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Love,

Josh

Is the Summer Half over, or Half Begun?

I'm not good at blogging. I'm also not very good at journaling. And if we are going to be honest, I'm not very good at taking pictures either. Maybe in the future I'll get better at these things, but for now, I will just update you on my life in Denver.

Work is going well. I'm trying to learn to use a reservoir simulator which has lots of bugs in it and seems to just crash from time to time with no real reason. After running the simulator and doing a few other engineery things, I hope to be able to present an oil play to the VP's of Samson.

Work is boring and that's why I left that portion fairly short. Let's talk about life. Life in Denver is fun. I have been doing a lot of cycling since I have gotten my bike. I think I have put almost 400 miles on it in the month I have had it so far, and that number would be higher if I had more free time. The best cycling is going up to Boulder and riding in the mountains with my friend, Joe. He is my resident expert when it comes to road biking. If you missed my status the other week, I indeed went 49.1 mph down a hill on the way back into Boulder. I must admit though, Joe still has me beat by going 54 mph on his bike, but I assure you, I will top 50 before the summer is over!

More good news, is that I have found a church that I am really enjoying. I have been attending Denver Fellowship Church, which has been a huge blessing in a city where I know very few people. I have gotten involved in a small group where we are studying Tim Keller's book, The Reason for God. These people have been super great, and have continued to encourage me in my faith and and extend their community to me.

Oh yeah, and I definitely can't leave out the microbreweries. Oh man, these are fantastic. Last weekend I drove up to Fort Collins to tour the New Belgium Brewery with my friend Patrick. When we got up there we learned that you are supposed to reserve a spot in order to go on the tour and that they generally filled up about 2 weeks in advance. Crap. Well, we signed up on the reserve list just in case some people didn't show up, and thanks to some crappy weather we got in! This place was awesome. We got to sample about 6 different beers and see the ins and outs of the third largest craft brewer in America. Did I mention we met some "Woo Girls" while on the tour? Well, I guess if you want to hear more about that you will have to call and ask me!

So yeah, Denver is swell. The weather is amazing and my family is coming to town on Thursday. If you happen to be in the Tulsa area on July* 19th or 20th, you should let me know because I will be there. That is all.

Why Don't We Do It In The Road?

So I brought my bicycle from Oklahoma to Colorado thinking it might be a small source of entertainment as I made my way through another summer away from friends a family. Little did I know that before I had spent a single month in the city of Denver, I would be diving wallet first into the sport of cycling! That's right, I made my first visit to Boulder, CO today in order to purchase an Italian road bike made by Bianchi. Although I feel a little less Oklahoman, I have not yet fully accepted the Colorado way due to the fact that I did pay more for my car than I did for my bike.

I took it for its maiden voyage upon returning to Denver. I rode for 24.5 miles in an hour and 25 minutes along the Cherry Creek Trail, a bike path that runs through downtown and across a significant portion of the city. This was far more fun than I ever would have imagined, and I can't wait to see where the trails take me tomorrow!

A Mile High + 22 floors

Oh my, I can't believe how quickly the semesters come and go at this point. I just finished semester 8 out of 10. Whoa. Having spent precisely 18.2% of my life in college, I now must remind myself that it is almost over. After next year I will be attempting to enter the workforce with the rest of the 9.5% of America that is currently unemployed.

Enough about the future though, let's catch up on what is currently happening. I arrived in Denver last Sunday and moved into my summer residence on the westward facing 22nd floor of The Inn at Auroria. Although my room slightly resembles my freshman dorm with a freestanding closet and desk chair that rocks forward (I still don't get those things), this is hands down the neatest place I have ever lived. As you can see in the picture below, I have a perfect view of the Rocky Mountains. I don't know how often you sit and look at mountains for an extended period of time, but I would strongly recommend you try this at some point in the semi-near future! I am looking forward to trekking out into this glorious example of God's creation within the next week.

