Moving to Oly has brought about so many fun new past times for me including: getting coffee at Mud Bay, cold press at Café Vita, seafood at the farmers market, karaoke at The Clipper with deejay Starling and reading The Volcano Weekly. The Volcano Weekly is a newspaper that is distributed throughout cities south of the Puget Sound such Tacoma, Gig Harbor and Olympia. I recently read an article entitled Rise of the New Atheism- Godlessness Takes the Offensive ironically by writer, Christian Carvajal. Anyway, I read some interesting statics in it that I thought might interest you too.

In 2008, a Pew Foundation poll found the percentage of atheists in

America had risen from 3.2 to 4 percent in only a few years, and a

whopping 44 percent of Americans abandoned the denominations

of their childhood. Only the percentage of Catholics (23.9) out-

numbered the percentage of the “unchurched” (16.1). A year later,

almost a full quarter of Americans surveyed by the American

Religious Identification Survey professed no belief in a personal

God.

Washington is hardly the most fervently churchgoing state in the

union. Even in 2001, before the rise of the New Atheism, a full

quarter of Washingtonians polled claimed no religious affiliation

whatsoever, the highest fraction anywhere in the country.

These are some pretty serious statistics I’d say, but also not shocking. Anyway, I love this newspaper. If you’ve got a craving for some liberal writing this will indeed. You can check it out here.

Spending time downtown has been a blast. I met up with my new friend Carrie at Eastside last week. It was so fun getting to talk with her and meet some of her friends. This girl knows everyone in town too, no joke. It’s been awesome getting to chill with her. We have so much in common and some of our backstories are so similar. I feel like we really relate well with each other. We’re meeting up for lunch at The Bread Peddler, a little café downtown, on Thursday. This past Saturday one of my best friends from home, Tyler Parnell, came to visit Olympia and we all went downtown to the Clipper to sing karaoke. Carrie and I sang “What a Girl Wants” by Christina Agulaira and I sang “Private Eyes” by Hall and Oates with Tyler. It was a stellar time. We definitely made some great mems.

Tyler’s visit to Olympia was long anticipated, and I took some time to document our weekend to share with you all.

BBQ Sandwiches and live music at the farmers market

Hanging out downtown along the waterfront

Puget Sound and the capitol building

I tried to snap a shot of Mt. Rainier, but this doesn't do it justice. It was such a beautiful day!

It did my heart good to sit and talk with Tyler in Cafe Vita over coffee and Scrabble

After singing karaoke downtown we got hotdogs from Jakes. In Olympia, people put cream cheese on their hotdogs. Sounds crazy, but it's delicious! :)

Lehua, Carrie, Me, and Tyler

Four Weeks In

This past Saturday marked the fourth week of my new life here in Oly. It really hasn’t been an easy transition for me, but the good news is that things are looking up. Despite the fact that I remain jobless, I’m meeting more people and getting more acclimated to the area every day. The feeling of knowing where I am going without a GPS is comforting. I really do like this area even though it has been an odd adjustment.

I’m still running around trying to find a job. I’m still applying through careerbuilder, indeed and the state government website, but I haven’t heard anything from anyone. Regardless I’m going to keep at it, even if I have to work at QFC, a grocery store down the street from my house.

As far as building relationships within the community goes, it is a slow process, especially when you don’t have a job and you’re not in school. However, I went downtown to sing karaoke last week and happened to meet some girls who remind me so much of my bff’s back home, Sara and Kristina. They were really cool and we sang some Brittany Spears together, danced and acted like goofs. It was so fun. I’m meeting up with one of the girls, Carrie on Thursday, and I’m so excited! She’s 22, from Seattle and she goes to Evergreen, it’s her last semester. We have a lot in common and I’m so thankful that I have someone my age to hang out with.

I’ve also been spending a lot of time with Lehua and Bobby Ball, a young couple from Sunbreak. They’re totally awesome. It’s been such a blessing getting to hang out with Lehua and process my life out loud with her. She moved to the Northwest from Orange County California a few years back, so she knows a thing or two about how it is adjusting to this area. She told me a few days ago that she was worried about me my first few weeks, like I would give up and go home. After I reassured her that I am here for the long haul she was relieved and proceeded to tell me more about preparing for the rainy season and seasonal depression. Yay.

The rain has started falling more consistently within the past week and people are telling me I won’t be seeing the sun until February! I’m going to have to plan a trip to San Fransisco to see my cousin after Christmas. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stand five months without seeing the sun. Lehua told me that the weather is one reason why so many people here commit suicide in Oly, it’s cloudy and raining as we speak.

I’ve got to be honest, last Friday it started to rain and I put on my pajamas, watched neflix and slept all day. When it’s raining you basically have to force yourself out of the house. Some people in Oly buy lamps to put in their house and when the sun hasn’t been out for months they turn them on and sit under them to get vitamin d, that’s how bad it is.

