day two, and all i am is me

it has rained her for the last week i think. i've only been here since yesterday, but it's what i've heard. in case i didn't say this before, my missionary, the one who i'm interning under isn't here yet. but he is part of the group so there are a few people here that are kind of looking after me. so far it is jen, lisa, jackie, and hannah is the other intern. i can't put up pictures right now because i can't find the cord the connects my camera to the computer. sorry, i'll try to get that fixed as soon as possible so you all can see what i see.

in the morning, hannah, jen, jackie and I went running at the park. we had to walk to it and it was a walled in area. not too big with a track about five feet wide winding around it. people would walk and run on it.

i don't have internet in the apartment i am staying in for the time being. so i'm using the internet at jen, hannah, and jackie's apartment. it's the bottom floor of the dormitory we will be using to house teams that come. the second floor has two large rooms with bunks 3 high and bathrooms. the 3rd floor is open all the way around with tables and a kitchen. i'll try to get pictures as soon as i can.

the streets here are small and the drivers are crazy. pretty much the rules of the road don't matter as long at you honk your horn. the buildings are close together.

i believe i said earlier that you can't drink the water from the tap. there are small stores on a lot of corners and streets that have big jugs of water for sale.

i have a shower in my apartment but last night and today the water wasn't running when i went to take a shower. this happens a lot i guess. there are big plastic trash cans in the showers though that collect water when you take a shower while the water is working. so i used a cup and have had to take cold cup baths the last two days. it's hot enough here that it's not that big of a deal to use cold water.

hey, thanks for reading. keep praying. it will be hardest in these next couple weeks because i feel so weak or useless not being able to speak spanish.

finally here

this is my story for the last day and a half. me and my parents left our family reunion to stay the night in a hotel near detroit, MI. we relaxed and watched the basketball game on tv. then we woke up early and went to the airport. finally, the start of my journey.

i left at 9 in the morning and finally arrived in santiago, Dominican Republic at 7 at night. my flights were great. my first from detroit to chicago lasted less than half an hour. as soon as we were up we were landing.

after an hour and half layover, which i spent checking out books in the terminal store, i was on my way to miami. i sat next to a really nice girl named katy, who slept the entire flight. luckily for me this was a 777, just newly placed to this route and each seat had its own tv screen and i watched some weird movie with edward norton who was a scientist trying to cure cholera in some chinese city. oh well, at the end of the fight katy woke up and we talked until the flight landed.

in miami i had to walk forever to get to my next plane. sitting there reading i all of a sudden heard someone say, "hey you!" lisa engle, a missionary from the dominican, was aparently on the same flight i was. thank heaven. now i didn't feel quite as lost as before. we talked and boarded the plane and talked some more. the last flight finally was taking place. i was in the air on my way to the dominican republic.

we got through the airport. waited while it downpoured until we were picked up. i dropped all of my stuff off at the apartment i will be staying at until my missionary Will comes with the keys to the apartment i will be staying at for the rest of the summer.

now jen, jackie, lisa, hannah, and i are relaxing and spending my first night watching a movie. yes we have power and water. there aren't furnishings like in the states and you can't drink the water actually. but hey, it's gonna be home. for a few months anyway. talk to you all soon.

taking time to make time

Now that the derby deed is done i have only 3 weeks until i leave for the dominican republic. i have just returned home after spending another day with my brother at asbury seminary. a great guy named blake let me ride with him up to michigan. which has made me realize that i really want a truck.

the ride up wasn't all peaches though. we got stuck in traffic during a down pour. it took me and blake all of 40 minutes to move 8 miles with our stuff in the bed of his truck.

now i'm home and i get to see friends and family for the next 3 weeks. i can't wait to see my friend scott and hold his baby before it gets too big.

so what's gonna happen next?

have you ever had one of those feelings like something was going to happen. in this case, something not so good. have you ever noticed that God builds up his people so they can face hard times. not to put a negative spin on bad times but when something bad is about to happen to us, God will prepare us often by sandwitching it between good times. today was such a good day, i am just wondering what could possibly happen next.

i woke up this morning around 9 o'clock. sweet amazingness. a wonderful woman who i learned was named beverly was cooking breakfast. the people who i had come to know as friends were sitting around a table looking very refreshed. everyone was smiling and talking, and i took a moment to talk with beverly. it has been her and her husband that have been letting us several volunteers stay in their house. they are so gracious and wonderful, and still when they return to their house with all of us still taking up space they are still so welcoming. after i talk for a little bit i quick take a shower. i come back for breakfast and we eat and talk until it's time to leave for the last, the easiest day of the derby. the derby was actually over yesterday but the merchandise people were selling everything for very cheap to whomever was still around.

it was really hectic when we got there. we jumped right in and learned that the registers weren't being used. everything was pretty much 5 dollars. we would grab what they wanted if we had it and just take the people's cash. the time went fast and easy. i found a comfort level with attempting to talk folks into buying more stuff, made easier by the low prices. after we closed down around 3 o'clock i picked a bunch of things to get for my family. i figured that they would give me a very low price and it ended up that an amazing guy named Heath gave me all that stuff for twenty dollars. what a guy.

