelsea would be to pray that God would use circumstances in her life to show her that she cannot do this on her own and that there are certain areas that we cannot simply "good-will" away.

I just saw an elk walk within 5 feet of my dorm window....anyways...

This project day was one of the best I've had so far. We had a lot of awesome hangout tome that night on Pearl St. watching a guy juggle flaming sticks and knives on 10 ft. unicycle, amongst other things. It was an awesome growing, bonding, experience. Thanks for all your prayers about the trip!