The Experience: New York City

It is very difficult to tell what my favorite part of the whole trip was. There were so many fascinating things about each city and each city had their uniqueness to them that it is hard to compare. So, I figured I would break it down into cities. Just so you know, New York was not our first stop, but it is the one that is on my mind right now, so it is the I will start with.

Now, I'm not going to be naive and think that no one that is reading this blog has ever been to New York and has never seen the things that we saw. But I will say that I believe one of the most impressive things we did was experience everything we did in just two days. And they weren't even full days! So this is how we did it.

To truly experience each city we did a little bit of homework. Chris and Eddie are very good about asking people questions about what there is to do and experience in a city. It's kinda cool because they can just start talking to someone and it just seems natural, where for me, it is difficult to do so. I just feel like I am bothering them, so I would just as soon leave them alone. I would say that this is key #1. Key #2 is having someone that is in the city or is at least familiar with the city show you around and give you helpful hints on how to get around, where to be, etc. Eddie has a friend that has been working for Saturday Night Live for a couple months and she had a little time where she could show us around. This was a great thing.

We experienced quite a bit in two days, largely because of her help.

Day 1

We started out our Monday by sitting in on a Church Planters get-together, orchestrated by Eddie. He follows a guy on Twitter and sent him an email and he hooked us up with this. It was pretty neat to sit in on the meeting and see how ministry is done in the busiest city in the U.S.

Then it was time to hit the streets after a quick bite to eat.

We started off at the public library. I know this sounds like a boring trip so far, but this wasn't just some library, it was huge. We were told that it was well worth going into and they were right. We went into one of the neatest buildings ever. I wish we had more pictures of the inside, but there is a "no flash" policy in there, so it wasn't easy getting a good picture. But believe me when I say that it is well worth your time!



In a "New York Minute" we were off to see St. Patrick's Cathedral (extremely impressive place). Then it was on to Rockefeller Center. From there we went to get the experience of Time Square, pretty unique and very fast-paced. Definitely sensory overload. We also hit up the M&M Factory while we were there! What was fun was that we took the subway from possibly the busiest part of the city to Central Park, possibly the most peaceful part of the city.

Me, Molly, Eddie, and Chris (Central Park)

To finish off day 1 of NYC we hit the Empire State Building, right at sunset. We got the view from both levels, so one level it was sunset and by the time we got to the next level it was dark, which was so neat. Super cool view. Walking around, you are surrounded by huge buildings and every once in a while you just have to do a 360 and look everything up and down because you can't quite fully experience how big everything is just walking down the street trying to get somewhere. You have to stop and soak it in every once in a while. Then you get to the top of Empire State building and you are above all of that just looking down and the best way to describe it as is something else. You just see a sea of humanity.





This ended our Day 1 in the Big Apple. We went back to the Searle's for some dinner, relaxation, and taking turns on the foot massager! (Another key to our journey)

Day 2
Tuesday consisted of a visit to Ellis Island, we stopped by our dear friend Lady Liberty (or more correctly, as we found out, "Lady Liberty Enlightening the World"), then we headed from there over to Wall Street, Trinity Church (from National Treasure), and Ground Zero/WTC memorial.

Chris and I explaining what we are doing:

Ellis Island

Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

This one speaks for itself

And there was evening and morning the 2nd day

It was a pretty good couple of days overall.

After feeling well accomplished tourists in the Big Apple we loaded up in the car and headed up to New Hampshire. (Stay tuned, there is still more before and after this)

Everything was a little surreal. Walking around, everywhere we looked it seemed like was a part of a movie or tv show or something. It was kinda cool.

The whole experience made a certain September happening really come to life for me. Hearing numbers and statistics and seeing pictures can only do so much, but when you are there and you see how big these buildings are and realize how much bigger the Trade Centers were really made me see how much it effected the city. Everything is so close that I have no clue where everything went or how more buildings weren't destroyed. I think one of the biggest things I took out of this was a new appreciation/understand/broken heart for those who were involved. Numbers can only do so much, but when you put a face and a name on something like that and you hear them tell the story or the spouse of a deceased talk about the last time the saw their spouse, it breaks the heart.

