JOURNEYMAN

an evening out

2011-02-22T08:16:00.001-08:00

lately...

2011-02-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

aaaaaaah

2011-02-11T06:07:00.000-08:00

I've been a busy man lately...sorry about the EXTREME lack of updates...i was on a roll for a little while with them....it's just that updating my blog isn't a big priority for me right now :) Enjoy the pictures...took them all int he last 3 days.

planes, buses, and sleep

2011-01-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos in the new year :)
The first one is of my French buddy. He and I went walking around in the cold weather at an outdoor military plane exhibit.
The other two are of Jinny...we took a LONG bus ride around Seoul on new years day, and we managed to catch up on a little sleep during the ride. Ain't she pretty?

experiments with photography =)

2010-12-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

guide to plastic surgery & journal entry...

2010-12-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

A guide to coffee, restaurants, and plastic surgery...which they handed out for free on the street! I took one of course =) Gangnam is a pretty popular (wealthy) area...lots of design and clothing companies around there.

So, My student is sad because I got a new job and am leaving to a town about 2 hours away... this is her journal entry to me :)

Today, I studied with steven like before. I heared a bed news from him that he won't teach me from February to July. because He should taech at an elementary school in Goonsan during six-months.
but I think the news good for him because he can earning too money at school and envelop a new(good) career.
I regreted that I didn't hard study last four-months. I haven't enought of time for study with him.
He is a good teacher and friend and counselor to me. I can't find a good teacher like him so, I haven't any good idea in this situation.
I want to belive that we can contect as just friend going forward.

He gave me good experience...he is very good man.

two new ones

2010-12-21T07:38:00.001-08:00

took a little stroll around the block...no editing done...just threw them up here off my camera... :)

replenishing...photo time

2010-12-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

a few oldies...i think it's time i get to work and take some NEW ones!!!!
ps- i'm still on a black and white high...

feeerrrreeeeeeeezzziiinnnngggg!

2010-12-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

It's been pretty stinking cold here...especially at night because our lovely floor heating is broken. And until we call a Korean handy-man to come fix it, we're gonna have to tough out the cold nights. Well, last night was no exception and I found myself too cold to even sleep...so I did what any sane person would do in that situation: I whipped out my trusty laptop, turned it on, and then nestled it under my covers and at my feet.
It was GLORIOUS!
Within minutes I was feeling wonderful heat...and it soon spread. It was like a heater to my caccoon of bedding. And so I slept exceptionally well for the rest of the night....thanks to my trustee computer. Thank you computer (pat-pat)!

:)

2010-12-14T06:30:00.000-08:00

a fun time with my "Professional Model"... she did well.

day trip

2010-12-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

fish, pig, pig, pig, pig, christ, tv

2010-12-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

An epic time: meat market...pigs feet...pigs stomach...pigs liver...Christmas thingy...documentary interview. Good stuff.

yummy fish

it says "female pig" in Korean

Jinny's pig stomach/intestines!

Pig Foot/Leg Bone...

My Pig stomach/intestines...in soup.

cool reflection thingy on Christmas ornament

silly steven stops saying seriously sad stuff

the stressed husband-businessman

2010-12-02T05:14:00.000-08:00

The latest diary entry from my student:

Tonight, I ate some oranges, cheeses, crackers, wine.. with my husband while watching the TV.
He fed a orange into my mouth. suddenly, I smelt like cigarette on his hand.
I asked to him with angry voice " did you smoke ?
He answered " I never smoke " His cheek flamed suddenly.
I asked to him again " certainly, you smoked a cigarette today. right? "
Only then he told me frankly " sorry !! I just stressed while working in the office. I somked only one cigarette today. I will give up smorking anymore"
He always told everyone and me " I'm not smoker and hate it" I hate smoker too.
I was betrayed by him..
Finally He signed a note to me promising never to smoke again and I took a picture the note for keeping longer.

midnight snack

2010-11-30T07:37:00.000-08:00

tonight...at midnight...i proceeded to eat the following (and i am quite excited about this):

1 can of tunafish
1 bowl of white rice
3 dill pickles
1 bag of bugles
1 liter of orange juice

it was delicious. and i am quite satisfied and ready for bed.
good night.

old-new

2010-11-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

This is a video Eric and I made together over a year and a half ago. Eric did cinematography, I recorded audio and edited, and Alex was our talent. When I originally edited it the sound was a bit off in the beginning. So, I recently took it to the editing room and made it match up a bit better. It's not different at all...just a reminder of what my nikon d90 is capable of creating :) enjoy!

