To Show You What I've Been Up To

This is the fence that we began putting up on Saturday at Dr. Randy's.

This is to show you that I am still alive. That was a cute dog that I met.

Due to a computer error, we got gas at $0.247 a gallon. Yes, thats right, 25 cents a gallon. Ben called them and later went back and paid the real price, $2.479

These boxes are loaded with LOTS of crystal. Crystal glasses, plates, dishes, pitchers, etc. We spent 4 or 5 hours on Friday wrapping these in bubble wrap and putting them in these boxes for a man in who lives near the church and is moving and couldn't do it himself.

This is the common room, aka the VIP, where we have class and hang out.

Church and Softball

Church was good this morning. We went to Sunday school which was conversational discussing ways to implement 1 Thess. 5:14-22 and the sermon was on Acts 4:1-7. I ate at the Martin's (yes, the Martin's) and then played softball from 2-4. This evening we haven't done much. However, I was playing playing catch in the dark in the circle while talking on the phone to Alison. That was weird.
Today was 32 months for Alison and I!! I am so thankful to her. She is such a wonderful girl and so beautiful, inside and out. I like her so much. :)

One Week Later

Here we are one week after I left home for Florida. Through this week I have left my family, girlfriend, and the few friends that remained at home. I arrived and began living with some cool people who are quickly becoming good friends. I met people who have invested a lot of time and money into me without even meeting me. I began to learn a new method of studying God's Word and learning how to apply it to my life. Life is different here. I eat in someone else's house every day and hang out with people till 12 or 1 in the morning. Sebring is a quiet town till Friday and Saturday nights when the one club is open downtown.
Right now I am sitting in the common room (the one with sofas and table) listening to Travis and Katy play guitar while waiting for Ben and Christina to come and take us to dinner. This afternoon I believe we are cleaning the church and getting it ready for Sunday. I better be getting dressed so I am ready to go. Thank you for you prayers. :) I hope everyone is doing alright in the cold.

First Day of Classes

We woke up this morning to cool 70 something degree weather and spent some time in the circle as a team before heading to the room for our first class with Dr. Randy Smith. Dr. Randy is an insightful and knowledgeable teacher and dynamic speaker who had lived in Israel for over 10 years and continues to run his ministry there and around the world called Global Vision outreach. www.globalvisionoutreach.org
Class is for about three hours a day, 9-12 pm. It is very interesting, engaging and in-depth. These are some pictures of the Institute where we eat, sleep, have class and often hang out.

This is a satellite photo of downtown, note the "circle"

This our kitchen, the bathrooms and pantry are off to the right. The far door leads to the next building and the door behind the fridge is Tarah's* room. When Tarah finally gets married, that room will be our dining room.

This is my bed (on the bottom) and dresser. That is Shea (rhymes with tray). He sleeps above me.

This is another view of my bedroom. Ben is on the left, Travis has his back to you.

This is the guy's study room, with all our computers. My desk is closest to you.

This is a view of the Institute from the circle. We are on the second floor. The nearest windows look out (or in) from the common room.

This is a view of the circle from beside the building.


This is taken from the front, "rounded" window of the institute.

*Tarah is a former 412 student who currently lives in the building.

Orientation

Today was the first day of orientation here in Sebring and it was alright as orientations go. Dr. Randy spoke to us about what we were going to be learning and what we are going to come out of this program with. We also went over some guidelines, talked to some former 412ers and took a spiritual gifts test. This evening we had dinner with a nice couple from the church and we played ping-pong and talked. Tomorrow we have another day of orientation, and I am not sure about what we will be doing.
On another note, I am doing well. I am sleeping well, getting enough to eat, enjoying the people, etc. I excited about what I am going to be learning and experiencing. I know that it will be difficult to get along with people all the time in such close quarters but I also know that I will be able to make lasting friendships. I want to thank all of you for your prayers. Please feel free to say hello by giving me a comment. I love to hear from anyone.

As Promised...

This is Alison and I when I visited her before I left.
(Isn't she sooo cute!?!)

Almost all packed up!

My mother and sister in my room
Yes, I flew, and I flew through clouds. I love clouds.
This is the team!
(l-r) Shea, Me, Morgan, Katy, Travis, Brian

I Have Arrived!

Yes, it's true! I have safely made it to Sebring after my flights from HIA and Detroit. On my team there are 4 guys (including myself) and two girls. Also, there will be 2 or 3 other students who will just be taking the classes. I will have time to give a detailed description and pictures of this place later, but basically we are on the second floor of a building downtown. We have guys and girls bathrooms, kitchen, girls room, guys sleeping room, guys study room, and a class/sofa room. Everyone seems really cool and I am excited to get to know them. Tomorrow is church and then a baptism service at the lake. From there we shall see. Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to offer them on my behalf, I greatly appreciate it.
This institute will have a website that should be up later this week. I will be sure to post its address here. Andrew, I will answer your questions tomorrow. I love you all, leave me messages!

