Currently Reading Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul By John D. Beckett see related

It's high time right? 

So a quickaroni update.  I am living in Oklahoma City working as a manager for a Kingdom minded software company.  We are a startup so I get to do everything from paint the doorframe scuffs, set up the accounting, to meet with millionaire investors.  I live in South OKC with a Brasilian family and work in North OKC at the Bank of America building.  Right now I'm working long hours and trying to get adjusted. I stay busy teaching english to Hispanics, going through a great worldview bible study (The Truth Project), and hanging out with internationals. 

I love Jesus more today than I did when I graduated, and I am learning right now about my fleshly desires juxtaposed to God's plan for me.  Paul's complex in Romans.  How now shall I act?  The Lord is also revealing lots to me through the people at my job.  He is doing something amazing at VLC.  I've learned he is the Lord of Lords and will direct our path when we ask him!

Recently I got to see all my GFs from college.  Julie, Liz, Berta, Casey at Laura's wedding.  Emily on a great bike ride Saturday around Hefner lake, and I get to see Mia soon on a business trip!  Praise God for encouraging friends.

I'm praying for the salvations of my international friends and would appreciate your prayer too.  They are: Ayumi, Miki, Hiroki, Sae, Juan, and Abdu.

Exciting news: Pimp my ride came and hooked me up.  Here's my new car

Currently Reading The World Is Flat [Updated and Expanded] : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century By Thomas L. Friedman see related

At last...

I am ejumacated.  I graduated two weeks ago from Oklahoma Baptist University with a degree in International Business!  Now I'm packing up all of my junk away to take to either: Oklahoma, Japan, India, Michigan, or some other undetermined place. For the time being I'm headed to Shawnee, Oklahoma to work at the St.Gregory's English Institute for a month until I head off to Japan!  I got an opportunity through the lieutenant goverrnor's office to represent and promote trade and relations between Oklahoma and Kyoto, Japan.  What that really means is I'm going expenses paid to Japan to see my college buds!!!!  Kyoto is one of the oldest cities in Japan and is very traditional.  I'll get to see lots of pagodas, Buddist temples, gardens, and markets.  I hope to see a Geisha, remind my friends that Jesus provides hope, buy a kimono, and learn how to make oragami while I'm there. 

At this moment I'm trying to determine WHERE in the WORLD the Lord wants me.  I have two job offers before me.  One is working at a start up company in OKC for my beloved mentor, and the other would land me in India.  On one hand, I'd be laying revolutionary groundwork that might become HUGE but is in the US and on the other I would be doing first hand what God has called me to in India.  Both will be super challenging.  The startup company would be in country and laying prep work, which is hard for me to be behind the scenes, and the other would be in one of the most dark places in the world.  I would be in management at either company so...  What to do, what to do?  The Lord has taken me on a crazy ride in the last 3 weeks.  I've found myself encouraged by the work being done, challenged by my calling, and humbled at my prospects.  I fully acknowledge that everything that I am is because of the death and resurection of my Savior.  He has brought me where I am today and will reveal where he wants me.  It's just the journey until then...  In Ephesians 3, he reminds us that ²⁰Jesus is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Please pray that I end up working where the Lord wants me. 

Currently I'm helping the 'rents fix up our house to sell b/c they're moving to Indiana.  Everybody is home today and tomorrow so we're all sorting and organizing.  Fun Fun!  Today I cooked Baby Hawaiian burgers.  They were great!  and tonight we're all going to the fish fry at the river, that is put on by the ministry(John 3:16) my brother helps with.  Should be fun!

Here are a few pics of my recent escapades:

One last hoorah pic of the college girls!

My adorable cousin and myself when he woke me up at 6 in the morning.  I stayed with my extended family in Michigan when I went for my interview. 

Pic of a fun barn I saw driving to Fayetteville to visit Julie and Jennifer. 

I was a photographer at my Brasilian friends', Ive and Marcelo, wedding last weekend.

A tribute to my upcoming trip to Japan.

Currently Reading Now, Discover Your Strengths By Marcus Buckingham, Donald O. Clifton see related

Well, I'm halfway through my last semester senior year!  As always, sorry I haven't updated more.  Lots of exciting things have happened this semester.  I have seen a Japanese girl come to know the Lord through the international ministry I'm involved in.  The Lord has provided a job for me that is evidence of his intimate knowledge of who I am and the passions I have.  And I got to spend a week with my girlfriends in Texas for spring break. 

