LeaderTreks Started

Well, it's official. I've started as full time staff at LeaderTreks in Wheaton, IL. Thanks to all of you for your continued support this summer as I was going all over the country on trips. I got emails from many of you and knew I was being covered in prayer. My newsletter about the summer will be sent out this week to tell all about it.

I've moved in with Rich and Barb Kolton in Carol Stream, IL, which is only about a six minute drive from the office. They are amazing people whom I have already grown to love a ton. They are very honest and open about their lives and their struggles, which is amazing to be around. They have been a great support to me so far in the first week. Rich is a ton of fun and a huge Bears fan, so it was great to rub their loss in his face yesterday and scream praises for the Packers. He takes it in stride, for his humility is very apparent. Barb has a level of depth not commonly seen and an openness with her life and her fears. She has shared with me on several occasions about the struggles she is going through.

This past weekend I got initiated into the First Baptist youth group this past weekend. I'm starting to volunteer on a weekly basis, so I went on the fall retreat. It was a great time to get to know all the students in The Cause, the name of their youth group. I'll be leading a small group on Sunday nights for guys and regular meetings are on Wednesdays, so I'm pretty excited about being involved in this way.

As for work, I've had a busy time so far. There are four of us right now who make up the Base Camp Summit Team, which basically means we're the newbies. Chase, Renee, Billy, and myself are all in it together and learning everything we can about LT. All last week was introductions to a lot of what we do at LeaderTreks. This week we've started training for LTE's, or Leadership Training Events. These are weekend events where we try to combine a lot of the same principles and experiences from trips into a single weekend trip. I'm totally on board with them. They are amazing! My brother Shannon just ordered an LTE called Foundations of Leadership, which is the one we're all learning this week. I'm excited for his group to learn everything in this LTE. I have my own desk area, which is pretty weird because that signifies a real job to me. Which, it is, but it's still weird.

I've loved getting to know all the staff. They are amazing and have opened their hearts to me. My parents came down to Wheaton on Friday to visit and got to meet the whole staff at our company picnic. After getting into the car, they both turned to me and said they now knew exactly why I had come to LeaderTreks. I hope at some point you get to meet the men and women I serve with.

Today the Base Camp staff and I begin our training for LTE's. We're all a little nervous because we actually have to lead them in front of everyone, which would be fine, but we just learned the material yesterday. Pray for wisdom, guidance, and confidence for all of us. Thanks again for everything.

Dan

P.S. These are just some pictures of the office at LT.