this is the day - the last day!

Whelp, this is the day (pun intended). Not only is it the first update to my blog in about 4 months (oops), it’s also my very last day of missionary service! I thought it would be appropriate to post a little update on my life since it’s been so long. By-the-month highlights - here we go:

March

• March Madness at the Seminar Program: hosted 9 groups from Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
• Bucket showers for lent: experienced a deep appreciation for water as a resource and gift from God, and remembered my baptism pretty much every day as I poured water over my head.

April

• Visited home for a few days and hosted my family in DC for a few days.
• Finished physical therapy with great improvements in strength in mobility associated with my spinal arthritis.

May

• Married off one housemate and welcomed a new housemate into our home.
• Experienced US-2 End-Terms, the final formal gathering of our missionary class.
• Summer season at the Seminar Program begins with 4 seminar groups.

June

• Began co-leading a Bible study and fellowship small group with The District Church, studying the book of Ecclesiastes.
• Spoke at Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference on my call to mission, my work, and Generation Transformation programs.
• Facilitated a workshop and screened a film, both on human trafficking, at the Youth2015 conference in Orlando, FL.
• Hosted 5 more seminar groups.
• Had the first ever “Find-a-Dave-a-Job-a-Thon,” where my generous friends volunteered to gather at my house to look up jobs they thought I would be good at, and then explain to me why I should apply. Discernment is best done in community. I highly recommend this for anyone engaged in a job search.

July

• For the first time in 3 years, rode a century (100 mile bike ride) with my roommate, fulfilling one of my little known DC goals of biking to the beach and back.
• Celebrated Independence Day with my roommates and friends here in DC.
• Hosted my last seminar group.
• Had the honor of witnessing a good friend be baptized.

What’s next? My first item of business is a bike ride across Iowa called RAGBRAI (Registers Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa). This is simply a huge bike tour I’m doing for fun with 3 friends from DC and about 15,000 new friends I’ll meet there on the journey. The ride will take 7 days and cover 585 miles.

After that, I’ll continue the job search, focusing here in DC for the near term, but expanding beyond as needed. As always, if you know of something at the intersection of engineering, education, and ministry which provides ample time for working with people or hands-on work, please let me know!

I have so many more things I would like to share, but this is all for now. Blessings friends!

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So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:24 NLT

newsletter: issue 3 - year one and beyond

Hot off the presses, here is Issue 3 of my newsletter!

July 23, 2014 marked the first day of my second year of service as a missionary. It’s cliché to say, but also true, that the year flew by, and it’s hard to imagine now that I only have about 9 months left before I finish! Although, 9 months is a lot of time, and I look forward to continuing to grow and finishing strong. Before too much more time flies by, here is a little update on my life and times! ...

I hope you'll download the full newsletter and read on. If you'd like this to arrive in your inbox or mailbox, please send me a note and I'll get you signed up. Also, consider passing this along to some young adult you know who might be interested in mission service.

Thanks for your support in many ways, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Prayer requests:

• Big praise and joy that I've finally started some medicine which is helping my back to recover from my bout with spinal arthritis!
• Continued guidance on where God would have me go and what God would have me do next.
• Healing for those affected by Ebola, and creation of a strong healthcare infrastructure in West African Nations which will help prevent disease outbreaks in the future.

back in action + creative

 

Welp, it's been almost 3 months since my last blog post. Oops. So much for posts every Wednesday. It has been good to take some sabbath from the blog, and I've also had some pretty major life events in the mean time which have distracted me a bit.

In August, I moved from the Capitol Hill neighborhood to an amazing group house with 5 other Christian young adults in Petworth. We live in "intentional community" - we take turns cooking for the whole house, share all our groceries and food, split up house chores fairly systematically, pray together before meals, and generally enjoy life together. It's actually a lot like living with great family.

I've struggled with severe back pain, which kept me from going to work for about 3 weeks in September. The doctors diagnosed me with axial/ankylosing spondylitis, or spinal arthritis, which could lead to spinal fusion if left unchecked. This is chronic, and is likely a complication of another condition I have called ulcerative colitis, or inflammation of the large intestine. Both are inflammation and immune system related. My pain level is much decreased after a course of steroids, I'm back to work, and I hope to start some longer-term treatment with medicine soon. My roommates have been extremely supportive as they have surrounded me with care and food!

Near the end of September, I started to recover and felt well enough to go to New York City for US-2 midterms, which is the halfway-through-the-missionary-program time of gathering, reflection, equipping, and sending. I had a blast hanging out with my sisters in mission again. And yes - I'm the only male US-2 in my class.