2010-11-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

A few pics from recently. It's been REALLY cold...so I enjoyed a soft chocolate chip cookie dipped in a delicious green-mint-chocolate chip-mocha. Then had some Korean Stew. And SNOW arrived last night. And...a picture I snapped while waiting for the subway.

nights in tights (long underwear cuz it's cold here)

2010-11-22T04:28:00.001-08:00

I had some fun with photography with ryan and friends the other night...we ventured about near our apartment...it was fun times. Here are some pics from that:

fashion and detective

2010-11-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Korean Style...I snapped this one real quick at the river...three girls who are friends...all different styles.

Here is that student's latest journal entry...I couldn't help but post it, it's a really great story! I told her, "You are like a detective!"

Enjoy.

"We have gotten interim audit by accounting firm from last monday.
Today was last day the audit. so we had a dinner for unburden. I have seen two members of five members in the audit team before.
There are Mr. Byun and Ms Lee as I know in the two members.
I told Byun " Are you married with who formerly girlfriend? I remember that You treated her wonderfully.
He answerd" No I broke up with her. I'm single now"
I told Lee " Do you have a boyfriend? I think you are popular with guys"
She answerd "No. I don't. I'm single"
We finished the dinner.
Other persons went to the subway station together. Byun went to the bus-stop alone.
I took up by the taxi alone too.
My taxi stopped front of cross walk. at the moment Mr. Byun and Ms Lee crossed hand and hand the street warmly.
I was shocked by them look warm at that time.
I want to tell them what I saw the scene. It will be funny."

Pirate Girl and Japan

2010-11-12T00:54:00.001-08:00

"Arrrr!"

Plane Aisle

Apple Tea with Passport

This was on the sealing of my bathroom stall, it says, "PYCOEYE"...kinda scary.

Yum...french fries served IN a bag all alone...to eat IN the restaurant.

A yummy Japanese Bacon Cheeseburger...with Egg.

sup!

2010-11-08T02:13:00.000-08:00

Hello...just a quick update with some photos: Ryan, My new Resume photo which I took myself, Upside-down Eyes, and Rightside-up Eyes :)

public exposure...oops

2010-11-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting and embarrassing and awkward moment yesterday. I had done my laundry in the morning and so it was all hanging up to dry, which meant I had no jeans...so I put on some sweatpants and went about my normal day. My sweatpants, though, are a bit too big for me...so I have to tie the waste string really tight to keep them up. Well, the interesting, embarrassing, awkward moment came when I was walking down the street right next to a huge 3-way intersection...I felt suddenly a strange cold feeling...I looked down...and my sweatpants were at my ankles!
Thankfully I had a long coat on...so it was coat....bare thighs and knees...and sweatpants at my ankles. Well, I kind of froze not sure what to do...people were walking past me still, probly thinking: what's that foreigner doing....new style or something with his pants down?! Well, I couldn't pull my pants back up because my long jacket got in the way, and I would have to pull the sweats around the jacket to the outside... which would look even more hilarious...so I pulled the sweats up to the bottom of the jacket and sort of waddled off the sidewalk and to a nearby bench...where I was able to pull the sweats all the way up, tie the cord securely, and continue on my normal day...embarrassing moment behind me! :)

Here are two pics...nothing special, just snapped them real quick: bus ride at night and sad barista girl.

Intentions..the best of OR worst of...

2010-11-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

Only one new picture today....and then also my student wrote another interesting Journal Entry...so I thought I'd share it:

Today at lunch time, I had a lunch with my girl friend around of my office.
She called me at mornig for have a lunch together. We haven't met for long time.
She is high school friend. I don't think I was close with her last time.
She is working for sales of Insurance now.
She asked me that take out an insurances policy when having a lunch.
I was upset with situation.
Moreover, The recommend insurance is so expense. It One hundred thousand won per a month. also,
The Period for 10 years. I cann't pay the amount of 100,000 won per every month for 10 years.
I disagreed the take a insurance to her. She was disappointing as soon as hearing from me.
I felt bitter after met her. Maybe she felt bitter after met me too.
I know that She shouldn't conttact to me anymore.
But I don't mind.