I’ve gotten to do a lot of fun things in Oly and Seattle though thus far. I attended Bumbershoot my first full weekend. I got to see bands like Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, David Bazan, Jamie Lidell, Ra Ra Riot and HEALTH. This past weekend Lehua and I went on 5^th Ave in Seattle and looked around in the stores, which was cool. The northwest is a totally different world when compared to the east coast, it’s unbelievable.

As far as ministry with Sound City goes, it’s rather slow, but we have our first launch team meeting this week which is really exciting! We’re going to have a cookout at Russ’s house and he’s going to talk about our next moves as a group and what is coming up. This meeting has been long anticipated for me. I can’t wait to hang out with everyone.

Until our church gets off the ground, which will take about a year I’m assuming, I’ve been invited to hang with the young adults at Sunbreak. Mark Pruitt, the youth pastor, sent me an awesome facebook message this week saying he wanted me to get involved and do some worship leading, which is cool. I went out to his small group last week for a deep fry party. I guess all that work I did at the gym that week went down the drain when I went there! But it was really fun and a great to spend time with people who are passionate and desperately wanting to see God work and move in the lives of people in the Northwest, plus the deep fried pickles were bangin’.

It has been a crazy journey so far in Washington, and I’m learning a lot about myself and about God. I have found in my walk with Him that every day I am waking up and completely surrendering my life His ministry in the Northwest. I don’t want to waste one minute not doing whatever it is He is calling me to. I’ve never felt more surrendered in my life. It’s a great place to be in but when you are the type or person who likes to have somewhat control over where your life is heading, it can be kind of scary. I feel a lot like Paul did when he wrote his letter to the Philipians

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.”

I have arrived pt. 2

First picture of the trip. Goodbye West Virginia.

First gas stop, somewhere in Indiana. The car was seriously loaded up for the 3,000 mile trip out west.

Beware!

Hiking around the Badlands, South Dakota

The Badlands are crumbly

Sunset at the Badlands, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore, Keystone South Dakota

Canyon at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

This waterfall lies somewhere between Kennewick and Olympia, between Tyler's house and my house.

Moving into my new place in the great state of Washington

End of Week One.

Big apologies goes out to all of you Olympia Living followers, yes, all ten of you, for not posting sooner. This week has been crazy. I got here Saturday night and Sunday morning was totally overwhelming. It felt so strange to wake up here and realize “ok, this is it.” I took Bryan to the airport Monday morning and came home and tried to get settled in a little bit. After a few hours of unpacking and organizing I had nothing to do. Leona, a lady from the local church in Olympia who I’m living with, worked that day so I didn’t see anyone all day long. It was super difficult. After I had unpacked the last of my boxes it was kind of like “ok, now what?”

It has been a long first week to say the least. I’ve really been missing the comforts of home, mainly friends and family. Olympia is such a great place to live, I really love it, but it’s really hard to enjoy when you’re alone. I know, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and it’s only the first week, but it’s been hard being without my pals especially when I know the majority of them would really love it out here (please visit).

But I must say there are definite upsides to living in Olympia such as eating local. I can only think of one time that I haven’t eaten local food all week, and that was my first day (at this point I didn’t know any better). The local farmers market is amazing and surprisingly enough, affordable. This week I stocked up on fruits, veggies and some homemade bread, and maybe next week I’ll really splurge and get some jam. I think if I consistently buy from specific venders then eventually they’ll know me, I can only hope.

I’ve really been trying to think of creative ways to make friends in the down town area, but I gotta tell you, it’s not easy. I had the opportunity to go to four coffee shops this past week: Traditions, Café Vita, Batdorf and Bronson and Sizizi’s, all of which were superb. I’ve been tipping the baristas and striking up conversation while they make my drink in hopes that they’ll remember me next time I walk in. I’ve actually had some good conversations with the people in Sizizi’s; they’ve been totally awesome.

Thursday I went to the Catalyst conference with the group involved with Surround the Sound. It was a great time of fellowship and learning. I was told that this would be the day I would meet Mark Driscoll, but sadly enough it fell through. Kyle had the names wrong, the lunch was actually with Andy Stanley and Craig Groechel. I didn’t really know those guys so I passed. It’s all good though, one day I will meet Mark Driscoll, if it’s the last thing I do (haha). Andy Stanley did say one thing though that was rather profound:

“God has equipped you with everything you need to do the ministry in which He has called you to”

Since I’ve been here so many lies have ran through my head, and this statement spoke volumes to me. I’m realizing more and more that I don’t need another person, friend, look, sound or style to connect with the people God wants me to connect with. He is going to use me in the exact state that I currently am, and that’s comforting to know.

