Berlin Day 1 and 2

Well Ive been here for a couple of days now , This might be kinda long but we go into Camp here in 2 days so it may be a few days till i send another one so here ya go!
I arrived here on Tuesday night about 6:45 , Im sure you can get it caught in Customs but i made it through customs in both England and Germany in a combined 20 minutes. One of the guys picked me up at the aiport , and we took a cab to where im staying , Mercedes's ,BMW'S, Volkswagon's are a dime a dozen here , we ended up taking a normal cab , but I have never seen a Benz or BMW Cab and i bet i saw 50 coming out of the airport. The City of Berlin is cool , its just really different , it really looks nothing like any city ive ever seen not being , out of the states other than to mexico before. All the cars are the same , there some kind of sedan of a car made over here.
My hotel is a holiday inn , its pretty nice but the room is TINY!! Ive got a couple of pics of it , I mean it is a bathroom , a bed and a desk and thats about it!!! The bed is weird its a queen or full size bed but its made out of two twin mattresses , It aint very comfortable. Either getting used to the time or the bed , I have woke up at 4 and 5 am both days , right now its 10 till 6am. Hopefully here in the next day or two i will be able to at least sleep till 7 or 8 am .
Went to Dinner here with some YoungLife people and that was interesting , Most People here speak a little bit of english , so you can communicate and they have a menu printed in english. We went to a restaurant and i ordered a grilled chicken breast , IT WAS TINY!!!! and served with French Fries , but almost everything on the Menu was served with Fries. Having water with your meal is like anything else here so most people order drinks with there out , because they charge you for water and they serve you carbonated water , which is just weird.
Yesterday i went and walked around some , i stayed fairly close to my hotel , just kinda so i was sure where i was! Its a really different feeling to be in a place where you cant read most things on the store fronts , or the street signs , I had two random people come out and get in my face speaking German , all i could so was look confused and say sorry.
Last night I experimented with the Subway system , which Ive never been in a city where ive had to do that before either. They gave me pretty strait forward directions so it was easy to follow , i just had to be able to read what i wrote down. The subway system is interesting , I payed 3.50 cents and rode like 5 different trains probably an hour's worth and thats all you pay. You have to get a certain kind of ticket or they fine you like 50 dollars if your caught on the train with the wrong ticket.
We went and watched the Semifinal World Cup Game that Germany was playing in last night at the apartment of some of the volunteer YL leaders here , watching Soccer with people that really love it , Im a soccer fan but they treat Soccer like we treat Football at home , theyre yelling at the TV they all know the game. It was weird sitting in a room and not knowing what anyone was saying , its kind of an unnerving experience. A couple of spoke english and i talked some to them , it turned out that a couple of more them spoke english and they speak dang near perfect english , two of em ended up driving me back to my hotel about a 20 minute drive and we talked the whole way , there really nice people. We ate i guess what would be the equivalent of Microwave Pizza over there that wasnt bad , it was pretty much like it was at home , there was one noticeable difference though , A pepperoni Pizza has one big peice of Pepperoni on each peice instead of little ones all over the peice.
I have kinda felt dehydrated the last few days , and it kinda started to click last night , i think its because at home were so used to Gigantic size drinks and free refills and over here everything is way smaller , last night everyone was drinking out of cups that would be considered childrens cups there. The other thing is i think you might have to ask for Ice , i drank Sprite with no ice at room temperature last night , wasnt my favorite but 15 other people were doing it so i did it to.
You walk every where here , which will be good for me , but its a little tough to get used to , last night i walked probably a mile to the subway and then getting off the subway probably a mile to there apartment.
Its really weird Im in a place where Ive met a couple of people , but I really KNOW no one , i dont know the language , it feels really weird to think how far i am away from home , but its ok , I know what im over here for and if i gotta feel a little like a fish out of water , Im ok with that . We go to camp soon

Berlin Day 1

I arrived in Berlin today and MY OHH MY HOW DIFFERENT IT IS!!!! The first thing i noticed right off the bat besides not being able to read anything!!! Is the Architecture , Things are built incredibly different , From Houses to Downtown Area to Hotel Rooms. My hotel room is tiny!!!!
Second Mercedes , BMW's , Audi's , Volkswagons are a dime a dozen over here , I have never seen a Mercedes or BMW Taxi before , well ive seen about 50 NOW!!!!!!
Restaurants are weird , you just walk in seat yourself and then you have to grab your waitress to pay the bill. You have to pay for water over here!!! But you only have to tip 10 percent!
Got a couple of days to chill , get accustomed to the time change , and do some work and Get Accustomed to Germany! More to Come

