Adam Jeffrey Cook

2010-08-20T20:49:00.004-07:00

Wow. Time back in The States certainly moves quickly. Since I've been back I have

gone to Chicago and Michigan,

started work,

and spent 3 days in Big Bear.

The time in Chicago was amazing. Although I went for my grandfather's funeral the time with my family was some of the most relaxing, energizing, and encouraging time I've spent in a long time. Never underestimate the value of family.

The new job has been great so far. The OSL at CBU is so great at making people feel welcome and I have been no exception. My office is far from immune to the community that is the CBU campus. I love my job, I love my boss, and I love my co-workers. I'm really excited to see how the Lord moves through my time in the office (not The Office, although I'm excited for that too) this year.

Segway Tour of Chicago. Highly recommended. Maybe more pictures soon.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers.

2010-08-07T00:45:00.000-07:00

2010-08-01T00:18:00.003-07:00

Well,

She's out. Still empty but points to the beginning of the end. :(

Day 60

2010-07-23T01:13:00.001-07:00

Wow.

The time certainly can get away from me out here! Let me catch you back up.

Last Friday we returned from our missions trip to Kobe, Japan. We spent 5 days in Kobe and had an amazing time. We worked with an IMB missionary and a local pastor to do ministry in the city, English lessons, Prayer Walking, and doing a VBS with some local Filipino and Japanese children. It was really a neat time being able to help with the vision that the local workers had and take part in the work that they already have been doing. If you want to hear the testimony that I gave to the church here about our trip as well as others you can find it here.

We got to ride this to Kobe!

Since we've been back things have really started to pick up. I've begun a Prayer for the Nations night on Saturdays. My prayer is that we will be burdened with the desire to lift up other nations, especially those where the persecuted church is found and the 10/40 window. I am hoping that this will catch on before I leave and carry on well after I'm gone. Please join me in asking God to raise up people in this congregation to pray for the lost.

Also, starting Tuesday we will be doing a week long VBS. I am in charge of the games so I have been busy preparing for those as well. We would really appreciate your prayers as we try to communicate God's love and the Gospel clearly and effectively to children who are mostly only Japanese speakers.

One last thing. Yes, all week in Kobe I had been searching for it and on the last day my dreams were finally realized. My elusive lunch. The Mecca of Meat. The Holy Grail of Japanese Gastronomy! Kobe Beef!

It was everything I dreamed it would be and more.

Just about 10 days left here and it sure is going to go by quickly!

Cheers!

Day 54

2010-07-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

You know they say, "It's the little things in life." Well Wipeout, here's to you for giving me so many of those "little things".

They also say, "Ignorance is bliss" and that may be true...

...until reality punches you in the nose.

Cheers.

Day 50

2010-07-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'm in Kobe with the some members from the church so I'll be taking a break from blogging until the weekend when I'll tell you how everything went! Thanks for praying!

Day 46

2010-07-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Two things I learned today:

1. No matter how happy or catchy the tune is in your head, it is inappropriate to allow it to escape your head via whistle. Even by accident. Anywhere.
2. You know how a lot of times Original Gatorade is just too concentrated and leaves that sticky gunk in your mouth? And the next attempt Propel, just didn't quite cut it. And of course the latest Gatorade isn't horrible but it just kinda leaves you wanting? Well, the manufacturers of Japanese Gatorade have found the perfect formula. It strikes the perfect balance of quenching satisfaction without being too syrupy. It's great! Alas until I make it to the pros and can afford to have my Gatorade imported I'll just mix in a little water.

On another note. I'm am hosting a prayer night for the nations. I would appreciate your prayers as I am hoping that people will come and that God will use it to raise awareness about the state of the church in restricted nations.

Lastly, I got to talk to some of the fellas today. It was awesome.

Cheers.

Day 42

2010-07-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

I got mail!!!

I would be willing to argue with anyone who disagrees that there are few better feelings in this world than getting mail/packages while you're overseas.

I am fortunate enough to have gotten BOTH today!

I got a letter from my Dad and a package of goodies from Mical

Like I said, few things can be more encouraging than these!!!

Cheers.

Day 40

2010-07-05T03:21:00.000-07:00

Family Reunion!! You take what you can get in this life.

Man. Things certainly got away from me in the blogging world. There has been a lot going on since my last update so I will try to give you the highlights. First of all I have to mention that I was able to go to the naval base in Yukosuka for dinner with the Pastor and one of the members of the church who works on base. He took us to the Admirals Club for an ALL YOU CAN EAT crab (sorry Mom wish you coulda been there!) and prime rib buffet. Yes it was even tastier than depicted.

It was a huge encouragement to me to spend the evening with them, spend time in "America", and hear their testimonies. I was so thankful.

Also, my sunday school class started to take off in attendance. I was usually only having 1ne or 2wo people a week but the last three weeks I had 9ine, 8ight, 5ive and next week I'm expecting even more! So thank you for your prayers, please continue to pray that God would use me in that class to be a messenger of what He wants to communicate.

We have had a number of baptisms here at the church which is a huge deal. It is common for Japanese even after becoming believers, to keep it a secret either from their family and friends or the community in general, which is opening a huge door for their faith to be choked out very quickly. We are so thankful and praise God that He is moving people towards a public declaration of faith and a commitment to the church. Please join us in prayer that this trend would not only continue in our church but spill over into our community as well!

Coming up next week on the 12th myself and 8 other members of the church will be heading to Kobe (yes, where Kobe Beef comes from) (if you skipped over that link you should really check it out. It's pretty interesting) for a 5ive day missions trip. We will be partnering with a local church there with a Filipino pastor helping with the youth, prayer walking the community, friendship evangelism, a 4 day VBS, and a LoveDare training. We are so looking forward to this opportunity and to see how the Lord moves through our time there. We are also looking forward to being able to share with the rest of the congregation what God has done and how He is moving in the rest of Japan in hopes of spurring on more people to take part in community involvement for Christ. Please join us! I would especially appreciate your prayers as I will most likely be teaching the youth during this time.

Lastly, my family and I would so covet your prayers in this time. Just a couple of days ago my grandfather passed away. While his health was declining, he was called home much quicker than we had anticipated. He was able to be in Chicago with my parents for a few weeks and I was even able to video chat with him a few times. My Grandma and Grandpa Cook both had also passed away this Easter and I can not imagine two better sets of grandparents that anyone could have. They loved my brother and I so much and made sure that we knew it every moment. They were examples love and commitment to us both, coming alongside my parents at every opportunity to help out and be a part of our lives. Even in living far away we were able to spend extreme quality time with all of them while we were growing up and even until now. My brother and I have talked on many occasions about how thankful we are to have had them in our lives and the large roles that they each played collectively and individually, in shaping who we are today. I cannot wait to give them big hugs again and am proud to be a part of their legacy.

Grandpa T

G-Ma and G-Pa Cook

Day 31

2010-06-27T00:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, look at that! I have been here for one month. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, not because of a lack of happenings but a lack in my diligence of signing on here, so my apologies. I'll give more of an update later but today I just want to leave a few words from a song we sang this morning that the Holy Spirit always uses to speak to me.

How deep the Love,
How great the pain.

Behold the Man,
It was my sin.

I will not boast in gifts, or power, or wisdom,
But I will boast in death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Day 21

2010-06-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon,

Not too much has happened over here since the last time I blogged considering it was yesterday afternoon BUT there are a few things I would like to share with you.

The first being of course that Mical got home! Woohoo! I got to Skype with her last night and it was GREAT to "see" her.

The second is a new top 5.

Things I love about Japan in no particular order.

1. Public Transportation
2. Japanese Vending Machines (this is no joke, they're EVERYWHERE)

3. Eating every meal with chopsticks
4. Excellency=Efficiency. I literally rode the bus to the other side of town, got dinner (fresh stir fry cooked in front of me) ate it, and was back in my apartment in 45 minutes.
5. Umami

Thank you Japan.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers.

Day 20

2010-06-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon here and I just arrived back at the church from visiting Yokohama Jogakuin School with the CBU Music Team. We will be heading back there this afternoon to spend more time with the students hanging out and inviting them to a concert at our church on Friday night.

The team arrived here on Saturday afternoon and it has been really fun to hang out with them and see some familiar faces. I even have two members of the team, Russel and Andrew, staying with me in the apartment so it is great to have some company. They sang at church on Sunday and the other ISP Japan team came down from Tokyo for the worship service. It was great to have TWO teams here and we all went out to sushi together after church before they headed home.

Monday morning we headed out to the first school of the week to do some singing and Pastor Terry shared a message then we got to hang out with some of them in the afternoon as well. Tuesday was the teams off day so we all headed over to the famous Japanese Sankeien Gardens to walk around and relax a little bit. It was absolutely beautiful but my camera died so I have no photos sorry (I know amateur)! In the evening we got to go see the Yokohama Bay Stars play some good old Japanese baseball at Yokohama Stadium. It ended up raining through the whole game but it was still so much fun to experience an all-American past time in a whole new context!

