Qwest West: Follow Robert's Journey Through the West!

Church Family,

I am excited to share with you an adventure I will be embarking on in a few short weeks! I have signed on as a staff member for Qwest West. In my role I will be helping to lead a group of 13 college students on a trip through the western United States, camping through the national parks as we go! In this new role I will be away from the church from May 18th-June 1st, but you will be able to keep up with my travels through the church social media pages, as I will be updating as I can. And I hope, in the future, to dream about how we could offer a trip such as this for our church family!

I would like to thank Tom and Leanne, our personnel committee, and each one of you for encouraging me and allowing me to pursue opportunities such as this to serve the greater church. Qwest West is a wonderful ministry, and one I was a part of as a college student in 2016. It is an experience that shaped my life, and further confirmed my calling to ministry and work in the church. I am excited to experience the trip from the leadership side, and to have the opportunity to lead a new set of students as they discern their place in the world, while gaining even more appreciation for the beauty and vastness of God’s creation! I ask that you be in prayer for the students and staff who are joining me on the journey, and I look forward to sharing more upon my return!

Below is our itinerary for those who might wish to keep up, as well as a couple of photos from my trip in 2016. You can learn more about Qwest West by visiting https://www.qwestwest.org/

Day 1- Arrive in Phoenix and journey to Sedona, AZ

Day 2- Explore Sedona, then drive to the Grand Canyon

Day 3- Grand Canyon

Day 4- Depart the Grand Canyon for Lake Powell, UT. Stop at Antelope Canyon on the way.

Day 5- Depart Lake Powell and explore Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Day 6- Depart for Bryce Canyon, sledding on the coral pink sand dunes on our way.

Day 7- Sunrise and hiking at Bryce Canyon, then onto Zion National Park that afternoon.

Day 8- Zion National Park

Day 9- Travel day from Zion to Death Valley National Park in California.

Day 10- Explore Death Valley and then travel to Yosemite National Park.

Day 11- Yosemite National Park

Day 12- Depart Yosemite, exploring Tuolumne Meadows on the way to Lake Tahoe.

Day 13- Lake Tahoe

Day 14- Head to Reno and fly home.

Robert and fellow "Qwest Westers" at the Grand Canyon.