Last Post From Home

Well, I am finally getting packed. I am nervous about being overweight (go ahead and snicker) or not fitting everything in. My one bag is about 47 lbs. right now. But God will help make it fit. I am posting this now because I need to get my laptop and all electronics packed up. An interest of note, I am bringing 5 charger/AC cables for my stuff. (phone, bluetooth, laptop, Axim, camera). Now I need to get my hair cut. I don't think that I am going to get to sleep for a long time yet. :/ Well, mom and dad are getting on me about being on here so I better be off. If I find a free hotspot in one of the airports tomorrow, then I may post something from there quickly. Otherwise, the next post will be from Sebring! Good night PA!!

"Shouldn't you be packing?"

That's my mom's phrase of the day. I should be packing, but I also have so many other things that need taken care of. I need to clean and straighten up my room, so I can keep track of things I need to take and so I can leave it in nice condition to be the guest/computer/Kristen's weekend room. Yeah, they have big plans for my vacant residence. Yesterday was my last day of work and it rained all day! The only time that happened, and it happened on my last day. :( Oh well, its over and done with now. Peter had to do the run today and will have to keep doing it until they find someone else to hire. They will miss me.

Will you?

Well, I need to get going. How about a picture or two from my visit with my girlfriend on Tuesday? ;) I guess my next update will be from FL. That is exciting... and scary. Life marches on; God calls cadence.

"When The Planes Hit"

I wrote this poem a little less than five years ago.

When The Planes Hit
By,
Jonathan Martin

The planes hit, the towers fell,
Hundreds of souls now bound in hell.

No one expected, some couldn't believe,
Many cried to God, others tried to flee.

Fires in Washington, smoke in Manhattan,
Millions of people wondering, "Whats next to happen?"

Some want to grieve, others want to attack,
One thing we hold in common, we all want them back.

Some look to the President, for calmness and peace,
Many are praying, wanting the terror to cease.

We as Christians know that God had this planned,
All that was done was allowed by His hand.

Whenever you worry, if ever you fear,
He will never forsake you, He holds us all dear.

That day will go down in history for sure,
But be ready for Jesus, He stands at the door.

COPYRIGHT 2001

Busy Busy Busy

Well, yesterday I bought a sweet laptop case, Office Student Edition, a 2 GB SD card, and got my ring back, so yes, I spent a few hours in Harrisburg. I was also very worried about how work was going to go today because I had a different driver who did things very differently. But it went okay, only took 9.5 hours.
I feel like I am getting ready to go technology wise, but not living wise. What I mean is that I haven't even begun to think very much about all the different clothes I need to take and all the other odds and ends that I will need. I have a 3' x 4' white board outside my room to list all of these things, but the list hasn't grown recently, even though my parents and I daily think of new ideas. If I have to work much next week, (something I do NOT want to do) I don't know how I am going to find the time to get everything done. I guess that I will have to very disciplined and focused.
I am going to be in Florida by this time in 1 week! That is a crazy thought. My posts will hopefully get more interesting once I am there. I hope this didn't bore you, and I hope that anyone who reads this bookmarks it and recommends it to anyone who knows me and might be interested in what I am going to soon be up to down south.

Time For Randomness

9:11- I challenge you to, anytime you look at a clock and it says "9:11", say a prayer for the families of victims and survivors of Sept. 11, our troops, our President, our country, whatever. Chances are you already take notice when you see those numbers, so why not turn take a minute and pray.

I like typing on my new keyboard.




My desk is a horrendous mess.






I am having so trouble syncing my Axim with my pc, that better get worked out.

I'm exhausted (I mowed the lawn today also, in the dark for the last half).

My laptop and Axim

These are just pics from Dell's website, I don't have time to take my own nice pictures, plus my desk is a mess.

The Technology Has Arrive!

I came home from work today to a wonderful thing... my laptop and pocket pc had arrived!! I eagerly, but carefully opened the packaging to play with my new toys. I got a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop and a Dell Axim X51 520. They are very cool! I will post some published pics of them tomorrow, maybe. Wednesday is my quickest day, so I should be home by 1pm (since we start at 5am). Well, that's all for today, I need to get to bed. I have to get up in 6.5 hours. Good night!

Picture Test

This is just a test for putting a picture on here. This has no significance other than I took it at the cast party for Pride & Prejudice.

First Post

Hello my friend,
I am beginning this blog so that my dear family and friends have the opportunity to know what I am up to as I live away from home for the first time. I will be leaving for Fl in 13 days! (I'm excited) and I won't be back until December 16. I will miss all of you and the things that I used to always do, but I guess this is life.
These posts will probably be really random. Oh well, if you know me, you know that I am random. I will restrain from using full names, for security purposes, and I would appreciate if you would as well in your comments. Feel free to email me if you have something personal to say or ask. I do have a new gmail address now, so please use that. I guess that is all I have to say for now. I love you all