I am really excited for the rest of this week as we will be visiting one more school on Friday and then having a concert here on Friday night. We have been inviting students all week to come and are really looking forward to meeting with them again and continuing to help YIBC build relationships into the community. I would appreciate your prayers this week as I am sharing the Gospel message at the concert and continue to prepare.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

Day 15

2010-06-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

Friday evening here and I have just returned from the Friday Night small group the church has at a couple's home near downtown Yokohama. My first night attending that study was last week where I learned they're going through a devotional book on Proverbs. Last meeting they needed someone to to lead this weeks study and I was "volunteered" by someone in the group to lead tonights study on wise speech. It was a lot of fun getting to be a part of this group and I'm looking forward to the next month or so I get to be involved.

That's not all the Bible Study teaching I've been doing this week. On Wednesdays we hold one here at the church for a group of people to meet, have a study, and then pray for the church and community. Pastor Lowe asked me to share about 30 minutes on how I came to be in Yokohama, why I wanted to come, and the spiritual road that the Lord took me on to bring me to those desires. I was so blessed to be able to share about my first experiences overseas and how much I was able to learn not only through those experiences, but also through other small groups and classes I took like Jeff Lewis' Intro to Global Studies. I never realized until I was putting together my talk just how instrumental that class and his study "God's Heart for the Nations" was to my understanding and convictions about our responsibility as believers. Going through that book was the first time I had ever heard about much of what he was saying and it absolutely revolutionized my Faith and what I believed God wanted from creation. It was so encouraging and reenergizing to go through those lessons again and remember where my conviction about my commitment to missions comes from and why it's there. It was really a joy to be able to talk about that with the group and share the real reason why I came and what I hope to get from this experience.

Thursday was my off day and I took care of things around the apartment, cleaning up and preparing for the CBU music team to arrive tomorrow as I will be having two guys stay with me. For dinner I headed down to Isezaki-cho Mall (really more of an outdoor block or two with shops and stores and restaurants) and picked up a few things as well as grabbed dinner at my new favorite restaurant. It's much like Pepper Lunch which I talked about in my last post but MUCH better in the fact that they bring out your food completely raw and put it on an induction burner in front of you and you cook it all right there. They also bring you rice (all you can eat), miso soup, and a salad (there are pictures at the bottom). It is absolutely divine. The best part about the meal? I walked into the restaurant and recognized the song; "I'll be Home for Christmas" by Bing Crosby. I knew it was going to be a great evening and it only got better from there. They continued playing American classics by Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the like. It was truly an evening to be envied. Also, I figured that being in Japan I needed to have a pair of my own chopsticks so I picked some up. I'm super excited to use them!

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers.

Oh yea, that's real right there.

I ate all the rice I could eat.

Don't worry, they're not even close. But if they were it wouldn't matter 'cuz I have my own chopsticks! WOO!

Day 12

2010-06-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

With it being Tuesday, today was my day to work in Tokyo. It was my first solo trip from the time I left my apt. in the morning til I returned this evening and I managed to make it without any hitches. I'm not going to lie to you, it feels pretty good. Two trains, a station change, and a winding maze of road to my apartment in the dark from the station I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.

All that aside it was an awesome day. We passed out hope tracks in the morning as we canvassed a new area of Shibuya and then grabbed some lunch. Afterwards we headed over to a usually very busy park to engage people in purposed conversations or make connections that we could continue with in relationships. On our walk over however, it began to sprinkle a little bit so by the time we arrived the park, though the rain had stopped it was nearly empty. It did give us good opportunity to prayer walk around the grounds as well as practice our balloon animals for a VBS we'll be doing in the park later this month. I must say, I think I may have found a new hobby. I was able to (successfully) create a parrot in a swing, a giraffe, a swan, a dog (basically a giraffe with a short neck), and a tulip! Unfortunately there are no pictures to document this :(.

Later on as the park began to get a little busier we split up and tried to meet people hanging around the park. Nate (one of the IMB interns in Tokyo) and I started playing frisbee and invited a young couple we saw to play with us. We ended up playing for almost an hour and were able to talk with them about why we were in Japan and invite them to hang out again and come to our friendship parties on Fridays. They were very interested and I'm looking forward to hear what comes of that relationship in the future. I will keep you posted as well :).

After the park I was able to meet up with the CBU Japan SOS team again for dinner and we went to a place called "Pepper Lunch" and it was DELISH. They bring your food somewhat raw out on a hot plate and you get to cook it with the spices and sauces on the table right before you eat it. The five of us had a great time catching up and talking about what the last week held for us. It was a real encouragement to me to be able to share a meal with them and have some fellowship with familiar faces, I am already looking forward to hanging out with them again.

After dinner I headed back home and am about to head to bed. Still a long week ahead of me but I'm looking forward to what the Lord will reveal to me!

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

Day 10

2010-06-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

So sorry it's been a while since my last update, things definitely started to get a little busier as the second half of my week got underway. Last I left you was Wednesday and I was able to attend an International Bible Study that we have here at the church in the mornings which was great to be a part of and then in the evening we had a prayer meeting with members of the church. It was definitely encouraging to be able to spend an extended amount of time in prayer with the some of the members of the congregation not only for the church but also the community and Japan.

Thursday was my first day off and it was a very fun day. I was able to sleep in a little bit and catch up on some rest in the morning then I hopped on a bus and went downtown to walk around a bit and see what there was to see. I grabbed some lunch (Japanese curry) and was just able to relax and people watch for a while. After lunch I walked around a bit and took some pictures until dinner then grabbed some starbucks and headed back home for the evening.

Fridays are my days to spend with the Associate Pastor here Jeff. He and I took care of some business around the church in the morning, just filing and a few other administrative things and then headed out to get some ramen for lunch. He took me to a ramen place that he said was Curtis' favorite last year and I must say it will probably be a place I frequent too. I'm actually thinking about heading there for dinner tonight :). After lunch he took me around and showed me a few different areas of the city and then he and his wife Christy took me out to dinner. We ate at an American 50's diner restaurant and then I headed to an evening small group Bible study held at a member of our churches home. It was great to see about 12 people there and the hosts and myself were the only Americans.

Saturday was my other day off for the week and it was mostly uneventful. I took care of things around the apartment, read a little bit, did some laundry and other things. Thankfully figuring out a Japanese washing machine is a lot less complicated than figuring out a Japanese microwave.

That brings us to today (Sunday). Today was a pretty typical Sunday, class, church, and then another missions meeting preparing our trip to Kobe later in July. Now I'm sitting in my apartment getting things prepared for the start of another week.

Please be praying for me as I am teaching the Wednesday night study, the Friday night study and continue to prepare for my class on Sunday mornings. Also please be praying that my time in Shibuya with the other teams would be fruitful and encouraging to me.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

Day 6

2010-06-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

Hello followers!
Yesterday (Tuesday) was a full day to be sure! As you may recall I could not sleep for the life of me on Monday night and I had to get up early to go to Tokyo as I will be doing every Tuesday, to partner with the IMB missionaries there in reaching the people of Tokyo and the specific area of Shibuya.

Shi•bu•ya |shî boō'yə|

1. Exclamation.
The forgotten latter half of a Jewish salutation : Shalom Shibuya.

2. Exclamation.
Expression used to demonstrate ones approval in the performance of a specific task or function : Cook from WAY down town.... SHIBUYA!

3. Exclamation.
A common Greek phrase expressing great excitement, satisfaction, or jubilee often cheered at celebrations such as weddings.. See also, "Opa" : There's lamb at the reception!? Shibuya!

You have probably seen where I was on the Travel Channel or somewhere else before. It is commonly compared to NY Times Square and is known as the busiest intersection in the world. Seriously, Google it. It was a lot of fun working in Tokyo, we prayer walked, passed out Hope tracks, as well as gave free 5 minute English lessons. We were able to meet a good amount of people and invite them to their Friday night hang out times at a Coffee Caf é one of their Japanese contacts owns. After the full day I was able to meet up with the SOS Japan team for dinner and to catch up on all that has happened since graduation and coming to Japan. It was really great to see some familiar faces so far away from home and I really look forward to getting to hang out with and serve with them every Tuesday. I started to head back home around 7:30 and walking to the train station I had one of those surreal moments, if you've ever been overseas or even just experienced something that you've been looking forward to and planning for a long time you'll know what I'm talking about. After the CBU team left I was walking towards the station and I started to cross that famous intersection. I got about halfway across, stopped, and just looked around for a moment. I had to smile to myself as I thought, "Am I seriously here right now?" Then reality hit me and I realized how much of a goober I probably looked like standing in the middle of the street, 6 inches taller than everyone around me, white as a fresh fallen snow, and smiling like an idiot to nobody. It was totally worth it. I'm so excited to see what God has planned not only for my time here in Japan but also for my future as my conviction to reach the lost of the nations grows stronger and continues to root itself deeper into my heart.

