Alaska Pictures

I have not had the time to dowload any pictures from Alaska yet but you can check out My Pal Ingrid and her blog to see some of the events from Alaska. Enjoy!!

WOW!!

What an amazing couple of weeks it has been. Mission Alaska was one of the best mission trips I have ever been a part of. The kids were amazing, the team worked fantastic together, and besides from some travel mishaps it was a drama free event. We did have some issues getting back to Los Angeles. First of all, our plane had a clogged fuel filter that needed to be fixed and the parts were in Seattle so our plane was delayed until the following day (about 12 hours). The airline put us all up in a hotel and we got a few hours of sleep. Then back to the airport for another round of check in and security. We were delayed again and finally on our way to Seattle but we were too late and missed all of our connections. We had to stay another night in a hotel. The team took in in stride and we were all doing great until at 1 in the morning there was a small fire in the hotel. We all packed up quickly just in case we had to leave. The fire department put it out and we could go back to sleep. Most people just stayed up since we had to be at the airport at 4 am anyway. Then it was back to the ariport for round three of check in and security (what a pain) We finally got back to LA none the worse for wear. Because of all this I lost a day of work and prep for my vacation. I got it all done (some of in in Mexico) and now I am sitting in a wonderful house right on the harbor of San Carlos. It is a guys SCUBA diving trip. We drove the 14 hours here this time and the weather has been a bit on the hot side. It has been above 95 almost the whole time, but the diving has been great and the company even better. There is nothing better than great friends, good times, and cold margaritas. One second while I have another sip... the sun has just set and the sky is colored in reds and oranges that will blow your mind. I will post some pictures when I get back to the states. That is the short update from here, talk to you all later.....

This is a "Real" Post

It is Friday morning and I still have to pack for Alaska and do some paperwork, and go to the store for some supplies, but I know that I really need to post on my blog. I really enjoy posting and it has been far too long! Let me get you updated since the last "real" post.

I was at the beach last week for a bonfire for our Alaska team and snapped the picture above. The sunset was amazing and I love it that you can see downtown Long Beach in the distance. If you click on the picture you will see a larger version of it. Enjoy!!

I have taken two summer school classes. Like I mentioned in a previous post, they have been quite intensive. My first class was on the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, & Luke) with an emphasis on the writings of Luke. The class was awesome but I spent at least 5 to 6 hours a day outside of class doing the homework. We had to translate a ton of Greek and do some reading in a big commentary. The class was worth the work. Dr. Middendorf is amazing. Although we did not agree on everything, he always makes the story come alive. It was awesome reading the book of Luke straight through in 9 days. It was easy to see the connections and the themes. My second class this summer was "Multicultural Ministry in an Urban Setting". It was so-so. The info was good, but it was nothing new to me. We had to do an urban research project that I just finished last night. It took a lot of time and effort but it is finished now. I have one more class this summer. It is "Intro to Research". It is a one unit class that is all done on the internet. It will not be very fun but it is a requirement and another hoop to jump through. It seems like I have been jumping through a bunch of hoops lately.

I leave for Alaska today and I will be back in SoCal on the 16th. I am very excited about returning to Alaska. It will be great to go back to the same places and see some of the same kiddos. Fundraising for this years trip was an adventure. First of all we have a few more people going this year (23 compared to 17 last year) so we needed to raise more funds. On top of that, because of fuel prices, airfare was much higher. Last year we spent about $250 per person on airfare. This year it cost almost $600 per person. Then there is the cost of rental vans and gasoline. As I started adding up the numbers I realized we had quite a hill to climb. After totaling all the costs up I realized that we needed to raise about $26,000 to meet our costs. I was shocked. That is a lot of money!! I was sure I was going to have to ask the team members to pony up and pay the rest of the bill and I was not looking forward to that. I was honestly worried. But God had other plans. Right when I started to worry, God provided. We received a few large donations and then the floodgates opened. Every day I received a couple of checks in the mail and soon not only had we met our goal, but we had exceeded it!! God Is Good!!!! I am humbled and awed at his provision. I know that God has given us an emphatic "YES" to go on this trip. To God be the Glory!! I will give you an update when I get back. If I have access to a computer I will post from Alaska.

When I return I have three days and then I am off to Mexico for vacation. It will be a small group heading to San Carlos. This should be the year of a big trip, but we all agreed to keep it small and just go and spend time relaxing and making our own schedule. We are driving this year (14 hours) and it should be much better than my last trip to San Carlos on the bus ride from hell.

