New York

So on Wednesday (12/10) me and my fellow Timberliners are headed to New York for a mission trip. We will be witnessing to the homeless and needy people of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. We will be needing alot of prayer. We do a subway ministry where we are picked to stand on a soap box and just start preaching. Pretty intense. Also we do street and ferry ministry where we just talk to people one-on-one. If you guys would pray for God to prepare our hearts and soften the heart of the New Yorkers to make for a fruitful harvest in Christ. Muchas Gracias.

En Christo

Thanksgiving

You know, there is so much we all take for granted. So much. While I was in Africa I really had the chance to get a better grasp on how much I take for granted. When you go to Mexico you see people living in shacks and next-to-nothing houses. The people still live in a place you can call a home, but in Africa there is a major portion of the population that lives on the streets and literally fight for food. I havnt shared this with a whole lot of people since Ive been back; while I was there I saw a man get murdered. We were on our way back from one of the nicest places to eat in Liberia. The restaurant and food was actually really good and made me feel like I was back in the States. Anyway, on the way back we saw a man carrying groceries home for his family. He had two bags under each arm. The man was weaving in and out of the crowd and finally he got to the end of the market. A man came running out of no where in the crowd. I noticed he was carrying something in his hand and I realized it was a brick, before I could even react the man smashed it into the man carrying the groceries head. His head completly split open and started to gush blood. There was absolutely nothing we could do for the man because immediately he was swarmed and people took his food. The man died on the side of the road bleeding out because he had food.

This tragedy really puts into perspective how much we Americans take for granted. We have a roof over heads, food to eat when we want, education, family, friends, the freedom to speak out when we've been wronged, the freedom to vote, we have so much. There is so much we take for granted it sickens me. I used to just be like, "Yeah I do have alot," but then do nothing about it. Im not saying we should go give to the poor or needy but just take a minute or two and reflect on just how good God has been to us. This is something Ive come to realize lately and have been working on. I'll tell you what Im thankful for:

- God - Food
- Church - Education
- Family - Democracy
- Community - Freedom
- Home - Being an American
- Friends - Just plain Life

I ask you now...What are you thankful for?

Life in Colorado

Its been a while since my last post so I figured it was time. Hows it goin? I miss Orange County thats for sure, but Winter Park isn't a bad substitute. There is alot to do. Every now and then me and group of Timberline peeps head down to Boulder or Denver and chill for the afternoon. So here is what my week looks like. Monday, we have Family Group breakfast. Family Groups is literally like a family, there is a male leader and female leader and they are like our parents....I dont know. Its confusing. After breakfast we have community worship and after that we have outdoor class. Thats usually fun but not always. Depends on what we're doing. After dinner we have class for a couple hours. Tuesdays we have class from 9-1 and then lunch. After lunch we have workday, pretty much explains itself. After dinner we have class again from 7-9. Wednesday we have class from 9-1 again and then have the afternoon off but class again from 7-9. Thursday we have class from 9-1 and then in the afternoon we have small groups from 2-330 and then we're free. Friday we have local outreach stuff. I go into Denver and hangout with international students. We do different events and then somehow we tie it into our walk with the Lord. This last Friday we went to a corn maze...soo frustrating but it was still fun. We raced and my team one...boo ya! Saturday and Sunday are ours to do what we want and then we go through the cycle again.
I love this place though. God is teaching me so much. Im learning alot and finding answers for myself and questions Ive been asked in the past. Its awesome and I suggest everyone to go through this program before entering college and the real world.
I have some prayer requests though. If you could pray for the community here, there is alot of insecurities in some people and that leads to gossip and in the guys dorm picking on guys and usually crossing the line to the point it hurts. I also ask you pray for maturity (spiritual and mental) for everyone here. I also ask that you pray that God breaks all of us and for Him build us back up in Him.
Thank you for all the support. I appreciate it alot.

Home at Last

5 cities, 4 flights and 33 hours later Im finally home. For all of those I missed informed that my flight had been cancelled. Im sorry. That was false. Everything smooth and right to plan. In fact in went better. I was able to get on an earlier flight from JFK to LAX yesterday. I landed in the good ole U S of A at 12:30 PM Monday and my flight to LAX wasnt scheduled to leave until 7:20 PM. So I asked an AA travel agent to put me on standby for a 3:55 PM flight. I was the last passenger on the plane and the last person that got in by standby. Praise the Lord for that. It was so amazing to see my family, Molly, Lauren, and Jason in the baggage claim. I had been looking forward to it so much that when it actually happened I thought it was a dream. Im so glad to be home. The first meal I had was not the American tradition of hamburger and french fries and soda. It was Panda Express, chowmayne and a double entre of orange chicken. Sooo lish. Thank you all for your support and prayers and hopefully I was able to give you a little taste of life in Liberia and aboard the Africa Mercy. Thank you and God Bless!

Michael Phelps

I am in complete awe of what Michael Phelps is doing in Beijing. After taking the gold in the 200 M Breststroke and swimming a WR leg in the 4X200 Men Freestyle relay and helping shatter the world record by almost 5 Michael Phelps is now the greatest Olympian of all time. No one is on the same level as him and I think it is safe to say no one ever will. He is only 23 which means in 4 years he will be 27 and still competing. I cant fathom is gold total when all is said and done...16, 18, 20??? Who know. I said up until 3:30 AM to watch him and let me tell you it was worth it. Michael Phelps is a living legend. Who has ever heard of 11 gold medals in two Olympic Games?! And hes not done. I have my money on him to win all 8. There is just something about him. I dont think he will let up until he has 8 golds around him. You know someone is doing something special when the best athletes from around the world are showing up to your races to see you perform. I watched Michael Phelps reaction after he won #10 and it was almost as if he had won a regular race back in high school. No significant reaction whatsoever. Sitting here watching him dominant the pool makes me proud to be an American. Watching Lezak catch the fastest freestyler to carry the US to the gold makes me proud to be an American. And watching the passion of the men after winnning both relays makes me proud to be an American. We all know he is doing something special in Beijing but I dont think anyone will know the true magnitude until years from now. Say good bye to Spitz, Lewis, Owens, Johnson and say hello to the greatest Olympian of all time: Michael Phelps.

Not Much

Not a whole lot is going on. Ive been getting up and going to work cleaning toilets, mopping floors and stuff like that. I wish there was more to update on. Saturday Im going back to the market to get fabric, dont laugh (*cough* mrs norton *cough*). Im going to get some hoodies made. Thats pretty much it. Sorry. Til Saturday...Adios!

Sunday 8.3.08

So with 5 days until the Beijing Olympics the Africa Mercy is becoming more and more filled with trash talk. Ranging from track and the fastest man to basketball to gymnastics its heating up. This place is going to be a blast to be when the Olympics finally kick off. I know everyone here is anticipating it like nothing since the Euro Futbol Cup in June (not that long ago...I know). I have the opportunity to experience it for 9 days. I'm stoked. Anyway, today I went to church in Monrovia. The church lasted 3 1/2 hours but it was well worth it. Let me tell you the Africans know how to worship. Every song for them is like your favorite football team scoring a touchdown or baseball player hitting a monster clutch homerun. Seriously, its a huge celebration. Loud music, people dancing and screaming. And its all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I had the chance to take communion with them. They do it different but its still communion. After church we went to one of the elder's house for lunch. It was so lish. I love African food. Rice, fish and a spicy spread on top. Sooo lish. After that we headed back to the ship and since Ive gotten back all Ive done is been watching the Angel game via Gamecast on ESPN. Chicka yeah! Well ttfn!