Australia: The Fellowship and the Sights, Day 5

Sunday rolled around and what was supposed to be a more relaxing day turned out to be a action packed one. We started off with breakfast at the meeting hall where it felt like a mini Jubilee meeting. What that means is in Cleveland on the first Sunday of every month, all the metro churches gather for one big meeting and we have breakfast together. There was a lot of delicious homemade food and what I didn't yet realize was that this was only the beginning.

Next came the meeting where we shared the Lord's table, sang some wonderful hymns, and enjoyed the Lord together. Then, during the second half, all of us from America shared our testimonies with the saints here (I found out tonight that some were moved to tears by our coming and sharing). It is truly something spectacular to experience Christ in another country. Once the meeting concluded, lunch was prepared by the saints and oh my goodness was there a lot of delectable dishes. During this time I met some people and talked with them about the differences in Australia and the USA. I also met Vasya's mom and was also the first time I saw Vasya since arriving here in the South Pacific (she was one of the one's who came to the US back in December of 2015). 

Around 2pm, Raymond, us Americans, and 12 or so other young people left the meeting hall and made our way to Manly Beach. It was over an hour travel, but I didn't mind as we took a ferry across the ocean. Arriving at Manly was a sight. There were throngs of people, stores as far as the eye could see, and a long walkway between it all. Our main destination was the beach, but we had to make an ice cream detour first.

The beach, when we finally made it, didn't disappoint. The sand was soft and cool, the Pacific waves kissed the shore, and the setting sun made for a picturesque view. There was a nice section of beach that was clear of people, so naturally us Americans busted out the Frisbee and began throwing. We attracted a small crowd of onlookers from the wall. Eventually we started an actual game and as we were flying high and diving low, all the locals sitting on the beach wall were engrossed in our fun. We could hear them ooh and ahh at incredible plays and the sound of disappointment at failed ones. Doing something I love (Frisbee) on an Australian beach as the sun set made it a whole lot sweeter. 

Unfortunately, time was not on our side and we had to leave. I wish I could've stayed and explored more, but that's for another time. We rushed our way back to the ferry, which ended up arriving 15 minutes late, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. When we boarded, I managed to get on the upper deck by the bow. I could smell the sea and feel the night breeze blowing through my hair. But what was truly magical was the ride back. Seeing the city of Sydney lit up at night filled me with mirth. The closer we got, the more alive I felt. This place is really beautiful.

When we had landed, it seemed like the night might be drawing to a close, but I was in for one last surprise. Dinner was to be handled by each person's hospitality as a way to spend quality time with them. Nelson's parents took us to a Brazilian BBQ. Now I've had Mongolian BBQ and Korean BBQ, but never Brazilian BBQ. Let's just say I had been missing out for too long. It was an all you can eat style meal where the servers came back and forth to your table with a different stack of meat each time on a large spear, fresh off the grill. And it wasn't the low quality kind either. That night I consumed Beef: Flank, Ribs, Rump, Tri Tip; Pork: Belly, Sausage, Chorizo, Scotch Pork; Chicken: Thigh and Wings; Lamb: Rump and Ribs, and more I quite can't recall. But it was cooked, braised, smoked, and seasoned to perfection. Remember a few posts ago where I mentioned Nelson "forgot" he was feeding Americans? Well he out-ate me that night in an impressive feat. My mouth is watering recalling that delicious excursion. I'm very afraid to see what the scale will say when I get home. 

Goodnight from the South Pacific.

Australia: Walking Life's Path and New Friends, Day 4

I decided I'm going to add a phrase for each post because it's much more colorful than just listing the days. Saturday morning began a little different then most other days. I was unsure of what time I had to wake up and apparently when I did I was 5 minutes late. So I rushed through breakfast, and our driver, Nelson's mom, was flying all over the house trying to get everyone out the door. Then we flew down the streets to get to the train station and boy what a crazy car ride that was. Once we arrived the train was docking and the trains here wait for no one. Because of this, me, Tim, and another brother ran up and down a flight of stairs to board the train on time. This was way too much physical activity before 8AM.