I will be home for about four days then it is off to Arrowhead Lutheran Camp where I will be serving as "Shepherd of the Week". It will be my first time back during summer camp since 1998. I am looking forward to it. My nephew AJ will be going with me and he will be in Little Chief Camp that week. AJ lives in Colorado and he comes out each summer to stay for a while with us and to see Grandma.

On the adoption front, our file has been approved by the supervisor of the Department of Children and Family Services. That was the last paperwork hoop to get through. Now we have one more class to take and then we will be eligible for placement. Our social worker said we have been "fast-tracked", whatever that means. I will keep you all posted on any further developments.

That is about it from here. Jill is busy tutoring all summer and making some extra money. She loves it and we both hope that at some point she can do it full time. Well I better start packing or I will be mad at myself for spending so much time in front of the computer. Talk you all later....

Wow...

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Not much time here...VBS this week...Class every night this week...My parents are here this week...Mission Alaska next week. YIKES!! None of it is bad, just not enough time in the day to do everything I want to.

I love summer time!!!

Talk to you later..........

Yeah I know....

Sorry for no posts in a while. Things have been quite hectic around here. I am in the middle of summer school and it is a killer this time around. Our classes are three weeks long but the first week is pre-meeting assignments. The professor gives us a list of things to get done before the class meetings (a ton of reading and a paper etc.) then class meets every day for nine straight days (eight hours on Saturdays and four on Sundays too!). NINE DAYS IN A ROW!!!! Well we do have Tuesdays off, but we have to do homework that day so its not really a day off. Then we have a week to finish up a project or paper. I am in the last week of one class and I just got my assignments for my next one. Not to mention I have to get ready for VBS at church and our mission trip to Alaska next month. Everything is in high gear. I haven't been to the grocery store or done laundry in two weeks. It is getting a but scary around here. So needless to say I will keep this one short because I have to get back to work. I promise a longer post next time (or maybe you like the short ones). Until then......

Baby Logan Jeffery Busch

Jill and I have a new nephew!! Logan Jeffery Busch was born on June 2nd. The Busch family is doing great!! Here are a few pixs from the hospital. Enjoy...

Random Thoughts

Here I sit, knowing a post is past due, but not knowing what to write. I just got home from a 11 hour day at church. It was not bad, it did not seem long, it was pretty good, busy, but good. I have chapel for the day school in the morning.

I will be talking about "Jesus Loves Me". We will be singing four different versions of the song. My pal Ingrid will be doing the readings for me so it is not just a one man show.

I also have a handyman coming to the house tomorrow. He will be putting up gutters on the addition, building a gate and installing some screen doors. I could do some of the work myself, but when do I have time?

I am watching the Angel game right now as I type. My team is not doing too well this year. They have been bit by the injury bug and they just can't hit when the pitching is good and can't pitch when the hitting is good. I will live and die with my boys, but it would be a better summer if they could string together some wins.

I got an iPod a few weeks back and I have been slowly converting all my CDs to digital. I am about 90% done and let me tell you, I have been listening to some music that I have forgot about. I also realized that many of the CDs I listened to a few years back, did not age well. I have just put some away, never to be heard again. Some things that were cool back in the day are just not even close to cool now.

I went to an Arby's restaurant today with some of Jill's students. Jill gives raffle tickets out for doing good things in class and every other week she raffles off lunch with Mr. Moorman. So we walk into the Arby's to get some yummy roast beef and potato cakes and I notice that the place has "earned" a grade of "C" from the health department. There it was in Red in the window. NOT GOOD!! You have to get between a 70% and 79% for that grade. Anything lower would get the place shut down. I have only seen one other "C" and that was in downtown LA when I was on jury duty back in '97. I still feel fine and I did not hear that any kids went home sick so I guess we dodged a bullet.

I had a great weekend. I was on duty to preach all the Sunday services and it went well. I showed a Goofy cartoon to start the message. I was preaching about road rage and I used the cartoon called "Motor Madness". It stars Goofy in a dual role as Mr. Walker- pedestrian and Mr. Wheeler- driver. If you haven't seen it you can find it in the extras section of "A Goofy Movie" DVD or in the Goofy box set. We also had some out of town company. Andrew one of Ingrid's friends from High School stayed with us. Ingrid's sister Sarah B. was with us as well and our good friend Dr. Ben. We all went to Jill's sisters house for a BBQ and to play with the nieces.

Jill and I also spent some time in Burbank at David and Heather's house on Saturday. The men built a water feature in the back yard and did some other work in the yard. The women watched the kids and made the men food. I know, a bit of gender stereotyping going on but that is just how it worked out. We listened to some good tunes and had some male bonding time in the back yard.

Well enough random thoughts from Seth for today.....talk to you later.