Two weekends ago now (November 20th and 21st) Chestnut Ridge Church hosted the 58 Conference.  This conference is geared towards middle and high school age kids from all over West Virginia to help them grow closer to God and help them love others more.

You might be wondering where this 58 comes from.  Is it the number of different groups that came?  Is it the number of people they have helped out? Is it the amount of food (in pounds or tons) that has been donated?  While 58 may be the number for some of these, that is purely by coincidence.  The 58 Conference gets its name from Isaiah 58 and God call for us to loose the chains of injustice, to set the oppressed free, to share our food with the hungry, and to see and learn how to let the light that Jesus provides in our lives shine brighter than ever before.

So how does one small conference accomplish all of that in a mere two days?  In all reality, part of October the whole month of November lead to the conference as its conclusion.  The conference hosted the 58 Food Drive and the Trick-or-Eat event.  On Halloween, kids and adults from all over the state went trick-or-treating in order to gather donations for the food drive.  All of the donations were given to the Mountaineer Food Bank, which distributes food all over the state to where it is needed the most.  Then at the conference there were several main sessions featuring people who just told their stories of what God has done in their lives.  These were then followed by small group break-out sessions where the kids could then talk about and process what they had heard and ask questions about everything.  In addition to this, the conference invites several non-government, non-profit organizations in to set up booths and talk with the kids about where they came from and what problem with the world they saw and are trying to fix.  Yes, all of that can be some pretty deep and hard to process, but there is also a lot of fun time in there too.  The kids were able to smash the fruit of injustice lead by the infamous Jimmy Justice and run through an obstacle course and just have fun.

My role with the conference this year was three fold: setup and provide multimedia services for the main sessions, stream the main sessions live through the wonders of webcasting, and find people to shoot pictures and video – and maybe put together a little something with the footage.  So, if you haven’t already, watch the video.

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

As many of you may or may not know, I volunteer with an organization called Nuru International.  This non-government organization non-profit is about bringing an end to extreme poverty in the world one community at a time through the empowerment of the people where extreme poverty is defined as living on less than a dollar a day.  Now, those are lots of fancy words and phrases, so what does this actually mean and why in the world would I even think about being a part of something like this?

I am a person that believes that everything is intertwined in an extremely complex patter that we simply call life and that what may look like a simple straight path (either physically or usually in my case mentally or logically) for one person is not the same straight line for another.  Therefore, in order to understand my answers to the questions above, I have to tell you a greatly condensed story first (for full story just ask me).  Basically, all of that is saying that the rabbit trail I am on actually tangents back into why I am involved with Nuru.

Several years ago I was at a concert and during one of the intermissions they were showing a video for one of the sponsor-a-kid groups.  During the video they showed a scene of kids pumping water from a well.  What I saw was the sparkling clear water from the pump first, then that faded out to the rest of the pump, which then faded out to show the kids jumping up and down to pump the water.  Basically, in that moment it dawned on me how lucky I am to be able to go to nearly any faucet and be able to drink the water that comes out of it.  I mean think about it, while everyone is so uppity about how bottled water is better than tap water, we are EXTREMELY lucky to just have TAP WATER.  Basically, that is when I knew I had to do something, somehow, to help fix this problem, to help bring water to those who don’t have it.

So what in the world does this little insight have to do with Nuru?  Nuru has five core areas of focus: agriculture, water and sanitation, healthcare, community economic development, and education.  These are broad but interlocked areas of a community.  Think about where you live.  I am sure there are schools there (education), some type of hospital or clinic (healthcare), tap water somewhere close by – probably within a hundred feet or so – and a bathroom with a device to flush away your wastes (water and sanitation), a supermarket or grocery store (agriculture), and some type of business (community economic development).  All of these are inter-related and key aspects to the community.  Furthermore, Nuru is not about just giving anything out or going in with preconceived notions of what is right or wrong. Instead, Nuru is about listening to the community and coming up with a plan of attack with the leaders so that they can take ownership of what they are doing.  In this way a dependency is not created and the community actually does bring itself out extreme poverty.

So, if you haven’t watched the videos yet, I highly recommend you do.  I am Nuru, so why aren’t you?