I didn't get a chance to take any pictures really but there will be more coming shortly as tomorrow is my day off and I hope to do some photography then.

More to come when there is more to tell!

Cheers

Day 4/5

2010-05-31T09:55:00.000-07:00

Being super tired from jet lag all day and then not being able to sleep for the same reason: One sleeping pill.

Having an insatiable midnight snack craving because of said jet lag and failure of said sleeping pill: One bean and cheese burrito.

Trying to figure out a Japanese microwave at 2 a.m.: Priceless.

Cheers

Day 4

2010-05-31T03:23:00.000-07:00

Well today was my first official day of a typical work week here at YIBC and it was a good one. The day started with an ESL class at 10 here in one of the church classrooms. It was great to meet a lot of new people and see some again that I have already met. The class is taught by an American woman who has been here at the church for over 30 years! I will be helping her out with the teaching and other things in the coming weeks as the class begins to wind down for the summer. It was so cool to see what a tool English can be to share the Gospel. There were about 20 in the class today, it fluctuates each week, and I would say one third of them were non-believers and some had travelled from over an hour away to learn English, Bible stories, or more about Christianity. It was neat to see believers and non-believers alike talk about Daniel in the Lions' den and ask questions about angels and other things. I also got to share a little bit of my story and that I had just returned from Uganda. A Japanese woman took out her date book which had a map of all the continents in the back and asked me to point out to everyone where Uganda was because many of them did not know. After sharing a little about myself they asked me some questions but two of them sparked conversation that I never would have imagined. The first question was "What is the church like in Africa?" I was able to tell them about how animated and energetic it was, how much fun (and tiring) the worship services were and how overt the spiritual warfare was. The second question was "Why exactly were you in Uganda?" As an answer to that question I was able to talk about Favor of God Ministries and what they do, as well as World Vision and the LRA. Many of them hadn't ever heard about the LRA so I explained about what they had done and the atrocities that were committed against the African people and their children as a result of the evil by which Joseph Kony and his followers were allowing themselves to be ruled. As I talked just briefly and summarized about child soldiers, night commuters, and the education generation gap some of the members of the class, men and women began to tear up. Japanese don't often show emotion and one woman apologized explaining that as Japanese they often times don't get exposure to international news like that and were oblivious to the nature of the evil that was happening in other countries. I was struck by how deeply they were moved by just my short summary of what was happening. It made me think about how important awareness is. In Hebrews 10 the author writes, "Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, which is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as we see the Day drawing near." It was an encouraging experience to see the members of the class stirred up so passionately by what is happening. One woman said she was going to look into World Vision because she was so impressed by what they were doing and another said she would begin to pray for the children and nation of Uganda. What a great start to the day!

After ESL Pastore Lowe, Pastor Jeff, and I had the weekly staff meeting and went over the rest of the week and some logistic things and then I grabbed a bus and headed downtown to scope out the area by myself and try to get my bearings a little bit. It was a beautiful area, lots of skyscrapers, a ferris wheel, some rollercoasters, and at least 3 malls within a stones throw of each other, I am DEFINITELY not in Africa anymore! For dinner I was debating between and few places and chose one that proved to be an AMAZING choice. They had a drink there that I am already craving again, Iced Earl Grey Tea. Maybe you've had it before but I have never seen it in the States. Iced Tea is my all-time favorite drink, that coupled with Earl Grey, my favorite hot tea, and I must say I found my beverage bliss. That plus the fact that it was perfectly paired with a Big Mac and Fries made for a pretty great meal. I know, I know, I'm in Japan and I had McD's shame on me but I was having an epic battle with jet lag today and I needed a little time in my comfort zone to keep me in the right state of mind. I have no regrets.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

Top 5 Reasons I Know I'm Not In Africa:

5. Everyone is Asian
4. I have not seen a woman breast-feeding her child while carrying on a normal conversation shamelessly
3. There are trash cans
2. I don't have to squatty when I use the potty
1. Instead of not being able to escape a conversation or greeting by an eternally long handshake, I now am unable to escape because of an eternally long exchange of bows

Day 2

2010-05-29T03:33:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'll be posting everyday but today was a pretty chill day so I think I got it in me :). This morning Sonja (Pastor Lowe's wife) made us a delicious breakfast of bacon (YUM) eggs and biscuits which was the perfect way to start out my day. Today was spent getting acquainted with the church properties, the street we live on, the bus routes, and some of the city. We walked around the different properties and then drove into downtown Yokohama and they showed me a little bit of the area and where the essentials are, the cleaners, the bakery, post, Starbucks, you know. The essentials :). After that we grabbed some sushi to go on the way home and came back for lunch and a nap. After the nap Sonja made enchiladas for dinner, she is taking SUCH good care of me and my belly! Now I'm just winding down getting ready for bed. Tomorrow we'll have church and the first day of the class I'll be teaching. Please pray that God would use me to speak His words and continue to lead me in my experiences here.

More to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

Day 1

2010-05-28T05:06:00.001-07:00

I have arrived. Bags and all have touched down safely and I am sitting on my couch in Yokohama, Japan safe and sound. After taking 91 hours and 3 countries to arrive in LA from Gulu, Uganda just to turn around the next day to head back to LAX and hop on a plane to Tokyo, it will be a welcome relief to spend more than 24 hours in a single place. Recently the unfamiliar has been my familiar and I realized how much it was getting to me when I didn't even notice we had been driving on the "wrong" side of the road until we pulled into the parking area for my apartment. I am so thankful for the hospitality the Lowes have shown me to prepare this place and open up their church and community by allowing me to come and serve along side of them for the rest of the summer. I am really looking forward to everything that I'm going to experience and have already had a great time chatting with the Lowes and getting to know them a little better. That's all I really have to say for now, no photos, haven't really done much except arrive so more to come when there's more to tell!

Cheers

p.s. I had grilled eel on the airplane for lunch and have hit my head twice already. Welcome to Japan.

2010-04-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

There are 3 weeks left in my undergraduate career. I know everyone says, "Oh man, its so crazy moving into a new stage of life..." and it most definitely is but I'm really excited to see what this next stage of life is going to bring me. I get to travel to Uganda with our ISP program right after graduation, then after that I have an internship with a church in Japan. I'm so excited to see how much I'm going to grow and all the things I'll learn. It's for sure going to be a long summer being away from Mical and everyone at home but I think in the long run it will be worth it. It is definitely a lot to have going on while trying to graduate and spend my last few weeks here at CBU.

I'll keep you posted on how things are turning out.

2010-04-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

Easter I think is my second favorite holiday. I love the amount of analogies that can be drawn from the spring season emerging and making all things new and Christ's resurrection. Spending time with family in warm weather with lots of little kiddies running around searching for candy is just FUN. My parents got to spend this past week out in CA with my brother and I and we certainly had a blast spending time together. We had a great time riding my brother's ripstik and having everyone over for an easter afternoon lunch. I got some great photos of the easter egg hung and you can check them out here!

Praise the Son who is the Lamb worthy of breaking the seal!

2010-03-07T13:56:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Mical and her roommate Morgan and I went out to take some pictures of the two of them before we all graduate. It was a great morning and the rain held off long enough for us to finish! More to come hopefully soon here

2010-02-13T23:30:00.001-08:00

This morning I woke up early and headed down to Temecula to take some pictures of Redhawk Golf Club for my brother and their up and coming new website. It was great getting up early, enjoying the morning and getting to go around with my brother while he was at work. You can check some of the pictures out here. I'll try to get some up in the next few days. I stayed there through the morning and into the early afternoon then came back up to watch the Homecoming game at school and watch Mical as she was nominated for Homecoming Queen. Woo HOO! It was a great day and I am totally wiped. Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

2010-02-09T10:47:00.001-08:00

Hello faithful reader(s). Just a little update, I have created* a new photography website here. I will be using that site exclusively for pictures and this one for my updates while I'm overseas as well as periodic updates on my life.

Thanks!

*I feel the word created is a little misleading here, I actually created very little on the website :)

2010-01-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

Old picture from Thailand that I found. This little girl is in traditional hill-tribe clothes on the stairs leading to a temple.

2010-01-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

Took this while playing golf this past weekend with my brother. We hadn't played in a long time and it was an absolute blast. I lost.

2010-01-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

Ever since I worked at the kitchen this summer I've had a passion for food. Much to the chagrin of Mical and lots of others around me, I can't get enough of the food network, cooking, and pretty much anything to do with the eatables. Last Sunday I tried branching out and cooking something different, a Spanish dish called Paella. It's basically just rice mixed with seafood, chicken, or beef and spanish vegetables with a few spices. Sounds simple enough right? That's what I thought until I absolutely BUTCHERED the rice. Twice. I tried cooking it in a sauce pan just like the directions said. The first time, I burned the bejeezes out of it, the second time it looked like it was gonna be alright until I served it and half of it was mush while the other half was still raw! The chicken and vegetables turned out great but unfortunately the dish was ruined. Whatever you do don't tell my former boss! I think that for now I'll just point my finger at the antique stovetops for my shortcoming. Those things should be in the Smithsonian, not a working kitchen. Granted, I'm not a great cook but that was the first time that I had COMPLETELY failed at a dish. Still feeling the masculine need to provide food for my woman, we ended up going to In n Out. Not a bad night after all :).