Through The District Church, I've also started a small group book study with a friend. The group is based around Dallas Willard's book "Hearing God." We're all about listening for God's voice and guidance through forming a closer relationship with God as we discern our various callings in life. We also spend time just enjoying each others' company and eating snacks. Let me know if you think you'd like to join us!

Finally, I'm coming to the realization that I've only got 9 months left as a US-2. Just 9 months! The natural question is: what comes next? I'm still quite interested in engineering and think about it almost daily. My work as a US-2 has sharpened my understanding about the many struggles humanity faces, and how Christians have a general calling toward ending those struggles. There are a number of ways I see to integrate the two worlds of engineering and faith-based justice, and I've enjoyed the opportunity to explore those intersections.

Over the next weeks and months, I'm going to share more about these and all of the other things I'm thinking about and experiencing. I just wanted to take a moment to catch up and summarize. I hope to be back in action on at least a semi-regular basis going forward.

I also want to introduce a new feature of my blog. I think I'll just call them "creative" posts. I discovered that one of my great joys in life is doing work with my hands - manual dexterity - tactile thinking and learning and processing. I actually do some artsy things on occasion, like drawing, writing, poetry, alternative prayer styles, cooking, and I might even try my hand at brewing beer at some point. I've kept many of these things tucked away, but I plan on sharing more of them.

One type of drawing I like to do is graffiti-style sketches. Below is one I did on Sunday while I took some sabbath time.

Prayer requests:

• That I am released from or can make peace with the pain I experience with the spinal arthritis
• Continued guidance on finding a fulfilling vocation when I finish the US-2 program
• Relief for our may friends, brothers, and sisters in West Africa who struggle with Ebola

year 2, day 1

One year ago today, I was a wide-eyed, hopeful candidate for mission service on my way to New York City to begin training to become a young adult missionary. I was walking away from six years of grad school. I had two engineering journal papers sitting on desks of editors, waiting to be approved. I still had a year left on my lease at my apartment and was hoping and praying for a subletter. I just had last meetings for ice cream, drinks, bike rides, and dinner with some of my greatest friends. I met brand new people and made connections. I had lots of conversations about wrapping things up, handing things off, and staying in touch.

I had never experienced such a feeling of living in the moment. There was no planning. All the plans had been made, and then was the time to execute. I had to fully trust in the Spirit to stay afloat.

I had no idea what I would encounter in the next three weeks during training. My brothers and sisters in mission, along with their hopes, dreams, experiences, and callings. The issues of justice, those hard and heavy topics that I never learned about in school. The leaders, going to bed later and getting up earlier than any of us to guide us through our transition. The city. The bagels with schmear. The farm. The fleas. The beets and kale. The complaining. The unity. The worship.

And then we were commissioned, sent as missionaries far and wide as agents of transformation who would be transformed in the process.

Things fell into place. I was able to sublease my apartment. I cleaned out and gave away lots of stuff. I packed up and moved home briefly. I finally found an apartment in DC, and I moved in a week later. I got down to business.

During my first several months, I felt myself grow a lot in many ways. I had a lot of responsibility due to some transitions in the director of my placement, which I loved. I learned more and more about all of the hidden craziness (both good and bad) going on in our world, and came to greater understanding of my own privilege and ways that others are privileged over me (the latter, admittedly, are fewer). Finding ways to keep in touch with people in far away places became even more of a priority for me. I started playing Frisbee on the National Mall.

It’s been a wild and amazing ride.

That brings me to today, the halfway point. I have 364 more days to live this life before my term is officially completed. Recently, I feel like I’ve plateaued in a lot of ways. I’ve now heard all of our regular speakers for the Seminar Program, though we are recruiting more. I’ve settled into the day-to-day planning and follow-up activities of our work. I’m not feeling as challenged as I was before. I’m hoping to come up with some new ways to stretch and grow, and I know listening to God is going to be key to that.

I’m also looking to the future. The biggest question still remains: what is God calling me to? Engineering? Ministry? Education? Seminary? Something else?

I don't have a nice bow to put on the end of this post, so I'll leave it here.

Prayer Requests:

• As I begin my second and final year of mission service, that God would speak to me, and that I would have ears to listen to God and all the things that God has placed in me.
• For my brothers and sisters in mission, that those who have been in transition would find peace and that we all would be renewed, ready to finish the race.
• For my family, who are dealing with health problems.

my most important question: what am i doing here?

