The Back of my Mind

How many more days

2009-06-30T11:05:00.002-11:00

Yesterday Cambridge coffee closed here in Auburn. It was a local hangout where everyone would go to hangout and get together or just to meet if we were going downtown. My brother who attended auburn before me, even thought of this place as his second home. You could do homework, hangout, or just grap some coffee. It had great music and a very cool environment. As I sit in a different coffee shop I wonder what Auburn will do. Everyone I have talked to seems to forget there are other coffeeshops and hangout places, they are in such shock at how their world will change, even to such a small degree. Then they soon will realize there are others and start going there and fall in love and then maybe that one will change. It is a cycle and no one knows when each leg is starting or ending, they just know the effect of change that will be on their life. This whole situation has made me think of my own life and moving, and how at first my friends will be sad, but then they will do there own thing again and move on. The same is true with my life. I will move from here sad to leave my friends, my little circle, my second homes, but I will find new ones in my new home. It is not to say that they will replace the old. I have just moved into a new me, and I need this new change and these new places so I can "be". I am excited and ready for this test, to make my life, to stay connected to friends and to just be me.

Urban Ministry Center

2009-06-29T17:48:00.002-11:00

So the last 6 months I have been researching places that I want to be involved in in Charlotte. I have looked at different churches I want to be involved in, different coffee shops I want to go to, and different clubs I want to be part of. Recently I stumbled across a place called the Urban Ministry Center. It is an amazing ministry that bought a old parking lot where people used crack and turned it into a counseling center for homeless. They help by working with homeless doing art, soccer and gardening projects. A big part of the ministry is just hanging out with the homeless of the comminty. I think this is a really great thing and I am very excited that I will able to help this ministry.

Last Sunday and meetings with friends.

2009-06-28T19:37:00.003-11:00

Today was my last Sunday in Auburn. The last hangout with friends before church, the last worship standing next to my friends, and the last comfort. After church my pastor told me he felt like I was being passed on to a different place and that I am going to grow in Charlotte. That was cool. I also spent the day hanging out with some great friends I had not seen in a long time. This was the highlight of my day! My one friend and I talked about the church as in instiution, how we effect people by living our lives, and about the future. This was a huge encouragement and I was very grateful to have this encounter. I also got to go to my friends birthday party at a japanse restuarant where sharing a table with 10 other people is the norm. It was a unique experience and I would not rather be with anyone else. My friend whos birthday it was had a great time and I look forward to seeing us when we end up growing up and living down the block from eachother and playing old people card games everynight!

My friend Justin just sang to my friends and he might possibly be the best live performer I have ever heard. Man, I have talented friends.

Out With The Old

2009-06-27T08:24:00.002-11:00

One more week in Auburn. As I gather with friends for the last time and imagine an environment without them I wonder how they have shaped me. I wonder how much influnce they have had over my life, how they have slowly molded me into a better person. My freinds have helped me realize my identity. Thru long road-trips, coffee shop conversations, long walks, endless adventures, and silly get-togethers, I have slowly learned what I love, how I love and what makes me love. Over the last two years I have done a lot with my life and made a lot of changes. I have seen some of the world. From Uganda, to talking to homeless, to going on a week trip to the inner city, to talking to people in my community, I have felt like a sponge. I am constantly taking in the sounds, the sights, the faces, and the mood of my environment. I don't know when this all started, taking it all in, but I do know that I have learned to love people from it. Thanks to my friend's guidence and advice, my spongy nature and two years of learning to love, I think I am ready to go to Charlotte.

My eyes have been opened to the truths of the world, all the grey and the stories every person has. I am in no way done, I am merely starting to learn how to see the world. I am ready to learn and I am excited to learn. Most of all I wanted to just say thank you to all my friends who have helped me and prepared me to get this far and to start this leg on my own. If someone would have asked me to move on my own, without my friends, I would have been scared to death of going. Thanks to my friends, I am ready to go on my own. I know that there will be new friends, experiences, and situations, but sitting here, it is hard to forget all the growing that we have done together.

How it started

2009-06-25T18:38:00.003-11:00

For the last two years I have been attending college at Auburn University. I love Auburn and all of my friends. The history, the spirit, the small town feel, but I am ready for the city. In one week I am moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. Although I am sad to leave Auburn, I am very excited for the change of a new city. I am excited for new adventures, new coffee shops, new skylines, new people, carolina blue skies, and possibly a new scooter. I hope you will follow me and I will try my best to keep updating this blog.