My Day

2010-10-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Teaching English is actually really a blast. One of my pupils is a 26 year old who has been married for about 7 months now. We meet once or twice a week to do different English exercises, and then also she emails me every day with what we call her "diary entry" which must be at least one full paragraph long (5 sentences). I correct her entries and then email them back so she can learn from them. Below is her most recent entry:

"Today, I a big cleaned up with my husband in home.
We have shared household duties. My duties are clean up, cook.
My husband's duties are clean up, laundry, separate garbage collection.
We can only housework on weekend. but last weekend, We skipped it. because we just enjoyed on weekend.
My home was covered with dust. Eventually. We cleand up in home after had a dinner.
So, I'am tired and hungry. I want to eat a drumstick with coke.. but It's so late for eat..ㅠㅠ
I must refrain it for my body line.. I will just eat bunch of grapes."

So yeah, it's a lot of fun and very interesting teaching English. Especially when your students really try hard!
Anyway, hope that gives you a little taste of what I do :)

yes sir, thank you sir.

2010-10-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here are just some new ones I took last night: basketball at night, sitting on a truck, flower-girl, recycling place sneaky photo, subway dude.

dang!

2010-10-21T09:56:00.001-07:00

Yeah...sooooo....it's been about 2 months. Mom sorta half complained about me not updating enough...so...i guess i should...so here're 4 pics to start off a series of hopefully REGULAR updates :)
1) mirror girl 2) cellist 3) m.c. 4) flood victim couple

2010-07-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

Got a chance to see the show "Jump" which is a comic martial arts show. It was really funny and really amazing all in one. I definitely would recommend that if you get a chance to see it...that you do. Fantastic stuff! Afterwards I got to visit with all of the actors/performers and get their signatures as well. It was a great time.

Insadong

2010-07-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Insadong is like THE tourist place to go in Seoul, Korea. And it's a fun time for the locals too. You get to see street performances, buy weird foods, and find lots of cheap souveneers for all the people you know you HAVE to get one for. I enjoy it for the food, pretty ladies, and the humungous awesome instrument mall that you'll find there. And, it's a fun place for photos (using my Nikon d90 with a lovely Lens Baby).

dundunduuuunduuuuuunnnnn!!!

2010-06-03T08:50:00.000-07:00

suh' more

2010-05-25T17:40:00.001-07:00

a few pictures...

2010-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've been making friends with a korean couple who openned their own pizza place. I eat there quite often (you know, supporting the local businesses) and so I asked them if I could do a photo shoot with them and they gladly allowed me to. So that was fun. And then the last three are just random pics from this past weekend.

quick update:

2010-05-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

just got back from Japan...took a quick trip there to renew my visa. met a japanese girl on the plane named Rina...she spoke pretty good english and volunteered to show me around japan and be my friend while i was there for three days. so that was fun.

today was Buddha's birthday...so it was a national holiday in Korea...so did some tourism and took some photos today...hopefully i'll post later on/soon.

went running tonight and met these two korean guys, one was 25, the other was 47. They became my friends...and we decided that we would meet every night during the week at the track and exercise/workout together from 10pm to 12am...(this decision was made after much Sharaids...hand motions...broken korean/english...and pointing). So that's cool, it'll give me a good reason to keep fit, and hopefully I can be a good witness to them...we'll see :)

and yeah...now I'm going to bed, cuz i'm tired :) i'll post pics soon! Ahnyoung! (bye)

Oh Boy!

2010-04-21T10:29:00.000-07:00

Haven't updated in quite a while. I update on facebook quite often, but I always forget about my poor little blog. Here are some pics of late: a scooter driving by, a woman riding in an interesting way on a motorcycle, my receipt (4,600 won coffee, which is basically $4.60), a krispy kreme donut, a fun "model" picture, and ryan chowing on a burger! The first 3 are digital and the last 3 are film.

blurrrrrs

2010-03-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

fun things apparently happen when you use expired film with a crappy camera. i was honestly quite excited with what came of it. the pictures are as follows: Seoul Tower, a couple taking a picture with the "locks of love," people at the lookout over the city of Seoul, a ridgeline as we road the skyrail, ryan in the sun, GwaungMyoung at night (which is actually three long exposures that I took on the same part of film), and a man walking up the street.