On June 22, I got the honor of sharing part of my call story and a question that I've wrestled with at The District Church. Every year, TDC has a sermon series called My Most Important Question where people from the congregation are invited to share a question that they have dealt with or continue to deal with. I love the spirit of this series - it gives people an opportunity to tell their stories, celebrating the fact that the faith journey is not an easy journey and that our questions, our messy experiences, and our intimate encounters with God and people are critical to that journey.

In the audio below, Pastor Justin gives an intro to the series, and then three of us share our stories in sequence. I'm the second speaker, between my friends Laurie and Bethany. My part starts around 17 min 45 sec and lasts about 10 minutes, but you're welcome to listen to the other two, who also had great things to say!

Laurie spoke about her struggle of seeking approval, especially from her mother, but not finding it. She asks, "Do they not notice me?" My talk hinges around my moment of consciousness, when I realized that getting my Ph.D. in engineering wasn't where I was called to be. In that moment, I asked "What am I doing here?" Bethany describes her tough years with a bad marriage and divorce, along with the additional fear of the stigma the church may put on divorced people, as she asks, "Where is joy in my trials?"

Take a listen, and I hope you are blessed!

when did we stop playing?

How would you define imagination? When I asked my seminar participants this today, they used some of these words and phrases: Visioning. Dreams. Transcendent humor. Even Spongebob.

I followed that up by reading the creation story, Genesis 1:1 – 2:4, from the Message version of the Bible. While it’s really not what you want to use for serious Bible study or exegesis, I really like to pull out the Message once in a while for its fresh, earthy, and non-academic language. Through the scripture, it’s fun to watch, in your mind’s eye, the creation story unfold as God’s divine imagination becomes a reality. I like to think of God as an engineer (big surprise, right?). God imagined the universe, designed it, and then built it – speaking it into existence.

I can remember being young and climbing all over a fallen tree with my friends and my brother, pretending the tree was a spaceship. We’d land on alien planets, fire the lasers, and gather “crystals” (aka, bottles and jars we found in the dirt, filled with creek water) to power the ship. We would run around in the woods and play all day on those warm, summer days until it got dark and our parents made us come inside.

When I was visiting the Seminar Program in New York City last fall, one of the speakers, a theater guy, asked us to pretend we were in all kinds of interesting situations: walking through honey, hurrying somewhere on the coldest day of the year, on your way to your first date with the girl/guy of your dreams. At the end of all this, he asked a question that hit me like a ton of bricks.

When did we stop playing?

Whoa. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I/we haven’t completely stopped playing, but it really isn’t something that happens on a daily basis. I remember a few weeks ago, a few friends and I were hanging out, and we pulled out some Nerf guns (sorry pacifists) and ran around the house marking each other in good fun! For others, playing looks like finding creative ways to make running a mile more challenging.

This kind of playing is all good fun (depending on who you are) and can be a needed escape from reality, but others still have found more humanitarian ways to play and exercise imagination. At Capitol Hill UMC, we have begun a sermon series promoting the UMC Imagine No Malaria campaign. It’s all about visioning and moving toward a world where malaria, a disease that claims a life every 60 seconds, is no longer a reality. We want to eradicate it worldwide, just like we did in the US in the 1950s. Simple preventative measures, such as a $10 bed net, along with education on how and why to use it, can protect a family from malaria-carrying mosquitoes while they sleep, the time when people are most vulnerable to bites and subsequent infections. Think about ways you might get involved in this, or something else that inspires your passion and sparks your imagination.

As I write this, I come to this thought: aren’t the times we feel most alive also the times when we are playing, brainstorming, and letting our imaginations soar? I hope you get a chance to get outside and play today.

Newsletter Issue 2: Catching Up

Finally, I got another newsletter to the presses! Take a peek, and I hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you'd like to get on my email or postal mailing lists to recieve a copy by either of those means next time around.

Stay blessed!

Prayer requests:

• Next Tuesday, I speak at the 60th annual Missions Conference at Lanes Mills UMC, my home church where I grew up! I'm excited and nervous, but hope to deliver something good!
• My Grandma Elsie (97 years young) recently needed to be placed in a nursing home. It's been a hard transition for her and for the rest of the family, so your prayers are welcomed.
• Thank God for spring warmth and sunshine!

happy new year!

hard at work

I didn't expect the weeks leading up to Christmas to be the busy season for the Seminar Program, but they have been! I’m currently in the midst of my fifth seminar since the beginning of November. I haven’t posted for a while, so I thought I’d just put up a few recent photos as an update.