Something Truly Special

I think there are only a few times in life that your blessed to know that you have been a part of something truly special. Something that truly impacts peoples lives. 5 years ago i was blessed to be become a part of something that is just that truly special. There have been alot of occurences over the years when i felt that way , Last night was defiantely one of them.
What a powerful night to see the holy spirit move in peoples lives is why I put the time and energy into this. There are kids who you dont speak to other than introducing yourself to them and a few "hey man how are you's?" But You know that your apart of the thing that has changed there lives forever.
You get the opportunity over the years to see kids grow from "little freshman" who arent sure about alot of stuff , to confident Seniors and UpperClassmen who arent afraid to take on the world and arent afraid to stand up for what they believe in. I am personally so jealous of some of these kids , I look back and say Man i wish i could have been like these guys , I wish i would have had the Spirtual Integrity to be the kinda person i should and not fall prey to the pressure of High School. Our kids are so amazing and it makes you feel so blessed even if you dont really have any direct impact on the kids , you know that youre apart of something that has had a major impact on there lives. What a blessing ...........
Another special thing this year is we are seeing new kids , accepting christ which is so amazing to see , you get to see and experience the pure emotion that comes with finally realzing that i have a purpose in life , that what these people are telling me is true.
I dont believe you can be involved in this ministry , without feeling like you are apart of something very special. It has changed my life so much and filled me with so many memories that i will never forget . I have my purpose in life it is to make sure that high school kids know the good news and know about Jesus. Im not really one to share my feelings but I truly love our students and am very thankful to be a part of there lives.

WORLD TRAVELIN!!!!!!

It's funny I never had alot of desire to do the whole traveling to europe thing growing up. Even as i got to the age to where i could do it without parents still never really was for me. We always went on family vacations to beach type places whether it be florida or mexico. I can honestly say even up untill about a year ago still had absolutely no desire to do it.
Over the last few months though that has changed , around last summer after coming home from camp with our YL kids i felt a strong desire to start seeking out ways to work with Younglife not just in Mansfield . There are ways to go to work at camps and that would be awesome , not here to try to demean that. I started to think it would be awesome to go overseas and see European kids not only take in Younglife but to see them find the lord.
Through some conversations with a friend and a YL contact i now have that opportunity in front of me!!!! I will be leaving in July and bouncing to a couple of different countries , doing what i love to do , Hanging out with Kids , making em feel special and helping em to find the lord. It is gonna be so awesome and i cant wait !!! It is a incredbile opportunity and i am so thankful for it. It should be a blast , a learing experience , a spirtual experience , I think it may be safe to say it may be the best experience of my life. To all those who have played a role in helping me get here thank you!!!
Like Erik said who knows maybe I'll go over there and love it and become a EUROPEAN!!!! Doubt it but hey Never say Never!!!!

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

I'm gonna start this by saying I am 100% a member of Team CoCo and have been from the beginning. I have always thought Conan was hilarious and when it came time for him to host the Tonight Show i thought it was awesome. With that being said obviously i was pissed when it came out that he was getting screwed over by NBC. Now lets lay the facts out 1. I have heard that Conan's ratings at 10:30 were HORRIBLE!!!!! 2.Jay Leno's ratings at 9:00 were terrible 3. and I have absolutely no idea what goes on NBC , Conan could be a complete jerk , but i dont get that opinion.
So about 2 or 3 weeks ago it came out that NBC was getting desperate and looking to shift Jay to 10:30 or 11:30 on the east coast and Conan to 11:05 or 12:05 on the east coast. So essentially changing the Tonight Show to the Tommorrow Show. Its the TONIGHT SHOW!!!!!!!!!! If there is one television show you have heard of its the FREAKING TONIGHT SHOW!!!!!! So Conan realizing this and B that he had only been given 7 months said I wont do it. I lay most of the blame at Jay Leno's feet , Jay could ride off into the sunset he could do standup and go off of tv. Lets not get it twisted though The blame lies with NBC . NBC was the NETWORK! 10 years ago , now they hang there hats on the OFFICE , The Today Show , THe TOnight SHow(or at least they used to) and thats it pretty much all there other shows are crap. They made there decision and it eventually came down COCO out Leno back in at the Tonight SHow. Conan over the last two weeks has put up some of if not his best shows in the 7 months , all his monologues were hilarious ,taking shots at Jay , NBC etc. He brought back some characters that im pretty sure may not have been allowed at 10:30
Last night was Conan's final tonight show , and i expected alot of the same NBC jokes maybe a rant who knows. I was truly impressed with what we found , he did some jokes , but towards the end of the show Conan made a final statement . He thanked NBC for getting him to the place he is now , He worked for them for 20 years went from a nobody SNL writer to his dream job the Host of the Tonight Show. He recognized that he was absolutely a very lucky guy.He knows that no matter what he was host of the tonight show , and it doesnt matter whether he hosted it for 70 years or 7 months , he made it to the pinnacle of his career. It was just a very classy way to go out and i left last night being an even bigger Conan fan than i was before.
This is something we could all do , everyone gets breaks in life some are good , some are bad , but you cant let the bad breaks change or jade you , and Conan was able to do that. I think we can all take a page from Conan in this . If you get even a short opportunity to do something you love or youre dream job , be thankful for that and not bitter because you are luckier than most of the people out there.
So thank you Conan , cant wait to see you again in september or soon after.

