mmvi

Jan 14, 2007 13:49

i have decided to post an entry that chronicles (photographically) the year 2006, much like my "this year in photographs: mmv" post on december 5th, 2006. in that post, i wrote,

"...i went looking on my computer for pictures i (and some other friends) had taken. i found many. i narrowed it down, but there are still many photos. but i did many things this year, spent time with wonderful people, saw many wonderful places, and experienced so much of God's goodness. through all of the trials, pain, joy, sickness, sorrow, peace, comfort, and love, these pictures were taken, and here are many pictures that reflect the past year in photographs."

whatever i claimed to have experienced in 2005 is greatly dwarfed by what i am claiming that i experienced in 2006. God's greatness and the presence of his kingdom are much more apparent to me at this present time than ever before.

i hope that in a year, i will be able to say, "whatever i claimed to have experienced in 2006 is greatly dwarfed by what i am claiming that i experienced in 2007. God's greatness and the presence of his kingdom are much more apparent to me at this present time than ever before."

this post is much smaller than "this year in photographs: mmv." i have learned the great value of small things that represent greater concepts. it would be foolish of me to assume that any amount of photographs could accurately represent the whole of my experience in a year, so i go with a smaller amount of photographs that i believe imply more. each of these pictures mean a great deal to me. perhaps they will mean something to the reader as well.



in january of 2006, bailey cooke and i set out on a journey up the coast of california to visit some friends in santa rosa.



ostrich land, buellton, ca



bailey at the golden gate bridge



my first (but not last) experience petting elephant seals in san simeon, ca.

february falls after january.



my maternal grandfather, david alexander stevenson and i have been regularly meeting up for a few years now. he is perhaps the wisest and godliest man i know. we often exchange horrible jokes. here we are doing just that in the gourmet cafe, downey, ca.

in working with the high school ministry at grace brethren long beach, i had the opportunity to co-lead a group of high school students to work at rancho sordo mudo in valle de guadalupe, baja calfornia, mexico. rancho sordo mudo is a Christian ministry to the deaf children of mexico. rancho sordo mudo provides education, room & board, and spiritual care to deaf children in all grades.



photograph taken by kurt simonson



photograph taken by kurt simonson

march falls after february.



kaitlyn newett and jordan carr at disney's california adventure, anaheim, ca.



bailey and kaitlyn.



clockwise from the top left: bailey, me, jordan, and kaitlyn, on california screamin' in disney's california adventure.

april was a very busy month.

on a saturday, jeff cool, greg meredith, and i drove up to joshua tree national park, joshua tree, ca.



a blue jay in the big morongo canyon preserve, morongo valley, ca.



from the right, greg, jeff, and me, in front of a wood pile in the big morongo canyon preserve.

my dear friend jessie levitt came to visit from florida. we drove up to san simeon on a sunday.



elephant seal cubs. their mother didn't mind that i was petting and holding them.

spring break came for both my younger brother dakota jack and me. we spent much time together. one day we went to los angeles. i showed him things that he had never seen, such as olvera street, the cathedral of our lady of the angels, and the saddening poverty that decorates the city.

dakota had never seen the hollywood sign, so i drove him to the closest point an automobile can reach the sign. we hiked the rest of the way.



the "d" from the hollywood sign, mount lee, griffith park, ca.

at one point during the break, i needed to check some mail at biola university. my nephew michael anthony came with me.



on a friday night, kaitlyn and i went to a los angeles dodgers game. we had to pick up the tickets in oxnard, ca. on the way to oxnard from los angeles, we spotted an automobile with an interesting paint job.



one day, kaitlyn (foreground), jordan (middle ground), marleigh dunlap (background), and i went to one of my places of employment, adventure city.



my good friend sarah rickard had a windbreaker birthday party at la mirada park, la mirada, ca.



katie stück and stephen monkemeier on the swings at la mirada park.

in may i had the opportunity to visit the getty villa in pacific palisades, ca.







