So, what have I bee up to since October huh. Wow! Well, mostly I've been settling into life in Maine. I haven't settled too much. I still try to keep exploring and not just settle and forget that I have tons of God's beautiful creation all around me waiting to be appreciated.
For example, last fall during a "Nor'Easter" storm, some friends and I drove down to Portland to check out some popular light houses. Let me tell ya, being along a rocky coast during a storm is 
AWESOME. It is so powerful. Watching huge waves crashing into large, solid rocks is actually sort of a spiritual thing. Not to mention, you feel sort of young as you are your buddies make get excited and make comments like, "Whoa! Did you see that one? It was huge." Plus, rocky shores also provide a chance for rock jumping, which honestly, who doesn't get a weird enjoyment of jumping from rock to rock. The only down fall was that it was sort of wet and cold. Wind and rain will do that.
AWESOME. It is so powerful. Watching huge waves crashing into large, solid rocks is actually sort of a spiritual thing. Not to mention, you feel sort of young as you are your buddies make get excited and make comments like, "Whoa! Did you see that one? It was huge." Plus, rocky shores also provide a chance for rock jumping, which honestly, who doesn't get a weird enjoyment of jumping from rock to rock. The only down fall was that it was sort of wet and cold. Wind and rain will do that. I've taken a couple trips to Boston. Once with my friends who had never been there which was fun. So besides the ridiculously rude service (but really good food) we received at an Italian 
restaurant on the North side, the next best story from that trip that I can remember was the hawk I saw sitting in a tree eating a squirrel in the middle of Boston Commons. So cool! Smart bird huh! There are tons of squirrels around there and not many hawks. Surprised I never saw any on the UofMN campus. The picture was taken on the subway on the way to Harvard. It was Leah's first time on a subway, hence her silly facial expression in the picture. My next trip to Boston was also a great time but on less happy terms. This trip was to hang out with Dokken before he left for England. It was great to catch up before he left, and we had a good time. Unfortunately, we did not represent Minnesota well in the pool games we played. Sorry MN!
restaurant on the North side, the next best story from that trip that I can remember was the hawk I saw sitting in a tree eating a squirrel in the middle of Boston Commons. So cool! Smart bird huh! There are tons of squirrels around there and not many hawks. Surprised I never saw any on the UofMN campus. The picture was taken on the subway on the way to Harvard. It was Leah's first time on a subway, hence her silly facial expression in the picture. My next trip to Boston was also a great time but on less happy terms. This trip was to hang out with Dokken before he left for England. It was great to catch up before he left, and we had a good time. Unfortunately, we did not represent Minnesota well in the pool games we played. Sorry MN!L.L. Beans main store is in Freeport, ME (essentially where I spend most of my free time- Freeport that is, not Beans). Anyway, they pretty much have a campus there. The morning of their Grand Opening of their new Hunting and Fishing store, they were giving away free gift 
certificates ranging from $25-$500. So Sarah, Kim, and I woke up ridiculously early to get in line. Unfortunately, we all thought we'd be able to wait inside the other store, but unfortunately that was not the case so we were slightly under dressed and spent most of the morning huddling together for warmth. ;) Yeh!!! Huddling with two ladies. hahaha. Our friend Peter, did take pity on us late in the morning and brought us some Dunkin' Donuts coffee and doughnuts. This was shortly before the Starbucks people came I believe. Anyway, after all the wait and cold, I only ended up with a $25 gift certificate. Better than nothing, and the guy first in line who was there at 7pm the night before got the same thing. His friend did get $500 though. Sorry, that was sort of a lame story. I'll try to pick it up a little.
certificates ranging from $25-$500. So Sarah, Kim, and I woke up ridiculously early to get in line. Unfortunately, we all thought we'd be able to wait inside the other store, but unfortunately that was not the case so we were slightly under dressed and spent most of the morning huddling together for warmth. ;) Yeh!!! Huddling with two ladies. hahaha. Our friend Peter, did take pity on us late in the morning and brought us some Dunkin' Donuts coffee and doughnuts. This was shortly before the Starbucks people came I believe. Anyway, after all the wait and cold, I only ended up with a $25 gift certificate. Better than nothing, and the guy first in line who was there at 7pm the night before got the same thing. His friend did get $500 though. Sorry, that was sort of a lame story. I'll try to pick it up a little.As most of you know, I started working with the Young Life ministry out here which means I get to hang out with a bunch of awesome high schoolers. I'm not even joking, it's fun. (As all my teacher friends reading this roll their eyes- ha!) I was able to go to Camp Saranac in upstate NY, just a short distance from Lake Placid. First of all, it was beautiful up there. We were doing a Work Crew Weekend, which means there are NY kids there doing the "camp" thing and our kids are there being Christ-like servants to make their stay a good one. This means our kids were preparing and serving food (restaurant style- essentially), doing dishes and laundry, etc. The poor kids on my crew got to do the outside physical labor. Needless to say, my crew started with three kids and I think ended with one. His name was Kyle. Let me explain mine and Kyle's experience. We had the job of digging out the foundation of a building. So we are underneath a building, digging out all the dirt underneath it. So at the tallest point it was maybe 3 feet. Plus there was the foundation was built around a large boulder and the building built over it. So we have points where we are laying over this rock trying to get all the dirt out. It was pure insanity, but we did get to wear sweet white jump suits. Can't deny that is a little cool. You know how hard it is to display a Christ-like servant attitude when you have dirt in your nose and eyes and your back and shoulders are screaming. Just saying! But we got it done and definitely grew from the experience. Otherwise, I stay busy just trying to be a part of these kids lives, help them grow in their relationship with Jesus, and to reach out to other kids.
