2010

A game that I would play with my Fellows friends during the end of a year and the beginning of a new one was to sum up the year that just ended in one word, and use one word that you hope to describe for the upcoming year.
I think the word that describes 2009 was "growth". I think I grew in several ways this past year.

I grew in my academic knowledge. I have never been an academic and always hating thinking philosophically. I always wanted black and white answers, but the more and more I live my life, the more I realize that it's pretty rare that things are black and white, there is always some sort of gray and in order to respond and be prepared you must always constantly wrestle within the gray. For the first time in my life I have enjoyed reading the texts assigned to me in classes, I have enjoyed going to class and discussing, and after writing a paper I actually think to myself, "wow, that was actually kind of fun." Yes, what is the world coming to, Scott Hwang said he just liked writing papers.

I grew in my relationship with my parents. A big part of this step was having them come out to Summer's Best for a term. As usual it was not all peaches and cream and for most of the first week that they were there, I asked myself why I had asked them to come. But in the end I am so thankful for the experience. My parents got a first hand experience of the ministry that has changed my life. A ministry that I have been a part of for 5 summers and counting, where I have grown spiritually, physically and mentally. A place where I have met some of the greatest people in the world, and where God is so present. I feel like the experience my parents had, gave them a better understanding of who I have grown into, and that would not have been possible if they had not been able to experience it with me at camp.

I grew spiritually. My trust in God is a daily battle and it is hard to wake up everyday and try to use it to advance God's kingdom, especially when you are dealing with (fill in the blank). For me this past year the blank was often, not getting enough sleep, dealing with discipline issues, not being grateful for the many blessings I have been given, issues in relationships with friends and family, and so many other things. But when I look back, I can honestly say that the good outweighed the bad in 2009 and I grew from all the trials and tribulations.

I can laugh and smile at the many good times I had. Some of my favorite times in 2009 were in no particular order:
-AK 2009 Spring Break mission trip
-Trying to kill wasp nests in main assembly with Rocco
-"Yelling" at Dougie Fresh for leaving mountain bikes unattended. "If this was LA Fresh, those bikes would be gone in 10 seconds!"
-Easter in Massachusetts (Jumping Pictures on the beach)
-Watching U2 live and seeing so many awesome friends in C-Ville
-Rediscovering the joy of leading worship
-Playing Halo with a random group of girls
-One on one's with so many sweet students at Geneva
-Hearing David Gibbons speak at the Leadership Summit
-Chilling on a beach in Carpenteria with old college friends

As for 2010, I think I want my word to be "intentionality". I want to be intentional with my time, my money, my energy etc. I think I get too caught up in the grind and do things in habit rather then slowing down, taking a step back and really trying to make the most of all situations. We'll see what God has in store.