This Bird's Word

Alright, So I have waited long enough. I was waiting to tell the world because I wanted to make sure it was do-able. Basically, I wasn’t confident in myself. But I feel like, with the help of a couple buddies, I have reached that confidence level. So here it is! Two of my friends and I have decided to run a marathon. Eeee. See, now that I told you I HAVE to do it. I can’t back out now. It’s out there for you to hold me accountable to. That’s scary.

We are officially over a month into training. I think we have reached the point that there is no turning back. We now know that it is possible, achievable, and obtainable. (See what I did there? I used three synonyms to make my point sound more dramatic. But they all mean the same thing) No excuses!

Other than running a lot, my life has been going fairly smoothly. I have missed China a lot but I am working on being present in the present. Like wrapping a smaller gift inside a bigger one. But the gift is life, and I’m inside it? I don’t really know where I was going with that one…

I have been on a sort of “reading ADHD binge”. I think I’ve started three different books in the past three weeks and haven’t finished one of them. But I am going to be more intentional on getting to that last page.

One of the books I am reading, ‘Tender Warrior,” by Stu Weber, talks about how a man should have a vision. That is something that has been fairly difficult for me because I live so much in the now, and don’t necessarily plan for the future. Like my professor always says, “Use the lessons of the past to make decisions in the present and plan for the future.” I drop the ball on the latter. I am really good at using my lessons from the past. At least I would like to think I am. And I’m all over the present. You know, my whole gift-life analogy I used up there^ really exemplified that.

But planning for the future. I am still working on that. I believe that the Lord has a plan for me, so I take that for granted and don’t act on the things that I should. Just because God knows what I will do, and has an incredible life planned for me, it still requires that I take action to achieve those goals. So, that is something I will be focusing on. Planning for the future, while still living in my life-wrapped gift.

On a lighter note, there are only three weeks left of school! Then I will be coming down that home stretch of the college life. Whew. Almost there! I can just see it now…

Watched the “Art of Flight” movie the other night. If you haven’t heard of it, it is one of the greatest snowboarding documentaries ever made. Probably because Redbull made it and they are insane. There was a line at the very end of the movie though that sparked up a conversation between my brother and I.

There was an older man, comparative to the twenty-somethings in most of the movie, and he talked about how ever since he was 12 he knew that he would be snowboarding for the rest of his life. And we thought, man that would be fun. Hanging out with your bros, shredding some pow, going hard all day, then kicking back and relaxing whenever.

And yes. That would be “fun.” But having thought on that, Where is the purpose in living a life like that? Who are you bettering other than your own selfish desires? And this is in no way placing judgment on this one guy. For all I know, he could be impacting the people around him and sharing his story with those he rides with. But for me, I know I would get caught up in myself if I were chasing something like that. I am going to strive to change the world by changing the lives around me. Hey, who knows?! Maybe it will be by snowboarding…but probably not.

So if you ever hear of me snowboarding my life way. Come find me, slap me in the face, and break my board in half.

Okay, well don’t actually break it. But take it away then sell it and use the money for something that betters someone’s life. How bout a kid named Peter. I’m sure you could find a Peter somewhere out there that needs help.

So let’s all join in in helping Peter. He’s out there waiting. Go run to him. And give him a snowboard.

Bird Out!

The past month has flown by! I now understand what all those old guys were telling me about how college goes by so fast. I always laughed at them and said, “No, I will be different. I’m going to take it slow and enjoy every minute of it!” Well, there is some truth to that. I did enjoy every minute of it, but it’s pretty darn near impossible to slow it down. However, looking back at it, I am glad time moves at 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, and so on. I think God knew what he was doing.

Lately I have been just trying to get through this semester. Right after my last post, I had some intense academic times, but the Lord keeps appearing throughout that because I know fosho there’s no way I could have performed that way on my own. So praise him for the A’s! But in all seriousness, the Lord has been proving himself to me over and over again in my life.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard the question, “So, what are YOU doing next year?!” I would probably have like $2.00. That’s actually quite a lot if you think about it! There are many responses I hear. Med school. Law school. MBA. Conquering the world. Internships. Traveling. Working. Taking a victory lap. I think they are all sufficient answers. But I think mine fits me the best. Ideally, that would be the case though. That my answer is my best answer. It probably works for me because I thought it up. I answered that question because that question was asked to me. So therefore, it’s up to me to answer it! Follow? I hope, cause I’m still working on that answer. I ain’t worried though. So far, everything has worked fairly well for me.

I plan to change the world. Just a statement that came to me, just then, I was thinking about what to type next, and for some reason that popped into my head?

