NEW YORK NEW YORK

Tomorrow at 10:00am I leave for New York City. I will return the following Saturday. Tyler and I are traveling together. I will have, for the most part, only the clothes on my back and 300$ between Tyler and I. Our trip is inspired by both Mathew 10: 1 - 20 and Mark 6: 7 - 13.

If we haven't found a safe place to stay by dusk we may use a credit card and stay at a hostile. However, the mission is for us to rely on something much more powerful than a credit card. I picture Tyler and I walking into a church or ministry and telling them our purpose. (read the passages) Hopefully someone will accept us into their lives for a week. In return we will serve their poor.

I'm sorry if that sounds like I have expectations. The reality is, I have no clue whats in store for me. All I can do is pray that I will listen to where the Lord tells Tyler and I to go. All you can do is pray for us is pray that we will have the greatest time of our lives in New York.

On another note... This week was especially exciting. My rents were in town! I will try to update you another time. For now I must prepare for my new adventure. Stay tuned! Don't Worry! I'll be safe. "I am about to make a brand new start of it! Right there in old NEW YORK! If I can make it there you know I'm going to make it just about anywhere! NEW YORK - NEW YORK!" (Frank Sinatra)

Pray that Tyler and I let the Lord lead us. It will be easy for Tyler and I to forge our own path. We want to follow the lord.

Much Love!

D.J.

Ride the Chattanooga Choo Choo

Tennessee

The past four days were spent in my new favorite city. Those who are close to me know that every city I visit soon becomes my favorite city. I thought I should add that disclaimer. The interns and I traveled to the great city of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Specifically we spent our time on Lookout Mountain just across the Georgia Border. We had wonderful hosts.Thus far, I would say this was the best time spent during the internship. They are both deep thinking people. Each celebrates the arts and loves the earth. I understand them because they use metaphors and literal examples to display what they are teaching. They also love soccer! Our hosts have six children and they live up on look out mountain. Their neighborhood consists of their brothers and sisters, cousins and parents.

Our first experience with our hosts was a giant dinner with the family. We opened our mouths to assortments of cheeses, meats, fruits and vegetables. Our main course was a selection of four soups. The discussion was the most delicious entrée. I am starting to realize how important the meal is. Not only for our health, but our minds as well. I can’t see eating a meal by myself. The found is secondary to the knowledge you can gain by sharing a conversation with someone or some people.

Artists surrounded me during the week in the mountains of Chattanooga. I met our host's brother in law. He is a graphic designer in town. I was awe struck by his work. I really think that he is playing a direct role in the revival of Chattanooga. This was very inspiring to me. As you may know I go in all sort of directions. One day I want to design, the next I want to run for congress. Seeing how his design changed the city allowed me to see art in a new perspective. I realized that I might have the gift of creativity. With that gift I can plant a seed in a city. I could possibly do more in design then in congress. Design becomes even more attractive each day I intern. (BTW… This designer designed with Stephan Sagemeister. If you don’t know who his is, he’s possibly one of the best designers in the USA.

I recognized the possibility of connecting the dots. All of my interest and experiences make up the dots. Connecting them creates an image of who I am.

On Friday we left to visit Knoxville for the day. Once again I got to visit an all black school. Once again I felt incredibly far from the students. We met a guy from Nigeria. Knoxville College has population 70 students. Most of the students are international. Dilapidated, broken, and depressing all describe Knoxville College. Our host thought we could go and make some friends at the school. We weren’t sure how or what were going to do. Our friend from Nigeria was incredible. He had such a great head on his shoulders. I know he has so much potential. He could relate with others so well. Never have I met such a great conversationalist. We made a few new friends. I am amazed at how easy it is to talk to random people. I think that as long as you show them you care, they will talk. We actually cared for them and their school. From start to finish we had a 45-minute conversation with 6 KC students. We had no agenda; we just made friends with them. I saw life briefly from their perspective. I walked on to the campus asking myself how anyone would want to go to campus there. I especially appreciated my La Roche Experience after this. The students were content. In asking questions we went into areas I was uncomfortable asking about. We asked if they were trying to rebuild the campus. We asked what they expected from their time. If they cared? What do they do to pass time. The students answered and weren’t upset with us. They asked if we wanted to change the school. We said no, only they could. I think they liked that. I told them I would be inclined to want to fix the school. I realized that wasn’t possible for me to do.