After the conference I went down the The Loft on Cherry. I had seen a flyer earlier in the week that said “Vincent Moon film screening featuring music by Eleanor Murray,” I figured I couldn’t go wrong, and I was hoping to make some friends out of it too. Eleanor was amazing, she played some really beautiful songs and then of course Vincent Moon is a total bro and I couldn’t stop smiling because he’s amazingly talented. I talked to a few people here and there, but it wasn’t like I developed some long lasting friendships or anything. Once again, I must remember I just got here a week ago, haha.

Today Sound City Church, that’s right, we officially have a name, had its’ first outreach with the Capital Kids Connection. CKC is an organization in Tumwater that is providing back to school supplies for foster children in the area. We met some locals there and provided some much need assistance organizing and packing backpacks for the kids returning to school this fall. This Tuesday they’re going to be having a big picnic for all the foster kids and their families in the area, so we are excited for the opportunity to help and to do some more networking.

It’s hard to not feel as if I’m living outreach to outreach or church service to church service, it’s pretty lonely all the other times. So I guess you could say the week has progressed rather slowly as I’ve been trying to make friends, learn the area and find a job. But I have to praise God for how He has been providing for my life thus far

1) I have a place to live with a wonderful woman that I totally look up to, Leona Foley. She has been such a blessing to me in the fact that she’s checking in on me, asking me how I’m doing and you can tell she’s totally genuine and concerned. She’s helping me in more ways than just being an encouragement and financial saving. I really feel as if she is someone I can bear my soul to and be completely comfortable around. She already feels like family and it’s only week one.

2) I got a HUGE check in the mail from a supporter back home. I don’t want to name names or anything, but it was amazing. The money is going to help me out so much here in Olympia. When I was talking to him on the phone and he gave me a figure of how much he wanted to give toward the ministry in Olympia I was in shock. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am that God has provided this money through this person.

3) I recently have inherited a bike and a desk from some very generous people in the church. I haven’t gotten my hands on the bike yet, but the desk was dropped off this evening and is currently getting put to great use.

4) Zach Murray and Tyler Parnell live close by. It’s a huge comfort to know that when I am feeling totally homesick and I can’t bear it any longer I can hop in my car and drive to see these guys. Zach is currently living in Seattle so it makes it a little bit easier to go see him, but Tyler is only 3.5 hours away, so it’s not too bad. It’s a comfort just knowing that it’s an option.

The Lord is providing and things are panning out. Tyler told me this week, “The first week is over, and that’s great, because the first week is the worst. It can only get better from here,” so I’m anticipating that. I listened to a Driscoll sermon tonight on Luke 9:51-62 and in it he said,

“I would rather be broke, sick and sad with Jesus then rich, healthy and seemingly happy without Him.”

Leave it to Marky D. to bring my focus back onto what is really important and the reason behind why I am here in the first place.

Mark also mentioned putting Jesus before our past (Luke 9:61-62). He said, “Those who look back want to go back.” He mentions how Jesus was always looking forward all the way to the cross and how He plowed His row in a straight line right into Jerusalem where He was crucified. It’s only common since to say, “You can’t go straight and forward while looking back.” You don’t drive your car facing the back window you look out straight and forward in order to drive straight and forward. I have thought a lot about being back home in Morgantown this week and how nice it would be to just go back and sit in Andy and Aarons’ living room with all my friends cutting up and having a good time, but if I live for the past and always try to recreate college, I can’t affectively live for what’s forward in the future. So now, I need to focus on putting my hands to the plow and plowing a straight and narrow path forward. I can’t just keep trying to recapture my college days. If you want, you can go to this link and listen to it.

Now, it’s into week numero dos. I’ll keep you posted.

I have arrived pt. 1

What a week it has been folks, and after 3,305 miles I have finally arrived.