I had an incredible opportunity last weekend to go to the Oklahoma Student Council State Convention. I think my title was assistant helper person, but in reality all I did was hang out with some awesome high school kids and tell them to do crazy stuff, then tell them I told them not to do it. I love how that works. If only I knew the intricacies of authority when I was 13. Things would have been so different.

Anyways, back to my weekend. Like I said earlier, the Lord has proven himself to be sovereign to me over and over. One example happened this weekend. Not only did we have some of the coolest students with us, but Edmond Santa Fe has been blessed with one heck of an adviser. She is an inspiration to me in so many different aspects of my life. One Sunday, the group had planned to have our own devotion because the one that was scheduled for the convention was at an improbable waking time. Okay, maybe we were lazy. BUT these students wanted to have some time with Jesus, so we were going to make that happen.

Time ran out, we ate breakfast and had to get the general session. However, later that day, after some scheduling conflicts arose, we found ourselves in a room with about 300 high school kids and nothing to do. So, one of the kids suggested we go have our “Jesus Time” outside. So we did. And we had some kids from other schools join us. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever been apart of. I was inspired by the real actions that these students wanted to take to change their schools.

All in all, I believe that God knows what he is doing. Even though lately I have felt like a jigsaw puzzle piece trying to find it’s home in an apple pie, I know that God will place me where I am supposed to be. He’s doing work in me and I just need to allow that to happen!

Puzzled and Willing

Bird

I’m not letting Oklahoma get in the way.

That might have been a little too blunt. Oklahoma has been a key ingredient to the growth of Ben. I mean come on, I spent the first 22 years of my life here (as opposed to the other 22 years I’ve lived…). So let me rephrase that, I appreciate you, Oklahoma, for being the water to my seed. The sunlight to my flower. The pop to my corn. With all of that being said, I do love me some of that ‘outside’ world.

I like to view last semester (I was in China and various other countries) as the season of my adolescence in terms of my ‘who is Ben’ discovery. I fed the appetite of traveling and experiencing crazy new things quite a bit. You could compare it to a high school football player who, while in high school eats steak/brisket/hamburgers (fill in whatever greasy delicious food you desire), then graduates, stops playing sports everyday and continues eating like before. Obviously, this poses some health issues. That’s what I feel like. So I’m trying to spice things up. You know, add a Ribeye or a slab of ribs here and there, but all the while being healthy, realizing that traveling is an amazing experience that can teach one more about themselves than any book, but also that being present at where you are is more important than dreaming of where you could be.

So, I indulged on a nice pulled-pork sandwich last weekend. As many of you know, last weekend was one of the largest rivalries in American sports (argue all you what, but google agrees) between Oklahoma and Texas football. Naturally, a couple of friends and I headed in the opposite direction, towards the promise land full of milk and honey. Colorado.

SIDENOTE: Well, actually we did have about a gallon of milk after some discussion on its health benefits/nobenefitsatall. This turned into quite a debate at one of our stops during the drive home. Still unresolved, so please, if you feel so inclined, you can add to the debate in the comments or by emailing me whatever information you may have on the subject.

However, with that out of the way, we hopped in the trusty FJ and set our sails (or iPhone map app) to Lake City, Colorado, after talking the Sigep cook into giving us all of the leftovers and putting some of that night’s dinner into an ice-chest. Free food, lets go. We arrived 14 hours later in the middle of a blizzard.

Originally, the plan for our trip was to arrive in Colorado, stay at our friend’s grandpa’s house, hopefully get on the trail, camp out, hike, and just kick it in the good ‘ol outdoors. Unbeknownst to us was the fact that Lake City was receiving its first snowy blanket for the year. So we nixed the camp out and instead longboarded, hit up the skate park, and built a camp fire one evening then headed back to the cabin at dusk. The last day however we got up early (with another fresh blanket of powder) and set out to reach the peak to the 14er, Handies.

Luckily, one of the guys on the trip worked at a camp nearby so we were able to snag some gators and ice axes (ice axes are always essential, if not for climbing purposes at least for testosterone boosters). We set out on the trail which was a little bit longer than expected, we couldn’t even make it to the trail head because my car got stuck about 300 yards out. The hike proved to be one of the most difficult physical activities I have ever partaken in. With no trail in sight because of the snow, we were relying on our trusty guide whose only knowledge of the trail had been obtained that summer before in the dark.

Trailblazers. That’s whats up. After crawling, hacking, falling, slipping, and wading through snow up to our waist (not the whole time, I would’ve said see ya if that were the case), we reached the peak 6.5 hours later. I think it’s supposed to take a summer visitor 2 hours to summit the climb. We enjoyed our smashed PB&Js having reached our goal and then headed back down for a 2 hour descent.