On another note, after I graduate I'm going to miss the caf. You get to eat so many different things in one meal from so many different types of cuisine! Today I had an Asian Chicken Salad Wrap, Taquitos, a Greek Salad, an Oreo and Chocolate Mousse Dessert, and a glass of iced tea. All on one tray! How can you beat that!?

2009-12-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mical left this morning. We had SO much fun the last 6 days. We got to eat a LOT of food (my favorite) and spent some good time in the city as well as just relaxing and hanging out around my house. It's so fun to be able to show somebody around my hometown and introduce them to the places and things that make home HOME to me. I already cannot wait until she gets to visit again and hope she had as much of a blast as I did!

Things we did:
Eat
Billy Graham Museum
Shedd Aquarium
Eat
Blue Man Group
Millenium Park
Magnificent Mile
Eat
Relax
Eat

Here are a few photos from our time here

2009-12-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

It snowed last night. We had a blast building snowmen and making snow angels.

2009-12-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

4 Days. Wednesday afternoon Mical and I will be heading to Chicago. I'm SUPER excited

2009-12-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

Two weeks from today I get to take Mical to my kinda town, Chicago. I cannot wait for the opportunity to show her my house and where I grew up. It's so exciting after getting shown around and hosted over and over and over out here at school, to be able to be on the hosting end of someone, especially someone I care so much about. I'm looking forward to showing her where I went to high school, my house, my car, meet some of my friends, take her to my church, and most importantly eat at my favorite restaurants :). This is the second time I've had this opportunity and if you want to see how excited I was to take my roommates home, you can look here or even here. I'll keep you posted!!!

2009-11-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! This is an old picture I took when I was visiting home last year.

2009-11-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

This boy's name is Dim, he lives in an orphanage in Thailand where the Gospel is shared and showed to him on a daily basis by two amazing women. He and I knew no words in each others language but had a lot of fun together regardless. I do miss him.

If you're reading this please pray that God would continue to place in him a thirst for the Word and Godly men in his life to replace his missing father. Pray that these men will show him the way to become a Godly man himself and do great things for the Kingdom.

2009-11-08T19:02:00.000-08:00

Mical and I spent the afternoon in Oak Glen this Sunday. The weather could not have been better and we enjoyed some fresh apple pie and cider. It definitely was a great afternoon enjoying the harvest and Mical even let me take some photos of her. I'm a lucky guy to be able to spend the day with such a beautiful woman!

2009-10-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

2009-10-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the day I fall from a plane. That's in flight. Keep an eye out for the results.

2009-10-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Tonight Mical and I went over to Starbucks to get off campus while we did homework. It turned out to be a great decision because the guy behind the counter gave us our drinks for free!

Two of my favorite study buddies. Mical and a free cup of joe.

2009-10-07T01:16:00.001-07:00

...and I miss Thailand too. I think I was bitten by the travel bug. Hard.

2009-09-28T08:38:00.001-07:00

I miss Germany

Mical

2009-09-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Mical and I got to go up to our friends house in the mountains for bbq. The house looked like something from a magazine! It was gorgeous and of course we had delicious food. It was a great way to spend Sunday afternoon and on the way home I convinced her to let me pull over to snap a picture.

She makes me laugh, puts me in my place occasionally :), and constantly challenges me by her example of faith, love of the word, and her heart for the world.

2009-09-19T09:28:00.001-07:00

Welp,

The first full week of school is officially over. It went well. I'm definitely looking forward to this semester.

As promised here are a few sunsets

School

2009-09-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not posted in a while but we just finished a crazy orientation week and had our first day of classes today. I'm OFFICIALLY a senior in college, graduating in a little over 7 months. Yikes. Anyway I have a few photos of some last sunsets from Temecula and a few that I snagged here in Riverside so keep checking for those hopefully soon. In the meantime I leave you with these:

Introducing.... Tilly

2009-08-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

Short for Atilla the Humm. She is a 2004 Chevy Malibu with less than 35,000 miles on her (pre drive across good ol' U.S. of A.). As promised here she is.

San Diego

2009-08-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

As the summer winds down not unlike most people, Mical and I have found ourselves scrambling when we're not working or on family vacations to do all the things we said we would do. Last night we both had no plans and decided to go down to San Diego, since it's a lot easier to make the trip from Temecula than Riverside, and let me tell you it turned out to be a GREAT day. We went to Body Worlds in the afternoon, then walked around Hillcrest for a little bit until one of my favorite restaurants Hash House a go-go or, Hungry Hashies as my brother and I like to call it, opened up for dinner and then finished off the day by strolling around Coronado. San Diego is one of my all-time favorite cities and it was a lot of fun being able to spend time in so many different areas in one day. Here are two pictures from last night of Hotel Del.

We Arrived

2009-08-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, my Dad and I arrived back in Temecula after 30.5 hours of driving from Chicago on Friday evening. The trip could not have gone smoother and I was really grateful for the large chunk of time I was able to spend with my awesome Dad. We made the trip in two days with a night in Denver to catch some z's. I don't have a picture of my car yet but hopefully I will soon. In the meantime here are a few from the drive.

yes, there she is at the pump

New School and a Trip Home

2009-08-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am flying to Michigan. My grandpa is letting me borrow his car until I graduate and I could not be more happy or thankful! It has been a real struggle the past three years but especially this summer living without wheels, but no more! I fly to Michigan tomorrow, drive from Detroit to Chicago on Wednesday, then Thursday morning my Dad and I are leaving from Chicago to head back out here to Temecula. I'm very excited for the road trip and will let you know how it turns out. In the meantime here is a skyline photo from my recent trip to Düsseldorf.

Old School

2009-07-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Old Picture from Thailand. Probably one of my favorites from the whole trip

Long Time

2009-07-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

I know I said that I would be doing my best to be posting while I was gone and I have. However, this is the first opportunity I have had. When I first committed to leading this trip I knew that it would be more of a learning experience for me than a leading experience and it has been just that. Being responsible for a group of High Schoolers for 3 weeks takes more spiritual consistency, energy, and steady emotions than I could have imagined. God is good however and please continue to pray that we will be effective in our last few days here. We leave on Saturday morning!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks

and finally... where I'm writing this post from :)

And They're Off

2009-06-18T18:35:00.001-07:00

It's finally here. I'm leaving for Germany tomorrow. 6 others plus myself will be leading a group of High Schoolers to Germany and The Netherlands. I'm super excited its finally here and can't wait to arrive! Hopefully I'll have sufficient internet access to keep you abreast of our trip and the latest happenings.

So without further ado.... THE TEAM

Good TImes

2009-06-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old pictures today and I found some from a trip I took with my parents to Venice Beach last summer. They came out to visit and be with me while I was having knee surgery and boy was I thankful. Anyway here's to the Old School

What's in a name?

2009-05-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

So it's true. All the years of jokes and clever quips from my name are no longer quips or even clever. I'm officially a cook. Not just a Cook but a cook. A Banquet Chef to be precise. So to anyone who has ever asked, "Hey are you an ACTUAL cook or are you just posing with your name?" Or, "Hey are you going into the food industry? You could be Cook Cook," and, "So do you know really know how to cook?" The answer is yes. To all. Yes. I'm a rookie though so don't get too excited :)

Temecula

2009-05-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

I'm living in Temecula this summer with my brother Drew, his wife Holly, and her Parents Rick and Brenda. I'm super excited to be able to spend the summer with them AND stay out in California. It's definitely different though, as I write a horse is whinnying. They live out in the hills of Wine country which is a far cry from Riverslime. I can look out the back door and see over the whole town of Temecula and the rest of the valley which is quite a treat. Also, they have two dogs and two cats who just had 5 kittens which brings the total to 9 animals which are all outdoor animals. Since everyone has left for Arizona for the weekend I got to take care of them and let me tell you, I have never met any brood of animals with more personality than these. But I'll let you see that for yourself...

some of the kittens and Bailey their Mom

Molly and Daisy

More Molly and Diasy

A Curious Kitten

All the Kitties

This picture describes Molly better than I ever could.

It's Official.

2009-04-24T10:44:00.001-07:00

It's summer. I'm done with my last project and it is turned it. The only thing left to do is show up for a class and participate in some PE lessons :). Its a good feeling being on summer break but I've realized that this is a week of lasts. The last time Carson and I will be living on the same campus. The last time I'm going to be moving out temporarily and preparing to move back here. The last time I'm going to get to hang out with a lot of the really close friends I've made over the past three years. That's ok though because new changes bring new growth.

SUMMER HERE I COME!

Not

2009-04-20T14:32:00.001-07:00

Champions...