After a short train ride, we ended up at the Harbor Bridge. Since we were early (don't ask me how that happened), we walked onto the bridge and took a bunch of scenic pictures. The view is breathtaking. "I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams,"~Red: The Shawshank Redemption. This is the first time I've seen the Pacific and I can say Red would be pleased. As 8:30am rolled around, we headed back to the train station to meet up with the rest of the group. So what exactly were we doing this beautiful, sunny, morning? A group of saints does a 10k walk in Sydney. This isn't any normal walk, however. The terrain changes, the location changes and the scenes are stunning. We started beneath the Harbor Bridge, which took us a while to get going due to all the photos being taken. Then we followed a public trail alongside the Pacific. We passed by many exotic plants I don't see often or ever in the US. At one point we came upon a park with these massive palm trees. Ray took this as a good opportunity to take out his Frisbee. While everyone else was taking a break, a handful of us were throwing the disc. Beautiful day for it too.

We continued the journey and eventually wandered through the rich neighborhood where the houses were over a million dollars to own. It was a nice thing to see, but I was glad when we ended up on a narrow trail with the ocean on our right and the Australian Bush on our left. Our walk took us by view after view and my goodness they were breathtaking.

I was so relaxed and happy to enjoy this journey. Our travels led us to an overlook point where you could climb down the rocks onto an old lighthouse and a view that engulfed a large portion of the harbor. All the Americans and a few Aussie's climbed down the rocks to get close to the ocean. Ray went the farthest as he scaled the walkway to the edge of the lighthouse. I thought we had reached our end, but we still had a bit to go. Our trekking took us on a jungle like path where a wild bush turkey appeared. The birds here are in higher variety than what they are back home. Yes they're louder, but they're bigger and prettier. Finally after such an enjoyable walk we made it to the end where we hopped on a ferry and took it straight across the harbor. This gave us an awesome view of the Harbor Bridge, the skyline, and the Opera House. I've always enjoyed riding sea vessels and when you add in spectacular views, that takes the cake.

Lunch was had in one of Sydney's busiest shopping areas and it was Japanse Ramen. Remember how I said I'm fed well here? It gets better and better. After slurping down a massive bowl of noodles, we took public transportation back to Yu-lin's house. Even after we had walked all day, we were now going to pass out flyers. The nice thing about doing that here is that your are allowed to put them in the the mailboxes which allows you to cover more ground in a faster time. However, a good number have "No Junk Mail" stickers on them so unfortunately those were off limits. 

The last event for the day was a YP meeting and BBQ at Yu-lin's house. Now when I say BBQ, it was more than a standard BBQ that I was expecting. First there was sausage. Then came chicken. Then lamb. Yes you read that right. Then kebabs. Then prawns. Then steak. It just didn't stop. But I wasn't complaining. Before the YP meeting, some of the younger kids took a liking to us, especially Tim, Anthony, and I. They attacked us with pillows, laughed at our jokes, and basically never left us alone. During the meeting, we taught the young people some songs from Junior High Camp and Mountain Top. I'd say they liked them. Ray, Naomi, Jenny, and I each gave them a simple testimony about why we came. It was a privilege to experience a YP meeting on this side of the world and seeing the great group of kids they have here as well. That's all for day four, come back for day five because it was incredible.

Australia: Day 3

I woke up to the smell of bacon. Which is amazing as it combines with the vast amount of sleep I've been getting. It's quite wonderful. Nelson (the mate I'm staying with) who is a fly dude and one of the ones who visited the US with the other Australians nearly two years ago, quipped he felt so bad when he saw our clean plates and thought he hadn't cooked enough. "I forgot I'm feeding Americans!" he lamented. We laughed and told him between him and his mom we are well fed.

Our day began at our second college campus visit and gospel preaching trip. The campus we ended up on was USYD. My gosh it is beautiful. There is a magnificent  building that has a nice view of the skyline. I set out with Jenny from Indy. In four hours we talked to a lot of people. One thing I found that's massively different here than in Cleveland when it comes to gospel preaching is that almost everyone I talked to down here so far are very mild atheists.  Meaning they don't believe in anything but won't fight you on their non-belief. They were also willing to talk for the most part and listen to our whole gospel message before rejecting us. Thankfully our day wasn't a total bust as three of the people Jenny and I talked to prayed to receive the Lord and between the rest of our group, two more did as well. With that in mind, if nothing were to go right the rest of this week, five people being saved is worth it.

