U.M. Army was awesome, but not for the reasons I thought it would be. I thought I would make some amazing spiritual connections while there. That didn’t happen for me. But it did happen for a lot of other people. I feel as though personally I’ve been on a kind of plateau with God for a while now. I’m not really sure why. But just seeing that God is still moving in the lives of people and is still making breakthroughs is enough to keep me happy and to give me cause to rejoice. I feel like I’ve grown in vision; mission trips can make a strong impact even if they’re not evangelical in nature.
I have to say that there were times this week when I was bored. I signed up late so I got a crappy job (I was one of two guys in charge of tools). Because I’m not 21 I couldn’t drive according to U.M. Army rules, so I was stuck at base camp a lot of the time doing odd jobs. So a lot of the time I had to suck it up and just do the work no one else wanted to do.
I make it sound like I had an awful time. That’s not the case at all. I had a great time, mostly because I met a lot of cool people. This kid named Dennis came because Ken Barse had asked him to, not because he really wanted to. I can tell you that this kid’s life has been changed dramatically because he saw God at work throughout the week.
Continue reading ‘U.M. Army’
Today was spent preparing for UM Army. I got up early to load up tools into trucks and trailers at church. During the day I packed my bag and found all the little things that I needed for the week ahead. This will be my last post until next Saturday. It’s ironic. When I was in Italy I never went more than a couple of days (never a week) without updating my blog. Now I’m going to a different part of Connecticut and it’ll be a week before another post hits this page.
I am leaving you with a homework assignment. I am pondering the possibility of acquiring a domain (i.e. www._____.com). But to be honest with you, I have no idea what the address should be. So I’m asking for your opinion. Just leave it in a comment on this post and I’ll look at them when I get back. This is not just open to people who know me personally. I would appreciate it if you made an informed suggestion (which means take a look at the rest of my website, especially those who don’t know me). I look forward to reading your ideas when I get back. Have a great week!
First things first: I want to wish a happy birthday to Kristen. She’s 20 and therefore she’s old, just like me. 
So get this. There’s this dude over at LiveJournal who doesn’t appreciate the way I respond in a comment box. And that’s the not worst of it: it’s not even his Journal! He’s sticking up for his friend’s journal! He says I’m too aggressive and over-bearing. I tell you, some internet folk are funny.
I spent the better part of today shopping for the last things my sister and I would need for UM Army. It’s going to be awesome. I’m starting to get excited about it. It’s about time! Tomorrow morning I have to help load the tools into the trucks. The program doesn’t begin until Sunday, but they want this bit taken care of first.
Before I even get to how today went, I would just like to let you know that I can’t currently hear out of my right ear. This has happened once before. I just have to go to the doctor. He’ll put some red goo in it and it’ll be fine. It’s just sinus crap, but I hate it. And to prove my point: 
So today was the bike and swim. It was just me, Pastor Tom, Jon and Kyle for the biking part. I thought I was going to die, no lie. I haven’t biked in probably six years. My legs were killing me. And in Florida no one needs a mountain bike (flat as a pancake) so this whole concept of changing gears was a new thing for me. But it was still fun. We took the ferry over to Rocky Hill then biked through Glastonbury, Old Wethersfield and back to the church in Wethersfield. We then went to over to a church member’s home to swim in her pool. Al Dowd and his two younger boys (not J.R. though) also came for the swim.
Continue reading ‘A Good Day For A Bike & Swim’
So I was wrong. We did grill yesterday. Steak is good. 
Today I got up at 6:30 AM to go to a UM Army training meeting. It was time well spent, since I had no idea what I was going to be doing there. Although, to be honest, I still don’t really know what I’m doing. Now I know who I’m doing it with though, and some of the details that I would not have known otherwise. There’s another training deal this Thursday so I’m confident that I’ll eventually get all the information that I need.
Last night I looked at my cell phone and saw that I had a voice message. Turns out I had received it on Saturday but because I live in the middle of nowhere it took a day for my phone to realize it. It was a message from Lauren Johnson, who is currently in Colorado as an Eagle Lake counselor. She thanked me for sending her a postcard from Italy. It was great to hear from her; I wish I could have talked to her. There needs to be a cell phone tower in Marlborough.
Today I have to make wise decisions about what it is that I want to do. I finished the first part of Daws yesterday (yes, only the first part; I’m a slow reader) and I’d like to continue. But I also want to finish the Bible study that Dave gave me. I need to finalize the plans for tomorrow’s youth trip to Six Flags, and I should probably also look into what I’m going to be talking about for the bike and swim trip this Thursday. And there’s the possibility that Kristin Bialy and I (and possibly others, who knows) will be seeing Spider-Man 2 sometime tonight. So all of that means that I’ve got a busy day ahead of me.