We hit the sack that night then arose early the next morning to hop back in our transport to the plains. We all assumed our trip was over, but about an hour outside of OKC we picked up our creepy stalker who followed us all the way into the city. Exciting story, but undeserving of typing it all out. One of those, “you-had-to-be-there-to-see-his-scary-face-and-intense-gazing-to-really-get-the-full-effect” stories. I guess that kind of told the whole story. He gave us scary looks and in turn, we were inclined to feel scared.

The week following the trip was a slap of reality. Lots of tests and assignments. I learned that being present is important the hard way. But learning a lesson the hard way is better than ignoring it the easy way. Lessons are one of those things that get measured exponentially. They compound. If it isn’t learned the easy way first, its learned harder the second. Then harder^2 the 3rd time and so on and so on.

We can all be grateful for learning lessons. God has a tendency to know how we should learn them and when we should. It’s just up to us as to when we acknowledge that. So for now, be present and don’t eat too many Chipotle burritos.

Bird Out

I guess life is just as exciting as you decide to make it.

Granted…being on the other side of the world DOES add a little spice to things.

However, the last few weeks have definitely been entertaining enough. I’ve taken my fair share of tests, went to my first OU game in over a year, ran in some races, completed my first triathlon (it was short), danced my face off, and have been in charge of a classroom.  I’m learning a lot, like always.

Young Life has been super fruitful and the Lord has been teaching me endless life skills. I have recently begun the journey of raising support. I think this idea scared me at first, then I was told that I serve a God who doesn’t need anyone’s help, He just wants to allow us to jump on board along side Him. I thought that was pretty cool. This semester I made my schedule so that I would not have classes on Fridays. Yes, a long weekend would be nice, BUT I have been blessed enough to be able to serve as a substitute every Friday since school has started, and dang…talk about learning opportunities

I actually had to yell at a kid the other week. I felt so awful that I sat down next to him after and talked to him. The conversation started like this.

“So do you play football…?”

We then proceeded to talk about making “beats” and his future plans for college and such. The Lord is breaking my heart even more for high school kids and especially revealing the potential that EACH AND EVERY ONE of them has. I leave that school knowing that God loves every single one of those kids so freakin much. Last Friday I had the opportunity to share my life’s goals, my journey, what I’ve seen, and what I’ve experienced. Basically, I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with 5 different classes of about 20 high school students all day. Such an encouraging day!

I think that’s about it for now. I’ll try to start going on as many adventures as I can. Mainly because I want to go on adventures…but it does help writing these when I’ve “done something crazy” as Asher Roth would put it.

I think being a cowboy would be awesome.

Peacin

Sure. I guess I might as well keep this up. It was such a release while I was gone, I don’t know why I stopped when I returned to the states. Okay, that’s a lie. I know why. Time and commitment. Two things I am learning a great deal about right now.

Let’s do a run down of the past two months  (more of a sprint down), I gotta catch you up to speed fast.

I returned to the states after 40 hours of travel instead of the 26 hours it was supposed to take. Living in airports is not listed on top priorities in my life. I had an incredible amount of people to catch up with. The next couple days was full of coffee dates, lunches, and kicking it with my friends. Something that I truly thrive on! Then four days later, I hopped on a bus and took off to Crooked Creek Ranch, a Young Life camp in Frasier, Colorado. Had an amazing week out there with some super-enthusiastic-hyper life loving high-schoolers then returned home. Post camp I moved back into SigEp and had the biggest culture shock I have ever undergone. Moved out for two weeks to recoup and collect myself, then went back to Sigep to try it again.

After living there for a few days I was once again blessed to travel with Young Life’s cycling team, this year we traveled to Ventura County California. It was a beautiful ride accompanied with a nice relaxing weekend. Flew home on Sunday and started school on Monday!

School has taken up a considerable amount of time, more than usual. But it’s worth it, I’ve got an itch to get out and I’m doing the best I can to make that happen within the year. It’s looking promising!

Along with school I have decided to take a larger role in Edmond Young Life this year. I am hoping that this will open my eyes and teach me about working in the ministry field for possibly a post-school plan. But if you know me well, I’m not big on planning ahead . Still not sure on what my life looks like after school but I know that the Lord has control and will use me wherever I end up, I just pray that I will be faithful in listening to what He has to say!

It’s crazy that I am a senior. I say that because I am supposed to say that. Honestly, it doesn’t feel that crazy. The past four years have flown by, but I say that about every four years…so you would think that I would have grasped the idea that time flies, whether or not you are having fun! Haha but it has been fun and I have grown more in these past few years than in my combined 22 years of life. However, I will not settle for these four years to be “the best years of my life.” I know that my post-college years will be different, but I know that they posses more opportunity and adventure than I am prepared for! So bring them on. For now, I am here and I will be present.