After our day of spreading the gospel ended, we took a small food tour of Sydney. Our first stop was at a small cafe where we had a piece of watermelon cake. It was a layered cake with actual slices of watermelon in it. Quite good. Next we ended up at an Asian cuisine which managed to fit the 20 or so of us that were there. Our table ordered three different types of dumplings, a beef noodle dish, and pork belly. The dumplings had soup and meat in them, the pork belly was rich and delicious, and the noodles disappeared rather quickly. Our next stop took us to a place that serves a dish similar to Canadian poutine, but in this case it wasn't slathered in gravy. It was a giant meat pie on top of french fries and slathered in cucumber/bbq/and hot sauce and it was amazing!

A few observations. Kenny Chesney has a song titled Be As You Are and in it he sings the line "I wanna go where I can lighten up the load, drive a little while on the wrong side of the road, get this laying low off to a flyin' start." Well I'm definitely in a place where they drive on the wrong side of the road and I have been in these cars as they drive. It feels absolutely weird to be sitting in the front left of the vehicle and not have a steering wheel in front of me as well as my brain going bonkers when turning left onto the left side of the road. Also their public transportation is well done here. They have a card you put money on called an Opal card. For every bus/train/ferry you must push that card against a scanner and then do it again when you get off so it knows how much to charge you. Some train rides I have taken cost less than $0.50 Australian. The trains are triple deckers and have clean, comfortable seats. Also the money here is very colorful. The paper money stops at $5. Their coinage is $0.05, $0.10, $0.20, $0.50, $1, and $2. The $0.50 coin is the biggest and more than double the size of the $2 one. Carrying a $2 coin makes me feel like it's a penny and if I lose one it's the same as losing 200 pennies. That pretty much does it for day 3. I know I'm a day behind so I'll try to catch up as I can, but right now with these full days I'm beat by the time I get back to hospitality. Time to catch some zzzzzzz's. 

Australia: Days 1 and 2

My intention is to blog every day for this trip, but I may not post every day depending on time/tiredness/rogue kangaroos...joking ( I haven't seen one yet). My journey began flying out of Cleveland to San Francisco. Longest flight I've taken in my life which was 5 hours. It didn't feel as long as it should've because I was able to watch the Indians game and then I watched Beauty and the Beast (Emma Watson version). I also managed to spill OJ on myself and my laptop...it still functions. After landing in Cali, I had an hour layover. So I met up with the rest of the group and we boarded the plane. This plane was massive. Nine seats across. On this flight they supplied small pillows, a blanket, and you could choose from a lot of digital entertainment for free. Remember how I said my previous flight was long? Well this one tripled it. Fourteen long hours. What made it worse was we were chasing darkness the whole time. I tried to sleep on the plane, but I don't sleep well (or at all) in moving vehicles. I faded in and out of consciousness for an hour only to be woken up by the staff serving dinner at 12:30am PST (3:30am EST). The lady next to me was going to ask for a meal for me, but it was past 3am my time and I wasn't hungry. I tried to fall back asleep, but I it was another battle. All told I maybe got two non-sequential hours of shut-eye. I watched two more movies on this flight.

We finally landed in Sydney a little after 6:30am August 2nd (4:30pm August 1 EST) which by this point I had been awake 26 out of 28 hours since my last full sleep and now I had a full day ahead of me in Sydney. After getting off the plane, our luggage was sent off to the meeting hall so we could explore Sydney. We stopped for breakfast near the Opera House and I had a fruit salad with actual honeycomb on it. We then made our way over to the Opera House which looked so awesome in person. The whole area looked massive because there was a giant cruise ship in the harbor and the Harbor Bridge in itself was an awesome sight. After doing a bunch of touristy things and getting our fill of the sights, we moved onward towards the gardens. We decided to take a break and a handful of us tossed a frisbee while walkers and joggers went by. One local stopped and watched us for a bit. i couldn't tell if he was wondering what we were doing or if he was intrigued by us throwing a frisbee.

We then wandered through the nearby gardens and saw a slew of trees and birds that we don't see often (or ever) in the US. One of them is a long-billed bird called the Ibis. It's a funny looking bird and apparently it's a nuisance here. I also saw seagulls with red beaks and feet and well as wild parrots. Our next stop was lunch at a Korean Karaoke place where you could rent a room with a karaoke machine so that you could sing while you ate. We just wanted food so we got a normal table though. The pork and kimchi was delicious.