school ended in may. i felt God's calling to move to long beach, ca, to become a missionary to my family. after the semester was out, i did just that.



this is a portion of my family. from the left is my sister harmony rose holding nicole star, allie-marie, my father (matthew wade), my mother (pamela jean), brooklyn taylor making a funny face, nicholas anthony holding emilee rose, omni star in the foreground, me in the background, and dakota. nicholas is my half-brother, and omni is his wife, my sister-in-law. brooklyn is nick's step-daughter with omni. nicole and emilee are nicholas and omni's daughters. emilee was born on may 5th, 2006.

june falls after may.



june 16th, 2006 marleigh's 20th birthday. we went to the beach in her hometown of newport beach, ca.

at the end of may, the high school group at grace brethren long beach had a summer kick-off retreat in malibu canyon, ca.



much bocce was played.



kurt simonson looking manly as always.



jeff cool and jason chung at our campground.



i made a new friend.

july falls after june.



phillip mcgowan eating a corn dog at disney's california adventure.

marleigh and i went to the birthday party for our dear friend matt crook. matt themed his party "ninjas vs. pirates." we met at world on wheels skating ring in los angeles, ca. i am shamefully bad at skating on wood.

the party then moved to the iron army denim loft in downtown los angeles.



after the party, marleigh and i took pictures on the way to the car. we were pirates.

in the middle of july, i co-led the middle school group from grace brethren on a trip to the sacramento delta for houseboat camping.



the incredible joe biscocho.

after a week with the middle school group, i came back to long beach, to leave a day later for hume lake with the high school group.



from right, jeff and me posing in front of hume lake.

august falls after july.

on august 1st, i turned 20. many of my wonderful friends came over to my parents' house where we set out tables and made over 125 bagged meals, mainly consisting of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, granola bars, vitamins, and water.



we broke into groups that evening and went to strategic places in long beach and gave the meals away to the homeless. we didn't have to turn one person down that we encountered.

after the party we returned to my parents' house, reflected on the kingdom of God, took communion, and ate pizza.

thank you to all my friends that contributed with prayer, time, finances, love, compassion, and selflessness. you all teach me God's love.

during the second week of august, marleigh and i traveled up the california coast to explore.



we met, petted, and fed a llama.



we explored various relics of the past.

as august ended, school began for me once again.

september falls after august.

in september, my friend jessie (who had previously moved from florida) moved to michigan from california. brenda abel, jessie and i went to the aquarium of the pacific, long beach, ca.



we held rainbow lorikeets.

one weekend in september, my father and i drove to yucca valley, ca, to visit with my paternal grandparents and do some work on one of their cars and their house.



i took my grandmother (rena beth) and my father to joshua tree national park and took them on a hike to the barker dam and reservoir.



my father.

october falls after september.

i found a praying mantis at biola and went to dakota's house to show him.





for my father's birthday, i took him and my mother to see bob dylan at the long beach arena, long beach, ca. my dear friend larissa also went and took this photo.

it was a wonderful experience.
bob dylan remains my favorite artist.

near the end of october, the high school staff took a retreat to rosarito beach, baja california, mexico.



Jesus was there (note the beacon on Jesus' head to avoid any impacts with aircraft).

november saw no photographs from me, while december saw very few.

i stayed at my parents' house for the Christmas season. i had many opportunities to spend time with my nephew michael. we went to the park often.







mmvii falls after mmvi.

2006, jeffrey, phillip, dakota, family, sna simeon, joshua tree, rainbow lorikeet, aquarium of the pacific, san francisco, joe, brenda, praying mantis, california adventure, houseboats, photos, youth ministry, jessie, grandfather, kaitlin, party, jordan, camping, mexico, griffith park, disneyland, hollywood, elephant seal, llama, brother, getty villa, larissa, mikie, marleigh, road trip, concert, father, muir woods, hume lake, grandmother, bailey, hollywood sign, sacramento delta, birthday, ostrich, jesus christ, bob dylan

Previous post Next post
Up