You might be thinking, wow Jordan, way to end on a somber note. But, that is how our day ended on Tuesday.

Road Trip!

To complete my college experience I went on a week long road trip with a couple of guys from school, whom I have been living with this semester. The goal was to visit some of the big Northeastern Cities of the U.S. (Philadelphia, NYC, and Boston). We wanted to be able to "experience" each city in a day or two. By experience it, we meant: eat "the food" of the city, see "the thing" of the city, and just get a feel for something the city prides itself in.

So, we loaded up in my grandparents Hybrid (aka: knockout gas mileage) and we hit the road.


In the blogs to follow there will be more pictures and what we experienced on the trip. There were some good lessons along the way. I know this sounds a little cheesy, but I feel like my eyes are opened to numerous possibilities after this trip and I believe that it was definitely well worth it. But, first I have to edit some pictures so you can get a glimpse of what we experienced. Then I will start the journey of telling you all about the things we did.

By the way, I didn't mention that we didn't spend a dime on housing. More on that to come!

Quite a Phone Call

Last night I had something happen that hasn't happened in a long time. My phone rang and it was an "unknown number," so I didn't answer it. Immediately after it stopped ringing it started again... once again an "unknown number." I figured, since they were persistent it could be someone that I knew just calling from another number... or something like that. So, I answer, and I hear, "Hello, Mr. Curtis, I am calling from Verizon wondering if you would like to complete a survey?" I said, "No thanks," and hung up. I was respectful.

The second I hung up I got a call back. "Mr. Curtis, please, I only want a minute of your time to complete a survey." Me, starting to get a little frustrated, I asked them not to call back again.

Sure enough they call another time. I just let it ring. I have never met a telemarketer so persistent and I was very frustrated, after all, I was trying to enjoy a friendly game of checkers with my grandma. After I ignored the call, the phone continued to ring. This time I was so friendly. With a bit of tone in my voice and without saying any type of greeting I said, "Please don't call again. I already hung up on you twice, I'm not going to do you survey!" I couldn't believe the guy had the nerve to correct me and say that it was only twice. At that point I was very frustrated and told them not to call back. Grandma and grandpa were starting to get a kick out of how heated I was at this point. I, however, did not find the humor in it.

Phone rings again. Different number. I answer, and it is some lady with an accent to her, wanted to know why I was giving her employee a hard time? I could not believe it. I told her how many times he had called and I could not believe it! I'm sure my face was getting a little red with frustration at this point, but I wasn't rude, I just sternly asked her to leave me alone.

Rather irked at this point I was wondering who I could complain to, because if I call verizon they would just ask me why I didn't comply and take the survey. At a loss for words I was sitting there continuing the game I was currently involved in and my phone rings again. Almost reluctant to look at it, I peak and it is my friend from school, Jake. I answer the phone and ask him where he is? He said he was driving a van for his high school youth group. In an instant I realized that all these calls came from him...

I could not believe it. I had successfully been pranked. Man was I frustrated, but at the same time I have to give it to him. He got me.

So with that being said, I need some ideas on ways to get him back. So let me know your thoughts on good pranks you have ever been a part of, had done on you, or heard done?

I look forward to getting him back!

One Week From Today

Anyone know what it is?

You might find yourself thinking... did I forget an important date?

Chances are, you haven't and chances are, you aren't as concerned with what happens next Tuesday as I am. Next Tuesday marks the start of my final semester of classes... ever!

Ok, well maybe not ever, but for a while at least. I won't be graduating though, because I still have to do an internship. No further updates yet on where that will be, but I'm talking with as many people/churches as I can.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. I have enjoyed catching up on what some of you have been doing via blog. I need to get to work on my end of that.