The rest of the day was spent at the meeting hall for some rest, some delicious homemade ramen, and the prayer meeting with the saints. By the time I got to sleep, I had been awake for 26 hours straight and 38 out of the last 40. I slept 10 hours straight through the night that night and did I ever need it.

Day 2: This was our first full day in the gospel. We set out from the meeting hall and took public transportation to get there. Two things I noticed along our way. You almost never see an American brand of car here. I see a ton of Japanese, German, and Korean cars, as well as Australian and some French ones I never see in the US, but I maybe have seen only 5 Fords since being here and nothing else. No Chevy, no Chrysler, no Dodge, nada. Almost every pick-up truck here is a Toyota Hilux. This vehicle is not sold in the US due to America's extremely high tariff on imported light trucks. Don't get me wrong, I love Chevy trucks and their durability and would buy one before I bought a Hilux, but this truck is one of the best you can own. It'll probably out-live you. Don't believe me? Go watch the Top Gear episode where they did these things to a Hilux: Top Gear memorably took a modern Hilux to the North Pole, and later to the mouth of an active volcano. They also hit an older one with a wrecking ball, crashed it into the ocean, set it on fire, and blew it up in a building demolition. It survived." (Quote taken from https://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/america-classifies-the-toyota-hilux-as-an-enemy-combatant.html/?a=viewall). 

It was also very weird to sit on the left side of a car and not have a steering wheel in front of me while being on the left side of the road. They even walk on the left side of the sidewalk down here and that has caused me to almost run into a few people. After taking the bus and trains through Sydney, we eventually arrived at UNSW campus to spread the gospel. There was a Foundation Day fair going on in celebration of this being the day the university was founded. That gave us plenty of of people to talk to. We started after lunch and talked to people for four hours. Most of the people we attempted to talk to were willing to talk and listen, but at the same time, they were content with not thinking about God, life after death, and such. There were some people who were interested in what we had to say and three in particular were quite open. So that's a start. As a group we managed to get 16 contact cards which was one more than our goal.

For dinner, we went to a place on campus called The White House. No it doesn't look anything like where the president of the US lives, but they do have a pizza called The Wall and in the description it explains that it is based on the 45th president of the US. It wasn't the best tasting, but it was indeed creative. One person that was met on campus did join us which was encouraging. I also learned that you don't have to tip here, especially since the minimum wage is over $17 Australian. 

So that wraps up days 1 and 2 and they have been awesome. Oh and for you Pokemon Go players, I did catch a Kangaskhan...two as a matter of fact. Until next time.

Lord Keep My Heart: Even As It Breaks

Please listen to this song before, or while reading this post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zujGUiEb3Nw

I want to say I have no words for what I'm about to say, but that is a myth as all I have right now are words. But putting the right words in a meaningful way is the hard part. If you've been keeping up with my blog since 2011, you probably noticed a number of posts written in the memory of people I've lost in my life. And I wish I didn't have to write anymore. The fact of the matter is that people are born, they live, and they die. No one is immortal. No one. Death is a part of life. When death comes, it spares no grief. But when it comes swiftly without warning and while in the prime of youth, that's when it hurts the most. It hurts so much because someone you thought you had years left with or someone you hadn't seen in years but loved all the same, or someone who you barely knew but they had a small impact on your life, is no more. And it's in times like these that can destroy you. Even if you are strong in your faith in Christ, it's moments like this that can cause you to turn your heart from the Lord...for good.