It’s good to be back and can’t wait to share what is going on in my life!

Da Bird’s Back

It seems like just last week I was sitting at this exact same table, in this exact same chair, typing this exact same way (with my fingers of course).

But it wasn’t last week that I was sitting here. Because last week I was on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD.

Yes, in case you were wondering, I did make it home! Four planes, five airports, six airplane meals, and forty hours of travel later, I made it home! Get this. Everything went as smooth as a baby’s bum up until Dallas. DALLAS. That’s so close. I almost made it. But of course our plane exploded and we had to get a new one. That’s an exaggeration, because the problem was a bit smaller than a combusted plane. It did entail a five hour delay though.

My “re-entry” as some have named it, has been relatively smooth. One of the things I was most worried about was the jet lag. Until tonight, I did really well! It might have been the nap I took at 9:30. P.M…Whoops.

I did however take out my journal in the Dallas airport and jot a few things down. Some immediate observations that I made. I will let you in on a few. But before I do, I am allowed amnesty because I was in the Orient and these are only immediate observations not directed at anyone in particular, just written with love In the order that they were written, parenthesis are just an explanation.

Emo Kids. The texture of the U.S. dollar. Old white men with OLD WHITE women (sadly in China it was usually old white men with Young Chinese women). Over-hearing annoying conversations in English I could care less about. English slang. I assumed I would recognize someone in customs because there were so many white people, I was wrong, because I didn’t. Mountain Dew. Not all Chinese people know Chinese (Mandarin). Short quick conversations that I completely understood. Khaki shorts everywhere. People are kind of fat. Less children (weird, considering the one child policy and all). I’m just another white face in the crowd (  :/  ). Recognizable facial expressions. Different ‘kinds’ of ‘white’ people. Loud obnoxious pre-teen girls, DRAMA.

So yeah, those were my immediate observations. But man did it feel great to be back in the states. I could make lists for Chinese entry too, so don’t think I am being too hard on the good ‘ol red white and blue, cause I love this country, yes I do, how about you?! For real though, it has been an amazing week back. Started out with some of the coolest cats in the world meeting me at the airport, then even more cool katz hanging out with me Tuesday night. I was a little worried about the conversations and just the ability (my ability) to really convey what had happened to me in the past five months. But God (I can type that out now!) was totally present. He created some awesome conversations and just life-giving words from my friends. I am so excited to be home!

I feel like the past five months went by so fast. I feel like everyone says that. I feel like I should stop starting my sentences with I feel like….

Crazy to think that a week ago I was packing up my room in Kunming and saying goodbye or see ya later, to my friends. I think I might be getting sentimental again. I will spare you that side of Ben for now. Don’t worry, it will come back.

This week has been a tornado of lunch dates, conversations, coffee, and meeting with friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I did lock my keys in my car already. I’m not used to that. Usually I’m just locking up my scooter, and apparently here, once you lock your car you’re supposed to have your wallet, phone, and keys OUT of the car. Oopsies. Luckily, I have an amazing friend who drove me to and fro Edmond to grab my extra keys.

Did I mention I have the best friends in the world? Seriously. I am putting that challenge out there. I might even start a reality show. Where my friends compete against everyone else’s friends. I guarantee my friends will win. That’s probably why this show will be a success, because no one will be able to beat my friends.

I am so pumped to be home. It was hard to leave and a lot of tears were shed. Mostly on the airplane. I had a knack for crying in public places on this trip. Not sure why that happened? Usually I was reading, so I could hide my face behind my book. But this time I just had to hide behind my hoody, but then my face got hot cause I was hiding behind my hoody. My book did a better job. It allowed more airflow.

I leave for Young Life camp tomorrow. We are taking about 60 kids to Crooked Creek Ranch in Frasier, Colorado. I CAN NOT WAIT. It is gonna be an amazing time for the Lord to work in the lives of these high school kids, and in the hearts of the leaders and staff. So if you have the hankering to pray for us, I would ask that you would pray for the Lord to move in some crazy ways in the hearts of these campers. That this time will be the foundation for a life changing choice that will forever connect their spirits to God and that they will be surrounded by people who will speak wisdom and truth into their lives. God is so GOOD. I love that I can type that out now.

I ate a lot of burgers this week. My first, and the best one, was at Johnnie’s. I have also eaten sandwiches and salads and a lot of cheese. They don’t have good cheese in China. I wonder how long I can keep referencing China? Like is there a rule to that? I’m figuring this out as I go, so please, if you have experience in this area or just want to give me advice, I am open to it!