One of my seminars was for Central Methodist University, which is where one of my US-2 buddies, Kharissa, is placed! It was great to see her and work with her campus ministry group as they processed some service and learning around food justice and brainstorming ways to organize efforts to collect excess food around their campus.

Last week, the storms moved in and the snow flew in our Nation's Capitol. The threat of heavy snow was so high that all the grade schools and universities in the District shut down. The federal government also closed their doors for the day, remembering "Snowpacalypse" a few years ago which resulted in massive abandonment of cars in major roadways as people tried to get home from work. The snow came down hard, but it didn't hold fast. We had an eager group of AmeriCorps member serving with Habitat for Humanity scheduled for a seminar - they said, "the show must go on!" So we did!

I had a great time working with this group of mature, worldly, young adults! They wanted time to explore some issues they don't often talk about, such as drug use, incarceration, and violence, as well as some time to process and reflect on their first few months of service. In the photos below, I'm having them make "What people think I do/what I really do" memes about their AmeriCorps experience so far. What kind of misconceptions might you have about Habitat for Humanity? Unlimited numbers of houses wrapped in bows? Door keys raining from heaven? Nonstop "glory shots" of people raising wall frames? Or maybe, passionate, compassionate, and skilled individuals spending some valuable time in service and learning, and discerning next steps in their careers? (Credit Jay in New York for that wonderful activity idea!)

This week, we're hosting another H4H AmeriCorps team, and they have been just as amazing to work with as last week's group. Our Seminar Design Consultant (my direct supervisor is on leave for a few weeks) Larry let me take the wheel and drive for the first time, taking lead on facilitating the group. It's been the strange and beautiful combination of energizing and exhausting that is group facilitation. I'm up early again tomorrow, so I'm signing off for now. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Newsletter!

Well, I missed a post last week. If you haven't caught on, I'm doing my best to drop a new post every Wednesday evening. My excuse? I was working on my first newsletter! Inside, you'll find a brief version of my call story, a little about my work and what I'm learning, and a pretty spiffy banner, if I may be so bold. Yes, the color scheme is a little spastic, and green doesn't always look great on computers - I'll work on that for next time.

I hope you enjoy it and find a new connection with God through my story. If you'd like to get on my mailing list, just grab my email address from my "about" page and drop me a line.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The story so far

Wow, over two weeks since my last entry! Since then, I've been keeping busy. Here's the Cliff Notes version of what I've been up to:

• Moved back home for a few weeks, the longest time I've been home in several years. I had lots of quality time with my family, and I got to cook on the grill frequently!
• Through a combination of searching Craigslist and showing up for a couple days in person, I landed a great apartment in a good neighborhood, with easy-going roommates, and within easy bike range from the office and grocery store. God's provision never ceases to amaze me.
• While visiting the city, I toured what I would call a pretty crummy apartment. No A/C, kind of a sketchy neighborhood, and fleas - dead fleas all over the counter (bug bombed I guess?), and I left the place with itchy ankles. I realized I'm quite privileged to have the option of choosing not to live there.
• Enjoyed the great hospitality of my supervisor and his family.
• Moved in to my new place.
• Played Ultimate Frisbee on the National Mall!
• Attended a great worship service at Capitol Hill UMC.
• Biked EVERYWHERE (this is a really good thing).

Housing was a bit of a challenge, but other than that, I feel like I've done all the easy things, or all of the things that come naturally to me - meeting people, finding fun things to do, commuting on my bike.

That leaves the more difficult things. You know, those mysterious things I've missed out on over the past years while I studied engineering, those things I really haven't given more than a ounce or two of thought to. My first few days at the office have given me a little taste of that. One of my first hints was when I could only name 3 or 4 causes of poverty off the top of my head. That was today, after having talked about it with my other supervisor a few days ago, and surely having talked about it at training. How do people get into poverty, how do they get out, and how do we stop poverty from happening? Something tells me I'll be thinking about these questions a lot more over the next two years.

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Lord,
Thanks for leading me to victory in small ways, and thanks for your victory.
Thanks for fleabag apartments, flea bites on the ankles, and the realization that people live in those places and are glad.
Thanks for the help and hospitality of strangers and those I barely know.
Thanks for your provision in your perfect timing.
Prepare me for tough, uncomfortable teachings.
Take my heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh.
Give me the mind and spirit to realize that all I have is for You and for restoring your creation.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
Amen.