Wait a minute, "Why are you in Denver?" you ask. If you did not know, I have an internship with the same company, Samson Resources, that I worked with in Wyoming last summer. Last summer I was in the middle of nowhere, and precisely 100 miles from a Wal-Mart and any sign of civilization. This summer I have an office job and walk 8 blocks to my downtown office, ride an elevator to the 30th floor, and make my way to my window office on the east side of the building. WINDOW OFFICE! This reminds me of a thought I pondered last year which was, "Do these people know who I am?" It is still hard for me to believe that the work I am currently, or even in the future, doing is equivalent to how well I am being treated at this job. I even have a nameplate outside of my office with my name on it! I must admit, the small things really do excite me the most. My ranking of coolest things so far in Denver is as follows:

1. Mountain view from my 22nd floor apartment

2. Window office

3. Hipster coffee shop called The Market (It may top Plaid)

4. Nameplate outside of my office

5. There are 9 coffee shops on my 8 block walk to work (3 Starbucks)

6. Cherry Creek running/biking trail 2 blocks from my apartment

There are many more perks to this city, but you will have to come up to find them out! Speaking of which, I am very excited for my friends and family to come up and visit. If you are one of these people, or want to be, call me and let's plan this thing! Woot!

Well, I hope this has kept you mildly entertained, but I must now bring it to a close. Call me, and let's catch up!

From the window of my apartment

Peru 2010

I would like to start by thanking everyone who supported me both financially and through prayer. The success of this trip would not have been possible without both.

My purpose in this blog post is threefold. I would first like to show you the ways in which Christ is redeeming this world. Through His church, and through His people, Christ is working to spread the gospel to all of the nations. I would also like to show you specifically what He is doing in Trujillo, Peru through an organization known as Peru Mission. And thirdly, I would like you to see how He used this third world country, these broken people, and this beautiful community to show me his love and his grace in a way I have never known before.

Lima

Our trip got off to a flawless start. We faced no delays, and flew into the Lima airport late Friday evening. We rushed off to bed and began our next day by having breakfast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After breakfast we made our way to some of the local market in downtown Lima. This was the first of many times I would have to reflect upon my Spanish deficiency and communicate through a limited number of nouns and hand motions to haggle with the local merchants and purchase a few gifts for friends and family. Following our shopping extravaganza we made our way to the airport to fly from Lima to Trujillo where we would be spending the remainder of the week.

Our Group from OU RUF in front of the Pacific Ocean.

A New Church

On Sunday morning I decided to try out a new church since my home church was around 3000 miles away. We attended one of the local churches started by Peru Mission in Arevalo. Although I could not understand much of the service it was beautiful to be in another country, on another continent, and be worshiping the Lord with native Peruvians. The rest of our day was spent going through orientation of what we would do for the rest of the week, as well as spending some time getting to know some of the local missionaries.

The Church plant in Arevalo.

Manual Labor

One of our main tasks for the week was to repaint the sanctuary, and a portion of the outside, of one of the Trujillo church plants. Every morning we would make our way out to a church in Wichanzao and begin our day with some old fashioned manual labor. In February a storm came through the city and dropped two inches of rain on a community that averages only around a half an inch per year. This left the church sanctuary with a lot of mold damage where the water had gotten inside. We spent the first two mornings merely scraping and plastering the concrete walls to prepare them for the painting that would follow in the upcoming days. While painting I had the chance to get to know other members of our team, which included our group from OU RUF and a group from the University of Alabama RUF.

