Don't Mess With Texas

And so it begins…

On Tuesday, I was just a mere human. Now, I am a mere human in Austin, Texas! I have embarked on this grand adventure. After flying on the extremely looong (hehe, 30 minute) flight from Dayton to Chicago, being unintentionally elbowed by the sleeping man beside me, I arrived in Chicago. It was a really neat, artistic airport. I wish I could have spent more time exploring it, but I had to focus on the task at hand: travelling to Austin, TX for our orientation retreat at the Makarios headquarters. Makarios is the organization I am interning with for these next two months. It is a missions-based internship in the Dominican Republic, working with a school for impoverished students in an area of sugar cane plantations and 100 degree heat. A lot of the students’ parents came over from Haiti to work on the plantations, which affords them their humble, shack-dwelling lifestyle. It’s an understatement to say that I’m excited for this journey ahead! I don’t know exactly what my tasks will look like yet on a daily basis, but I’m looking forward to helping in the name of Christ in any capacity I can.

At the Dayton airport, about to embark on this journey

Chicago airport groovy walkway

So….Here I am! I made it! I arrived in Austin on Wednesday night (June 3) around 10pm and was warmly welcomed by Iesha, one of the Makarios employees I interviewed with, and her husband Brian. They picked me up in their large, black, very Texan pickup truck and took be to their adorable apartment in the heart of downtown Austin, near the state capitol and the University of Texas. They invited me in, showed me to the guest room, and made tea for me in the kitchen. I sipped the tea as we chatted about life stories. I enjoyed hearing their love story and about their ministry here in Austin. A lot of what they talked about reminded me of the book The One (by Ryan and Amanda Leak – I highly recommend it); both of their family mission statements are “Live generously.”….and before last month, I didn’t even know that families made mission statements.

I'm in Austin and have a bed!

Since I got here a couple days before the intern retreat starts, I have some free time to explore. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet up with my friend Zeeke, who is now a youth pastor at a church here in Austin. We walked around downtown, choosing a place to go to lunch. We eventually decided on Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar, which I highly recommend for anyone looking for a meal in Austin, TX. I got the shrimp po’ boy, which was delicious. Eating also got our parking validated, so that was a win-win. Then we went to the Hope Outdoor Gallery, which is an outdoor graffiti park. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and it was a breath of fresh air (contrary to the fumes normally associated with spray paint). We hiked to the top of the graffiti park and had a great view of the city.  There was also a guy there selling a homeless newspaper called The Challenger. Since I am familiar with similar programs in Cincinnati and Ann Arbor, I decided to support the guy and give him a couple bucks for the paper. However, now that I’ve read the publication, I think they would need to change a lot of things before I would support the paper again. The bad grammar I can get over, but it was also filled with foul language and stories celebrating drug use. You live and you learn I suppose.

Food at Perla's

Hope Outdoor Gallery

Once the retreat starts Saturday, I will be all-consumed by this trip (in a great way). On Monday, I will be in the Dominican Republic!!!! FYI, if you would like to keep in touch with me these next two months, I won’t have phone service, but I will have wifi. Aside from email / facebook, I highly recommend getting the Voxer app J ….Skype doesn’t work so well with the wifi there. 

Keep the prayers coming! And let me know of any prayer requests I can be praying for for you as well.