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

“Dance, then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he”

Sorry, no video this time around but if you click the play button above you will be treated to a very unique version of Lord of the Dance by Captain Tractor.  They are a unique Canadian band that I recently discovered and the CD that this song is off of is actually pretty good.  This song was not originally composed by them but was written in the 1950’s or 60’s and sung to an older tune.  It basically sums up Jesus’s life on earth from his point of view.  This song does not describe my life at the moment – a clamoring of anything together with the hope of rhythm and a few shinning moments of harmony and clarity would be a more accurate musical representation, but you can’t help but dance along to this rendition to the Lord of all dancing.

So I realized that it has been over a month since the last update – which means that I am on my usual par of writing.  Let me tell you, it has been so long mostly because everything else has been pretty busy.

There is the school work going on (and luckily midterms are now over), Nuru Student Org and Grassroots work, 17three activities, and a slew of other activities that have been keeping me rather busy.  Most everything everywhere is going well minus a few bumps along the way.  I will say that this past Friday, the 23rd, was an interesting day.  I had the lowest valley of at least the last three months and the highest peak in who knows how long, all in the span of 24 short hours.  The sucky part is now I am going to have to do a lot, and I mean a lot, of work to make and implement a workable solution to what brought about the low gorge.  At the same time, with a little hope and luck, maybe what brought about the high apogee will start to happen with an increased frequency.  It amazes me what God does in and through others regardless of the situations.  I have always known that I need to be conscience of His presence in every situation and I try to be – I just need to work on the reception sometimes.

Ooo.. and other random news: I am going to attempt to build a new rocket designed around breaking the sound barrier.  The name is still to be determined but it is going to be powered by the two highest powered G motors I can get a hold of – as well as learning how to cluster start motors, be as of minimal of diameter as possible, and will probably require me to learn how to fiberglass.  It is going to be interesting to say the least!

So, until next time – be it tomorrow or a month from now, Ciao! Ciao!

The basic layout of the map is that the blue lines are where I have already been (or close to them) and the red is where I still need to go.

For starters, I had all good intentions of writing this post before any of these travels began but, as is the usual, many odd things popped up and I was unable to write anything.

The trip began in Morgantown, WV at my new place of residence (still getting used to roomies).  From there I traveled home to see the family for a few days as well as go to the graduate service at church in Wytheville, VA.  They honored the high school and college graduates and even gave us a lunch.  After the lunch, I set off for Myrtle Beach, SC, to spend some time with a friend of mine from Morgantown.  Her family has a place less than 100 yards from the beach, which makes it fantastic!  Something that amazed me with the trip thus far is the difference between the 3 towns.  In Morgantown, things seem to be moving at 50% light speed – always going, not a lot of down time, that type of thing (and 100% light speed is currently impossible to attain unless you are a wee-little photon).  In Wytheville, compared to Morgantown, things are moving much much slower.  The people seem to be taking their time and things are moving at their own pace.  Finally, in Myrtle Beach (in an area between Myrtle-Myrtle and North Myrtle) everything seems to have stopped – or at least slowed down considerably even from Wytheville standards.  It is always very relaxing there.

Ahh… The fishie is going to get you!

After a few days at the beach, I ventured to Boone, NC, for a bachelor party.  On June 6th, my sister got married to the love of her life and I was in the wedding party.  As such, I got invited to the bachelor party, which was at the groom’s family cabin in Boone.  Good times were to be had there including a broken well cover (of which I may or may not have been the one to break it).  After the party most of us had to travel to Roanoke, VA to pick up our tux.  I did not realize before hand but this trip took me through Wytheville once again, so I picked up dad and we made this part of my trek together (plus he knows more of where things are in Roanoke than I do).  Then, as one might expect, we came back to Wytheville.

Somewhere in North Carolina 

The wedding was fantastic.  Michael, the groom, was very nervous and excited and happy – as we thought he would be.  Lauren, the bride, was more beautiful than I have ever seen her.

The newlyweds! 