Sunday evening (the 15th) my brother Bryan and I left Parkersburg. I had quite an emotional goodbye with family and friends, but all those feelings somewhat faded after the first few days and reality began to set in. That evening we drove straight to the Badlands in South Dakota, 20 some hours. My brother wanted to see if he was able to drive the whole way on his own, so he never let me drive, but I was okay with that, and he really did make it. I was shocked. After a long day of hiking and milling around we headed back to camp and Bryan passed out while I proceeded to watch a quite beautiful sunset. It was a great day.
Tuesday we woke up around 6:30 and headed toward Wyoming to Yellowstone with a few stops in between at Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse. We found a little diner in Keystone and had breakfast. I found a Minnetonka store so I bought some new moccasins and then we checked out the mountains, pretty cool.
Later that evening we arrived to Yellowstone upon which every campsite was full, so we drove up to Gardiner, Montana and found a room to stay in. The next morning we found an open spot in Norris to camp, and after we put up the tent and paid our fee to the biggest jerk park ranger ever, we drove the loop around Yellowstone. I believe this was the best day of the trip. Old Faithful and the Canyon were on the top of my list as some of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Thursday morning we bounced out of Yellowstone and drove to the Grand Tetons. We decided that we would make it to Boise, Idaho by the end of the day so we just drove the scenic route around the park and jumped out to take snap some pictures here and there. Around the Grand Tetons and Boise we saw some pretty sweet towns: Cody and Jackson to name a few.
Boise, Idaho was awesome. There were lots of neat cafes, bookstores, shops, pubs and breweries, and we could hear music playing from the sidewalk as we walked by.
I woke up the next morning pretty excited to make the 4-hour drive into Kennewick, WA to spend time with my good friend from school, Tyler Parnell (I can’t even tell you how great it is to know that he is so close to Olympia). I also got to meet his new puppy, Truman. He is about the cutest little wiener dog you’d ever see. I’m glad Tyler got him to keep him company as he continues to get acclimated to Kennewick.
That night we went out to dinner and sat along the Columbia River and talked and talked and talked. We stayed out pretty late and woke up early the next morning to head to my new place in Olympia. After lunch in Kennewick I said my goodbyes to Tyler and we began our final stretch to Olympia. As if the trip wasn’t already amazing enough, Bryan and I talked basically the whole way there. I would definitely mark it down as one of the best talks we’ve ever had. I know he’s always going to be my brother, but now I definitely feel like he’s always going to be a great friend of mine too. (awwwww).

So that catches you up on my travels. I hope you enjoyed that because I’ve seriously told that story probably 20 times since Sunday, haha. I would have liked to post pictures along with this post, but I left my camera USB chord in Parkersburg, so I’m waiting for my Mom to mail it. We’ll just go ahead and say this is a two part series and the pictures will come soon after.

Zero days and 16 hours to go

1:37 AM.

Saturday night or Sunday morning, whichever you prefer.

Parkersburg, WV in my green painted bedroom

Currently listening to The Microphones- The Moon

Keeping the best company one could ask for, Mr. Aaron Dawson

Tomorrow is the big day. I’m moving nearly 3,000 miles from home, to a place I’ve visited once, and I’m okay with that. My car is packed, though I’m sure tomorrow afternoon I’ll have to do some rearranging, my poor Honda Fit has no idea what it’s gotten itself into. I’m feeling great outside of the fact that I know tomorrow is going to kill my parents. They’ve both already cried at least once, and in all 22 years of my life I’ve never seen my dad cry, it’s a bigger deal to them than I thought. Dad would prefer if I didn’t leave to begin with and it makes me sad to know that I’m the cause of his unhappiness, but I just can’t stay here any longer, it’s time for a change.

So we’re really down to the wire now, only 16 hours left till my brother and I hit the road. This isn’t going to be an easy transition, but I know it will be good for me in the end. I’m anticipating learning a lot about myself this year and totally ready to dive into new hobbies and learn new trades.

But seriously, let’s not stray from the focus of this gargantuan move that I’m about to make. All I’m sayin’ is that if I didn’t completely believe in the Gospel of Christ and all of the things that the Bible says I wouldn’t be doing this, I mean, I couldn’t do this. I’d probably just chill in Morgantown with my friends. But I do think that what Jesus said, what he preached and how he lived makes a ton of since. So, I hope that somewhere along the line someone I meet can make since of it too, and if they don’t, it’s still going to be a stellar time.

I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Oh, Haruki Murakami...

12 days to go.

Currently I’m in Borders in Parkersburg drinking some Seattle’s Best, and guess what, the barista gave me a large coffee on accident, instead of the medium that I ordered. Yay! I would say that this is the highlight of my day, but I would be lying to you because guess what else? Today I finished my first Haruki Murakami book, Sputnik Sweetheart.

Oh. My. Gosh. I love this man.

I owe Aaron Dawson a special thank you for turning me on to his writings and then also Andrew Slater for telling Aaron, and then whoever told Andrew, so on and so forth.

So I ended up coming to Borders this evening to snatch another one of his books, Kafka On The Shore, which is supposedly way better than Sputnik Sweetheart. I’m already through the first few chapters, so far so good.

…

It’s so unreal to me that I’ll be living in Washington in 12 days. Throughout the summer I’ve seen myself go through days where I think, “How can I move so far away from so many people that I love?” But then other days I’m ready for the adventure, and ready to meet more people that I can learn to love just as much, you know, without replacing, or forgetting, my current inner circle of friends. Over the past week though I haven’t thought much about being sad or saying goodbye. It’s strange. Nearly seven days of pure excitement and no uneasy feelings about the big move at all. I guess this means I’m ready!

Now, back to Kafka On The Shore…