I learned tonight of the tragic passing of Tammy Rhea James at the age of 32. Truth be told I didn't know her that well. But thirteen years ago, she entered my life and left me with a few memories I'll never forget. The year was 2004. I was 13 and had been in Cleveland for almost a year. I was not in the best state of being as I was still refusing to get used to the fact that Cleveland was my home. During the summer of 2004, the church I meet with was putting on this massive, week long youth conference that was going to host 1000 young people. An event like this took a lot of work. I lived right next to the meeting hall and so I was over there every day because I enjoyed being around all the preparation that was going on. On one of those days I met Tammy. Here I was, this obnoxious, slightly annoying, thirteen year-old kid and she was this sweet, kind nineteen year-old woman. After a quick introduction, I ran off to cause trouble elsewhere, but I didn't forget her name or her smile. Then during the actual conference, I ran into her again and she quizzed me on her name. I laughed and said "Of course I remember you! You're Tammy from Toronto!" She flashed that bright smile of hers and then rejoined her group. But the thing she did that made me never forget her after all these years was during one of the big meetings, she went up on stage and sang Lord Keep My Heart. Her voice was so powerful and the words of the song moved me. Her performance was not about her, but bringing those in the audience who had no belief in Christ to find that faith that she had in Christ.

After that conference, I rarely ever saw her again, but throughout the years whenever this song has entered my heart, I could hear her voice and my mind would replay that memory over and over and over. I've thought about her on and off throughout the years wondering where she was, how she was doing, and where the winds of adventure had carried her. Tonight I'm heartbroken. I wish I could've known her better. But I'm thankful that she gave me that memory. That her faith in the Lord created a small impact on my own life and is one of the many reasons I am where I am today.

I wish everyone I know would read this. Because I want them to know that I care. That sometimes it may seem like I'm trying to be too much a part of your life. That sometimes I do unexpected things or make an extra effort to be with you. That sometimes I may drive 1200 miles in two days to see you for one. This is because you matter to me. That's where my heart is. If I haven't talked to you in years, I haven't forgotten about you. Make the moments you have with those close to you or those like Tammy who made an impact upon you count. As for me I pray that through yet another time such as this and for all the other trials life will bring me, that He will keep my heart, faithful and true.

This is goodbye for now, but only until I see you again.

An excerpt from her blog posted July 2004 after the conference I mentioned above:
"Today marked the end of Mountain Top…but to me, it also marked the
beginning of a newer, fresher, more enjoyable summer with Christ and
the rest of the saints.  
I totally enjoyed my time there.  the baseball game was fun, the
activities ran smoothly, the singing was exceptional and the people RoCkEd.  
I’m really thankful to the Lord that out of all of the billions of
people that have ever passed through this planet, I was
chosen…just chosen…
I can’t wait for the next conference!!!! 
I’m really interested in knowing what did you guys enjoy the most from Mountain Top???"

The Pictures That Matter

Every once in awhile I'll go through a ton of pictures and take a magical trip down memory lane. I've taken many myself in my day, but there are some that every time I come across them, amazing feelings and memories flood my being and I would dub them as favorites. Each picture tells a story and can draw the viewer into a whole new perspective. Yet they don't necessarily tell all the details. So I decided I'm going to share again (if you have FB you've probably seen them) these pictures and give you more than what they can show you. There will not be an order to it, just each picture and why it means so much to me.

This photo was taken on New Years Eve 2008 at Ashland Woods during the Empower conference (credit: Grace Wang). The Ashland property was still in its infancy stages and the group in this photo is not even a quarter of the attendees. But what I love about it so much is a multitude of things. First, this was new years eve and what better way to spend it than a bonfire in the woods, with the quiet snow falling, and a group of awesome people. This was also my last New Years as a high schooler so it signaled the start of my soon-to-be college career. To be out in the middle of nowhere, around a fire, laughing, joking, and ringing in the new year with all these awesome people around me was a momentous moment in my life. This photo was taken eight years ago so I don't see a lot of these people often anymore because they're married with kids, spread out across the country pursuing careers, and riding life's wave. If nothing else, the expressions from those in this photo say it all.

Go on get all those laughs out now. I'll give you a sec...better? Okay now that you've gotten off the floor from laughing so hard, gain some composure so I can properly convey what this photo is about. For those of you who don't know, the other two in this picture are Jeremiah Johnson and Mark Greenwood. We've been an inseparable trio since I first moved to Ohio back in 2003. This photo was taken at the 2008 Mountain Top at Clay's Resort in Ohio. I was on the planning team for this conference and one of the activities we planned was called Viking Siege. I mentioned it to Mark and Jer, and Mark happened to have these fur-like blankets. We bought plastic swords and when the time came to play the game, we came out of our tent and walked down the hill to a crowd of hundreds that either thought we were nuts or it was the coolest thing ever. This photo shows a lot about our friendship, reminds me of a MT I won't ever forget, and is just straight up cool.