So now I have caught you up on where all I have been, now for where I will be traveling (the red line if you remember).  I am going to be in Wytheville until Friday morning, which is when I will set out for Elkins, WV.  Billy, a friend of mine and housemate, has invited many people for a little weekend campout at his cabin by the creek.  So while everyone else is coming down from Morgantown, I will be traveling up from Wytheville.  I could take the usual and quicker route along the interstates but I have decided on a different route.  My aunt went to WVU back in the days when there were only 2 Towers and the interstate system did not exist and has talked about her route up there many times.  I have always wanted to take “the back way”, just never had enough time usually to do it.  So this time I am going to take a back way although it will not be her way.  In the middle-of-nowhere, West Virginia (Greenbank to be exact), there is the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope.  It is roughly 100m in diameter (330 feet for those english-standard folk).  I have always seen the signs pointing to Greenbank but have never ventured there.  Since it is kind-of on the way, why not see it?  After the camping trip I will return to Morgantown in order to pack and get ready for the second round of trips this summer: DC, Alaska, and the beach (different one).

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

P.S. Every mile that has and will be driven on this trip is me driving, no substitute drivers here haha

This post is 3 days late but yesterday I had a deep thought.  On April 16, 2007, one student killed 32 of his fellow university students and professors.  To this day there has not been a massacre like this on a college campus – although there have been other mass shootings on college campuses (Northern Illinois University shooting, February 14, 2008: received nearly no press coverage).

Here is a little more of my background and Virginia Tech.  I grew up in a small town that is 45 minutes away from Blacksburg.  Nearly all of my graduating high school class went to VT.  Most of my family has gone to VT for higher education of some sort – including two cousins who were in class that day.  Needless to say, this Mountaineer has some Hokie roots.

I spent most of yesterday in the woods hiking around with a friend but doing a lot of introspective thinking – which is what usually ends up happening with me in the woods.  My thought was this: What if I had been there?  Would I have been one of the ones barricading a door or trying to save others?  Or would I have been too scared to move?  Would I be here to write something like this today?  The answer that always ended up surfacing is “I don’t know.”  I do not know how I would have responded to a situation such as this.  I would like to think that I’d been trying to barricade a door or trying to protect a fellow student… but I don’t know for certain and I pray that I never find out.

To the 27 students and 5 facility who lost their lives: you are still remembered.  Much has been done around the country to try to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again.  Nothing could ever justify what you all had to give at the hands of a lunatic but you will be remembered.

You are remembered.

Until next time, Ciao Ciao

Recently while playing a random assortment of music this song popped up and I remembered why I like Relient K.  Have you ever struggled with moving forward in life, taking the blind plunge into the known or unknown?  I know that for 100% fact that I struggle with this, sometimes even on a daily basis.  This is definitely true right now.  The questions of why I am in Morgantown, what purpose am I serving in organization x, y, and z, what are my next steps in life, where am I going are ones that I’ve been asking a lot lately.  Relient K hit the nail on the head when they sing “well every time I gain some ground / I gotta turn myself around again.”  I feel like every time I gain some ground in one area I get smacked farther back than when I started.  What is really getting me is that this forward motion struggle isn’t just affecting the areas I already listed but even my spiritual walk with God.  It seems like lately it has been me leading the way instead of me being God’s hands and feet and letting Him take the helm.  I have really been making a conscience effort lately to open up and bring my all to Him as well as everyone else in my life (trying to be more open and more touchie-touchie feelie-feelie and break through years walls and boundaries that I have built as defense mechanisms) and lately it seems like I have not heard anything back.  I know He is still there and listening and this is my example.  Yesterday I thought I had lost my wallet.  I tore up my room, looking for it in all the usual places and many unusual ones as well.  I even went as far as to call the cafe where I had been the night before and to ask them if they had found it.  I went to class and when I came back proceeded to look everywhere again.  In a fit of anger (yes I do get angry) with myself and the wallet, I called out to God and said “you know, You say that You’re always with me, I feel like I haven’t heard from You at all lately.  If You’re still here, where’s my wallet?”  When I said this I was in the living room and after saying it walked back into my bedroom to begin the 4th or 5th trashing of my room looking for it.  I turned on the closet light and whala, there was my wallet sitting chest level pretty as you please in a spot that I know I had looked at several times that morning.  Furthermore, the time lapse between calling out to God and finding the wallet was less than 5 minutes.

