Tyler and Emily in PNG

Here is a short video of Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone featuring the 300′ Lower Falls.

Last week, Emily and I had the pleasure to visit America’s oldest and the world’s first national park. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 some 600,000 years after Yellowstone was created from a super volcano. This super volcano is the originator of half of the world’s geysers. In fact, 60% of the world’s geysers reside at Yellowstone.

Emily and I spent two nights and two days at Yellowstone camping in a tent at Indian Creek Campground. We spent the short time we had driving and hitting all the tourist sites inside the park. We visited Norris Geyser Basin the home of the world’s tallest geyser at over 400’, Steamboat Geyser. However the geyser has not erupted since May 2005. We visited the park’s claim to fame, Old Faithful and yes it was faithful. Old Faithful is a very frequent and active geyser with intervals of about 91 minutes. Following Old Faithful, we crossed the Continental Drive twice then drove the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake before turning north to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. A very impressive canyon that varies from 800 to 1200’ deep and 1500 to 4000’ wide. It is about 24 miles long. The upper falls were about 100’ and the more stellar lower falls were over 300’. Nonetheless, a beautiful site to take in and a wonder to imagine.

After a long day, we settled into camp for beef brats, fried potato wedges, and a bean soup cooked over a campfire. After a few hands of Skipbo and an enjoyable campfire it was time to turn in for our early departure the next day.

I expressed to Emily how blessed and fortunate we are to have such a preserved site as Yellowstone. Every turn and every road was breath taking. To see creation from an eye-witness point of view is far better than seeing pictures from the internet or a science book.

As we left the park on Saturday morning, we had yet to see any bears in the park. We saw lots of American Bison, few mule deer, and a few pronghorns. On the last morning driving out of the park we came upon a usual site of many cars stopped on the road. This time there was a black bear (3-4 years old) not to far off the road grazing in the grass. After a few quick shots from the camera we drove on. Not to far after, another mass of cars was stopped along the road starring down into Elk Creek. It was think trees and I could not make out what everyone was looking at. Then I saw another bear and just behind the bear were two cubs wrestling on the ground.

Yellowstone NP was a great reminder to me how big our God really is. A God so big that He spoke this land into creation. The magnitude and raw beauty of this place we call home just scratches the surface of the land I will be going to in eternity.

360 degree view on top Pigeon Island in St Lucia, WI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_Island_(Saint_Lucia)

The past two weeks have been very busy for Emily and I. We have had the honor to be camp missionaries for the past two weeks at Little Rockies Christian Camp for Sr. High and Jr. High camps. Also last week we were the missionaries for Vacation Bible School at Emily’s home church. Last week we had our time split between VBS and church camp. In the morning we were in Havre for VBS then drove out to camp (1.5 hrs.) for the afternoon activities, dinner, then our presentation before driving back home (another 1.5 hrs.) so we could be back at VBS in the morning.

The Lord provided safety on the road as we drove over 1000 miles to and from camp every day (Mon – Thurs). It was a pleasant drive and gave us time to pray and reflect.

All three programs have had good themes and an opportunity to reflect and grow. The Sr. High camp theme was ‘Outpour.’ The challenge was to live a life poured out for Christ. We studied Paul, the first century church, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and the effects of each on how we are called to live a life poured out for Christ. The Jr. High camp theme was ‘Make your one turn count.’ Emily and I were not at camp for the lessons but we tried to emphasis the theme throughout our missions presentation every night. I told the campers, we have decisions to make everyday and it is up to you to make your one decision each and everyday count for the cause of Christ. I made the decision to follow Christ but that decision is not a one time decision rather an everyday decision to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him.

VBS theme was ‘Adventures on Promise Island.’ Every day the kids learned a new promise of God that is relative to everyday life. I care for you, I will answer you, I will save you, I give you what you need, and I am with you. These are all promises from God that he assures each and everyone of us each day. Of course the island theme played into the island country of Papua New Guinea. Emily and I shared Pidgin words, pictures of houses, food available, and to pray for two national translators currently working on their translation in the book of Ephesians.

Our mission emphasis has been to raise money for new laptop computers for use by national translators. As our branch and group visions to grow in the coming years, the need for more technology and computers will increase. Today, it is imperative for effective and speedy translation progress that a computer be utilized. We challenged each group to raise $600 to purchase a new laptop computer. First week of church camp, the Sr. High raised enough money to purchase one laptop and a little extra. Second week of camp, the Jr. High met little more than half to purchase a second laptop. During VBS, the kids topped the Sr. High by just a bit more to raise a third laptop computer. After combining the funds from all three groups, we have raised funds to purchase three new laptops for national translators to use to aid in their vernacular projects.

If you would like to help towards purchasing a new laptop for PNG national translators, please contact me for more information.

Monday will mark Emily and my four week anniversary! A time to celebrate right? Our first week anniversary was in St Lucia during our honeymoon, second week was our wedding reception, third week was spent at Sr. High church camp, and now today we will be at Vacation Bible School. Ah, the exciting life of newly wed missionaries.

Life over the past four weeks have been busy and time has not allowed for me to write and share my wonderful experiences with you such as our wedding, honeymoon, and wedding reception. I will try to share with you some of the great blessings over the past month that God has given us.