Yes I know it's dark. Yes I know those lights are a bit annoying. And yes I know it's a bit grainy. But this picture is one of my favorites so much so that I made a magnet out of it. The guy right behind me is Sam Chen. He got married in NYC the weekend this pic was taken. The dude on the left is Sam Lee. I don't see him often as he left for NYC after graduation. The guy next to Sam Chen is Tim Chai. He is responsible for why many of my peers call me J-Watt. He's also a pretty fly dude. The final person in this photo in the upper right corner is Carol. I had met her years ago, but never really knew her. I re-met her in NYC and it was a blast to get to know her again. NYC was a major dream of mine. So when SC invited me to his wedding, I was going to make a week out of it. It was one of the best weeks of my life. If you want to know what happened, go back and read my posts on it, but this photo sums that all up.

Nearly every summer since I've been in Ohio, Mark, Jer, and I have made a summer trip to Mark's family's cabin in Vermillion, OH. I look forward to this time every year because we can get away from everything, have a beach nearly to ourselves, fires on the beach at sunset, jetskiing, fishing, grilling, and much more. This was the summer of 2010. We spent a week at the cabin that year. As you can see, Timothy, Aaron, and Nathan joined us which made the week all the better. After catching almost nothing all week, Aaron, Nathan, and I had just come back to shore from hauling in two catfish, 30 white perch, and even though they aren't edible, a lot of nice sized sheepshead. We filleted and grilled the catfish and the perch, ate it, and as the sun was setting on our last night, I asked for a group picture. I have so many stories from that week, and this picture will be a reminder of those memories for years to come.

If you don't know by now, I have a huge passion for travel and adventure. This photo says so much about that. It was taken in 2015 during our family vacation to PA. I hadn't been to the battlefield of Gettysburg since I was little so that year I made a big effort to go. The weather was beautiful and I was in total awe in a way my under 10 year old self could never appreciate. The location here is Little Round Top where one of the most crucial battles of the civil war was fought. For me to stand where soldiers stood, hundreds of years ago, and to be on the edge of a high point, overlooking a spectacular view, was incredible. In a nutshell, this photo says to travel where my heart leads, follow that passion, and don't be afraid to stand on the edge (Photo credit: Sarah Watkins)

I was 17 when this photo was taken. Like the viking photo near the beginning of this post, this photo was also taken at the 2008 Mountain Top conference. I've used this one countless times for backgrounds because it means that much to me. This was the last night of the conference. For the first time in MT history, we had an entire group bonfire. Another fun fact: I'm a pyro, but not a maniac haha. I love fires so this made me very happy when I saw it in the schedule. Well this group you see here was a minuscule amount compared to how many people were actually there. But this group is a group I treasure greatly. We were singing songs, talking, laughing, and just enjoying each other's company. It was so enjoyable, that Sarah Mann (Brickner) wanted to capture the moment. And for anyone who has ever tried to take a group picture, you know how complicated that can be. But in this case, it was the easiest and fastest group pic I've ever been a part of. And what also makes this photo awesome is that the people in this photo came together from different parts of the US. Represented here are Raleigh, NC, Kalamazoo, MI, Mansfield, OH, and Cleveland, OH. We may live in different places, but that didn't stop us from being close companions and coming together, especially in the name of Christ. Note: The difference in Mark's, Jer's and my attire is pretty funny. Jer has cargo shorts, Mark has jeans, and I'm in swim trunks. I find this part of the pic amusing (Photo credit: Sarah Mann).

Different summer, same beach in Vermillion. I told you i love it here. This place has many awesome sunsets and I have captured quite a few. This time I wanted an epic shot with me in it. I wanted to capture two of my favorite things (sunsets and summer) with my reaction of how I felt. This for me also was the beginning of summer and I wanted a shot to commemorate that freedom. I believe this was the same trip where we blew off two mixed packages of fireworks to end the trip. I'm stealing this line from a commercial, but I don't care. In short, take great joy in your favorite things in life and when you need to, find your beach.