I was laying in bed earlier and I know I had more to say. But for now, I think this will do. It’s good to be back. If I haven’t had a chance to meet with or see you, please please let me know and we will have to get together when I get back from camp!

You guys rule. It has warmed my heart knowing that friends and family have been able to witness what I have gone through these past few months. Can’t thank you enough!

American Bird Out

I apologize.

I apologize for the length of my absence.

And I apologize for the length of this entry. For now, it looks as though it may be a lengthy one. But if you are still reading these awful ramblings of my adventures across Asia, then apparently I have captured something inside of ya! Woooooooo

Aight, last time we left off was, oh about a month ago. Haha quite a lot has happened since then. I will try to make it short and sweet, like the two 5 hour energies I have sitting next to me.

Ah man I just realized that last time I was super sappy and emotional and practically cyber-crying. I can assure you this one won’t be like that! Maybe…

So the end of June I had to say goodbye to a lot of friends. It was hard to see them go, and even harder to know that I was next! But they were troopers and handled it like pros, waited till the night before to pack then dropped a nuclear bomb in their room and everything somehow, by the Grace of Dan, landed in their suitcases and they packed up outta hurr. Bittersweet. We had some great adventures together, but if you don’t eat the cake you will never enjoy it, right? I dunno.

I feel as though I’m leaving a lot out from the last month, it’s hard to remember that far back! But I’m sure I will remember right after I submit this blog-atrocity and then I’ll just have to make future entries. Whoop whoop!

Oh yes. And finals. Those happened too. That’s about all I have to say on that subject. Moving on.

Pretty much all my journal entries this past month have started out, “Uh, what? (enter amount of days left) until I go home?” “Where has the time gone?” “Are you kidding me? Only (enter days) left?!” I’m still processing all of those intellectually stimulating thoughts, it may take time.

I did think I was gonna die. Actually, twice in the past month. Once because my stomach wanted to fight my small intestines in an ultimate death match, but they cheated and tag teamed with my large intestines, I lost that one. Ben’s stomach-0, Ben’s toilet/bucket-alot.

The other time I got chased by a dozen rabid monkeys on a small Thai island. But that story will have to wait.

I went to Thailand! The day after my last final, did I mention I’m not a big fan of those?, I hopped on a plane to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I told a friend it was like Colorado, but throw in a jungle, sweaty humid weather, delicious food, and Southeast Asia. Boom. Amazing. I was only there for a couple days, rented a motorscootercyclething, saw some elephantas, mountain biked, and of course ate delicious food.

Then I headed down south to the most amazing beaches man has ever seen. And you think I’m exaggerating. Okay, I guess I could be, but I thought they were the most amazing beaches I had ever seen. The next couple days were spent in Phuket, Thailand where I was a sloth; oh did I love it. Ate some more delicious food, drove another motorscootercyclething around to a bunch of beaches. I guess you could say I beach hopped. So rad. Hang loose. Chill bro.

Then I took a ferry out to a small island called Koh Phi Phi. Woooaaah talk about blow your mind beautiful. Don’t you worry, I’ll put some pictures up. The first day there I just kicked it on the beach and got myself a nice tank top tan line. I think I got a massage almost every day, but not quite. I did eat at least 2 fresh fruit smoothies everyday. I mean come on, when they’re like a buck fitty, who can resist?!

Basically, the way the island is ran is by putting up these poster flyer things outside of every shop that advertise what awesome crazy adventure trips you can go on. Anywhere from snorkeling, beach hopping via speed boat, scuba diving (wish I was certified, then found out you could do dives w/o being certified? I dunno, didn’t look into it enough), climbing, camping, more snorkeling, and transport to other islands. But the climbing one caught my eye.

It looked so sophisticated! Everything was laid out nicely, the English was accurate, and there were even PICTURES. So of course it was safe and nothing could go wrong right? Ha…

Things aren’t as “gift-wrapped”, per say  in Thailand. (I’ve never used that expression and I feel like I may have butchered it??) Everything’s just a bit WiLd.

The next morning I went on a jog with a local who took me around to some beaches, then destroyed me in calisthenics and then sprints? What the heck, I just wanted a nice peaceful jog. Next are the monkeys. This story I feel like is told so much better in person.

So I’m not gonna type it out Now you HAVE to talk to me when I get back.

Then I headed out on my “Deep Water Solo” climbing expedition with my “highly trained guide who has FIVE years of experience!” He was 23. I think he may have been hung over.