Some other cool moments from Knoxville: We ate at the mellow mushroom twice. For lunch with our friends from Knoxville and for dinner we ate with a local Congressman and his family. I got to visit portions of the University of Tennessee. Wilkes’ Yukon reached its 200,000th mile. At the precious moment we stopped on the freeway and took a photo with the vehicle. We sprayed barbersol on the back window.

The sunrises on the mountain were amazing. I woke up early the last two days to see this beautiful display of colors and landscape. I felt like I was above the world. I felt like I had the world to myself. I spent the time meditating and breathing in the fresh morning air.

We spent Halloween with our host. Being that she is creative, she wanted to have a haunted house. Over the years they’ve hosted one for the neighborhood. All of the interns participated. We were supposed to play a crazy family that wouldn’t leave the house until we could tell our stories to the children. I was the dad. He is a crazy old farmer who lived in the back room of the basement. What made me weird is that I turned children into animals. In my area I had a real pig and duck. (Seriously) Collins wore a cheetah mask. He was supposed to show the progression from human to animal. He really scared the kids. Unfortunately we had to cut our show short. The pig decided to do his business all over the coal cellars wall. The smell was disgusting and unbearable. About 100 kids went through. I think it was super cool. I kept thinking of when we had the ER section of the Reserve haunted house. I enjoyed reminiscing.

Small note: The Monday before this, the guys and I were praying for Issouf and Niger. As you know I care about Niger very much. When we arrived I noticed he had a Taureg bag hanging in his living room. His father traveled to Niger to spend time with the Taureg. The next morning I got to talk to him about his experience. I was taken back by this. It was as if someone was telling me to have patience.

What did I learn from Tennessee?
I think I want to design. I can design for a purpose and make a living. (with a family) I want to work on my portfolio over the next few months. I am learning who I am more and more through each experience. Each experience sheds away another layer of who I am. In DC it’s easy to be something your not. Going to Pittsburgh and Chattanooga refreshed me. When I first got to DC I thought I had to be something other than what I am. When I went to Pittsburgh I was the true DJ. Tyler saw that and I was not judged. When I went to Chattanooga I felt free. They live in the middle of the woods. I didn’t have to impress anyone. Being in nature makes realize how precious life is. A sunrise lasts for a few minutes. A leave changes colors and eventually decomposes. For a period or time there is beauty in all that these things are. If god designed the sunrise and the colors of the fall leaf with beauty, he must have created us the same. Luckily we have longer than a 30-minute sunrise or a week long vibrancy of a leaf. We are beautiful for who we are. I shouldn’t be afraid to design or be artistic. By holding back, that’s like a cloudy day. You can’t see all of the colors so vividly. There is beauty, but not so much light and energy. Please pray for me. I need the courage to pursue design. Fear has been my hindrance. The signs are clearly pointing in that direction. I can change the world through design. Maybe later I can do the political stuff.

I never would have predicted my liking of Chattanooga. This spring I drove through the city to get to Florida. I wasn’t impressed. The view from the freeway wasn’t desirable. As with anything in life you must really examine the city up close. The buildings are all a facade. I judged the city at first because it looked bland. I could never imagine living in the south in the mountains. I have fallen in love now that I have a magnified glimpse of the city. The glimpse includes the eclectic mix of people, architecture, art, decay, revival, nature, spirit, and so much more. They also have a Steelers bar, but that’s beside the point.

Our host had a few wise words that I will end on. They are three important words. Hope, Faith, and Life. Without Hope there would be no reason for faith. Therefore I would have no life. I encourage myself to dream and have hope. I will need faith. This is what life is about.

Life is Good! I thank God for this day and the pleasure of sharing this with you.

PS - Went skateboarding today and had a blast. I’m a bit sore from some falls, but I will survive.

