Navidad

The trip down to Miami was fun. Sleeping in the freezing tennessee mountains and the fort lauterdale airport in the back of my pickup, then locking my keys in my car in downtown atlanta were good adventures. Then I arrived in Santo Domingo and hitchhiked up to Caribe Tours where I caught a bus up to Jarabacoa.

Being back home in Jarabacoa is incredible. This is the first christmas that our family has spent outside of Chicago. It is sad to be away from my grandparents, aunts, and uncles; however, the creeks flowing by our house providing our water, the dogs slumbering on the deck in the constant, cool breeze, and my family together in our new house overlooking Jarabacoa is incredible.

Tomorrow we will be heading out to Sosua to get lisenced for scuba, I am very excited. Then Josiah and I will be heading into the mountains for a couple of days to get lossed and be together before I head off to Miami for school.

I'll miss spending the day after christmas with the pahls. I'll be thinking of you guys

Listening is an Act of Love

I just saw a great special on the news provider, Democracy Now. The special is about a book that has come out that is against the popular media today, which feeds us with all kinds of nonsense about how celebrities are more important and have more interesting stories than does the everyday person. The book is called "Listening Is an Act of Love" by David Isay. They set up a booth in Grand Central station in New York, and random people would bring a loved one and tell each other their stories that they remembered from childhood or whenever. Those stories were recorded and kept at the library of Congress. Stories of ordinary, everday people, not celebrities, but rather the random people.

Our history books are written by the winners, however the most important history is not told by the winners, but rather through biography of everday people. The author was interviewed and talked about all the incredible experiences that he had while listening to people's stories. It is a challenge for all of us that people are not more valuable based on their economic or popular status. Every person has a story, we need to be humble enough to listen, because that will challenge us and help us grow. He says: "If we take the time to listen, we'll find wisdom, wonder, and poetry in the lives and stories of the people all around us. That we all want to know our lives have mattered and we won't ever be forgotten. That listening is an act of love."

My 1st Blog

I am twenty years old at the moment.

I am a student, sojourner, listener, watcher, and of course I love to tell my stories, probably why I’m starting a blog! I love to travel, and hang out with kids, because they know the most about life. I usually prefer low comedy to high comedy. (ex. I think Dumb and Dumber is one of the greatest films and the Holy Grail doesn’t really do it for me.) I love to study and learn about the great social movements of our world.

I am currently living in Streamwood, Illinois with an amazing man named Jerry. He is coming towards sixty years old, and has lived some incredible things; I am grateful to be in communion with him. After X-mas in the Dominican Republic with my family this year, I will be heading to Miami to begin a new step in my life at Florida International University.

People ask me why I am going there...That is a very difficult thing to say, there are so many reasons. I know Jesus once said “Go into all the world,” and now the whole world is located in the cities, like Miami. (Miami has had more people born outside of the country living it is borders than any other city in North America according to the UNDP.) Our world is urbanizing at incredible rates, and the world as we know it, with different nationalities and languages is rapidly changing as we run out of space on this earth. I want to get a head start on the world and be in the most diverse places now.

The Daoists also emphasize a doctrine of spontaneity when dealing with life. In going to Miami I really have no idea what is to come. I have lived in various places around the world and now I will head to Miami for a new stage in this life. The reason I like this doctrine of spontaneity is that is living by faith. We can only plan and organize to a certain point. As we flow in spontaneity or with the Spirit of God we are opened to amazing opportunities and risks we never thought possible. This blog is to talk about the risks and possibilities that I experience so I do not forget about them, and to encourage others in their lives as well.