Life In The Expanse

I don’t know anyone who dislikes fun. Everyone likes fun, but from my experience, people go about having fun in very different ways. From what I can see, there are 4 types of fun:

Type 1 Fun: Fun that is fun while you’re doing it, not really that fun afterwards.

This includes eating burgers & candy, watching a TV show you like, quitting work early. Enjoy too much of this kind of fun, and you’ll probably end up overweight and jobless. But it’s relaxing and feels good. Most Americans seem to like this type of fun the most.

Type 2 Fun: Fun that is incredibly intense fun, but could have dire consequences.

This includes BASE jumping, picking up a ‘no strings attached’ guy/girl at a bar, committing fraud, or doing drugs.  People in their teens and 20′s seem to like this kind of fun best. The problem with this kind of fun is that extended use will get you killed, pregnant, incarcerated, or addicted to drugs. That’s probably why this type of fun drops off in your 30′s – either you didn’t live long enough to see 30, or you figured out that Type 3 fun isn’t worth it.

I’m thrilled to say that I’m engaged to the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met! On Friday night of last week I asked Heidi to marry me, and she said “I will! Yes! Of course! Finally!”. Such joy fills my heart, and I don’t know how to put all the emotion I feel into words. I’m so excited to spend the rest of my life with this woman, and see what God has in store for us.

A verse comes to mind:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

As our airplane descended above Port au Prince (Haiti’s capitol), seemingly endless urban sprawl came into view. At first it looked like any normal city, but as we descended I was taken back by what I saw: miles of shacks with random dirt paths (“roads”) zig-zagging through the madness. Without thinking I blurted out “those shacks look horrible!” My lovely girlfriend, Heidi, quickly informed me that I shouldn’t be loudly proclaiming what was obvious to the many Haitians that surrounded us. It’s a good thing I’m learning to keep my trap shut now, I thought as we landed.

Background

Haiti is in a pretty rough situation:

• Decades of corrupt rule have robbed the people of basic needs – Haiti is one of the most corrupt nations in the world; it’s often compared with Somalia and Iran.

Last week Cory asked me to write a post about youth ministry. My instinct was to say “I don’t really know what I’m doing yet!” I don’t have a 3 point list of things that will work, but I do have a story and a journey. Here it is – the bad, the good, and the awesome.

The Beginning

I got involved in youth ministry about 3 years ago. I did it for mixed reasons – I wanted to get involved in people’s lives and fulfill the great commission. I also was chasing a girl that valued ministry. Luckily my motives were my own, so when the girl showed no interest, I kept the course and plunged head first into our church youth group.

View Summer Adventures – 2011 in a larger map

Note: Photo slideshow below.

My first trip to Europe was a fast one. I arrived home less than 5 days after my departure – with a 6 hour time zone adjustment in between. It was a whirlwind of touring the area, meetings, and flights. Even with all the madness, it was a wonderful experience.

I departed from Sioux Falls, SD mid-morning on Saturday, and flew to Chicago. From Chicago I boarded a trans-atlantic flight to London. The problem with this setup is that I needed to sleep during the flight, or I was going to need to stay up 36 hours. That wasn’t a good option, so I opted to take Ambien to stay asleep. The picture at right gives you an idea of what I looked like zonked out on the flight. But, the plan worked. I slept soundly for the 7 and a half hour flight to London, and was awake to board my plane to Dublin.

Today marks the beginning of the ‘In The Expanse’ experience. It’s been quite the project – for the past couple of months I’ve been working on porting in content, improving the layout, uploading pictures, and creating new content.

The purpose for the site is to document my experiences and share what I’ve learned with others (learn more about why I created the site). God has done a great work in my life, and I think any story about his work is worth telling. If this site helps even one person, it was worth the work.

Overall, this site is a pretty good representation of the life I live. I think there’s some value in knowing/sharing what is happening to you, and this site is a way for me to do that. I’m certain there are others who are interested in the same things, and my goal is to share information that would help those people along their way. Many have chosen to take time to do the same for me, and this is a way for me to give back.

I’m often asked why I knowingly take risk. I don’t usually have a good answer, probably because I don’t really know yet. I’m keen on finding out, and I thought I would share what I know now.

First, i’ve always been drawn to some element of risk. When i was a kid I used to climb rocks. When i was 9 I fell and injured myself. I quit climbing rocks, but I didn’t abandond risk. When I was 14 I broke my leg skateboarding on a halfpipe. At that point I realized that I had to stop injuring myself, so I started taking less physical risks. So I started rebuilding car engines with zero experience. When I got to college I was into pranking, and risked friendships to have fun. Today I’m running a startup company that took in $1.5 million. It’s a huge risk. I’m getting into mountaineering, which isn’t safe at all.