Hmmm... what else. Oh yeah! Thanksgiving away from home. So I went with some friends to Connecticut (who would have thought you spelled it that way) to have dinner with a family my buddy was connected to down there. So imagine the most Italian-American family you can and that was this family. They were great. It was a lot of fun and the food... Wow! The first course was lasagna which I was all about since I love that stuff, BUT this lasagna was all homemade even the noodles. It was probably better than the lasagna I actually had in Italy. I think I'm drooling a little just thinking about it. The rest of the food was great too as was all the homemade wine. Turkey was an option, but mostly as a technicality. I think only myself and a couple other people ate any. I had to eat some, I mean, it's Thanksgiving, right.
I was able to make it home twice in Decemeber which was great for seeing family and friends but bad for the bank and getting a little homesick. The first time was be there for two of my best friends getting married. Bryan and Alicia said "I do" on December 9th. It was a great time and a beautiful wedding. They are now living in Iowa trying to not get bored out of their minds. At lea
st I moved someplace fun to visit! (Just kidding Iowa- I'm sure its great there). The second trip was for Christmas. I can't even explain how it felt to be home for Christmas this year. I love my family. I was also able to see some high school peeps which was for far to short of a time though. This trip also encompassed the last time I would see my Grandfather alive. He passed away in February. When I saw him in December, he made the comment "Sometimes I ju
st want to give up." What do you say to that? At least, I know he was ready to go and ok with it. He is not longer suffering and is in a much better place. I was able to travel home to be with my family as well. Perhaps the best thing about a funeral is that it brings family together. For my immediate family, it was the first time in years that we have all been together. My oldest brother and his family flew in from Neveda. It was so good to see them.
st I moved someplace fun to visit! (Just kidding Iowa- I'm sure its great there). The second trip was for Christmas. I can't even explain how it felt to be home for Christmas this year. I love my family. I was also able to see some high school peeps which was for far to short of a time though. This trip also encompassed the last time I would see my Grandfather alive. He passed away in February. When I saw him in December, he made the comment "Sometimes I ju
st want to give up." What do you say to that? At least, I know he was ready to go and ok with it. He is not longer suffering and is in a much better place. I was able to travel home to be with my family as well. Perhaps the best thing about a funeral is that it brings family together. For my immediate family, it was the first time in years that we have all been together. My oldest brother and his family flew in from Neveda. It was so good to see them. What else: I got a season lift pass so I go snowboarding whenever I can (thankfully I have fridays off). New Years was a total gong show which entailed my roommate at one point having to pre
ss his bare chest against a cold door window for 5 minutes and Rob dancing a little to close to Peter for everyone's comfort, especially Peter's. You'll have to ask me about that story if you want more details. It was the result of a crazy board game called "Would you rather..." I own it, we'll play it sometime. My friends Nate and Jen had a beautiful baby boy, Christian, on Dec. 9th. He was about 3 months premature and spent a few months in the hospital but is now home and growing like crazy. I went cross-country skiing for the first time last weekend. I pretty much rock at it. ha! or something like that. I went snowshoeing today. I think we've gotten about 100" of snow this winter already. I hate shoveling. My roommate and I have done a little rock climbing. My roommate continues to travel a lot for work, but he is on his last trip now. Then he will be here from mid-March till beginning of May before he moves out, which will be a sad day. Well, I think I covered most of the highlights since my last post. I'm excited to see all of you who are planning trips out here.
ss his bare chest against a cold door window for 5 minutes and Rob dancing a little to close to Peter for everyone's comfort, especially Peter's. You'll have to ask me about that story if you want more details. It was the result of a crazy board game called "Would you rather..." I own it, we'll play it sometime. My friends Nate and Jen had a beautiful baby boy, Christian, on Dec. 9th. He was about 3 months premature and spent a few months in the hospital but is now home and growing like crazy. I went cross-country skiing for the first time last weekend. I pretty much rock at it. ha! or something like that. I went snowshoeing today. I think we've gotten about 100" of snow this winter already. I hate shoveling. My roommate and I have done a little rock climbing. My roommate continues to travel a lot for work, but he is on his last trip now. Then he will be here from mid-March till beginning of May before he moves out, which will be a sad day. Well, I think I covered most of the highlights since my last post. I'm excited to see all of you who are planning trips out here. Some of you may be wondering about my future plans. Status: Still waiting on God's direction. I'm still considering moving out west (maybe Bozeman, Montana) for a while or trying traveling PT for a while. I'm not sure when I'll leave here yet. Getting involved with a ministry doesn't make it any easier to leave. Please pray for me as I look for God's guidance with that. p.s. Apartment pics are on the way soon.
Miss you all. God bless.
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