We got beat in the finals. Gotta give credit to Lindenwood though they played outstanding

One last volleyball note for the season: as most of you know Mical played volleyball for CBU as well and as coincidence would have it we both wore/wear number 1. There are some other similarities as well but I'll let you see those for youselves...

This is a picture of myself at Nationals and Mical during her season

Now to concentrate on finals

Nationals

2009-04-14T17:43:00.001-07:00

Here it is. My first post in 2009. Kinda sad its not until April huh?

I'm currently in Kansas City Missouri (I know, shouldn't it be in Kansas?) for the National Men's Volleyball Championships. We're ranked first so I'm pretty excited. Hopefully I'll have a post at the end of the week titled: CHAMPIONS!!!

Here are some pics of the team so far this year...

Christmas thus far

2008-12-24T15:24:00.000-08:00

I'm at home. It's great to be with family. It is also VERY cold. One day it was -41 degrees with the windchill and that is not a typo. I went out today and took some pictures before I started freezing.

Prayer

2008-11-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

IDOP - International Day of Prayer.

I don't want to stop praying just because a day dedicated to praying for the persecuted church has passed.

I don't want to stop at praying for the persecuted church.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid,for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
Romans 13:1-5

Let's pray for our newly elected president.

Let's not stop at praying for him but pray also for his discernment and success in doing what is best for our country.

Carson and I

2008-10-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

We have a vice, so sue us. Who doesn't. Ours just happens to be an arcade. Carson and I rarely get to hang out anymore due to our busy schedules and us not being roommates anymore (I'm still bitter). So we try to set aside specific time where we can just enjoy each other, joke around, be ourselves, and catch up on our lives. The tradition of Gameworks on Sundays is a tradition that started last year with us around January and just stuck because we enjoyed it so much. I've been planning on doing a post like this for months now, I guess I just finally got around to it and got some good photos. So here ya go.

I'm It.

2008-10-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

I got tagged.

Four Jobs I've Had:
Assistant Caddy Master and the Glen View Club
Concessions and Customer Relations Manager at Camelot Pool
Coaching Jr. High and High School soccer camps
Landscaping

Four Movies I've Watched More Than Once:
Top Gun
The Gladiator
Once
Ocean's 11

Four Places I Have Lived:
Island Lake, IL
Waukegan, IL
Buffalo Grove, IL
Riverside, CA

Four TV Shows I Watch:
The Office
Bizarre Foods
The Deadliest Catch
Rob & Big

Four Places I Have Been:
Maui
Chiang Mai
Orlando
Hilton Head

Four People Who Regularly Email Me:
Joe
Carson
Mom and Dad
United E-Fares

Four of My Favorite Foods:
Potatoes... any style
Pad Thai
Bacon Guacamole Cheeseburger
Chipotle

Four Places I Would Like to Visit:
Africa
Paris
Maine
Ireland

Four Things I Look Forward to This Year:
Chance to win a championship
Taking Spanish
Christmas
Hutch visiting

Four Friends I'm Tagging:
You can do it if you so choose. I think its fun.

Camping

2008-09-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend Ethan and I got to go camping. We got some much needed relaxation and seclusion with just our bibles and sleeping bags (plus a few other essentials). Here are some pics.

Ask me about this...

Camp #1

Sunset first night.

Our guide

This was very high

Camp #2

Dinner

Happy (cold) Campers

The Essentials

Last sunset

Drivin Home

Submission

2008-09-24T22:14:00.001-07:00

We have no idea what it will cost us when we stop short in our submission to Christ. Similarly we have no idea what will come of submitting ourselves completely to Christ.

Lacking

2008-09-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting recently but there has not been TOO much to blog about. One thing that IS blogworthy however is this weekend. It was TWIRP (The Woman is Required to Pay) week at our school and Friday was our annual Barndance followed by a trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain on Saturday. Both days were absolutely amazing and I had a much needed relaxing fun time.

My date Kylie (Zach's girlfriend, he was out of town) and I went to the Barndance as an 80's jazzercise couple. We got one vote for best costume.

My date to Magic Mountain was Greta. Last year Greta, Brad Claypool, Courtney Weatherly and I all went so this year was a repeat and it was every bit as good.

Face Game

Shaky Face Game

Thanks to Kylie and Hillary (and facebook) for the photos.

oh and the cubs clinched the playoffs. yes.

Fearing God.

2008-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm in the middle of a book called the Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges. I highly recommend this book. If you do or have read it before, let me know I would LOVE to talk about it.

Actually, if you even just want to talk about the fear of God let's do that too.

Voddie

2008-09-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Read Justin's blomblog.

School Started

2008-09-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Classes as you all know officially started on Thursday. I was really looking forward to the start of classes for a few different reasons:

-I started taking Spanish classes again and I'm very excited.

-I'm playing volleyball again this year and again, am very excited.

-I'm excited for new ministry opportunities that have been presented to me as a result of new incoming students.

-Reunited with old friends.

-Making new friends.

I hope you share my excitement.

The Past Few Weeks...

2008-09-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

have been SO crazy. After all of the FOCUS leaders moved in and training started with them things got nuts. It was a lot of fun getting everything prepared for the new students to move in and the coordinators and I were so thankful for the opportunity to get to know our leaders better and spend LOTS of time with them :). Our group this year has been SO great to work with and have made our jobs TONS easier. It really seems that God has some great plans for this group of leaders and this semester so please be praying for protection and continued growth as well as hearts that are always open to see opportunities to serve! I'm really excited.

After our training week, the new students arrived and things got even CRAZIER! Between move in day, the new student retreat, and all of the activities we have to keep 1000 new students entertained for 7 days, we have hardly had any time to breathe but its well worth it. Here are some pictures from the past few weeks involving FOCUS.

So Long Sweet Summer

2008-08-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

The summer is officially over. Am I sad? No, not really. I mean YES in some respects I'll miss how chill summers from school always are but I'm ready to get back to classes and see everyone again and get into a routine. You know, the usual. This summer was great with having the opportunity to live out in California all summer and getting to go to Thailand and FINALLY getting everything squared away with my knee. My parents also got to come out and stay for a long time seeing my brother and me and took SUCH good care of me while I was recovering. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I never would have made it through that week if my parents weren't here. 4 days after my surgery I had to move out of my apartment and into a new one which happens to be upstairs. Not an easy task when you're not allowed to lift anything let alone walk and all of your roommates are in different parts of the country. My Mom and Dad packed all of my stuff up for me and my Dad cleaned my ENTIRE apartment getting it ready for me to check out. If I tried to help all they would say was go sit back down on the couch haha (and did I say it was over 100 degrees that whole week). Needless to say I felt EXTREMELY useless but I am SO blessed to have the parents that I do and cannot express how thankful I am for them and all that they do for me! Also Charlie Weaver and John Walker came over to help out. My Dad was VERY thankful for the help haha as am I. I can't help but think thats a pretty darn good picture of community and the church as Christ would want it and it makes me smile.

But tomorrow is the day. All of the FOCUS leaders move back in tomorrow and we really start things rolling preparing for orientation and all of the 1000 new students moving in on the 26. Yikes. I love the opportunities that a new year brings with a new group of leaders and new students and can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year. It's all very exciting. Think of all the possibilities!

Oh in other news, Zach moves back in on Tuesday. Art and I can't wait.

Monday

2008-07-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow it will be officially one week since I've been home. I think. That couple of days kind of all blends together due to the time change, lack of sleep from jet lag, and quick happenings. It's been good being home though, I got to hang out with my brother who had just gotten his wisdom teeth taken out. So that was fun, him being tripped out on drugs, and me running on less than 4 hours of sleep for three days. We were a pair. A pair of what I don't know but a pair that's for sure. My parents arrived on Friday and on Saturday took my brother, my two friends Lauren and Erika, and I to the spa. It's nice to have Mom and Dad here :). They came out to see my brother and I and to take care of me while I am recovering from my surgery that I have tomorrow. My mom is staying with Lauren and Erika so she thought it would be a nice way to thank them. It was definitely a fun day. Today the three of us (Mom, Dad, Me) came down to LA where my doctor is and spent the day down here and got a hotel so we didn't have to wake before the sun tomorrow. We had a good day of just chillin and seein what there is to see. Our hotel is about 10 mins from Venice Beach so we went and hung out there for a while then grabbed some dinner at Islands and went to see The Dark Knight. Awesome. Again.

But the real reason I'm blogging is to tell you that it is good to be home. I definitely miss Thailand and maintain the feeling that I could easily have stayed, and am being a typical first time over seas goer fighting my cynicism for American consumerism and ethno-centrism. However it's good to be back and see loved ones.

Well that's all for now I guess.