From September 2011-August 2012, I took a year off school to serve the Lord full time in a training. That year was totally worth it. I was not alone in this endeavor, as I was accompanied by close to 30 others. Our Cleveland squad had around 18. In October, Grace Wang wanted to have a fun, relaxing, memorable event and so she and her compadres organized the 2011 Fall Fun Day. One of the big events was the photo scavenger hunt. This picture was taken for it. For this shot, we had to act like models. Contained here is a whole lot of hilarity and awesomeness. Tim rocks this hip pop while sporting his cast. Sarah and Paul have the serious pose (and no they weren't anywhere close to being romantically together at this point, but yet they ended up next to each other). Kayla has the lean pose going while Dedra is coming at you with the half covered face shot. And as for me, I threw my hood up, made a pose with my hand, and it turned out really well. This photo brings back the memories of that day and reminds me of how grateful I was to have all those awesome people serve the Lord with me for that year (Photo credit: Sarah Mann).

There are many, many, many stories that go with this photo and yes I wrote an entire post containing them all. This was also taken during my year of serving the Lord. Over our winter break in January 2012, a small group of us traveled down to North Carolina to hang out with Cody and his crazy awesome family for an entire week. But why I really like this photo is for these reasons. First, it's January and I'm in a kool-aid shirt and goofy plaid shorts. Second, myself, Kai, Sam, and Cody are standing on Cody's parent's roof because we are about to launch a punching bag with a home-made parachute attached to it over the edge. Third, Cody's mom went from shouting about how we were going to kill ourselves, to taking pictures, back to wondering if she should call a paramedic, more pictures, etc. Fourth, It reminds me of that week and how my first experience of North Carolina was better than I ever could have imagined. P.S. No one got hurt haha (Photo credit: Sam Huoh).

New Year's Eve 2012. This was by far one of my most memorable New Year's. JT had invited us all over to his parent's house for dinner, games, and fun to ring in the New Year. Why I love this pic so much is because for me, it represents one of the few New Year's I got to spend with most of the Cleveland bros and even though we weren't together as much as we used to be, we made an effort to be together and enjoy a fantastic holiday. I especially love JT's expression. The guys are more than just friends...they're family. And before I forget, this photo only counts for half of the people there that night. A handful of the Cleveland sisters as well as Diane Jen (who cooked the delicious food) and James and Allison Reinarz joined us in that unforgettable night (Photo credit: Hannah Bontje.

See what I mean about me and sunsets? This shot was unplanned, no script, and is absolutely magical. I'm in a canoe, as the sun is setting on the Wisconsin horizon, and the ripples in the lake track my path. Wisconsin has been my get-away-from-it-all-home and I love it. This was taken our first night there in August of 2016. As soon as I could, I hopped into that canoe and paddled toward the sun, listening to the call of the loon and taking in the beauty of God's creation before me. This photo encapsulates the many wonderful days I had spent here and was going to spend here. It also puts me in my element. Right where I like to be. Now if only y'all could see the stars come out that night. This is also one of the many reasons I love the summer (Photo credit: Tim Watkins).

Remember I mentioned I spent a year serving the Lord and all those people I did it with? Well this is them (most of them). This was our final collaboration and our internship goodbye. I wouldn't have traded that year with these people for anything. And in case you didn't know it, this was our "silly" photo. But I love it because put simply, this is us. Sure the year wasn't without it's flaws and hardships, but in the end of it all, we came out with so much more and we all were able to be filled with mirth that we made it. I used this photo as the cover of a photo book I made to commemorate the year and I had them all sign it. This is us (Photo credit: Erika Brown).

I'm going to end the post with this picture. This was Dan and Anastasia's wedding. I love weddings and one of the reasons is because it brings people together. Notice the name tag clothes pinned to Johnny's suit. That's his table marker. Sean is kissing up to the camera. JT pulls the classic "wasn't-looking-at-the-camera." And you can sense all the love here. There are other pictures I easily could add here, but these are in the group of my most favorite and I wanted to share them again and give the stories behind them. I hope you enjoyed this journey down my memory lane as much as I did. Keep making memories my friends.

Ocean City: Memories of a Child

I mentioned in a previous post that I would write about my adventures in Ocean City, MD. Back in the mid 90s, my family would take a summer vacation to this tourist getaway. As a child I loved it there. I know it has changed dramatically since I was last there 20 years ago, but that doesn't stop the itch of wanting to return.