As well as the fun stuff, this semester has been really challenging too.  I am currently looking for a job with a missions minded international company, not the easiest to find.  Right now I am talking to a man in Dubai, Ecuador, Brasil, Memphis, and Ohio.  Tomorrow I'm attending a job fair and get to hear the Chairman of Dell speak.  Hopefully that will provide some leads.  I'm also applying for a free business trip to Japan in July through the state of Oklahoma.  While I have a peace that God has called me and will provide for me, I am in angist b/c I wonder if I've been as diligent as the Lord requires me to be.  As well as finding a job, I've dealt with some tough friend issues this semester.  However, God is good.  He has called me by name, and I will strive to live a life worthy of the calling. 

Some things I'm really looking forward to are Easter, hearing the CEO of Dell speak, going home with 40 of my closest friends for my birthday, the verses I'm memorizing (Daniel 2:20-23), learning portuguese when I graduate, going to Six flags for free with the international students, our Brasilian churasco (BBQ) this weekend, the next BUNCO, oru intramural softball games, seeing my grandpa at graduation, and an eternity of praising my Jesus!

Here are some fun lil' pics from Ecuador and Spring Break.  Hope u enjoy!  Ok it's not working now I'll update again later w/them.

Ecuador, Ecuador! Sorry I haven´t updated since I´ve been here.  I am alive and loving it here.  I am currently doing an internship for a Computer Services company in Quito, Ecuador.  Ecuador is home of the galapagos islands, the amazon jungle, the largest volano in the world, the woundoni tribe that the Elliots ministered to, barbqued ginea pigs, popcorn with everything, machisimo men, very short latinos, and a 90% population of cultural catholics.  That´s ecuador in short.

Since I´ve been here the Lord has reconfirmed to me my call to do BAM (business as missions).  While here I´ve been trying to figure out by watching the missionaries who do BAM here, what exactly it means to be a missionary in the marketplace.  I have been so blessed by the Lord because my boss here is very interested in BAM and lets me come along to his meetings. It is great to actually see men and women bringing Christ into the workplace.  Often people work to be able to....  However the Lord has laid it heavy on my heart that whether we eat or drink or work or whatever we do, we should do it for the glory of God.  So, I am still not exactly sure what I´ll be doing when I graduate, however, seeing how the Lord has taken care of me this Jterm is only reaffirming that he has plans to give me a hope and a future doing his work. 

So more specifically let me tell you what´s been going on here.  This past weekend, I had a great weekend! Saturday was one of the greatest days of my life.  Let me back up though and tell you about my meeting at work on Friday.   I was supposed to present my findings of the company at 4:30 on Friday.  If I had presented in the states, the presentation would have only lasted 45 mins.  However here, we started 45 mins late(culturally the norm) and when I presented one slide, my boss translated it.  Then b/c these ideas are revolutionary to them, they had to talk about them forever.  This was a good thing.  However, when there is too much testosterone flying, each man had to have his say, each slide took about 20 mins...  It drove me crazy.  To add to that, I was supposed to meet my friend from school, Coy, at the bus station at 6:30.  Here it was my presentation about all of the work I´ve done here and I was debating having to tell my boss, sorry you started late, but I have to meet my friend to go to the jungle...  I didn´t say anything though and at 7, one of the partners broke out some wine, and I thought man, I´m never getting out of here! What I did do was recommend that we start the product section of the presentation monday.  OUGH VEY!!  So, here it was 7:45 and I had to  meet Coy to go to a town where I didn´t even know if anyone would be there to hang out with.  Nobody has a phone here, Coy, Kyle or I, so there was no way to communicate that I was late.  Anyways, so my girl friend from work was supposed to take me to the station and put me on the right bus.  Well at 7:45, she had to get home quickly and couldn´t.  So the 43 year old salesman who likes me said he´d take me.  What am I going to say, no I don´t want your help in this very dangerous bus station?  So he takes me.  Well when we get there, Coy is not anywhere and the station is big enough to get lost in.  So my choices are to get on a bus and hope someone is there to meet me or go back home?  Well I didn´t have the key to the house, so I´d be living on the street for the weekend if Coy went to Banos.  U get the picture.  So I decide to go b-c we had a hotel we were supposed to stay at.  So I ask the salesman to buy MY ticket so I get to the right place.  He does and then he says, "Vamos!"  That means-Lets go!!!  WHAT THE HECK!  He didn´t buy one ticket, he bought two.  He didn´t have any clothes with him, no hay problema- he said.  What have I gotten into.  So this guy spent the weekend with 3, 21 year olds.  Interasante. 