The End

2008-07-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Welp... it's official. Our time here has come to a close and let me tell ya, we finished with a bang. We will be boarding our plane tomorrrow afternoon and have just enough time to go to breakfast, pack, and maybe if I'm lucky squeeze in one more Thai massage before we depart for the airport. But back to today. It was our "fun day". We left in the morning for the mountains to go on an elephant ride through the jungle and bamboo river rafting. We got an all you could eat Thai buffet included for lunch and an awesome elephant show along with our rides. I was amazed at the gentleness of the elephants and how smart they were. Our guide hopped off and was having a full on conversation with our elephant, who was about 15 years my senior, in Thai (I don't even speak Thai!). As we walked the elephant did exactly what he asked when he asked. The show was a blast too and we even got to take a group picture with some elephants.

The bamboo rafting was definitely a trip. It was LITERALLY ten bamboo trunks tied together and floating in the river and two guides (one in front and one in back) with big poles to steer us. When we got to the bottom, they untied the bamboo threw it in a truck and took it back to the top. I'm convinced we had the best guides because they let us have pirate wars between our two rafts (and participated some themselves) and even let us do some of the steering down the river. I was struck as we floated along by the beauty and density of the rainforest. It's amazing how God is revealing himself so clearly to these people through the beauty of His creation.

We ended the night with our host having us over for dinner at his house and a little debriefing time. It was great to spend some quality time with him and his family that we've come close to throughout our ministry these past couple of weeks. Truly we could not have asked for a better way to spend our last day here. So Thailand, here's to you. And readers, here's to YOU. Truly all that was accomplished in this short time is only because of our risen and returning Savior and all of you interceding to Him on our behalf. Lives were changed, thank you.

The Thai

2008-07-20T10:28:00.001-07:00

Our time here is coming to an end VERY quickly. Our sports camp came to a close on Saturday and was a huge success with 129 of the Thai children professing faith and getting connected with a local pastor. Please be praying for the continued follow up and ministry that is now starting through all of that. We moved into our new location down in the city. It's a hotel thats pretty nice and another blessing to us on this trip. Being in the city is great because all of the access that we have to pretty much anything that we could want. Food, transportation, the people, and my personal favorite: Thai Massages. I had one tonight and I must say it could single handedly keep me here for a while longer. Tomorrow we are getting to go on the famous elephant rides and bamboo river rafting so hopefully I will get some good photos to show all of you from that trip. It poured down rain again today for about 4 hours so hopefully it stays a little more dry for us tomorrow. I will do my very best to update you guys one last time before we head back to the states but in the meantime here a few photos from the past two days.

This is Nukie

And this is the view from my room

the Rainforest

2008-07-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I hope all of your weeks have been going well because mine certainly has. I'm sorry this post will not contain any pictures because I'm posting from an internet cafe in the city and didn't bring my camera today because its pouring down rain outside. We are definitely in a rainforest haha.

Our week has been outstanding so far. We've had some awesome time finishing up painting our orphanage on Monday which the children were so thankful for and then said our goodbyes. Tuesday we did a little more painting at the dorms for our hosts and then finished the move to our new location. Yesterday we went to a community "college" and got to play games with the students there who ranged from 16-18 and were studying English so it was a great opportunity for them to practice language and for us to have some fun with them and then headed out to the village for a blessing service over a house that one of the teams was working on all week. It was great to see how much it blessed the Thais as we stood around praised and worshipped as they watched with tears in their eyes. After we were done they brought out the aerobics music and the ladies got to get their exercise on with all the village women. Great time. Wednesday night we headed back to the city for the night market and had some good bargaining and relaxing time. Starting this afternoon we will be helping host a sports camps for MK's here until Saturday. We're really excited to be able to spend some time playing sports and the more opportunities we'll have to make more relationships! Sorry for the run-on post and caraaaazy train of thought but it's been a long week haha. Continue to pray for us as our days come to a close!

One Week

2008-07-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well, as of yesterday it has been officially one week since we've been in country. The ways that God has already moved through us, our teams, and our ministries has been so great to see and is such an awesome experience that we're so thankful God has allowed us to be a part of. Each day we can see how he has answered everyones prayers thus far so keep it up! We are so appreciative. The health and morale of everyone on the team has left very little to be desired and we have no one to thank for that except all of you who are praying and our Lord.

In my team specifically we were able to start and almost finish painting the whole orphanage this week and are scheduled to finish and move on to a new ministry site on Monday. The looks on the women's faces as they see their childrens rooms being completed, as well as the kids themselves as they come home from school make every fire ant, spider, gecko, anthill, and cobweb worth dealing with. Tomorrow (saturday) as the kids have the day off of school, we are getting to take them to the lake and a park with their sister orphanage to play and continue building our relationships with them. It's great to see each day a little bit more of their individual personalities come out each day as our friendships become deeper and our trust grows.

Here are two of the children we've been working with this week. Meet Dim, and Don

Also, when we got home today I went to get into the shower and as I reached to take off my shirt I found a stowaway. My little fiendish friend the fire ant (illiteration huh?).

Sa Was Dee Khrap

2008-07-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hello from Thailand!

I apologize for the delayed post but we had some internet difficulties our first few days here. The connection is pretty slow but its a huge blessing just to have access at all!

Our first days here were such an experience. We had a chance to do a lot of cultural immersion and spend a lot of time in the city practicing our Thai (right up there by Manderin in difficulty), so you can imagine the comic relief that must have been. We loved interacting with the Thai people though, they are so helpful and understanding and many of them know a few words in English and are eager to practice on you to see how you think their English is. I really have grown to love this city and its people. One of my favorite times so far was getting to go around the city in groups of three on a "cultural scavenger hunt". We were forced to use our Thai as we had lunch at restaurants on the streets, flagged down our own song-taows (Thai pick up trucks with benches in the bed that serve as taxis), had to buy certain things from street markets, and had to learn different things about the city. One of the most interesting experiences so far was when a sang-taow I was riding in rear-ended the one in front of us giving us a... small jolt in the back. Both drivers acted as though nothing had happened and went about business as normal, meanwhile I'm in the back thinking, "Wait don't we have to exchange insurance information!?" :).

Today we made it to an orphanage that we will be helping to paint in the next few weeks and had an opportunity to scope out our upcoming projects and play with the kids. The love that they showed us as soon as they came home from school was really touching. It wasn't thirty seconds after they walked in the door and they were jumping all over us, tickling us, and wanting to play. We were able to play with them for the next hour or so and the fact that we spoke different languages never crossed either of our minds. It was great to see how much fun we had with each other and any cultural or language barriers were never even an issue. Our God is so good.

Keep praying that our team will continue to experience such blessings as we have to this point and that Christ's light would shine through so brightly in this dark place. Pray that our teams would continue to function as one unit without any dissention and that the Devil would have no foothold in our time here and our ministry.

I miss you all and can't wait to see you all again. Here are two pictures from our trip so far.

Its True...

2008-07-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

... the day has finally come. I'm heading off for Thailand this evening til the 22nd and couldn't be more excited. We would really appreciate it if you would keep us in your prayers. Please be praying for safety in country and travel, unity among our team, and that the Holy Spirit would really work through us in our short time there. I'll be doing my best to blog while I'm gone with updates and new prayer requests. So without further ado... Heeeeeeeeere they are!

Blogworthy

2008-06-20T18:08:00.001-07:00

I understand that by the nature of the title you would assume that something happened recently in my life that is well, blogworthy. That is not my intention so before you read further consider yourself warned: lately, nothing has really happened that is blogworthy. That is in fact why my blog has seemed neglected for more than a month now. Trust me it only SEEMS like my blog has been neglected. I would say that twice a week on average, I sit down at my computer with the full intention of blogging. I open a new post, think about my previous weeks, and look at a blank title bar. Then about 45 seconds later I navigate away. So don't worry she has not been forgotten. I also have yet to figure out why my computer will not let me load pictures not only to my blog but to ANYTHING on this machine. Frustrating to say the least, and with work and lack of a car, have not had sufficient time to try to fix it or take it in to have the experts look at it.

For those of you who are still with me, don't despair. I will soon have many things to blog about as I leave for Thailand in less than two weeks. Yikes. Hopefully I will be able to write and update this to let you guys know how our time is going.

Now for the VERY few who remain interested in my ramblings, I'm looking for books to take with me for reading (or not to take with me but just read for fun while I'm here). I'm not picky by any means in subject matter, author, fiction or non, or anything of the sort. I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions you have for me :).

I didn't eat lunch today

2008-05-08T16:43:00.001-07:00

Summer has begun and up until this point it has been and will continue to be, a great time and lots of fun. This week however is lame. Two of my best friends Zach and Arthur, moved out of our apartment for the summer and another one Carson, left for Germany on Tuesday. I'm struggling. It's OK though. Carson is in Germany right now with his ISP team doing ministry through athletics and recreational sports. It's very exciting to watch throughout the course of the summer the amount of people that are being sent out across the globe to spread the Gospel of Christ. I am leaving for my own trip at the beginning of July. I'll be travelling to Thailand and am very excited to see how God will move in me, my team, and our ministry.

If you want to learn a little more about ISP, check out a video that they have here.