Needless to say, my first climb, I jumped off, hit the water, then hit rocks. I’ll spare the rest of the details for sake of my mommy’s heart. I’m alive though so let’s go!!!!

The next day I camped out on Maya Bay, the beach where “The Beach”, (good ol Leo Dicaprio), was filmed. Awesome time. Slept in my hammock on the beach in a cave. I mean, does it get any better than that?

Today was my last full day in Kunming. I feel like I just moved here after a windstorm of stress, nausea, and fear of not finding my sweet ol rice pad. But, all good things come to an end right? I’m not much of a fan of that saying, cause I think we can make all good things last. It happened, and I will forever have the experience, the knowledge, and the memories of it. It don’t gots to end. Just a change of scene. So before I start to get to emotional, seeing as I am already up past my bedtime; and my crying seems to exponentially increase post bedtime, I should probably end this entry, in fear of weeping uncontrollably and dehydrating myself.

So this is the last time I will be writing you from China! (For awhile at least)

Can’t wait to be reunited with everyone and dive into another adventure with you.

Until then keep up the good fight, I’ll be back to join you shortly

This Birds COMING HOME!

P.S. This is a list of the books I have done read. You Ready? Here we gooooo…

Blue Like Jazz, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Through Painted Deserts, Heaven is For REAL, Blink, Survivors Club, Searching for God Knows What, Born to Run, Radical, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, Mere Christianity, The Shack, The Four Loves, The Five Love Languages, Tuesdays with Morrie, Traveling Mercies, Five People You Meet in Heaven, Same Kind of Different as Me, Bird by Bird.

If I can work up the energy and courage, I may write a few reviews for you on what I thought. I can tell you now, some of these books severely changed my life. Now that’s a fact.

Well, I’ve postponed this entry as long as I can. I am going to go ahead and warn you…this might get a little sappy and cheesy. Bear with me (just looked that expression up, ‘bare’ with me would be asking you to undress…)

It is late in the night; actually it is the morning of June 18th. Marking the dreaded one month left. I have many mixed emotions right now. I would love to share with you an incredible mind blowing story that I have experienced. But one story would not give my life the past 4 months justice.

I would love to be able to sum up everything that I have learned in one short entry, but I fear that it may take years for me to figure out and process everything that has happened in my life recently. I have seen friendships formed through struggles, and strengthened through love. I have witnessed an unspeakable grace in my life that I do not deserve. I have seen friends struggle through the loss of loved ones, and I have seen joy that only the One True Love can bring. I have been thrown into fear, only to be rescued through faith in my Dad. I have experienced a love that cannot be typed out, but lived out through my life and those around me.  My perception has been upturned. My world has been flipped. And my life will not be the same.

I hope.

If you were to ask me what I have learned through my time in China, we would need a few pots of coffee and maybe a few red bulls. Actually, I haven’t had a red bull in a while, so that might be a bad idea. I do miss the taste….

These past few months have torn away scab after scab. Literally, I got hit on my scooter and my leg had a scab, I kept peeling it.

Truly though, I have been broken repeatedly, only to find Him waiting for me with open arms. I have read more books in the past 3 months than I have combined in the past 3 years. I finally had to slow down just to be able to comprehend what was going on. I’ve been able to lay in my hammock and not worry about the to-do list I usually have in the back of my head. My schedule has been more flexible than ever.

I have learned to cook (poorly), drive a scooter through Chinese traffic (dangerously), relax relentlessly, and pray ceaselessly (it’s a word, I think?).

I feel a bit like I’m writing an obituary. In a sense, I guess it is. My life in China is coming to a close. At least this chapter is. The door is slowly shutting. But with that, there are uncountable windows that have been opened. My world has been expanded drastically. I have seen His creation, and I want some more baby! I will be honest I am a little nervous to get back to America. I love my country, (some here may think a bit too much), but I do and I ain’t ashamed. I love that red, white, and blue.

Yet, I am still frightened to be thrown back into the land of the free. After living abroad, I have been disconnected from so many distractions. I feel as if my head is on straight. I can focus (maybe not in class) on the things that matter most in this life. And I believe those are my relationships. I hope that coming home will not change that belief, but only strengthen it.

Tangent. T-A-N-G-E-N-T. (Ha oh man) Anywho, there’s this dog right. And somehow he finds his way outside my door. I live on the 18th floor of an apartment complex. So I’m thinkin, alright this dog belongs to someone on my floor. Well, it likes to bark a lot. So on the 2nd night this continued into the wee hours, I took matters into my own hands. I put that sucker in the elevator and sent him to the 1st floor. Guess what?! This dude found its way back up?! The next few nights it kept happening, and I kept sending it down, one time I literally walked it outside and shut the door. Anyways, like a week later a saw a lady with the dog and she said it was hers and she got out of the elevator on the 9th floor. What the heck?