It all started out on a beautiful blue sky Montana day on May 14. Emily and I agreed to have a small private wedding in the Bears Paw Mountains south of Havre, MT. The minister was Emily’s good friend who flew in from New York City. The Matron of Honor was Emily’s best friend Genevieve from Billings, MT and the Best Man was Emily’s brother, Evan. Other than that, the photographer was the only other invite despite the multiple pleads from family and friends. If one thing had to go wrong it was the tardiness of the photographer. We scheduled a 1:30 pm wedding however the short 10 minute ceremony did not start until 2:30 pm. Yes, the photographer delayed what God had created in marriage. In the end, it was hard not to smile at such a beautiful bride.

Following the short ceremony we took some pictures with a much apologetic photographer then ran out of town and soon out of the country. Following our first night together in Great Falls, we started our 24 hour marathon journey to St. Lucia, West Indies in the Caribbean. After an 8 hour layover in Denver, a redeye flight to Miami and a 5 hour layover in Miami we finally arrived to our slice of honeymooners paradise in St. Lucia.

From the Intl Airport, I arranged a private car transfer to the Sandals resort which was an 1.5 hour car ride on narrow, windy roads through the mountains. At the resort we were greeted warmly with a towelette and a drink along with the beauty of the manicured gardens. Our oceanfront honeymoon luxury room was balanced with tossed flower pedals and a bottle of champagne. It was definitely a room fit for a king and queen.

We had lots of fun lounging in the sun and eating at various all-inclusive resort restaurants. We found it close to impossible to stay up past 11:00 pm. We kayaked, water skied, sailed our own Hobie Cat, and tried paddle board which were all free for guests. We had an awesome and fantastic week in paradise!

For more honeymoon pictures see my Facebook photo album Honeymoon St Lucia May 2012.

As the saying goes, all good things have to come to an end…well, our stay ended at paradise and we had to journey back to Montana. We got back on Thursday, my parents came the next day, and then on Monday (Memorial Day) we celebrated our marriage at the wedding reception. As the groom I had a few small requests like shrimp cocktail, pub mix, and chocolate fondue with fresh fruit. Not all groom get their way, but this one managed to hit a home run. I even had an Oreo infused wedding cake.

Emily and I were blessed with many family and friends who came to the family farm to celebrate with us and what God has formed together. After the final picture and after everyone had left, it was just me and my wife. I whispered in her ear, ‘I love you Mrs. Hewitt’ and she responded, ‘I love you too Mr. Hewitt.’

More wedding reception pictures will be posted later.

Life has been busy but I have managed to at least write my monthly update. I am off to church camp for the next couple weeks and will try to write more and post later to my blog. I want to share with you my wedding, honeymoon, and reception we had on Memorial Day.

But for now you can check out my June 2012 newsletter HERE or click Newsletters tab.

As I draw closer and closer to hitting three decades of life, I can finally say I am no longer single. Today I said, ‘I do’ to my beautiful bride Emily in a remote location in the Bear Paw Mountains in rural Montana. By the time I publish this post, Emily and I will be well on our journey to our chosen honeymoon destination, a Caribbean island.

Not to worry, we will return to Montana where a wedding reception will take place on May 28 (Memorial Day) at her parent’s home.

I will be sharing more with you about our private wedding and honeymoon in the weeks to come. But for now, I will be without communication to the outside world as I rejoice with what God has blessed me with and the gift of marriage.

Emily and I enjoyed a nice afternoon and a 3.5 mile hike at Turkey Run State Park in west central Indiana.

Following the ‘Announcement’ from my last post, Emily and I have been busy meeting family here in Indiana and of course showing off the ring. We arrived late into Indianapolis and greeted warmly by my parents. After a steak burger at Steak n Shake and an 1 hour drive to my parents house we had to jump in the hot tub a little past 1 AM. It was worth it and enjoyed by all.

Last week was spent visiting friends and making many appointments for dinner dates. I think last week we ate out at a different restaurant everyday with a different person. It was really good to reconnect with friends and share with them what God has done in my life over the past 15 months. Emily and I also got some shopping done and spent a few afternoons outside hiking. One afternoon we went to a local park and another afternoon drove to one of my favorite state parks in Indiana.

Turkey Run State Park in west central Indiana is probably one of the best nature parks in Indiana. Emily and I got Subway for lunch and headed north with the top down on the convertible. It was an enjoyable ride with temps in the low 70s. After hiking through canyons and crossing small creeks we stopped on top of a hill for lunch. It was nice to go early in the season as the park did not have many visitors. We both enjoyed a relaxing day on the trails and gained a bit of exercise too.

So far our trip to Indiana has been blessed with many hugs and smiles from friends and family. It is exhausting but it is well worth it. This week we will be on a road trip to Illinois to visit my sister then to Kansas City to visit my oldest brother and his family. On the way to Kansas City, we will make a stop in St Louis to catch a Cardinals baseball game at 1 PM.

Please pray for safe travels this week as we travel the Midwest and make many stops. We will be leaving Indiana next Tuesday and flying back to Montana. Life is busy and full of reconnecting and appointments. Emily and I are excited to begin life as a married couple and join our journeys together as one.