Back at Princeton

For once, I feel like I can write a short post about travel to or from Princeton. There were no major hiccups in my flight to Princeton yesterday, and I am back on campus awaiting the start of the new school year. I moved into my new room in Brown Hall, the "newest" of the dorms on campus (it was built during the Civil War!), and I have to say this is the biggest room I've ever lived in. So luxurious: it's 12' x 14', has a "walk-in" closet (I can actually fit my whole body in it and walk around, so I guess that qualifies) and so my empty space I really don't know what to do with it all. I could probably fit two couches in here and still have plenty of room to move around. So this is definitely an upgrade from last year. I will post pictures once I have it all set up.

I've settled in pretty quickly. Last night, my friend Caleb and his wife Rachel had me over to watch the USC-Ohio St game. They also fed me, which was very nice, especially since I hadn't eaten since the night before. My friend Marc picked me up from the airport, so that was a good way to catch up with what had happened during the summer (since he was on campus this summer). Overall, it's bee a pretty smooth transition. Classes start tomorrow, so the adventure continues full speed ahead tomorrow. I'll post more updates as the week progresses.

Great news!

When I went to register earlier during the summer, I really wanted to take a preaching class with one particular professor. But I forgot that when I went to register at 9 AM, it was noon on the East Coast, meaning I was registering three hours after the bulk of the students. So all the preaching classes were full. I registered for other classes, and since there was no waiting list or expanding of the class size, I was resigned to taking preaching with another professor in the spring.

Tonight I needed to juggle my schedule a bit, so I decided I'd go through all the classes available to see what I could switch to. And, lo and behold, 1 spot was open in one of the preaching classes! It does mean that I will have class on Tuesday and Thursday now, but all of my classes will now be in the middle of the day or in the morning, when I'm usually lazy anyway. It also gives me a little less time to work on my thesis for long dedicated periods of time, but I think that will end up being a blessing rather than a curse. So I will get to take my preaching class with one of the better preaching professors on campus, I'll get it out of the way during my first semester, and I think my schedule will end up being a little more productive. I'm feeling a little better about my schedule now, and I trust that this semester will be better than I was originally anticipating.

And So It Begins

What a summer! Despite having one of the busiest summers that I can remember, it has gone by in a flash. Time flies when one is having fun I suppose, which is probably why it flew by so quickly.

My time at La Crescenta Presbyterian Church was so much more than I could have hoped for. It was great to be plugged into a solid church once again with a strong community and programs. I was glad to have leadership responsibilities once again, restoring some of my lost self-confidence in that area. It was great to be in a supportive community to bounce ideas around and even make some of them come to fruition. But most of all, I was glad to be back in a church that understands its role in the world. I don't say this lightly: LCPC restored my faith in God's church. Though I still struggle with my own experiences in the church, LCPC has shown me that the church can be a light to the world and actually bring God's love to his people.

To give you an idea of what I have been up to this summer, I will give a bullet list of activities and areas that I was involved in:

- Assisted in some function with four memorial services (all occuring within a month)
- Helping to lead a young adult group, including developing a name for the group, designing a logo, and compiling topical studies for two months of lessons
- Leading and organizing a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief, including supporting and housing an acting group from Louisiana, helping to organize a Louisiana-style dinner, and helping to advertise for the event (the event attracted about 125 for dinner and 175 for the show)
- Helping out with a four-day trip to the Eastern Sierras
- Preaching on Revelation
- Going to a session, communications, worship and music, and pastoral care team meeting
- Compiling, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting 300 18-multiple-choice surveys about worship to the worship and music committee
- Helping to organize a paintballing event

Those were the major things I can remember. It was a great experience, and barring any sudden emergencies, I'll be returning to the church again next summer.

Despite that great experience, I am still unsure of my vocational direction. I wasn't expecting to come to a clear conclusion at the end of summer, nor am I disappointed that I still am at a crossroads. I am ok with the tension that I find myself in and am willing to keep it there until God shows me a clear direction. I feel sure that I am capable of going either direction, either ministry or academics, so for me, that's all that really matters at this point.

I return to Princeton on September 13 reluctantly. The reasons why are too complicated to explain; suffice it to say that there are aspects of Princeton that I love and many that I would rather do without. More than anything it is the friendships that I have made and want to develop that ultimately drives me back to the East. I am looking forward to see my classmates again and hopefully to spend some more time with my married friends.

So in many ways I feel I am beginning anew. It will be an exciting year with a new internship in Allentown, hopefully more powerful transportation around New Jersey, and a little more familiarity. I will have a couple friends coming in new this year and an excuse to get off campus with some newly married friends. So we shall see what God brings this year. I will be trying to update this site more frequently with the school year starting. So stay tuned in for more updates.

Posts coming shortly

Posts will be resuming again shortly. Be looking in the next couple days for new entries.

Back at Home

After being a week back, I'm feeling at home once again. I've been catching up with friends, settling in, and preparing for the major endeavors I'm pursuing this summer. There have been a few shocks, a few surprises, and one particularly painful moment. Overall though it's been good to be home. It's been nice having this week off before my internship starts, but I'm excited to begin that as well. It should be a good summer. I'll still update every now and then during the summer, so keep checking back.

God must not want me to leave Princeton

So it always seems that something must go wrong when I try to fly home, whether it is Thanksgiving, Christmas, or spring break. This time my flight delay will hopefully not result in sitting in an airport for far too long meeting fascinating, interesting people (I guess half of that is not too bad). I woke up this morning to a phone call from my parents informing me that my flight had been cancelled. Thankfully this only resulted in my new flight being a few hours later. So I will still be coming home today, barring any further complications. Still, it would have been nice to eat dinner at home somewhere than on the aircraft. Here is my new flight info for anyone who is interested:

Delta Flight 1189:
Depart - Philadelphia at 5:38 pm EDT
Arrive - Salt Lake City at 8:35 pm MDT

Delta Flight 1137
Depart - Salt Lake City at 9:15 pm MDT
Arrive - Ontario at 10:01 om PDT

Flight Numbers

Just wanted to repost my flight number for all interested parties:

Delta 1707
Depart: Philadelphia - 1:00 pm EDT
Arrive: Atlanta - 3:09 p.m. EDT


Delta 1663
Depart: Atlanta - 6:30 p.m. EDT
Arrive: Ontario - 8:00 p.m. PDT