In many ways my experience was like Peter’s when he saw Jesus walking on water.  Peter tested Jesus, telling him to have him walk on the water as well.  Peter stepped out onto the water and walked on it but then became scared and started to sink.  He then cries out to Jesus to rescue him and Jesus pulls him out of the water saying “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Yesterday I was Peter.  I challenged God, which I do NOT recommend you do because God can do anything He wants, I mean He did create the universe and literally everything everything that has come with it. (for the full Bible story, click here)

So, what does this have to do with forward motion?  Everything.  No one really knows what their path through life looks like.  The only one who does know is God.  The bumps and turns that we are seeing now may actually be the straight path that He has set for us.  I know that right now my path is covered over with a dense fog which is telling me that there is something that He wants me to learn before I can proceed.  So, if this all sounds way too familiar, like I am in your head reading your thoughts (that’s a creepy idea), then right here and now pray.  Short and simple, long and deep, it doesn’t matter… pray from your heart.

Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

Before you get judgmental and questioning my choice in videos you must read on.  Even though this song has been around since 1999, I just recently discovered it and I really like it.  I just graduate of West Virginia University with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.  Even though this song is talking about middle school or high school graduation, it still has parts that apply to any momentous point in time and other parts that should apply throughout life in general.  One of the latter aspects is heard in the lines about how we keep thinking that times will never change when in fact they have to.  That is the natural progression of God’s plan for us. He knows what our future is and gives us glimpses of it occasionally, we can always look back on our past, both the good memories and the tough ones, and because of those two factors, the present really is a present to us.  Some of that living in the present also means going for what you are seeking and even wearing your heart on your sleeve.  I’m not saying to go about whatever it is without thinking about it or praying about it but in most situations, what do you really have to loose?  Pride? phesh, give me a break.  Now as far as being friends forever, I would like to believe that but I know that it isn’t always true.  People come and people go and you never know when you may run into them again but by then you’re probably more of an acquaintance than an actual friend.  Don’t ditch everyone, hold on to those closest to you and fight hard to maintain those connections.  Every single person that has come into your life has been there for a reason and you were in theirs for a reason a well, whether or not we ever realize what those reasons are.  One final motive that this song has been sticking with me is the underlying melody is based on Pachelbel’s Canon and I really am drawn to anything that sounds like it.  Now you are free to judge however you want to.

Since the overall theme of this post is graduation, below are some pictures that my great aunt and great uncle took at my graduation in December.

The brand new scoreboard in the coliseum 

My college’s weird color

Whoo-hoo… I’m holding my fake diploma

The family that could make it to graduation

Hope you have enjoyed them and my insight into a “pop” song.  Until next time, Ciao! Ciao!

Well, the video above explains it pretty well… our world is broken.  The use of “our” is correct because we are all a part of the same world.  Another World is Possible is a week long series of events designed to bring awareness to the issues touched on in the video.  Genocide, clean water, AIDS, and slavery… how can these still be issues in this modern age?  How can we allow these things to happen?  Answer: We don’t know these issues exist or we have become complacent to these issues.  I used to be of the mind that problems half a world away couldn’t affect me.  They were too distant.  And if they did, what could I do.  I’m just one person.  Over the past year to two years my eyes have been opened.  I have seen first hand how a small group of like-minded individuals can change the lives of people that we may never meet.  We are seeing the results of our efforts and it makes me realize how powerful a small group of people can be on this planet of nearly 7,000,000,000 people (yes, 7 with a billion after it).

With my old blog I would usually try to have some type of challenge or pondering at the end of it, trying to make this feel as much like we’re talking face to face as possible.  I am going to continue that with this entry (it may not happen with every one, depends on the mood).  My challenge for you is to search your heart for what you see as a problem in this world and once you’ve identified it, figure out some way to fix it.  The next step is to start looking for people like yourself and join together to attack that problem head on.  What you see as the problem you’re called to may be seeing the end to the homeless in your town or it could be stopping genocide across the world or bringing clean water to all those who need it.  Whatever it is, GO FOR IT!!! Go about and make a difference.  It is going to be work, it is going to be hard work, I will not lie and tell you other wise.  At the end of the day when you look back you’ll be able to see that you and your group have made a difference.  So go for it!

Another World is Possible… Ciao! Ciao!