The earliest memories I have of Ocean City was when I was five years old. My parents would rent an impressive beach house which was right near the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. We would spend most of our mornings and afternoons relaxing on the beach. The three of us kids (Sarah, Tim, and I because Nathaniel was six months old and Stephen, Lydia, and Hannah did not exist yet) would run across the dunes (parents in tow) and shout that we could hear the waves crashing onto the beach. Once we picked our spot, I would jump right in the water. No time for sandcastles and beach critters just yet. I would take the waves head on. As soon as I saw one coming close I would play chicken with it before eventually allowing it to overtake me at it's weakest moment. One time one got the better of me and knocked me off my feet and doused me pretty good. Once I had my fill of the water, I returned to the sand where Grandma helped me construct a cool sand castle that even included a moat. It was built far enough away that the sea couldn't take it, but close enough to fill the moat. Eventually the sand castle lost it's allure and I was back near the water trying to catch starfish (I succeeded once) and I even helped another little boy hunt hermit crabs. The interesting thing with the hermit crabs was the boy's father also dug them up, but would find delight in chucking them into the ocean. I followed his lead a time or two, not knowing the atrocity I was committing. 

Another day on the beach we spent flying kites. Well being by the ocean caused for some stronger winds and little 3-year old Sarah's fingers couldn't hold onto the kite. The wind snatched it and fled the scene further down the beach. My dad chased after it and I believe he did eventually recover it.

During the evening we would walk down the famous boardwalk. On one side was the beach and the ocean in all it's grandeur. The other side was small shops, restaurants, vendors, and arcades as far as the eye could see. I remember one night we passed some intricate sand sculptures of the cross, Christ on the cross, and man's interpretation of what Christ looked like. Even the five year old in me was in awe. We wandered further taking in the lights, smells, and sounds. We eventually stopped into a shop to get some new kites, but Dad either didn't like the store or the price so he bought us gumballs instead. Next we headed into a small burger joint for dinner. I don't remember much other than playing with my slammer (think POGS) and enjoying some awesome fries. As the sun was setting, we made one more stop to get a large bag of swedish fish (the multi-colored ones). What we did wasn't necessarily that much, but in the eyes of a five year old, it was everything.

One day it rained a lot. So we headed for a place that had a few indoor mini-golf courses, a bunch of arcade games, and food galore. A few things stand out in my mind from that day. One of the courses was a dinosaur theme. At one point, my mom, my sister and I went through a tunnel where a mechanical dinosaur popped out. My sister was terrified. It took a bit to prove it wouldn't hurt her but she still didn't like it. Another course had an undersea theme. The only hole I remember is one where you had to hit the ball up a hill and underneath a scuba diver into a large sinkhole that sent the ball down a tube and towards the actual hole. I got a hole-in-one on that one. As for my mom...well I was laughing because she kept hitting the diver and had her ball roll all the way back.

The last two memories I'm going to touch on are these. One night my parents gifted me with a kids film camera. I was delighted. I took pictures of anything and everything. Our beach house overlooked the dunes and you could see kites flying in the distance. I tried to take pictures of them, but when we eventually developed the film, you could barely see the kites so it looked like I took a lot of pictures of the dunes...which weren't very good.

I mentioned earlier that I had caught a starfish. I didn't even know they existed here until a man walking down the beach one day gave me a live one to play with. I had filled a bucket with sand and water and placed the little guy inside. He stayed in the beach house for a day or two before we let him go. I was determined to get my own, so one day while playing on the beach, my little five-year old eyes spotted something in the crashing waves. I knew it was a starfish, but no one believed me. I kept scooping my bucket into the waves and eventually shouted in joy because lo and behold, there was a small starfish in my bucket. My mom told me we weren't keeping another one, so after playing with him for a few minutes, I picked him up and tossed him into the sea, only to see a seagull swoop down and attack the water where the starfish had landed. I heard my mom mumble "Uh oh...did that bird eat that starfish?" Some terror washed over me, but I then let it go and thought nothing of it. Today however I'm convinced that bird ate my starfish.

I know Ocean City has changed in the past 20 years, but I still long to go back some day. I hope you enjoyed experiencing this place from the eyes and mind of a five-year old.