Yes. My life is different. And I pray that it will continue to change. That I will be clay for His hands to mold. Now, I don’t believe this is goodbye, I just felt sentimental tonight, so I decided to jot it down. I hope I didn’t scare you away. Maybe my next one will be peppy and littered with smiley faces and references to Chinese people relieving themselves in public.

But until then, you’re stuck with sappy, emotional, thoughtful, reflecting, cheesy Ben.

This Bird Talkin

P.S. I definitely saw a tiger eat a live chicken at the zoo…doo..do..doooo

Yes. I dropped the ball on the whole “daily life in pictures” thing. It will happen! I promise.

Okay maybe I don’t promise, cause that can get me in trouble. I just think very strongly that it will happen. I’m not gonna promise though so I take it back. (I know I could just delete it…but then you wouldn’t see my train of thought and what’s the fun in that? Boooooring)

Last week was a typical week in Chinerville. I don’t know if I can use typical and China (or any version of the word) in a sentence because I’m thinking that could be an oxymoron. I had class, and kicked it with friends and read a lot of books.

“Born to Run.” If you like running or like me, WANT to like running. Read it. I don’t know how it did it, but these pages made me get outside and do the run thang.

I also read “Heaven is for REAL” which was incredible, definitely recommend it. Easy read but some intense stuff. Then I read David Platt’s “Radical” which was not so easy of a read but so worth it. Really makes you think about where we are at in our walk. And lastly I read “The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth.” Still thinking about that one. A lot of very interesting insights into the world of high school. Kids are so crazy nowadays.

Played a lot of board games! Lost terribly at the Game of Life…hope that doesn’t reflect real-life…? But dominated me some octagonal squares in “Settlers of Catan.”

Last Wednesday I took off for Beijing! Hence the title of this post…

And a “lightning war” it was! I had 4 days to do Beijing. In case you didn’t know, Beijing is somewhat large. And by that I mean freak’n huge. It was good though! I would recommend at least five days. Within one day I crammed “Temple of Heaven”, ‘Tienanmen Square”, “Forbidden City”, and two outrageous markets. At one of them I was so tired I ended up sitting down and talking to one of the girls working a booth for about 45 minutes. After some haggling, I got my shoes for the price of 110 kuai plus two ice cream cones. I would say it was a good deal!

The first full day I was there I had the chance to meet up with a friend who was doing some ‘cool’ work there. We taught English via the ‘coolest’ book out there then visited an orphanage. Children amaze me. No wonder Dan stressed the importance of our children! They truly are a blessing.

Don’t worry I did the Great Wall!! And it was great? I mean, don’t get me wrong, building that thing took time, skill, and countless lives so I’m not discounting what they did in any way. But I will say that their time might have been spent better elsewhere….I mean some parts of the wall are literally a dirt path. So them Mongolians didn’t have much to worry about. Sorry Mulan, but you might be outta luck on this one.

However, I was walking along the wall and all of a sudden WHAM! I was like, woah…I’m walking on the Great Wall of CHINA. So that was cool. That feeling alone was worth the trip.

The night after I did all those cultural sites I felt paralyzed. Could barely move my body. So tired. So I slept. But the night before I had the chance to go out with some other Okies (not from Muskogee though). We had ourselves some Peking Duck (sorry Spurrs, not dadong :/ ) then went to see the night life in Beijing. And I thought there were a lot of foreigners in Kunming….

I did get to see where Michael Phelps showed the world what swimming really is. And also the intricate and oh so giant Olympic Stadium. All I’m saying is there might be some overcompensation there for something…

The last day my flight left at 3:30. I moseyed around and didn’t get out of the hostel till 10:00. The people at the hostel told me I didn’t have time to do the Summer Palace. I went for it anyway. They were right…haha I hate that! I got there, literally ran around snapping pictures and after 50 minutes ran back to the subway. I think the average person spends 5 hours there. I like to call it “speed touring.” Way more exciting and gets your adrenaline pumping.

The trip was awesome. Too fast but I was ready to get back to Kunming, I was tuckered out fasho. I love traveling alone. It has its ups and downs. Positives are that there is tons of time for self-reflection and quiet time with the big man. However, these self-reflections often lead to me talking out loud while walking through the city, so people probably think I’m some crazed mullet kid. You are also forced to meet new people. Oh the stories you hear!! Another positive is that it reminds me how we were not created to be alone. Relationships and friendships give us LIFE.