Before

After

Clementina

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to go with about 10 other people from our team to a squatter community outside of Trujillo known as Clementina. In Clementina families are welcomed to come and settle, setting up shelter generally in the form of a thatch hut structure. If they remain on the land for two years it becomes legally theirs. As the family becomes more financially stable within the community they will make mud bricks and create a safer, more stable home for themselves. Peru Mission was able to go into this community and gain a piece of land where they have begun to develop a church. One of the future goals in Clementina is to get a concrete floor inside of the current dirt floored church. In order for this to happen they needed to dispose of about four inches of dirt from the sanctuary. We were able to dig this up and use it to level out a road that ran right beside the church. While the work we did in Clementina was great, this was not why I fell in love with the place. As our bus drove through the streets of Clementina all I felt was sorrow for these people. I saw a broken people, stricken with poverty, living in shanties, and struggling to meet the basic needs of their families. I secretly wondered to myself how they could live this way. Throughout the day working, many of the local children came and played with us as well as helped us with our work. They were full of joy and life. We returned to Clementina Thursday evening for a service at the church. A local band played worship and the pastor of one of the other churches led a sermon. Many from the community gathered around, singing songs of praise and listening to a sermon in a language that was little more than gibberish to myself. This place, which nearly brought me to tears of sadness on the way in, that tore my heart into tiny little pieces, had effectively put it back together, teaching me what true community looks like. Showing me how to be content in God’s blessings!

My buddy Anthony

Jahad

An example of one of the homes

Anthony loved the camera

Even in Peru...

English Classes

After our work in the mornings we went to the National University of Trujillo where we met with and had conversations with many of the local students who were studying English. Most of them were in their third or fourth year of studying and spoke English very well. The majority of the students had never been outside of Peru and enjoyed the opportunity to practice their English with native speakers, and for us it provided a great opportunity to learn more about the Peruvian culture from students like ourselves who had grown up in the country. It was amazing to see how many similarities I had with these students. One of my favorite conversations I heard about came from my friend Andrew who did his best to describe what a catnap is to one of the Peruvians.

Some of the Peruvian students I got to meet and have conversations with

Peru Mission

The organization and effectiveness ministry of Peru Mission amazed me. They were meeting the Peruvians on their level and helping them not only in the gospel, but also through all walks of life. One of the ways they minister to the men of Trujillo is through a woodshop. They consistently employ between five and fifteen men and teach them carpentry skills. While working in the woodshop they teach them how to run an honest business, including all of the financial aspects of the local industry. After they have mastered the trade, they help them to start their own business and bring in more Peruvian men to train. Some examples of the furniture can be seen at www.parishfurniture.com. The mission also offers a great opportunity for the local women through a micro financing organization they call Sinergia. They allow women to come in and take out loans to help them with their local businesses and are able to give them a much better interest rate than the local banks. They are able to take this opportunity to offer classes to theses women about things such as effective business management. One of the other opportunities they offer for Peruvians of all ages are English classes. These classes range from the basic phrases such as, “My name is ______,” to conversational classes. To find out more about Peru Mission, visit www.perumission.org.

The Gospel

The Gospel is true. It is true in Norman, OK as well as in Trujillo, Peru. This may not come as a revelation to you, but this was something hard for me to truly grasp until I returned home from Peru. Christ died for my sins, as well as for the sins of my brothers and sister in Peru. Before I left for South America a friend told me that he believed most individuals benefited more from a short-term mission trip than the place they actually went to serve. I was determined not to let this happen to me. I failed. The people of Peru and Peru Mission have opened my eyes to a world I have never known before. Although this single experience will undoubtedly last a lifetime, I have a strong desire to stay involved with Peru Mission. At the current time I don’t know what this will look like, whether it will be through financial support or more manual labor, but I trust that God will provide the right opportunity at the right time.

Thank you again for your lasting support throughout all of my endeavors. It is through the support of my friends and family that I continue to strive forward. Without this support I could would have never gotten to play a role in what God is doing in Trujillo, Peru.

Act 2... and 3

Okay, so for the faithful 3.5 that have been looking forward to the rest of the story from my trip, I must apologize. I have been lazy. I have not, nor do I presently want to blog, but I feel as if I must finish the job which I have started. I am however going to take the easy way out. This will be a photo blog. The following are photos from New York and Canada (mostly taken by Justin Farnish). Enjoy!

Many lessons were learned on the subway.

The "Wolf Pack" minus one.

It really is all you need.

This was INSIDE of Toys R Us. Whoa.

Plus one.

Niagara Falls is one of those places you have to see at least once.

A geology nerd's paradise.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

Epic.

Oh, and a surprise appearance by Styx in Canada.

Modern art take 1.

Modern art take 2.

