Fire Update, 3:57 PM

All,
Here is the page that is continually updated by city officials.

Gazette: Black Forest Fire

Please continue to pray. Over 360 homes have been destroyed.

- Nate

Fire Update

Here is some of the latest from the Gazette:

Containment: 0 percent
Deaths/injuries: None reported
Acres burned: 7,500-8,000
Homes burned: 80-100 estimated
People evacuated: 7358 people
Homes evacuated: 2,625
Evacuation area: 47 square miles.
Firefighters on scene: 155

Last year, the Waldo Canyon Fire Burned a total of 18,000 acres. We are only 10,000 acres less than that after just day 1. Please continue to pray.

Please Pray

At 2:00 PM this afternoon, a fire in the Black Forest area was reported, and since then has increased in size. Several homes have burned already, including the neighbors of one of my good friends.

This is especially painful as we are close to the anniversary of the Waldo Canyon Fire of last summer, which caused massive damage, pain, and suffering.

Currently, the outside temperature is still at 95˚F, even at 5:53 PM. There are gusting winds, causing the fire to burn more intensely. Please pray for the firefighters, who are putting their lives on the line. Pray for the people who have been evacuated, many of them go to our highschool, DCC. Pray for our city, that God would use these events for good and to draw Colorado Springs to himself.
Thank you; I'll continue to post updates.

For the Tribe,

Nate

Pictures from our front yard... the fire is to the northeast.

A Few More Pictures...

Here are two updated pictures of the house, as well as some photos from our Memorial Day hike. 

-Nate

Graduation and New House

Hello All,

I believe have I kept my prediction that I wouldn't have time to post again until school ended. Even with the academics done for now, life is still busy.

As the third graduating class from DCC, we turned our tassels last Thursday. The realization that high school is over has slowly begun to sink in, but I don't believe I'll feel the full weight of this transition until I begin college this fall. I have orientation this Friday, and I will be signing up for my classes, which I am quite excited for. I'll add pictures at the bottom of this post.

Our new home is a few weeks away from being done. I believe our goal is the 21st of June, so we have begun the packing process here and are gearing up to deliver everything next door. There has been a flurry of activity next door; much has occurred since my last post, and I'll include pictures of the progress!

Last night was one of the craziest driving experiences I've had. Katie, Christie, and I were driving home from youth group with two friends. We left the park (where we meet during the summer) about five minutes before, and we were just passing Ute Valley Park. Up ahead, I noticed something large on the sidewalk of the neighborhood on our left. Because it was 8:15, there was only a little light left, but I thought it was a huge dog from far away. As we were getting closer, I realized that it was a large bear! I hadn't said anything at this point, and no one else saw it. In my mind, I was thinking,"Don't start running across the street, please don't start running." Well, the bear chose at that moment to make its break across the street toward Ute Valley Park. At that point, the others in the car saw it too, and Christie began to scream unintelligibly. I couldn't slam on the brakes since I wasn't sure if there was a car right behind me, but in that split second I didn't know if speeding up would hit the bear head-on. We were on a collision course, but I stayed calm and put the brakes on while steering toward the far side of the road. Even so, I saw the bear coming straight at the side of our car; I fully expected to feel the impact on our side door, but it never came. The bear just missed the back of our car and kept running for the park. I'm fairly certain that we were all more scared by Christie's screams than we were of the bear, though we were quite surprised to meet a bear while in the city. Just a typical night at youth group...

  For the Tribe,

Nate

Already April?

Well, I certainly have fallen behind on posting. Life has been busier than I have ever known it to be, as my Senior year comes to a close... though it is not over until the final school bell rings! I have a few more weeks until taking AP tests, after which life will finally slow down somewhat (I think?). To be exact, there are 39 days, 21 hours, 5 minutes and 10 seconds until graduation, but who's counting, right?

Here are some pictures from the past few months, in which:

--Katie, Christie, and I visited Elissa and Blake at school in Chicago...

--Dad, Becca, Katie, and I went skiing (I chose to snowboard for my second time) with some friends/coworkers of his... but I forgot the camera in the car. (So you may have to use your imagination of beautiful Colorado slopes that were a bit icy).  :)

--We celebrated Easter with a family from church, our grandparents, and a family from Dad's work...

--Matt had a birthday! The big man is 4 years old...
(He was quite excited to meet some other cowboys when the Flying W Wranglers did a concert at our church this Friday!)

--Katie and Christie have enjoyed a great soccer season so far with a record of 7-2-1. Katie is on Varsity, and Christie has also enjoyed Varsity playing time as a swing player. Christie has one goal to her name, and Katie has already scored several! The picture of their team is right after they won a weekend tournament earlier in the season.

 --We have started our house!!!! The basement has been excavated, and the basement framing goes up on Monday. We should be moving in by the end of June or beginning of July... 

 That's all I have time for now, but I hope you enjoy the pictures! It's quite possible that I won't have time to post again until school is out, so farewell until mid-May...

For the Tribe,

Nate