Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!



As I write this I’m on a plane bound for Portland. I’m on my way home. When I left on this crazy adventure two months ago, I was curious what I’d be feeling at this very moment. Would I have made it? Would I have entered the next chapter of my life and be doing what I love or would I have failed miserably and already be home? Praise God its not the later. While I am going home, it’s only for a short break to visit friends and family and then its back to continue working and serving in this new life God has brought before me.

Christmas is different this year. It’s going to be small. My brother and his wife are unable to make it back to Dufur and my mom is going to come visit. Christmas for us will be myself, my mom, my dad and his wife Linda. I’m excited for the time with my family. Because of the situations we all seem to find ourselves in, Christmas revolves around thankfulness and time together this year. I guess it’s a good reminder since that’s what it should be about anyways. I’m kinda glad for it. Because of my current job status, buying gifts for people is pretty much out of the question. Though I’ve managed to pull a couple things off…A gift card for mom, a T-shirt for my dad autographed by the winning team of this years Baja 1000 and an autographed picture for my step mom. Its not much but its all I can do this year and in some way I feel it will remind them of the crazy adventure I’m on, and in some ways, they are on with me. So on the note of thankfulness, here’s a few new things since I last wrote that I’m thankful for…

1.Continued support and God’s provision from wonderful friends who want to see me continue to serve here. Without your giving I would not be where I am and I’m so thankful for your partnership in this ministry.
2. My family at Life Church. I had coffee with Pastor John again recently and he continues to be excited about my eagerness and enthusiasm for this ministry. We are scheming ways to put on events that will allow me to share my faith and my passion for motorsports with young people. I even had the director of our AWANA’s program ask me when I’m going to put on a show for the kids…I can’t wait for that!
3. I continue to work with the youth at life church and am now helping out, on some level, with both Jr and Sr high. Its truly amazing! The kids are fun and I get the chance to make fun of myself twice a week. We had a Christmas party last week that was off the hook. I’ll try to get some video of a skit that I put together…
4. New relationships that continue to grow. I’ve been spending some time with a couple of younger married couples within our church and having a blast. I help Derek, when I can, on construction of his “man cave” (garage lounge area) and Alex and I continue to hang out and enjoy this place in life we find ourselves. Lesley and Lindsay, their gracious wives, have opened up their homes and fed me on multiple occasions and been more than kind to the stranger sleeping on their living room couch. It’s a funny place I find myself in life right now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

5. Continued connections. I mentioned that I had an opportunity to go riding in the desert with one of the founding fathers of freestyle motocross and it was quite honestly one of the coolest rides of my life. A group of about 15 of us took off like a wild fire across the desert and somehow fell into line as we snaked through the mud hills of Ocotillo Wells. I was the only quad in this group of dirtbike riders so I was a little nervous about being able to keep up. After a few miles and actually passing a couple guys, they all seemed to welcome me to the group with open arms, many expressing their amazement at my ability to keep up. It was a good day! ☺ We stopped multiple times for photos and I was able to lend my services to the group by shooting pictures of anything and everything. I’m hoping for more opportunities to work with Metz as there is a lot in store for his team in the coming year and I’d love to be apart of it in any way I can.

Lastly, I’m thankful for this opportunity to be going home. To visit with friends and family and share about the exciting adventure I’ve been on. To tell stories and catch up on life. It’s only been two months, but I feel like I’ve experienced more in that time than I had ever dreamed I would in a lifetime. God continues to pour out blessing and I’m overwhelmed daily by the opportunities I have before me!

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