Something to read while you should be working

The past few weeks have been quite a treat! I spent a weekend in my hometown, a few days in DC, and a week in Chattanooga. First off I would like to thank my rents for accommodating Tyler and I during our Burgh visit. I really enjoyed being back home. I especially enjoyed schooling my Dad at Tiger Woods golf on the Wi. I’d like to challenge you to a rematch over Thanksgiving break.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh will always be my home. As we approached the city via 376 I felt as if I never left. It was as if I was coming home from a long day at Kennywood or a snowboard trip at 7Springs. Emotions swept through me as I stood on top of Mount Washington. Fog embraced the city. Never have I felt as proud. Truth speaks in the quote, “You don’t know what have until you leave.” My only reminder did not consist of only the City Skyline. My family and family of friends are my foundation. Constantly I was reminded of that during the weekend.

I came to Pittsburgh to see Issouf ag Maha. Issouf is a friend from Niger. I met him during my travels there in January. If you read the BBC, you will know that a major Taureg rebellion is happening in Niger. Issouf is a Taureg and Mayor of the area of attention. The environment is also a concern of Issouf and his people. The desert is constantly encroaching on his land. As the desert spreads, agriculture depletes. This phenomenon of nature causes Niger to be one of the poorest countries in the world. The group of Taureg I immersed with were the most incredible people I have met. I will never forget the week I spent in the bush with them. During my lifetime I will go back to Niger. Because of this, it was very important to me to meet Issouf during his stay at La Roche. I expressed to him my desire to be his friend. To help Niger would require much sacrifice. I can’t do that right now. However, I can return to him what was done for me during my trip. The taureg showed me how to treat others with love. Although totally different in culture, religion, and lifestyles, the taureg accepted and embraced me. I can at least do that in return. My hope is to host Issouf in DC at my home. He did this for me in Niger.

My other objective in visiting Pittsburgh was to be with my family. You already know that my dad and I faced off in a Tiger Woods Golf battle on Wi. We are tied. (However, I almost beat him as tiger woods with a girl, Paula Creamer) Playing Wi with my dad was possibly the best part of being home. My mom took Tyler and I to a Chinese place for lunch. It was great to be with my mom. I know that she and my dad care for me so much. If it were not for them I would not be here in DC. On Sunday the whole family got together for church and breakfast. I’ve been away from family for two months. The limited time I got to spend with my family was great.

When I wasn't with Issouf or my Family I was at the Global Problem, Global Solutions conference. I must say they have outdone themselves again. The students did a superior job of helping their fearless leader Dr. LeBlanc make it happen. I was very impressed with the speakers, the panels, and the after party. Being at La Roche was a great escape. I enjoyed catching up with my friends.

Tyler and I also had some intern business to tend to. On our way we had lunch with a student from the Forum. We had a great time catching up with the student. It just so happened we had relations with a Pittsburgh resident. We had dinner with him on our way into the city on Friday night. That was the best steak I’ve ever had. Later, on Friday night, we visited another student from the Forum. He attends the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland. This guy is amazing. He started a teahouse on Friday nights. The objective was to give students an alternative to getting trashed. Our time was filled with awesome conversation. We went from discussing Global Warming in India to observing a discussion between an atheist and a very devout Christian. If I were in Pittsburgh I would spend my Fridays at the Tea House. I couldn’t believe this was happening in my own city.

What did I learn from my trip to Pittsburgh?

I learned that in college I exhausted myself trying to do everything. I tried to be everything for everyone. I get excited fast about ideas and proposals. Often I answer in my excitement before logically thinking about my decision. I don’t always do things for the right reasons. I apologize to everyone for this. Thankfully I am learning who I am. Regret is not an option.

I learned that family is much more important than I have made it. I value my family. Sometimes I forget this. I get caught up in saving the world (metaphorically speaking), and forget whom really matter. I may not be in Pittsburgh for a long time, but I would like to foster an on going relationship with the people who matter the most to me.

I’ve also begun to realize that I don’t speak in a language others can understand. I want people to think like I do. I want people to be like me. I want them to act like me. I know this is a bit exaggerated. However I get frustrated when I try to teach or (preach) and no one understands. I am beginning to learn that it’s not them to fault, but me. We are all individuals with our own beliefs and thoughts. I am learning to value that.