Half-Way There...

Well, I have officially started my trek to Ocean City, New Jersey. A group of six of us in two cars departed from my house this morning at 10:30 on our journey that will take us to the end of summer. God has watched over our travels so far without any incidents or close calls. It has been a safe ride with random conversation and reflections on memories.

We reached Columbus, Ohio at about 7:30 Eastern Time and were treated to a great night by my brother, James, and his wife Shiney. I still do not realize how unbelievable all my siblings are. They are so generous, understanding, and always watching out for me. It is a true blessing from God to have them. At times I feel a bit helpless because there is so little I can actually give back to them, especially the older ones, but I pray that sometime in the future, I will be able to repay them in one way or another.

Speaking of repaying today was a bit hard to leave home. Although I will be flying back on Saturday this week for my sister's graduation, I know I really will not be around for the summer. It was hard to say goodbye to my parents and grandparents. However, over the last year or so, I have become more and more comfortable with who I am and what my culture is. I love that God has revealed to me how amazing my family has been in supporting me in all I do. Without God working through them, I would not be where I am today.

Just to finish my thought on thanking people, there are many cousins, family friends, and others who have encouraged me throughout this process. People from all over the country, whether it be Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, or Wisconsin, it has been great to see the love that people have for me and more importantly for God.

Tomorrow, we start the second half of our journey to Ocean City. From Columbus, it will be about another 9 hours to reach our final destination. We hope to leave at about eight in the morning. Please continue to pray for safe travels for the rest of our trip.

May all the glory go to God!

Its already the 26th?!

The title of this post is the thought I had when I just looked down at my watch. In only five days, I will embark on my journey for the summer.

Over the last week or so, I have realized that I am going to miss my family quite a bit. While at school, you get into the groove of things and just grow accustomed to your surroundings. But for the last 19 summers of my life, I have always been home for the whole thing. Especially this past week, I have got the chance to have some great conversations with every member of my family, and that includes my Appachen (Grandpa) and Ammachi (Grandma). I have realized the reason I enjoy sitting down and talking to people so much is because both my parents love to do that too! For example, last Friday night, I was supposed to meet up with some high school friends but instead had a three-hour conversation with my mom and brother. It was such a fun night!

After hearing my dad talking about it, one of the things I am looking forward to in Ocean City are the quiet times. By quiet times I mean just set apart time during the week to do whatever I need to with God. Whether that is to pray, read the Bible, or just write in a journal. One of the things that I often think about is that often times I may talk to God so much, but be in too much of a hurry to slow down and listen to what He is saying to me.

Alright, just writing on this blog gets me excited about what God has in store for me this summer. Until next time, take care.

Two Weeks to Go!

Well, as the title reveals, the summer project is only two weeks away. On May 31st I will begin my journey to Ocean City, New Jersey with five other friends from the University of Minnesota.

I am pleased to say that over the weekend I was able to reach my support-raising goal. Thank you to all of you who have agreed to support me and be a part of this summer. I truly would not be able to have this experience without all of your help.

While school was in session, I was trying not to look forward too much to Ocean City. I knew that would distract me from actually studying. Being back home now, I have had time to think about what this summer will be like. I looked through a packet of information about Ocean City and now I am getting really excited.

Once I get out to the east coast, I have to find a job either in Ocean City or the near area. People have had various jobs in the past years, anything from construction work, working at a golf course, or even McDonalds. I do not know what God has in store for me but I guess I do have some interests. Although I have no experience working in a coffee shop, I think it would be such a cool experience to do so. I wouldn't want to work at a Starbucks; however, a local little coffee sounds pretty exciting. Other than that, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Shop sounds pretty cool, even though the ice cream itself is so expensive. However, all in all, I am sure God will provide the job that is right for me.

My Appachen (Grandpa in English) just gave me C.S. Lewis' book "Mere Christianity" last week. I have read about a third of it and I love it. Lewis was an extremely intelligent chap who makes great logical arguments and has the best analogies.

Other than that, so many people have been e-mailing that are going on the same project from all over the country. It is so cool to know that in a few weeks I will be meeting people from all over the country that are on fire for God. Alright, that is it for now...

Getting Excited

It is officially the week before finals; however, I am getting extremely excited for this summer. Campus Crusade has set up a website where all the students going on this project can talk to each other. It has been great getting to read about students who are going out to Ocean City from all over the country.

I will be leaving Kenosha on May 31st with two other guys who are in my bible study. We lived in the same dorm during our freshman year. It has been such a blessing to grow in my faith together with such great men. Also, two women will also be following us from Kenosha.

For now, that is all I will write. I hope you are all well.

Welcome

Hey everyone, this is the blog I have created to share what is going on with me this summer. To give you some background, this summer I will be in Ocean City, New Jersey doing a summer project through Campus Crusade for Christ. The project starts on June 1st and goes to August 17.

A summer project is a summer dedicated to growing in my faith. Throughout the week there will be various things such as bible studies, accountability groups, discipliship, and large group meetings. In addition, there will be outreaches throughout the surrounding areas and other various activities. While doing all this, I will find a job somewhere in the area.

I am so excited to see what God is going to do with me and the people around me this summer. I hope to keep this blog decently updated throughout the summer so you all can see how the project is going.

Feel free to post whatever you may be feeling or any questions you want to ask.

Please continue to pray for me throughout the summer and the project itself.