CURRENT MISSION

Love to live. Live to love.

ABOUT ME

Unappreciative of broad questions...and perhaps a bit snarky ;)

I got a bit wrecked by life and then figured out that this old cliché was truth: God loves me. Ding! (Lightbulb moment.) It's actually incredibly more profound when it becomes a reality above a pleasant thought you more or less believe. A rather divine series of events slew together like an intricate puzzle I barely touched. Previously broken and slightly embittered from experiences with the North American church, I suddenly found myself plopped in the middle of the most positively impacting group of genuinely Christ-seeking people I have ever encountered right here in sin city, Jacó, Costa Rica...and now a missionary, none the less!

PHILOSOPHY

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is God's gift. That's why we call it the present."

Joan Rivers...or Kung Fu Panda. Take your pick.

"It's a great day to be alive!"

(I like to think I made it up...how vain)

Note: The cheesier the better. Just laugh a little.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Back in the day when I was young and spry, I surfed on couches. Now that I am old and stiff, I offer cheers to you who surf on the nearby couch. If you want to surf in the ocean, however, let me know.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

There is always that time when your host is too blazed to answer the phone or the door after you have been traveling all day to get there. Fortunately, the fleet of police officers had just finished questioning my honest to goodness innocent soul in the parking lot for the last 30 minutes, so all of the neighbors were clearly thrilled that I was aimlessly wandering around their labyrinth of an apartment complex during the late hours. After finally finding the correct number-letter combination of my final destination, there was no answer...obviously. So, I walked in. "Dude," she greeted me. "Did you see that? There were like a bazillion cop cars right outside my window."

The dorm room futon, the grown-up's guest room, the kitchen couch, the mountain house...couchsurfing is like Pokemon..."Gotta catch 'em all!"

Interests

Getting lost in the wilderness, playing with paint, making sand angels, eating tamales... banjos and djembes, cornbread and butter beans, dancing like you just don't care...because you don't. Impromptu excursions, español, hitchhikers, vitamin D, food experiments (aka cooking)...enjoying this God-given adventure called life.

• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• traveling
• cars
• painting
• emergency services
• history
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Wait a minute...am I on a dating website?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Really...I'm not interested. (Hence, the pig picture.)

Teach, Learn, Share

Lessons from my global families worth sharing. My modest mountain family taught me all you need is land, roots, and love; my hispanic family - what is genuine community...and how to make homemade tortillas; and my Navajo family - how to appreciate life's most intricate details. My Moroccan family - how to pray. My Boone family - how to love unconditionally. My Ohio family - how to laugh unconditionally. My Costa Rican family - how to trust God with, literally, everything (AKA true love). Maybe someday I'll fully comprehend.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Pancakes. Maybe coffee if you're nice.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Morocco

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States