During my second summer in the Tetons in 1987 — after first serving there in 1986 — we had the extraordinary honor of hosting Vice President George H. W. Bush, his wife Barbara Bush, and one of their grandsons for worship at the Signal Mountain NPS Amphitheater in Grand Teton National Park. They were gracious and genuinely interested in the ministry of ACMNP, taking time to speak personally with each member of our team. Not long afterward, we were each surprised and delighted to receive an 8×10 color print from that day, captured by the official White House press photographer — a treasured keepsake of a remarkable moment in ministry.

Over the years, I have returned to the Tetons again and again. I’ve camped there with three church youth groups, one Boy Scout troop, three different groups of friends, and once with my 19-year-old son. The Tetons — truly God’s wonderland — are breathtaking and soul-stirring, infectious in their beauty, and they never disappoint. After 35 years of Presbyterian ministry, I will be retiring this December, and I look forward to returning once more to encounter God in that sacred landscape.

I am grateful to be an alum of both the 1986 and 1987 summers, as well as a summer internship in New York City with Warren and Nancy Ost. More than anything, those seasons shaped me. They taught me self-reliance, strengthened my communication skills, and cultivated an openness to God’s handiwork in every part of creation and in every person I meet. ACMNP made all of this possible, and I will be forever grateful.

Stephen A., Grand Teton National Park, 1986 &1987