In the meantime be praying for the teams that are already in the field and those that will be going. Pray that they would have,

-boldness in sharing the Gospel
-safety in travel and in country
-unity among the teams
-growth
-The work of the Holy Spirit to move mightily in their lives and that work to be apparent and clear to whom they are ministering to.

I'm still awaiting the ability to load pictures without my web browser quitting. So lame again. Once that happens though I promise I'll get some images up here to make it more interesting. Maybe I'll get it fixed this weekend.

Until then I will leave you with this quote from C.S. Lewis, "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

Computers

2008-05-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

So all is not well yet in the Mac land for me. Everytime I try to upload pictures from my computer or anywhere else for that matter, my web browser quits on me.

Any help or suggestions before I find time to take it to the apple store are welcome.

In other news, summer has officially started :)

Finals

2008-04-27T15:18:00.000-07:00

I must say that first off, I apologize for the long delay between my last entry and this one but it is not entirely my fault. Let me explain. Each semester about 2 weeks before finals start I like to head into the library a couple of nights a week and spend some time preparing for the end of the semester. You know, write papers, study a little bit, make sure I have all my work turned in, all that good stuff. So this semester just like all the others I started my weekly ritual and headed into the library. I was doing well, I had about 7 pages on a few different papers completed, had finished some other assignments, and was beginning my studying. Well that Friday, I came downstairs in the evening planning on listening to some music and getting ready for my soccer game. Unfortunately my computer was frozen so I restarted it and got the infamous blue screen of death. I know all (two) of you are thinking "oh no!" but oh yes. It's true. Well needless to say I had to take my computer to the apple store and I had a faulty hard drive. They took care of everything for me, cleaned my computer, gave me a new hard drive, and returned it to me in a very timely manner. However, EVERYTHING was lost. All my papers, all my homework, and even all my work that I had been compiling for a portfolio due at the end of the semester. Now you might be saying "well, why didn't you back up your work, dummy." Yes, I realize that and I could make the excuse that I lost my flash drive and didn't have anything else to back my work up on but I know I should and could have found SOMETHING. So all that to say that I've been playing catch up for a while with all of my assignments and have been neglecting my blogging.

I was gonna blog about this upcoming summer and some other stuff too but this is a pretty long post already so I'll save that for my next one.

Tennis

2008-03-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

I got to play some tennis tonight with some very fun people. I really enjoyed it and even got some great coaching on my backhand which was previously non-existent. I'm excited to play again soon, now. I have a lot of respect for tennis players, it takes a LOT of athleticism and great fitness. It truly is a great sport and a very fun recreational activity. Thanks to all who allowed me to enjoy some great company and activity tonight.

Golfing

2008-03-18T22:54:00.001-08:00

I miss golfing. It is one of the things that I miss most about my summers at home growing up that I wish I had more time to do. All throughout high school I worked at a country club during my summers and got the privilege of just about all the free golf I wanted (as long as I wasnt working), and very nice courses, so I'm kind of spoiled in that respect. Anyways, I was always allowed to bring a guest and the obvious choice for me was to bring my brother. My brother and I are very close and he is for sure my best friend and we love playing sports and talking and hanging out and golf is a perfect venue for us to do all three of those things at once, how convenient. So today I got to do one of my favorite things. Play golf with my brother! We went over to Paradise Knolls off of Van Buren for a little morning golf. It was so great to have a week off of school and just take it easy and shoot the breeze with Drew. We had a great time competing in "closest to the pin", "straightest drive", and "longest drive" competitions and just being goofballs shootin with my camera and enjoying the free morning like the good old days. So bro, heres to you. Thanks so much for the fun morning and takin some awesome pictures.

More pictures will be on my face.

Pictures

2008-03-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

As I promised, some pictures from my weekend home. Sorry it took me so long. Enjoy.

Typical flat, grey day in the midwest...

This guy was more interested in my camera than the volleyball game

My mom kinda likes antiques

The part of the house they let me use..

Park outside where I used to work, I guess my fingers got too cold to focus :)

This bird would not shut up, though he did pipe down while I photographed him...

Weekend Home

2008-03-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

So for the last weekend in February I got to surprise my parents and go home for the weekend, it was so much fun! When I heard the volleyball team was going to Chicago this year to play the schools there, I was bummed out I had chosen the wrong year to stop playing but thought it would be a cool opportunity to head home for a weekend second semester. As soon as I got back on campus after Christmas I looked for flights and found some really cheap ones for that weekend (Thank You Jesus). As the time came closer to me going back, it dawned on me that they might have plans that weekend and wouldn't be home. Sure enough they had planned on going to Florida that weekend but fortunately decided against it and stayed home to support the volleyball team. That didn't end the complications or near misses though. I also had trouble finding a ride home. The ride I planned on fell through as I was driving to the airport. No big deal I thought, I could just call my dad and have him pick me up but still at least surprise my Mom, however, that didn't work either. I even pulled the annoying-son-in-college routine and called him at five minute increments for almost an hour and a half to no avail (sorry Dad). As I was in line to board the plane I admitted defeat and called my Mom to see if she could pick me up. It kind of ruined the shock of the surprise but she was still surprised and happy I was coming home and was actually happier because she wanted to be the one to pick me up anyway. It was definitely nice to be home for the weekend and get a break from the day-to-day routine of being at school. It also really helped me appreciate the warm weather here. It was 20 at the MOST the whole time I was home and my dad was saying that I must have brought a heat wave back with me on the plane. Yeah right. You need to understand a midwest cold too, its not just chilly. Its bite through every piece of clothing down to your bones, grey, drab, no direct sunlight, piercing wind cold. I was happy to brave the cold though, for a (FREE) weekend of Chicago style food in my belly. I also got to watch my boys play some volleyball and support them and spend a lot of QT with my parents, which was amazing. We had some good and very late dinners after the games and got to go out to watch a movie, just the three of us, and I even got to take just my mom out to lunch and spend some time with her. It was a great trip home and I'm happy that I got to spend such a good weekend with my parents but am definitely glad to be back.

And my pictures arent uploading to this blog and i dont know why and its very frustrating!!

So pictures will come soon.

Laundry

2008-02-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. Two holidays have come and gone and one semester has closed while another has begun. Apparently it has been entirely too long since I have last posted. My sincerest apologies to the very few readers of mine that I have. I will do my best to maintain a more consistent posting schedule from now on. I have found these few minutes to blog however, in between waiting for laundry machines to open up and finishing my homework for the weekend. Sitting at my desk listening to James Taylor, I can look out and see the sun setting on the roof of the apartment across from mine and feel a not-too-cool breeze coming in through my open window. It hit me that it is the middle of February and I am able to enjoy a warm Sunday afternoon that not too many others close to me can. Getting a text from my brother this morning that says, "Freezing rain... I slid from the back porch to the graj door. Driving=Death", made me appreciate the beauty of today. I hope you can too.

Until next time.

P.S. Sunday naps are nice too :)

Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T23:34:00.000-08:00

First and foremost Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This blog will not have pictures or links but I want to take the time to say a small amount of the things that I am thankful for and I hope that you will take the time to read it. I was especially reminded of everything that I have to be thankful for this year. First and foremost it was my roommates, and not only the ones that are here with me now. Having them with me has definitely made this trip exponentially better than it would have been had I made it by myself. Them being here has also reminded me how blessed I am to have four amazing Christian men as living partners. I can not even express how thankful I am for them in this blog but do hope that each day I do something to show them how appreciative I am of them. Secondly, I am so thankful for my parents. I get a chance to see everyday, even at school, how much my parents and sibling (and siblings-in-law :) ) love and care for me but coming home I get a very special opportunity to see it first-hand. The depth and kind of love that my parents have and exhibit for and towards me is something that I probably will never understand but someday hopefully get to excperience in some way with kids of my own. The sacrifices they make for me on a daily basis truly amaze me and I hope that they see me as being appreciative and not taking that for granted. I also hope that I am doing things to make their hearts swell and give them a way of seeing my apprecitation in a tangible way. Thirdly I am thankful for my friends. The friends I have here at home, the friends I have back in California, and the friends that have been with me through almost every year of my life to this point. I got more than the amount of thanksgiving wishes from all aformentioned kinds of friends than anyone would ever deserve and it got me thinking, "I am so blessed to be surrounded by such encouraging, uplifting, loving people that care for me. I did nothing to deserve this, am I living in a way that shows them my appreciation and serving them the best way that I can to reciprocate my love for them?" (do you guys see a common theme in my thoughts today?) We spent thanksgiving with a family that mine has been very close with since I was in kindergarten. They became a second family to me in a way that would take too many pages to describe. Their son Patrick and I have been best friends since then and virtually inseperable. We have gone our seperate ways now as he goes to school in North Carolina and I on the opposite side of the country in California. Our families and we have remianed close friends however and were fortunate enough to spend the holiday together today. I was considering all the things that they have done for me in the past years of my life and things that they are continuing to do for me, and realized, there is no way I could ever repay or convey anywhere close to the type of gratitude that I would like to and they deserve. Even more, they wouldnt want me to repay them in any way. Again, with no surprise to anyone, I considered if I am living in a way that is expressing my gratitude. When I consider all these things and wonder and fret about how important it is to live in a way that shows my gratitude, I question how often I live my life in a way that shows Christ I am grateful for what he has done and continues to do through his Holy Spirit. If my blog had a little emoticon at the top that was telling everyone how I felt at this given moment, mine would say "thankful". I'm not talking about the cliche thankful that everyone puts up just because its Thanksgiving. I'm talking about the thankful that causes me not to say thanks but to live gracefully and gratefully. Are you thankful?

