Around here, most people know me as "Mysterious Max." When campers arrive at summer camp, they need an easy way to remember their cabin leader's name. A nickname, and an alliterative one at that, makes things easier.
I started working at Camp Arnes in summer 2009 and have been here more or less ever since. But the Canadian prairies are not my natural habitat. I was born in Denver, Colorado, graduated from Arvada West High School in 2005 and earned my bachelor's degree from Northern Colorado in 2010.
I had decided to follow Jesus at the age of 13. Up to that point I had taken as much pride as a kid could take in his own intellect. Basically, I was convinced that God didn't exist and was out to prove how stupid those who believed in Him were. Thankfully, the youth workers at First Baptist Church in Louisville, CO were gracious and patient. Thanks Tim, Chris and Brandi, wherever you guys are!
At first, I knew I was going to be a missionary. After all, that's what the real Christians did. I read my bible every night, and the missionaries were the ones who seemed closest to the folks in Acts.
In high school I was really into youth group, and so my plans shifted into youth ministry (what the cool Christians did). I told my dad I was going to go to Colorado Christian University. He just smiled and helped me sign up for a campus tour. When I learned that scholarships for academics, tennis, rugby, baseball, basketball, etc. were going to earn me 16 grand in scholarships, I knew it was the place for me. However, private Christian universities aren't cheap, and that wasn't going to cover half of a full year's fees.
So if I wasn't going to be a missionary or a youth pastor, I guess I'd have to have a different plan. A mentor of mine at school suggested studying to becoming a teacher (what the practical Christians did) at UNC in Greeley. Well the teaching wasn't my cup of tea, but my time at Northern Colorado changed my life.
In the intervening time between age 13 and my first year in college, I had slowly grown lax in my pursuit of following Jesus. It was at UNC, thanks to a campus ministry called the Navigators, that I regained my love for Jesus and my desire to follow him. I got plugged in with a bible study, and eventually got to lead a few of my own. I got solid mentoring and lived with accountability for the first time, and my faith grew. I even met Stetson, my best friend then and since.
So in spring 2009 I was looking for something to do for a summer. Moving home wasn't going to happen, and the previous year I had spend almost all my money living and studying in Ireland. I needed a new adventure, but somewhere more or less within driving distance. I applied to dozens of camps in Canada, got job offers from over 15, narrowed it down to five, and chose Arnes in the end. That summer was good, but I was surprised when I couldn't suppress the urge to return. So I collected my degree, packed my truck, roped Stetson in for the summer, and went back to Manitoba.
In 2012 I put down roots at Camp when I was asked to serve as the Director of Summer Ministries. Don't be too impressed, that's just camp speak for program director, and I quickly realized that this was my dream job. Thinking up new ways for kids to have fun while at summer camp was right up my alley. But the real draw was the life of purpose inherit in the mission: loving kids and youth, taking them on an adventure and sharing the good news of God's love with them. All the while working alongside likeminded young leaders, mentoring and challenging one another in authentic community. If you've ever been a part of serving at camp, you know what I mean. It reminded me a lot of my time in the Navigators.
In the fall of 2012, after my first summer directing the summer program and fourth summer overall, I met Sherayah. We had worked on the summer leadership team during spring and summer 2011, but had not kept in touch. A couple we had worked with on that leadership team was getting married, and we both got invites to the wedding, where we spent the whole time catching up. After it became clear that I was not going to be able to successfully recruit her to work for me at camp that next summer, we started dating. Our first date was in January, I proposed in August, and we were married in November!
We made Camp Arnes our home, and have been living here ever since. I continued to direct at camp; go like crazy each summer, recuperate and revamp programs during the winter. Sherayah realized her dream of working in as a nurse. I'm sure I will get into the details later, but life went on, and mostly well.
In April 2016, I had another dream come true. I became a dad! I have a great dad, and so does Sherayah, and I've always looked forward to getting to try my hand at fatherhood. We had a girl, Jovie Evangeline Ehrman on April 4, 2016. On August 27 of this year, we welcomed our second girl, Arrow Lark into our home. Let me rephrase: we welcomed her onto our bathroom floor. Having my name listed as the attending physician on my daughter's birth certificate is probably the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. Not to mention having Arnes, a place that's meant so much to me, be listed as her place of birth.
So that brings us almost up to the present.
The question that is probably in your mind right now as you read this (certainly in mine as I write) must be, "So what?" What makes any of this 'blog worthy?' Let's be honest, there's not a super high standard for content posted on the internet, but still, who cares?
Well, Sherayah and I would like to invite you along to witness what happens next in our life. We've made it to the point in our family where most settle in for the long haul. "Buy a house, get a promotion and get comfortable, 'cause we ain't going anywhere soon." Right? Wrong.
At least for us. We've been called to follow Jesus, and right now he's leading us to California, to a small city called Oroville.
The funny thing about following Jesus in the bible is that when people decided to follow him, he started walking away. Like he was saying, "Are you going to follow me or not? Not just follow my teachings, or follow along at home, but actually drop what you're doing and walk with me?"
Up to this point in our lives, we've come closer to the first couple than the last one. Now we're going to give this following thing a try. Hopefully this gives you a bit of a backstory on where we come from so you can walk with us where we're going too.
