The Prelude

Hey! Thanks for coming and checking out my [very newish] blog. So I am sitting at my computer upstairs in our office wondering what profound words I can pen... well, type, but that is not as poetic... for my first [ever] blog entry. I could start with a short story. Since this blog is about a story, that would perhaps be fitting. How about I give you a little bit about my journey so far in condensed form:

I grew up in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Was raised in a wonderful home with great parents. That I do not take forgranted. I thank God that I was born and raised in a country such as this. Most do not have such an opportunity. At a young age, I came to believe in Jesus Christ as my God and my Saviour, the forgiver of my sins and wrongs. As I grew in the Christian faith, I came to know and understand more and more (and it is interesting that the more we learn, the more we realize how little we know) just how amazing this Jesus was. How much we were meant to live and breathe by His Words, and have our lives running in passionate pursuit after His ways. But more about that later.

After high school, I went on to study computer engineering for four years at the University of Toronto. During those years, several other things were happening... I was working with a great little structural engineering firm in Brampton during the summers of those years. This became important because I went to that company full-time after university ended. I also started going down to the Dominican Republic for several months during the summers of 2004 and 2005 to volunteer at a Christian mission organization. This, too, is an important detail for reasons soon to be revealed...

To bring you up to date and to tie everything together... I have been working at the engineering firm since October 2005. Going from a computer engineering major to structural was a little bit of a change, mind you, but it was an all-around good thing. Just recently, I have decided to that I will stop working in the engineering company at the end of this year, and will leave Canada for the Dominican Republic in January. I will be living there for about year, working with the people, with an organization called Every Day Ministries. Why, you may ask? Good question.

Have you ever had something so deep down inside of you... a driving urge to do something more in this life, a tugging towards a life where I-was-created-to-do-this is written all over it? That's where I was at. I believe that God had placed a desire deep in my being to be a worker overseas. Whenever I got near an airport, I got excited. Tasting food of other cultures fascinated me. Learning other languages was incredibly interesting and enjoyable for me. And most importantly, I wanted to live out my love for God in a practical and radical way, occupationally, and for the rest of my life here on Earth. Could I do that here in Brampton, Ontario, Canada? Absolutely. Was I created to stay here in Canada? Something in me resounded "No!" Especially when I spent time in the Dominican Republic, working with the Spanish locals, visiting the villages, seeing and helping meet the needs of the people, but also seeing the incredible difference that Jesus Christ and His love makes in individuals.

So that brings us to now. I think that perhaps I am a poor story-teller... but hopefully you get a small picture of who I am and what my passions are. I think of a man named William Borden, a man who lived many years ago and who was very much a sold-out passionate follower of Jesus Christ. He went to Yale to prepare himself for his heart's desire: to go preach the good news of Jesus Christ and forgiveness of sins to the Arab world. He died before he reached the nations he so desire to go to for God's sake. That is rather disheartening, you may say. However, his passion for Jesus literally touched hundreds if not thousands of lives in America before he left. He also left three phrases in his journals that really impressed me. So much so that I hope they will be the motto for my story, my life here on earth. He wrote these things:

1) No reserves
2) No retreats
3) No regrets

Say no more. Who am I to think that I can change the world? I am only an individual like yourself. Overflowing with imperfections and quirks and weaknesses. But it only takes a small spark to set alight a fire that can burn and spread quite rapidly. In God's mathematics, small things generally end up amounting to huge things when He gets involved. To see God's indescribable beauty and His glorious majesty, to be a mouthpiece of His infinite love for us and His grace and forgiveness through Jesus, to live a life in perpetual holy reverence to the Creator of this incredibly complex universe: these are what I live for. To live life to the fullest! This is my story. No. Better yet, this is His story. And He can change the world.

lol Yes, you will find that I will get quite passionate at times. I can't help it. And you just may find that other times I can be quite silly. My sense of humour, though, is a work in progress. So bear with me. God had a large enough sense of humour in making me... :) But I hope that you will enjoy reading through these blogs. I will keep you all updated as to my preparations for going to the Dominican Republic, what I will be doing there, as well as the everday happenings of my life, normal and abnormal. ¡Adios amigos! And thanks again for stopping by!