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Home

2007-11-21T21:22:00.001-08:00

Its finally here. Art, Zach and I arrived at Chicago Midway airport at 5:56 am.. To a cloudy, rainy, windy welcome. However dreary the weather was we did not let it damper our spirits though and were ready to go after some solid sleep on the plane. My mom picked us up at the airport and took us promptly to breakfast at Walker Bros. which i mentioned in my previous entry. We started the weekend off right by getting spoiled to the best breakfast I have had in a VERY long time.
Oven baked omellettes, chocolate chip pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, toast, and orange juice. Needless to say we were more than stuffed. We had time to come back to my house grab a quick 45 min nap in my basement and then head off to pick up my dad at school and head downtown to hang out at ESPNZone and walk around Michigan Ave.
With it being rainy and extra windy down by the lake we were more than open to the opportunity the stores presented to get out of the cold. After we walked around for a bit my parents put us in the car and we headed for the surprise that they had been planning for weeks but wouldnt tell me what it was. When we pulled into the parking lot I realized that they were taking us to see Blue Man Group and we had seats in the fourth row (yea thats the splash zone!).
The show was ABSOLUTELY amazing and super entertaining. After that we headed back to my house for some Lou Malnatis deep dish chicago style pizza and real relaxation. The snow started coming down about 930 so we headed over to my best friend Brandon Hutchins house and sat outside in his hot tub with the snow falling down all around us. Let me tell you it was the PERFECT start to an AMAZING weekend if you ask me. I am SO looking forward to the rest of our time here with my parents. Well... the hot tub put us all absolutely to sleep so we're gonna hit the hay and hopefully there will be another exciting (used very relative here) tomorrow! Goodnight.

The Chi

2007-11-15T11:28:00.001-08:00

SOOOO... as I mentioned for a moment in my previous blog, two of my four roommates are making the trek with me back to my home in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The specific town that my parents currently reside in and have since I was in ohhh, fourth gradeish is called Buffalo Grove. I am so excited not only to see my family and friends from back home because chances are we will probably not have a lot of time just to relax. I am most excited for the opportunity to get to host someone at my house finally. I am so thankful and will continue to be greatful for my friends and the families of my friends that God has put in my life. They have been especially hospitible and made me feel at home as much as they can while I am here at school. My parents are also greatful for this fact (especially my Mom, shes a worrier). However, it is truly far better to give than to receive and I am finally able to give some hospitality to my friends for a change. It will be a great chance for us to spend some time together on the road and away from our daily lives. I'm excited to see how our relationships are gonna grow while we travel together and Art and Zach get a chance to see where I have grown up. Where I went to high school, spend some more time with my family, meet some of my best friends from growing up, and eat at some of my FAVORITE restaurants

We are definitely planning on going downtown at least once which is going to be SO fun because downtown Chicago is so pretty in the christmas time and the tree will be lit. I am also looking forward to clean crisp cold air. Yes, I said it, COLD air. It amazes some people that I would miss something like that but when you have grown up your whole life with the temperature not making it over 65 from the middle of october til the end of April you realize that when it kind of makes you appreciate the hot. I want to appreciate the warm weather that we're blessed with here in Southern California.

Here are some pictures of my beautiful city for your enjoyment.. i dont know why theyre so pixelated sorry!

MILLENIUM PARK

LSD

NIGHT

Oh and My Christmas Tree

One more cuz its the best tree in the world

hmm...

2007-11-13T23:49:00.001-08:00

soooo I realize that after starting a blog I got lazy and haven't blogged in an altogether unacceptable long period of time. So I very much apologize for that BUT if we're to be honest with each other... how important are my blogging thoughts in the grand scheme of things, not very is the answer to that question. So while I do apologize I'm kind of over it already so I hope you are too.

These past couple of weeks have been pretty long in the fact that its in the heart of the semester and things are beginning to drag on as well as I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving so much and going home!! on top of this two of my roommates Zach and Art are coming with me. Needless to say this is shaping up to be an AMAZING trip... My parents have already called dibs on the first day we are there to take us out to breakfast (which I'm TOTALLY ok with) and have a fun time with us for themselves. SO back to my thought I have been looking forward to all these things and getting very weary of the day to day, same old routine of going to school.

However, in the last week and weekend and so far in the beginning of this week, God has been teaching me amazing things about and from his word which have been really encouraging me. Its awesome to me to see that even though I'm feeling weary and apathetic with the daily routine I can be uplifted and encouraged through learning about things COMPLETELY unrelated and just being continually drawn nearer to God on a daily basis. While I'm still eagerly anticipating Thanksgiving and a break from school and not elated with the pattern I let myself fall into, God is faithful and is the Great Sustainer..

So, all this to say

Paper..... Nah.... Photo Booth

2007-10-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well....I am in the library and came here with the intention of writing a paper and this is what I have done with my time and my broken pair of sunglasses.

good song... good song

so pop art

homework is frustrating

Deep in thought

Going

Going

Gone

Well now I am actually gonna write my paper.

Soccer

2007-10-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

So Thursdays are usually my easiest days. Well let me qualify that, not necessarily easiest days but my least busy days on average. I usually get out of class at Noon and then don't have much to do for the rest of the afternoon. This is great because it gives me an opportunity to get caught up on homework or sleep or anything else for that matter. This Thursday was an exception in the fact that so far it has been exceptionally good. I started off my day by sleeping through my alarm and missing my first class Intro to Global Studies(this would seem to most people to be stressful until...), I then realized that my professor, Jeff Lewis, had gotten a hold of one of my videos that some of you may have seen and decided to share it with the rest of the lecture hall during class on the big screen. Now you see why this was such a relief missing my alarm. God has also blessed me with amazing friends who got me an extra handout from class and took notes keeping in mind that I would need them later! How thoughtful and gracious! The rest of my classes were a breeze and when I arrived at lunch, realized that Pastor Walter was there eating with us. Again, how fun and what a pleasant surprise. After lunch my roommate Arthur Price and I got to go out and kick a soccer ball around for a while with Kyle Yocum and Taylor Welch. This is the real reason for my blogging today. I realized how much I miss playing soccer and how fun it was to get out there and kick a ball around for a little bit with some good friends. It was really a joy to be able to go outside and even thought it wasn't competing, play a sport that I have been in love with and will be in love with for my whole life. I truly am looking forward to getting to play on Sunday afternoons and many more sessions of post-lunch soccer in the future!

Also I have my one-on-one time with Carson tonight where we will get a chance to chill out and talk and catch up on each others lives... looking forward to that as well.

In the meantime here are some pictures of my playing Soccer in High School.

Adam Cooks Commencement Commotion

2007-10-16T02:14:00.000-07:00

So this passed weekend/Monday was a flurry of VERY exciting events! First off... I have obviously started a blog. My roommate who many of you know as Carson has been encouraging me to do a blog. I went back and forth for a while as I already have a face/space and multiple emails to stay on top of. I put it off for a long time but tonight sitting in my living room alone reflecting on this past weekend while listening to Something Corporate I decided that I wanted a new forum where I could think "out loud". Fortunately for Carson this came in the form of a blog. As I said that the beginning of my post however, there were a lot of exciting things that happened this weekend, the least of being my blog. One of these things is that it was Hannah Price's birthday on Saturday. If you have not yet be sure to wish her a happy birthday! The Price family have taken me in as one of their own since I have been out here in California for school and are continuing to be SUCH a blessing to my life! Getting a chance to celebrate Hannah who has become like a sister to me was so much fun and a definite highlight of this first semester. Also my brother (Drew) and my sister-in-law (Holly), have just moved out here from back home in Chicago to be closer to her family and the headquarters for where they work, e3 Partners. They arrived on Saturday night and were able to come up to church with me on Sunday and a picnic in Oak Glen afterwards. The three of us (among others of course) were able to spend the day together Sunday PLUS they came back on Monday for my birthday which was truly one of the best gifts I could receive. My brother and I are very close as are his wife and I. It was one of the best weekends/birthdays I have had in a long time so thank you to all of my friends/people who participated in making it a memorable weekend to say the least.

Getting the chance to see my brother and spend time with each other gave us a chance to talk about home and the fun times we had growing up. Here are a few pictures of Drew and I from the summer that we got to spend together at home.