Modern art take 3.

Modern art take 4.

Fort Wolf Pack.

Inside view of fort wolf pack.

We had car trouble in Elyria, OH.

Another one of those places, "You have to see at least once."

Ahh... Greatness!

We saw this sign in an apartment across the street from Wrigley. IT IS!

After leaving Chicago we made our way to Colorado for 3 days of skiing. It was fun, but I did not take any pictures. Sorry. Highlights include referring to everyone as "Bra" while on the mountain, and the final dinner with, "The fun side."

My Wolf Pack

Hello. How ‘bout that ride in? I guess that’s why they call in the Great White North. You guys may not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when I met Mike Dreher (Dre-her not Dreyer), I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack… it grew by one. So there… there were two of us in the wolf pack… I was alone first in the pack, and then Mike joined later. And a week ago, when Mike introduced me to you guys, I thought, “Wait a second, could it be?” And now, I know for sure, I just added three more to my wolf pack. Five of us wolves, running around the northeast together, in New York, Canada, and Pennsylvania, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!

As many of you know, I have left the friendly confines of Norman, OK to embark on a road trip spanning 15 days, 2 countries, 10 states, 3800 miles of driving, and one epic story. Today marks day 7 of the trip, and I bring you act one of the three-act blog.

Act one is titled, “My Wolf Pack.”

I flew into Philadelphia, PA on December 28^th. It was here when Mike picked me up and brought me back to his hometown just outside of Allentown. Although I had never been to PA before, I was familiar with Allentown thanks to Billy Joel. I knew it to be a dark, shady place, where work was hard to find due to the factories closing and the all of the coal being stripped from the ground. Well, I was wrong. It is actually a fantastic place that has Yocco’s (the King of Hot Dogs), Wawa, and some great people. After dinner at a local diner we watched a great movie that would supply us with an arsenal of quotes for the remainder of the trip. That movie was The Hangover. This was the beginning of what we would each come to recognize as, “Our Wolf Pack.”

Our wolf pack was comprised of Michael Dreher, Rachel Hoyer, Courtney Matisko, Justin Farnish, and myself, Joshua Voth. Our true journey began the day after I arrived in PA, when we would make our way to destination number one, New York, NY. This day was very close to being, literal status update day, where I would update my status with things such as, “Josh Voth is in a large city,” or “Josh Voth is cold.” Thankfully for you all, this did not happen and I merely tried to update it regularly with more witty approach. The gold medal for status of the day goes to the first one of the morning, “Josh Voth just went through the Lincoln Tunnel, but somehow missed the sea of swirly, twirly gumdrops.” Luckily for me, others in the wolf pack shared my love the movie Elf.

I’m thankful for my day in New York City because of the many lessons I learned.

Lesson1: There is a delicate balance between looking straight up, and not running into people. I was never able to master this feat, but I made significant progress throughout the day. I would say my average bpm (bumps per minute) decreased by a factor of at least 5 before 2:00.

Lesson 2: A crowded train is no excuse for improper sexual conduct. This was announced loudly as we stepped onto the subway train. I was really hoping that at some point during the day we would encounter a level 8 sketchy ride on the subway. Sadly though, we barely reached a level 4.

Lesson 3: You can’t put a price on green peanut M&M’s. Okay, that’s a lie. There is a price and it is $13/lb and worth every penny.

Lesson 4: The subway is an excellent place for an epic battle.

Lesson 5: Honking is not allowed in New York and can result in a $300 fine. Although we did not receive this fine, I think Mike owes the city of New York somewhere in the neighborhood of $4200.

Although my time in New York was short, I feel that I have left a better person for the lessons this city has taught me. Throughout our trip we selected a song we think will accurately depict the experience we are about to embark upon. I believe we got this one right with a little number written by Jay-Z called, “Empire State of Mind.” I will end this act with a few of the lyrics.

"In New York,
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,

Theres nothing you can’t do,

Now you’re in New York,

These streets will make you feel brand new,

The lights will inspire you,

Lets hear it for New York, New York, New York
."