As much as I like being alone, being with people was part of the plan for us. In all the books I’ve been reading, almost every single one of them stresses the importance of relationships and how we all desire to be loved by someone. So do it. Love someone! Then we can all wear tie-dye and flowers on our heads and sing kumbaya. Haha just kidding. But really…wear tie-dye. Maybe not flowers. But tie-dye is acceptable.

Your challenge for the next week: read a book, watch Mulan, love people, and of course, wear tie-dye.

Oh and also listen to Ben Howard. Thanks Odor for that one!

Love Bird.

P.S. I’m not a hippie, I promise.

Alrighty so last time we chittedchatted my parents had just departed the good ol Orient.

And I was left alone.

All alone.

Ha just playing witchyu! My friends were so ready for me to be home they hosted a Cinco de Mayo party…at the rice pad. Whut whut! Haha okay so it might not have been FOR me but we still had a blast! We had some delicioso (Italian? Spanish? Whateva I’m studying Chinese, get outta here Romance langauges) beans, salsa, margaritas, and an extremely, probably too long, devotional time to some Dashboard Confessional.

The next day I went to class and found out I had midterms! Wahoo, it actually worked out quite well. My midterms fell on the same week as everyone’s finals back home. The perfect combination for me to distract them and them distract me. However, I tend to be more on the side of the distractor. Sorry, I can’t help it, it’s just what I’m good at.

So that weekend my goal was to study a bit. And I achieved that goal. I studied a bit. But a bit was all I bit off. Hmm. Bought some sick kix. They’re urreywhere here. Pumps.Me.Up.

Saturday rolled around. Got me some all you can eat pancakes with some cool peoples. I’ll save the juicy details of my lunch for another time

I feel like my health/exercise routine directly correlates my study habits. In the whole opposites attract kind of way. Like…I had midterms this week, so obviously I ran and worked out more than I normally would to avoid the dreadful, awful, task of studying. Ok ok ok. It isn’t that bad. But I honestly don’t believe I was created to sit behind a book. And yes, I realize that is an excuse for my laziness. But I’m fine with it, so…yeah. That’s about all I gots on that topic

Last week went by surprising fast. It was fun to watch everyone back home finish up school, the excitement, the feeling of accomplishment, and finally seeing all those crazy freshman finish up their first year in college. OH NO. Here it comes. The sentimental “Ah, it seems just like yesterday I was taking my last final as a freshman.” And yes. It does. But I also cannot wait to be finishing up my senior, (what?!), senior year in college next year. Now that’ll be time for reflection!

So finished up my midterms all except one One of my teachers (no emphasis on this one for any reason WHATSOEVER) has kept pushing our midterm back. I am so fine with that. Finished em up and had a another great weekend in Kunming. I like being home on the weekends. It’s a great time to hang with my friends here and develop those relationships more.

I watched a movie last Saturday. Get ready for it. The ‘Fast Five’. And yes, it was more epic than ever. I mean come on, Vin Diesel head-to-head with The Rock?! While both jacked up on steroids and most likely elephant tranquilizers. I mean these dudes were huge. Muscles literally on muscles. I think the Rock actually had muscles bulging on his face. Okay, I think I gave enough time to that subject…even though I am telling you this movie was awesome. This is coming from a guy whose favorite movies are Garden State and Finding Neverland. Anywho….

That night I got to spend some time with a family here in Kunming. We played Halo, ate pizza, then finished the night off with some kinect sports. Wore me OUT! I always leave feeling refreshed though, just being in a family setting is energizing to me. I have had some really awesome conversations with friends lately about family. I think that we are lied to a lot on this subject. Pictures of ‘perfect’ families, care-free lives, and worry free relationships in the family zone surround us in television, movies, and advertisements.

But I disagree with that. I think that relationships require dedication and love. The family is no exception. I believe that it takes an incredible amount of love and grace to have a healthy family, and that is not something we were created to do alone. It definitely has to have Dan in the center of it. We are told that if our family life isn’t perfect, then we are doing something wrong. Naaahh forget that! I think that if stuff is surfacing you are doing something RIGHT. That means that your family is willing to be real and transparent, something that is hard to come by nowadays. So, I guess I just wanted to encourage everyone to really put forth an effort with their families. Being over here has really hit home the importance of family. That’s who you got for life. Dontchyu forget it!

Welp, that’s about what I’ve got for now. I’m hoping to hit you guys up with some pics of my daily life. So look forward to that in the coming posts. And I’m planning on heading out to Beijing next week. Hope it goes as pla….oh wait, I vowed never to say those words again.

We will see what happens!

Bird’s in His Nest Away from Nest

For now…