i spent the rest of the night with jeff rogers. a great guy (in case he's reading this). we talked theology, politics, war, peace, all that stuff. i spent a lot of our conversation just trying to read his body language. experimenting in a way (hopefully he's not reading) my friend kimberly didn't have a seat on her plane so her and jennifer came back to the house. we ate at a cuban restaurant where i proceded to order what kimberly called a sonic meal. i go to a cuban restaurant and order a chicken sandwitch with fries. so international of me. oh well, it was all good and we had some great talks about many things and mostly about movies.

which led us to renting "stranger than fiction" on the drive home. we waited until jeff's wife, vicki, and his twin daughters came home and we popped the movie in. (the daughters are almost two and they are completely deaf) it was great. and now i'm back at beverly and dick's house. they are so great. there are fresh sheets for the couch and a pillow and everything is wonderful. thank you God for the blessings you have given me today. i pray that i find a way to pass them on to others. please never let the blessings you give me stay with me, but in all ways remind me that i am blessed to bless others. thank you for this ministry, for this weekend, for the sowers (i also pray that is how you spell their last name), and for you God.

thanks for reading, night

i can't feel my feet, all for 30 seconds of running animals

long, long, long, long day. i wore shoes today, and my feet feel even sorer. this was the big day. THE kentucky derby. 20 horses all running in one big circle. hundreds of thousands of people losing money. maybe a couple thousand winning their lost money back.

you know, it was very exciting today. what a big event to be a part of. vince young was there, john salley was there, numerous other "important" people were there, not to mention the queen of england. the historical race took place again and like always there was a winner. the race was exciting and the only people to miss it was everyone in the infield. the infield where once again i was working. the infield where most of the people were passed out by the end of the day. the infield where the crazies abound.

my booth was once again slow and boring most of the time, due to what i would call the police presence of the mobile headquarters in our area. me and a friend, jackie, took a walk half way through the day and ended up working in the crazy part of the infield. 3 hours of non-stop work. and then back to the first booth.

i am glad to be working for a cause. i love the people i am and will be working with. more than ever i am looking forward to this summer. i'm not sure if Will Partin is going to read this blog but in the small chance that he takes a peak i will keep my endearments for the man absent. no sense making him believe that i like him more than i like his wife. but they are a reason to look forward to this summer and why it's so hard to have patience.

i miss you all my friends. ever so much does my heart long for those who have been a part of me for the last four years. i have been split inside because liz and erin and maggie are in africa and i just imagine in my mind what they are doing and what they are experiencing. i think to all my friends in different states. how can i be whole without them.

thanks for tuning in. email me sometime.

brent

day two, i need to get shoes

wow, what a long day. with 11 races to serve during we entered churchill downs with a spring in our step. i learn that my assignment lie within the beast. i will work in the infield. the infield is, like it sounds, the field within the racing track. unfortunate the progression of sophistication takes a south bound turn when entering the infield. the upper class high stakes betting crowd that we leave behind is replaced with a throng that would make a nascar fan proud. also add a touch of sodom and gamorha (sp). luckily i was in an area close to the mobile police headquarters so the worst of the crowds stayed away.

the rain also acted like similar poles on a magnet with the crowds and for the first half of the day our job in booth 2 was pretty boring. having no wear to sit and nothing to do, both my feet and my knees started complaining after long. the long hours of drudgery had momentary interruptions as i took trips to the very dirty bath house.

it was a long day. it was a good day. it was exciting to be a part of something so big. the big race today was the "oaks" or "oats". i guess i'm not too sure. but there were so many people and so many bets i'm sure. ever so hungry and tired and sore, we had to wait to leave, wait to get home, and wait for the food, but after all the waiting, i sat down with very very good pizza and salad and had an incredible dinner with 3 very wonderful people. we had a good time.

so now, it's off to bed because i have to wake up in 6 hours to have an even busier day surrounded by even more people. thank you God for this opportunity. good night to you all.

the calm before the storm

okay, not true at all. the last couple days have not been calm. they haven't been busy, but calm wouldn't be an accurate way to describe them either. i actually have about a month to go before i depart for the dominican republic. this is my first blog post and i just want to get the word out that this is the way that everyone who wants to be in the know can stay updated.

this first weekend of May i find myself in kentucky volunteering my time working at merchandise boothes to raise money for go-ministries. merchandise boothes at churchill downs. i had my work cut out for me today. it was more of a training day but it was still busy. the phillys ran today and the races don't stop until after sunday.

thank you all for reading and thank you even more for supporting me financially and for supporting me with prayer. this will be a tough summer because of the extremes in which i will find myself. out of the country. away from my friends. with no usual amenities at fingertips. I know God is having his way with me, and i'm the better for it.