What Makes A World Changer

A world changer is a person, activity, or event that has the desire or ability to help folks see a bigger picture. Often this is done by experiencing, learning, discovering, and relating. It takes proactivity. It usually involves getting out of ones comfort zone. There is often a risk. This is a story of our family vacation.

Early Friday morning, July 20, Grandpa and Grandma, 6 grown children and spouses, and 20 grandkids, headed out for southwestern Colorado loaded with luggage, a fishing boat and poles, 8 Rangers, an activity list, and enough food for the week.

While traveling down the interstate we passed a partial D11 Caterpillar. These machines are so large they have to be dismantled for transport. They have over 900 HP and weigh around 250,000 lbs. They are 36 ft. long and 15 ft. tall. Wow. Wouldn't it be fun to build a pond with this thing.

We made it to Dillon, Colorado where we booked 7 rooms and stopped for the night. Pizza and swimming completed our day.

On Saturday morning we continued southwest through the Rocky Mountains where our GMC pickup which was pulling a 5th wheel trailer with 5 Rangers went in limp mode and lost power. After switching the load to another truck we made it to Salida, Colorado where a GM dealer programed a manual regen for the exhaust system. One of those new government rules where trucks and tractors have to reburn exhaust smoke rather than release it.

We arrived at our destination for the next week early Saturday evening. It was an 8 bedroom, 5 bath home we had rented, located in the mountains between Ridgeway and Ouray, Colorado.

Every morning we started the day having breakfast together. We usually packed sandwiches for lunch while riding or activities, came back for supper, and ended the day having devotions. 

Adults and kids alike shared cooking, dishes, picking up, taking out the trash which had to be monitored because of bears, watching kids, and washing and folding clothes.

Three of our activity days were riding Rangers in the mountains. We rode in three different areas covering over 100 miles on the mountain roads and paths.

We often got above the tree line. California Pass where we headed over the top had an elevation of 12960 feet. We would cross rock bottom creeks and come across beautiful lakes.

We saw a lot of past history. Animas Forks is an old mining village just up the mountain from Silverton, Colorado. In the late 1800s it was home to around 500 people who mined for gold. These folks were pioneers that reached out of their comfort zone and took a risk with their families. These folks back 120 years ago were world changers.

Our little folks were strapped in car seats and sat between their parents. When they weren't napping they enjoyed the outdoors, their extended family, and the exciting rides to the top of God's beautiful creation.

We would often stop and let the kids play in the creeks.

Elliott says, "Wow Dad, you're getting kind of close to the edge." Many of the paths were steep and fairly rough.

One evening when Kurt and Emily had devotions Emily asked us to share our peaks and pits meaning what experiences we enjoyed the most and the least. One of my favorite times on our trip was watching the cousins work together loading and unloading the Rangers. They handled the ramps, the straps, the coolers, and helped each other out. Giving kids responsibilities, allowing them to help, and building their confidence creates world changers.

Our rented house was large and spacious with plenty of room. The cousins enjoyed games of pool together about every evening.

Young and old alike played games together. This happened to be a serious game of Rook.

Another day activity was touring a gold and silver mine near Ouray. The Bachelor Mine was started in 1884 by Charles Armstrong. It operated until 1988 when government regulations and red tape made the operation unprofitable. Our guide told us only about a third of the gold and silver in this mountain has been mined out.

Our whole family walked down a 1500 feet tunnel to one of these little rooms in the mountain. We learned minors used to either work alone or in pairs with hammers, chisels, and explosives. A single minor like how Charles started in 1884 was called a jack. Minors working in pairs were called double jacks. About 40 million dollars in silver and 25 million dollars in gold has been mined from the Bachelor Mine.

After the inside tour we were invited to pan for gold and silver outside in a small stream.

The tiny pieces of gold we found were put in a very small glass vile for us that we were allowed to keep.

On our way back to our house Allison, Anton, and I stopped by a neighboring cemetery and looked up Charles grave site. He was just a 27 year old when he started digging in this mountain. He became a world changer.

Another activity was called climbing the Baby Bath tubs. It was a stream running deep down in the mountain rocks. We had to help each other climb up and over the rocks in several places.

Mom's are world changers. The gals did an awesome job of planning and keeping everything organized. Thanks to Jan, Kristin, Stacy, Suzanne, Becky, Cassia, and Emily for everything they did to make this an awesome vacation.

Cassia's mom Melanie came down from Walden and joined us for a couple of days.

These two little cousins were together all the time and often rode with Grandpa and Grandma.

We would stop for lunch in the shade usually along a stream and take a break while the kids played.

We enjoyed our lunch times together.

This is father and son. It's also coach and athlete. Football practice starts next week already. Where has the summer gone. Coaching has the potential of  making world changers not just in the sports but life as well.

Mike took folks fishing with his boat however I didn't get a picture. This is a reservoir high in the mountains where we fished, rested, and went swimming.

Gideon, Cody, Ethan, and John drove their own Ranger and enjoyed hanging out together.

One afternoon while on one of our rides it started raining as we were driving back down the mountain. It actually rained hard and pelted our faces. John found a garbage bag to put on. The narrow steep roads got a little slick. I asked God for safety on the way down and was thankful seeing 8 Rangers when we arrived at the bottom. Karl and Kristin also had a Ranger with brake troubles one day. We were thankful for God's protection.

Kristin and Sydnie riding with Karl crossing a small stream.

Our family spent an afternoon and evening at a hot springs set of pools. There was an obstacle course the kids loved racing their dads and moms on. We ended the evening with a family volleyball game in the pool. Toward the end of the game I mentioned I was getting out of the pool and probably had wrinkled skin since being in the water all afternoon. Gideon promptly replied, "Grandpa, you had wrinkles before you got in". :)

The little girls went horseback riding and loved every minute of it.

We celebrated two birthdays while on vacation, Amelia and Zach. Grandma used bread for a pretend cake and covered them with candles.

We had devotions every evening as a family. Our children each took an evening with scripture, stories, thoughts, questions, and prayer. One evening the adults formed a circle around the kids and prayed for their summer, their futures, and their continued walk with their Lord.

Living as a family of 34 for a week can have challenges. It can also have great rewards. Thank you so much family for a wonderful week. We love you all. Jan and I mentioned to each other every day how blessed we are to have each and every one of you in our lives.

So how about you all. Can you think of someone or something in your life that helped you become a world changer? Do you sometimes think about the bigger picture? Is God putting opportunities or people in your path to help reach their maximum potential? Dare to take a risk, get out of your comfort zone, and be intentional about helping others become world changers.