To leave or not to Leave

The Coaching Industry is a funny one , Its definately a industry or Job in which most of the guys motto is Look out for no. 1. You take a guy like Lane Kiffin , now no doubt he upgraded jobs, going from Tennessee to USC definate upgrade. The fact remains though pretty much one year ago exactly we were watching Lane accept the Volunteers Job. He made some improvements but how does 7-6 in the SEC land you the one of I'd say top 5 jobs in the Nation. Well he was there during the Heyday and it doesnt help that his Dad Monte is one of the best defensive minds to maybe ever coach football!.
I personally like Lane he reminds me alot of a young Steve Spurrier or Urban Meyer when he was coming up a few years ago. I know he hasnt proved much as a Head Coach but the guy has to have some talent or inginuity as a coach. Maybe he is just a guy who obviously knows how to sell himself to people because at the age of 34 he has been an Offensvie Coordinator for USC and now the head coach of the Oakland Raiders , Tennessee Volunteeers , and USC Trojans now. The guy has to have something pretty special. The fact still remains you can make an argument he has no loyalty he is just out for the paycheck.I think his heart has always been at USC or he wouldnt have gone back to a school facing NCAA sanctions , when he already had a great job at the Univeristy of Tennessee.
There is alot to be said for a guy like Gary Patterson who is a fantastic coach and seems to be content where he is , granted TCU is a good job , but its a mid major a small private school . But Gary has turned them into a legitimate Top 10 program year in year out. Gary has had the opportunity to interview for jobs such as Kansas St , Notre Dame , Tennessee but turns them all down to stay at TCU. Now apparently Gary has a pretty sweet situation for himself in Fort Worth. But i mean really can u really stay at TCU when one of the big dogs come calling? Apparently Gary values loyalty more than others.
There are guys out there lIke Will Muschamp who has a contract in hand to make 1 million dollars to be the defensive coordinator and head coach in waiting for the University of Texas. Now im biast because Im a UT Fan but i love the fact that he wants to stay cause i think he will make a fantatstic head coach one day. Here is a guy smart enough to realize that he may be in line to take 1 of the top 3 jobs in the country in 5 years where he will be the head coach in his early 40's . He turned down a chance to interview for Notre Dame and turned down a 3 million dollar a year offer from the Volunteers. He may do it out of loyalty but is smart enough to know that he is in position to have a fantastic job.
That brings me finally to Mike Riley , he is the head coach at Oregon St a good job- not a great job but they love him and he apparently loves it there. USC came calling and he signed an extension for 9 more years through 2019! I guess the man knows where he is and loves it and is happy to stay. I applaud him for that , i dont know that i could personally do that but hey i think that is really cool of riley.
The Coaching buisness is something i felt like i woudl be a part of for a long time and still have a want to possibly do it sometime , but its a buisness where you definately have to be willing to do a few things 1. look out for yourself. 2. be prepared to pick up and move at a moments notice. 3.Watch youre back if youre not winning games left and right be prepared to be looking for work. Because of those things , it has turned into an extremely lucrative buisness, Mack Brown makes 5 mil a year , Lane Kiffin who has not even been successful as a head coach yet makes 3.5 , Pete Carroll who has been successful at the college level makes 7 mil a year now as a pro head coach. I guess when it all comes down to it what means more to you being loyal and turning a job into youre dream job, or looking out for yourself getting that next big paycheck and hoping for success! There are guys that do it both ways and are successful in both. Which one would you be?

Whats my mark?

Something i have been thinking about the last couple of days and I dont know why. If i was to die tommorrow , What Mark have i left on this world and the people i was around. I havent done anything great career wise , not married , dont have kids (im suddenly getting sad). Id like to think i have been a pretty decent son , and a decent brother and family member. Ive tried to be a good friend sometimes ive failed at that. The question still remains have i done anything to really leave a mark on this world? Ive recently begun reading a book called Do Something! and it tells storys about people leaving there marks. That may have been what sparked this thought process in my head.
When i think about this there is one area where i think my mark can be seriously made and i may have begun to do this already. That of course is Younglife.


This is where i feel like my mark is being made and can be made showing kids what took me 18 years to learn , that without Jesus in my life i am nothing. That is something that even though i accepted him when i was 18 dont know that i properly understood untill maybe just a couple of years ago. Younglife gives me such a sense of purpose and a sense i am doing what i am supposed to be doing. If you would have told me 4 years ago i would be dying to get done with christmas break so i could get back to spending my nights hanging out at high school sports or mondays at younglife i would have told you , you were crazy .I would have never though at 21-22 that when i was heading towards the age of 30 that my i would be trying to forge relationships with high schoool students. It's such a funny world in that way , we dont know when or where were gonna find our life's passion some people find at a young age some find it older. But when you find it you hold onto it and now i know i have found my where my mark is supposed to be made , Now its just a matter of figuring how to make it and making it as long lasting as possible.