I had a good Christmas, or should I say 4 Christmases! 3 days and 4 Christmases makes for a busy time, but less busy than years past I do believe. At least it felt that way. It was good seeing my many siblings. At my dad's house this year we had 7 adults, 2 kids, and 4 dogs at the house. It was fun because it was like that for very long, but I enjoyed having everyone there. The kids got the parents a Wii Fit. I had never played it before, but I was a little skeptical of it. Turns out it is very good and very accurate to what you are doing. I like it a lot. I also spent a fair amount of time (and by that I mean, way more than necessary amount of time) brushing up on my wii bowling skills and wii golf. I'm not sure if anyone is excited about this as I am, but I am fairly proud of myself.

Other than Christmas we had an all-nighter at the church for New Years Eve. There were over 80 kids and I woke up the next day very sore. I think I'm getting to old for those things! ;)

My friend got ordained in Louisville, so a couple of us drove down to see him. It was a great service and it was great to see him, as he and his wife recently moved to Texas.

In other news. I went to a national preaching festival in Louisville this past week. It was an interesting time. There were many people from many different denominations, backgrounds, and races there, so it was interesting to here the different preaching styles. I might tell a little more about that in a later post, but for now I just wanted my faithful followers to know that I am still alive, kickin, and getting ready to finish out my last 3 classes of my undergrad career!

What Lies Ahead

So much is to be said about everything I have experienced in life. I was remembering some of the things I have seen and experienced over the years. There is so much to look back and smile about and there is some stuff that many would look at and frown about. However, all of those experiences together have made me into who I am today.

A few of the things that stuck out to me: the thrill of my first roller coaster and the death grip I had on the should bar, I swam with a dolphin, I remember my first homecoming dance and what an embarrassingly awful date I was. I remember early mornings and sweaty "character building" days installing fences and decks. I've seen a lot of hurt too. I have been to a lot of funerals of family members and good friends. I've seen a new natural disaster every year; tsunami of 2004, katrina, earthquake in Hati and many more. On a lighter note, I remember, rather vividly, driving home from the BMV for the first time with my temporary learner's permit and how nervous I was passing a combine along the way. In contrast, I also remember the confidence I felt when I went to take my driver's test to get my license. I remember having the feeling that know how to do about anything, then the realization when I got to college that I was a lot smaller than I ever could imagine. I remember the first day of college and how nervous and quiet I was and how much that has changed over the years.

All of these things have had an impact on who I am today. Romans says that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Now looking forward, I am glad I have experienced everything I have. I'm excited about what lies ahead of me. It's as if I have been taught all of this stuff and then given a blank slate and I get to fill it with what I want! Since there is only another semester of school, I am entering into a brand new time of my life, but I have been learning over the past 20 years how to live successfully in this time. I'm excited to see where I end up. I have my past experience and my future hopes to guide me, an education to help me, friends who love me, family who won't let me fall, and the love of Christ compelling me. I have no boundaries to where I can end up, that is the beauty of my job, there are people who need to hear about the Gospel of Jesus anywhere I go!

I don't think I am usually am not this reflective, but for some reason I started looking back yesterday afternoon. I'm glad I did. I have a renewed excitement about my future and how much I have been preparing for it.

Did I have failures? Of course I did. Do I have regrets? Yes, but I learned from them all. I have fallen and failed at so many things, but at least I have tried. I like the quote from Abe Lincoln, "I'm not concerned that you have fallen, I am concerned that you will rise."

Just a Little Update!

Hey yall. Thanksgiving has come and gone and much fun was had. I got to see a lot of family over my break, including my brother and his family for a few hours! Too much food was consumed, games were played, catching up was done and laughter was had by all. It doesn't get much better than that!

I went down to talk with a church in Raleigh, however, it didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped. The silver lining: the night I found out about the one church I went to my cousin's Bible study group and heard about another church, who does interns a lot, from a family there. I just went there to hang out with the little ones for a couple hours, but it turned out to possibly be a great thing! (more to come as I find it out).

