out of the woods

it's been a while...

no more hiding...

no more resting...

im ready to begin again.

2010...on my last trip to sudan my world was rocked. my pride was crushed and i was faced with the fact that i need to grow up. i wasn't the man i thought i was and that's a good thing. the fall of 2010 i lost the love of my life due to insensitivity and arrogance. i ran off to sudan like an adventurous hero. and there i was faced with the ugly side of my own mortality. what i mean by that, is that i realized i was wrong(in many areas of my life). i realized i was a child and needed to learn a few things about real life...

i truly apologize to anyone who emailed me and didn't get a response in the past year. im truly sorry to anyone i have offended with my going off the grid. im sorry to those i offended when i talked negatively about college or working a normal job. i apologize for leaving people wondering what's happening in wadupe and with "why the woods." i know people really care and they/you deserve to know because they/you invested in my life and this work. and to anyone who could see me then rebelling against school, church, and responsibility...2010 was a rough fall. thank you to those who helped me through it.

2011...i was quiet...i worked a retail job in boone...i lived, i paid bills, and i realized that im no exception to anything. it was, in a weird way, the best year of my life. i did nothing that would be considered special. i wasn't a football champion, i wasn't a public speaker or the leader of a cool non-profit, i was a salesman at a store in boone for 9 bucks an hour just to make ends meet. it was real. it was humbling. and im sorry for ever thinking it was a waste of time or an ignoble way of life. it may be the most honorable and best way of life: to work and eat and provide...and make a difference in the community around you.

2012...im engaged to be married to that girl i lost; not by my own power, or my charm...oh how i tried to win her back...but by the grace of Jesus. it took a long period of dying to my self, being quiet, and growth before the Lord brought us back together in a beautiful way. im still growing, im still learning, and i realize that process will continue for the rest of my life. im incapable of managing this thing i called "why the woods." but this thing is a good thing. and that's why derrick and i decided to keep at it.

in the midst of my quiet year the roots of wtw have grown deeper. we are building a team, building a stronger foundation for the organization, and making great changes, which i will explain soon. we are all very excited.

im on my way back to sudan, march 18th...ill be there until june 7th. please pray for me and my fiance, allie, who will remain in boone at asu's nursing school and finish planning our wedding(july 7th).

if this email is weird and you have no clue what im talking about..that's ok. i needed to say it...in any case, i'll blog again very soon and explain the new changes for why the woods.

it's good to be back.

GOD is Greater