Friends and Family,
In light of numerous people over the past little while wondering how I’m doing and my inability to truly get on top of communication with the many people I love, I believe it is time for a nice little mass update via your favorite social networking site, facebook! Thanks Mark Zuckerberg!
So what has Dan been up to? That is a great question. The answer? A lot. This past week my mom and dad and Penny (our pug) came out here to see my sister and I and enjoy Phoenix’s unbeatable weather… this is when Phoenicians literally mock the rest of Western society and all their four seasons and cold weather, haha! Here in the desert we have beautiful and HOT. Since it was beautiful this past weekend, Kevin and I had a delightful time moving our new and very awesome roommate, Brant, into the house. You have no idea just how incredible our new bachelor pad, which we’re calling “Legitistan”, already is. We’re all really good friends and there are a lot of weapons at our house. Any questions? Brant and I also have motorcycles and as soon as Kevin mans up and gets one we’ll be so embedded in the quintessential bachelor house (minus the usually ubiquitous MAXIM magazines and beer kegs) that it might get pretty dangerous/interesting…. Of course this is happening at a time when Dan realizes that eventually he needs to be “responsible” and sell his efficient and reliable Yamaha for a used car that will break down often as opposed to never and get 20 miles to the gallon instead of 60…. such is the irony of life I suppose…
Our house here in downtown Phoenix is pretty amazing, it’s such a blessing to live within walking distance of about a dozen outstanding Mexican restaurants. Just under a mile away is my favorite restaurant, Carly’s, where my favorite server, Kelly always keeps my friends and I entertained. I love living downtown; there are some great coffee shops, really great music (including the talented Tobie Milford!), and a number of simply stellar restaurants. Plus the YMCA and ASU Downtown are there as well, making life so much more convenient! I really can’t complain… and I take the light rail to school! So with new roommates and a great living situation, I feel pretty blessed. Living where we live too makes us so thankful for the many blessings we have since we live in a lower income area that is primarily Hispanic, and it is easy to see just how many material possessions we have (and don’t need). Our neighbors are awesome (our next door neighbor is a Burt Reynolds impersonator--seriously) and there is a sense of community here that is often lost in other living situations. I hope and pray that Kevin, Brant, and I can really engage our local community in the future too and use our small house to foster healthy community for the youth that we know. Wow, I just said community four times in three sentences!
School (I attend ASU for those who don’t know) has also started recently and I’m taking twelve credit hours with classes like persuasive writing, law & media, and criminal justice. I’m also doing an independent study through ASU with Dr. Steve Tracy at Phoenix Seminary on pimps and prostitution; it is a really fascinating and devastating subject matter to be honest. This puts me at graduating in December after finishing six credit hours next semester. I’ve taken some great advice to end my college career a little bit slower than I initially intended, especially as I move forward with the different opportunities that are before me. What are those? Great question. I know that when I graduate with my bachelor’s degree in IAS/Social Justice I want to eventually go on to grad school hopefully at an amazing school like UC Berkeley, Boston College, or Georgetown. As for now I’m just focusing on getting excellent grades so that schools like that actually are feasible choices. Until then there is always the Harvard lectures on iTunes University…
Kevin and I still do outreach to homeless youth through Homebase Youth Services in the Phoenix area and it’s still amazing and hard. The stories of these kids are difficult to hear, especially the young girls who live on the streets (bringing home the research I’m doing on pimps). The violence and abuse that children on the street suffer is incalculable. This is merely another backdrop to my life, which has come in close proximity with the broken and abused, both here and overseas. It has shown deep wounds in myself and has opened up a whole new understanding about the world. I often find myself at odds with myself over what I actually believe about many things. I find that nuance is often my conviction and that the things I believe most have only gotten stronger (an unseen pen has etched them on my heart) but with that, the many things have become more gray, and for that I am thankful. This, for me, is the journey to a truthful and honest faith and worldview based as solely as possible on the Christian ethic and life of Christ above every other ideology and ideal that vies for my attention. I hope someday to be inspired to write again about this journey and struggle to know God as He is and not as He is continually sold to be. Pray for me in this.
As for the next season of life there is much to be excited about, and I’m not just talking about my next tattoo, although that too is going to be rockin’. I’m more excited about some key friendships in my life that are coming into fruition and seeing the hand of God in those. To see the path He has kept me on is a privilege and I’m striving to trust Him with the details… to include my return to Africa this summer. As many of you know, last summer was spent working in Washington, DC at International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org) as a human rights intern. I adore that organization and look forward to being reunited with my amazing friends and colleagues there this April as I return to DC for IJM’s Global Prayer Gathering! What a blessing IJM is! This summer, however, I’m going back to Africa. It has increasingly been on my mind and the need to return to a land which has half of my heart has become palpable. This summer I’ll be heading to Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo to be a part of some conferences for church leaders, soldiers, prostituted women, and others. It’s through a ministry I work for here in the valley called Mending the Soul/Global Hope Resources and while I don’t have time to tell you all about it here, I’m sure many of you will hear more about it, and to be honest, many of you I’ll probably ask for your financial and spiritual support from! Haha! It’s going to be an incredible trip and I’m so glad that two of my best friends, Ryan & Stephanie Anglin will be going with us! So expect to hear more about Uganda and Congo in the future!
As for a more contemporary future I’m just focusing on said friendships, getting ready for Africa, perhaps being a part of a missional community at my church, and doing some much-needed soulcare. In the meantime I hope to declutter my life a little bit and do a better job at being a better friend to many of you! I’m stoked to hit up Adam and Adriana’s wedding in Ontario this June and hike Zion in Utah this fall with my friends! Don’t worry folks, this year Dan won’t be able to die, twice, in the Grand Canyon.
Finally, the most important part of any update: What has Dan been listening to and reading?? Well my friends, here is the answer: I’ve been listening to the greatest band of all time, mewithoutYou quite often. When I’m not doing that I’m feasting on Brand New’s album, “Daisy”, and when it is gym time, August Burns Red’s “Constellations”. Sometimes City & Colour as well. There is a lot of Queen in my life, too… I’m not going to lie. As far as reading goes I’ve actually recently read a number of great books including Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre”, Lewis’ “The Four Loves”, and Philip Newell’s “Echo of the Soul”. “Les Miserables” is on my radar, despite its breadth, as are books 2 and 3 of Lewis’ space trilogy. The issue right now is that I must be reading a lot about rape and pimps because that’s the backbone of my independent study…. Ugh.
At any rate, that’s a little update on Dan circa 2010. Thanks for reading!