In other parts of the world... well of my life at least (if you haven't figured out this one is all about me!). I am going to be out of the dorms next semester!!! I am moving into a big boy house with my very own room and possibly my very own bathroom! My school bought two houses and refinished them (very nicely, I might add) and they are offering them to seniors as an alternative living option. There are 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, our own washer and dryer (that doesn't require quarters!), 2 living rooms, a pretty good sized kitchen with new appliances, topped off with a nice view of Price Hill! (for those of you who have never been to price hill, that was a little bit of sarcasm:) All in all, I couldn't ask for a much better deal. I'm going to be living in there with two other guys. We are all preaching majors, so you know there is going to be some "sermon in a bag-ing" going on (if you don't know what that is, see previous post).

That is just a little update of some news in my life. Nothing too exciting. The semester is winding down and we are getting ready for exams.

For you southern folk, I know you aren't really sure what this stuff is, but we are supposed to get about 3 inches of snow today! That isn't even the first snow we have had this month!

Benefits of Blogs

This past weekend I found my blogging experience to come in handy. Why you ask, well because I was asked to team preach with our senior minister. The only problem was that we hadn't had a chance to talk about what we were going to talk about until last Monday, and as I mentioned in my last post, last week was honestly one of the busiest weeks I can remember for me. So I didn't get a chance to prepare until Friday night and into Saturday. I was still struggling with the main focus of the message on Saturday, largely due to a rather ambiguous title with very little extra help. The title of the message was, "There is no place, any place like this place, so this must be the place." Or something like that, I can't really remember. Which if you react to that like I reacted to it you are probably saying, "Well that clears it up." Needless to say, I was lacking in the departments of clarity and direction with this one.

I had two 7 minute segments to fill and nothing to go on...

So, what did I do, but turn to some recent blog posts and allow my "sermon-in-a-bag" skills to take action! I'll come back to the "sermon-in-a-bag" in a minute.

I figured that some of the things I have recently posted about have been on my mind a lot lately and they could fit together in some sense to talk about our mission statement as a youth group, which is, "To lead students in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating environments where students can wonder who God is, discover Christ's purpose in their lives, and develop a passion for the lost."

I focused on creating a time where students can really step back and see God working in their lives (previous blog post). And I also talked about how we need to embrace change and how it is necessary to get where we need to go (a couple posts ago;).

Now, what is "sermon-in-a-bag"? Well, my friend group, who I hang out with most of the time, will get together occasionally and for entertainment we give one person a topic (typically something completely random, i.e. picture frame, spaghetti noodle, coffee, sprained ankles). This person has thirty seconds to come up with a sermon based on that topic. They can use it however they want. Then another person will introduce them as if they are a guest speaker at a church service. By the way, not much of this is ever taken too seriously, like I said, it's for entertainment purposes. We usually get some good laughs out of this and it serves as some good clean, nerdy preacher wanna be's fun.

However, it's not just fun, but it has really trained me to think on my feet and be able to put together thoughts on the fly while I am speaking. It is quite fun now, but I assure you, I was about to wet myself the first time I did this just in front of my friends. But I have actually picked up some skills from it and have been able to fill in for people on the spot and have been ready, largely due to this exercise we use as fun. It has come in handy at least three times that I can recall off the top of my head. One day, at Beavercreek, Jason, the youth minster, asked me if I wanted to teach 2nd hour. Which is fine, the only catch is he asked me at 11 am Sunday morning and our service started at 11:15. He told me to teach on servanthood. I'm still not 100% sure why he asked me to, but I love to teach, so I took the challenge. I enjoyed it and my "sermon-in-a-bag" skills really paid off that day. Some people even said it was one of my better lessons.

All this to say that things we do for fun, such as blogging and "sermon-in-a-bagging" can pay off! So keep up the fun little things!