I have officially ended my job at AIM and started another. It's so great to be out of that cubicle but man do I miss the people I worked with at AIM. I've loved meeting my new co-workers these past few weeks and as strange as it sounds, it has been quite refreshing to be around non-Jesus folk. I love answering all their questions and revealing God's kingdom to them but it does get rough at times feeling like I'm the only one.

As many of you know, my sister got married in June, which was quite an emotional experience for me. I cried like a little baby at the wedding! But now I am seeing things on my sisters Facebook like "I love my husband" and it finally setting in; my sister is married.

Tom Krats, a fellow Novas-er and great friend, just called me to tell me he is engaged. Holy cow.

Travis "Cletus" Harris is one of my best friends and it seems that in these past few weeks we have grown to be much closer. He is about to leave on an 8-month mission trip around the world and to be honest I'm having a hard time with it. It seems like every time I get a great friend they get ripped away.

Jenny, the one who moved down to Atlanta with me, just got back from a summer in Haiti. I didn't realize it until she was gone how much of an encouraging person she is and how much life she brought to me. We spent the day together in Atlanta and had an awesome time reminiscing but the more I hear her heart the more it seems that she won't be here long. Jenny's heart is for the nations, for the least of these, and that is where she belongs.

At the moment, I am sleeping on the floor in a friend's apartment but come September 1^st, I am out of here and I have no idea where I will go. This is the 9^th place I have lived this year and in a couple of weeks I will hit number 10. I am so ready to settle down and have a place to call home.

Tonight it finally hit me. My emotional meter has hit the max. Sometimes I wonder if I can handle one more transition and suddenly God steps in and reminds me that it is all about him.

May was quite busy working on Alabama tornado relief, training camps and getting leaders ready for their summer trips. I felt like I was in my car the whole month going place to place. Thank God I drive a Honda Civic!

The first week in June I was at my parents house for my sisters wedding which was amazing. I was asked to give a speech at the reception and could only finish half of what I had prepared because of the tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat. Tanner, my brother in law, is just about the coolest guy and I am so happy they get to spend the rest of their lives together.

A couple of days after I got back to Georgia I had the privilege of leading a high school group from Chicago on a mission trip to Gainesville. To be honest, it was one of the most stressful weeks of my life mainly because the person in charge of setting the trip up before I got there quit his job and decided not to communicate with us. Thankfully I had an amazing staff helping out with the trip and the participants really had an awesome time with the Father.

The day the Gainesville trip ended I boarded a plane for Iquitos, Peru where I was helping lead a youth group from Cleveland, Ohio. There were nearly 80 people on the trip and by the end of the two weeks I was quite exhausted mainly because I had to translate for part of the group and the accents in the Amazon jungle are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to understand! The whole trip God was breaking my heart for the fatherless people and reignited my passion for Atlanta and all the fatherless people there.

As soon as I got back home I began searching for jobs and a home in Atlanta. Yesterday I was offered a job to be a carpenter's apprentice and I decided to take it. It will be a great learning opportunity and I will be able to save up a bunch of money to help start up the tea business and buy a home in Atlanta. Tomorrow I will be attending a seminar on street vending in Atlanta which I am hoping will give me some good insight on things and point me in the right direction for getting the business started within the next few months.

Though slower than I had expected, things are moving along. Many times I find myself in these situations where I am asking, "Man, is this really happening?" It's been a really cool thing to see a God-given dream start out with just a thought and grow into existence. I'm beginning to realize (finally) that life is impossible without the help of God so PLEASE pray for me as I continue to pursue the dream God has given me.

I was pretty young, still in elementary school, and Tropical Storm Alison had just flooded a large portion of the Houston area. A day or two after the storm my dad and I went to an effected area to help clean up. The devastation was horrific. Home after home was demolished and the never-ending stories of death were enough to put me over the edge. My heart broke for the people.

Fast forward a few years and I was on the beaches of Mississippi looking at what was once a beachfront neighborhood. There were nothing but concrete slabs as far as the eye could see. Once again there were stories of death, homes being lost, pictures ruined. I cried. I imagined myself being in those peoples situation and the thought was unbearable. My heart broke for the people.

Almost a year ago I boarded a plane for Haiti, a seemingly godforsaken place. Piles of rubble and makeshift tents lined every street. Each person I talked to had lost loved ones. The ones that survived were left homeless and faced disease and famine. My heart broke for the people.

Yesterday morning I got my first glance of the damage made by the tornadoes of April 27 in Alabama. Entire communities were wiped off the map. Some decided they couldn't live with the pain and took their own lives. Hundreds of people were killed and still dozens are missing. But this time there was no lump in my throat, no pain in my chest, no tears in my eyes.

Numbness.

"Father, give me compassion. I want to feel what these people feel and what you feel! I don't want to be numb to these things! I don't want to see this as just one more relief trip!"

Today a man told a story of how he gathered the pieces of his grandson's body after the storm. Time stopped, my eyes went glassy, my soul let out a horrified groan and once more, my heart broke for the people. Thank you Father.

I arrived in Alabama on Friday. For the next few months AIM will be sending teams here to help out with tornado relief. My role here seemed a bit unclear when I first arrived but I am starting to find my niche while I continue working on things for the teahouse and keep up with my office duties with AIM. Until further notice it looks like I will be taking care of a lot of the logistical things on the ground, keeping in contact with AIM and making sure our host and group leaders don't drown in their stress.

The place we are staying is called True Adventure Sports, a high adventure camp out in the middle of nowhere about a mile from one of the best rock-climbing spots in the country. It is owned by a God-loving, community-building, jack-of-all-trades named Israel. This man is someone that just about every guy can look up to. He is a local hero, has a wonderful wife and two amazing kids, seems to know how to do just about everything and he does it all with humility. 

The people here are friendly, never seizing to offer up that good ole' southern hospitality. At times I feel like I'm living a scene out of Forrest Gump. Just about the only thing in Lickskillet, Alabama (no joke, its the name of the town we are staying in) is a stop sign, a gas station, and a few dozen people who are really slow at everything they do.

I am falling in love with this place, these people (no matter how bad their driving is) and everything God seems to be doing here. I am excited to see what he has in store for me in this unknown period of time. Stay tuned for more updates!