Some of the highlights from saturday were seing lots of waterfalls, sitting in hot springs, hiking in the volanic mountains, riding a cable car over the river, and bungee jumping of a little bridge over the Rio Verde.  Also my friend Kyle lost his camera in the craziest way.  We were riding in a taxi and the driver stopped on the dam. Kyle had his camera in his lap and he opened the door.  The camera fell off of his lap, bounced once, fell into the only hole on the bridge, fell into the river bank 100 meters below, and then as Kyle was climbing down the steep slope to get to the bank, the dam opened sweeping his camera far far away. Only in a foreign country can things like this happen! Anyway the day ended amazingly, when Coy and Kyle left to eat at a pizza place and the 43 yr old and I went to eat somewhere cheap.  During our conversation, the guy asked me some questions about my faith and i was able to share with him the plan of salvation.  I could not figure out why God had allowed him to come with too b-c he was really intrusive in coming and got on my last nerve.  He´s a typical machisimo Ecuadorian man, however God showed me that he had a plan this weekend.  I´m just thankful I didn´t mess it up by being impatient or selfish like I wanted to be.  God is good and allowed me the grace to have patience with him.  So what an amazing day. 

Then sunday we came back to quito and Coy and I threw a party at our apartment for our friend who left today and for an ecuadorian guy whose bday is soon.  It was fun we taught the boys the concept of cuchara(spooning)~Emily you would appreciate this!  

My spanish is improving everyday.  I am trying to be very intentional about my conversations and speaking only spanish.  It truly does help!  Coy and I have also been taking spanish lessons from an Ecuadorian girl, but she has A.D.D. and likes American men so, class isn´t always so productive. 

Today at work I am working on a marketing ad and will continue to present my suggestions to the company tonight.  If my presentation gets done before 8, I hope to go play Ecua volley with people from the church.  So that´s what is up with me.  I´m going wednesday to shop so if u all want anything tell me b4 then k?  I love u  and will see u very soon!!

Currently Reading The Daily Bible: New International Version: With Devotional Insights to Guide You Through God's Word By F. LaGard Smith see related

Hi my friends!

Just wanted to update you to let you know that I am going to Ecuador.  I leave tomorrow for Quito, Ecuador!!  While down there I will be interning for a computer services company, under the general manager who is a strong believer.  I am going to help them with strategic business planning, marketing, and website design.  The man that helped me get the contacts in Quito is an IMB missionary, whose emphasis is in BAM(business as missions).  This situation is of the Lord without a doubt b/c of how expediantly all the details have been worked out.  I did not have someone to work for, he provided a company.  I did not have the money to go, he gave me the means to go.  I had not gotten my shots, he allowed the doctor to have an opening.  Things like this keep happening and I give God all the credit for them.  I would not be going, if He did not want me there.  Also in the works is a job for June.  I have been posting my resume all over.  However, it will be difficult to find the perfect company who wants to hire a business missionary.  Most companies just want a business worker, others want just a missionary.  So, through a crazy happening (God's divine plan), I am talking with a guy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, about a job and he happens to know the missionary in Quito.  So if I do a good job this month, it's likely that the missionary will pass on the good word and tell his friend to hire me.  THIS IS BIG!  So, my job: to be faithful in obediance to the Lord day to day.  Then the Almighty will do the behind the scenes work and put me where he wants me!  Cool huh?    I will try to update this as much as I can while there, so everyone will know what's going on and how to pray.  My prayer today is that the Lord will use me in Quito and not allow my flesh to get in the way, that I will stay faithful, that I will quickly pick up Ecuadorian spanish, and that I will be helpful to the missionaries and the company I'm working for.  Thank you for praying with me! 

**Edit: if anyone is dying to have a cheap hammock, real vanilla, or an ecuadorian dress, ect...  I'd be happy to get one and you can just pay me back when I get home.  Just let me know!