I guess that is how I can really explain the start of 2009. Right from the get-go, I found myself in completely new environments, situations, and interactions with people that I had not done before. Such as going out to a club to hangout with a friend and their other friends, meeting ppl outside of San Diego and driving out to meet them, or just simply being around a different crowd of people that extended beyond the safety net feel of the AGO community. This new change of scenery taught me so much more than I thought I had bargained for. Conversations and shared memories with people my age helped me to definitely see the reality of people living life without having a regular church or Sunday service is the usually structure for someone who calls themselves a Christian. It was interesting to see the reaction of people who would find out that I believe in Jesus and am a Christian guy since I was in places that ‘church’ or ‘religion’ usually aren’t found or even mentioned- more shocking was that they treated me no differently than before not knowing about my faith or ‘religion’- if anything, they would ask questions and share about their experience with the church and what not. Compared to my Christian friends, I felt somewhat like a black sheep or a renegade Christian- especially since the semester before I was Chaplain and always tried to be there for everyone. Though my new perspective and passion to be with people may have caused me to hangout less with some of them, those few close brothers still remained there for me. And that’s life I guess. I realized that I can’t be friends with everyone or be close with them. And I came to understand that the church should not be bound to a building or that people who belong to the church should just stay in their comfy church bubble where it’s rare to find someone who is not a Christian in just regular life…

I wouldn’t admit it at the time, but I didn’t make the best of decisions during this last semester of my college career. I started talking with my ex again. I had decided to give her a 2^nd chance and to put my trust in her again since the 1^st time we were together we broke up when I was away from the country on my semester abroad…And before not too long, we were together again. Despite almost all the people I had talked to about the situation and had expressed great concern and worry for me, I didn’t let their wisdom and insights get to me…

Mmmhhhhhmm. LOL. I apparently learn the hard way. Just as with everything in my life I thank God to still be able to look back on everything and laugh. Some things might take longer to laugh at than others, but given enough time and understanding, I can laugh at it all and not regret a single thing.

Truly by God’s grace, I finished the semester but it was quite the fight. I remember one night at work during finals week (I had gotten a job at a sushi restaurant in January) my boss had asked if I was feeling alright or stressed- I guess that pressure of finally being done with school started to show itself on my face.

And so the start of summer came along. I decided to intern for Strong Missions, the missions org that I had worked with during the previous years missions trip. I spent 5 weeks there working, translating, and traveling with the missions groups that came from the U.S. I loved the work I was doing. And it wasn’t just the work, it was the people that I worked with and the relationships that it help me establish. Returning back was hard but I knew that I very much needed to be working my summer job and at the sushi restaurant. 2 jobs each day, about 5 days a week. Nuts. I was on average working 55hrs+ every week. Crazy.

With summers end however, I found a lot more time to chill and relax and actually realize that I wasn’t a student anymore; an interesting time of transition. By October, I had found out that I would have the opportunity to get a full-time position working with Strong Missions as a Program Coordinator. Keeping contact with Charlie, the director from Dallas but now living in Costa Rica, got me excited to know that I’d be able to travel, serve, and earn income all with the job offered that he presented me with. It didn’t take long to accept since I had no other career plans in sight. I’d give it a try- no binding contract so I dove right on in.

The couple months left prior to my departure to Costa Rica, was just focused on being with friends and hanging out as much as possible. It was awesome. Fun times indeed. Unexpectedly I got offered to go free to a Lady Gaga concert in December that definitely left an impression on me. When I thought nothing major would happen during the little time left, I see that I have a truck load waiting for me. Expecting to make a swift exit, I get handed a rose. A rose for the road that has helped me along the way…