More Pictures...

2010-03-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

a few pictures from my holga. kids ice skating. more skateboarding. setting sun in seoul. mount hood from the plane. took some pics today in an abandoned apartment complex, only used half a roll though, you'll get to see those once they're developed :)

some eye-candy

2010-03-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

here's a bit of goodness for yuh. i know, i know, it's only one, but the others haven't found their way onto the computer yet, so this is all you get for now. this is a picture near the water-front in the middle of Seoul. it was this girl's first time ever riding a skateboard, she didn't do too shabby!

i took this picture with my Holga 120mm film camera. Aperture 11, Shutter Speed 1/100

WHEW!

2010-03-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Wow! So here's the MUCH belated update, sorry everyone for the delay. I've been here in South Korea for about 2.5 weeks now. It's been a great time so far just finding my way around, exploring with my brother, and learning the language. I've been reluctant to post because I don't have any pictures, they are, at the moment, in some very small korean shop being developed, and won't be ready until Saturday. So, until then, you're just going to have to look at written words.
At the moment I know most of the korean alphabet, I can count to five, and I can say probably 8 other korean words, so my korean is super limited, but I will prevail! A friend of mine here is hopefully gonna teach me in person and help me get it down.

One interesting thing here is how much people love mountain hiking! The city of Seoul is in a HUGE valley, and the mountains kind of tower around the outside, so hiking is a very popular thing. I had a chance to hike up one of the mountains last week, it was good to get a little exercise and see the city from that high up. But I only really saw a small portion of the city because it's so enormous that it's impossible to see the entire thing from one vantage point. It's almost like 1,000 little cities combined into one, pretty crazy!
Anyway, I'm off to bed! Pictures will be up momentarily!

2010-02-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

Dear friends, family, supporters and prayer warriors,

These past few months have been quite eventful ones. It has been a time of change, a time of prayer, and a time of questions for me. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” As I stepped into this endeavor of going to SMAT, I knew that it would have to be a crazy work of God to get me through it, financially and emotionally. And through the grace of God I have made it this far. You have all sacrificed much in prayer and finances to push me forward in my Missionary Aviation Schooling; and I thank you so much for that!

I made a personal deal before coming to SMAT. If I would have to take out a loan to finish school this year, then I wouldn’t do it. I would step away from school, raise more money, and then finish up when I had enough money to do so. Well, that time has come; funds are sparse and it’s time to accept that God wants me to be patient with this venture. Wednesday, January 27th was my last day of SMAT this year. I spoke with the head professor about what that meant for me, and he said that all of my progress –hours, classes-completed, etc- has been recorded in the permanent records and that I can come back and finish up another time, or even transfer to a different school and use those “credits” later on for that.

At first I was saddened by the prospect of not finishing school this year, but at the same time, a new opportunity has arisen. My brother Ryan Mortinson, who currently lives in South Korea, has invited me to go live with him over in Korea and work -through teaching English- to save up money for aviation school. In a way, it is a cross-cultural missions field for me to get practice on: new language, new culture, new food, etc. I am very thankful for my brother’s graciousness and sacrifice in inviting me to live with him…and I definitely look forward to growing in my relationship with him. He supported me financially through school, and is doing even more so now, by inviting me over to Korea with him.

Ephesians 5:17 says: “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

I am confident that I know God’s will for my life: to be a missionary of His word, in any way I possibly can, and in every day of my life speak His words of truth. Life is just a matter of walking in step with God’s timing (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Isaiah 6:8 says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!” I am also ready to be sent and used by God in South Korea.

Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” My biggest fear in life is letting God down. And it is that very fear that drives me to excel! It drives me to wisdom! It drives me to seek knowledge and understanding of the word! It drives me to love God so much more for ALL of the grace he gives me every single day!

So to all of you who have supported me through prayers and support I ask that you continue to pray for me in righteousness (Proverbs 15:29), and I ask that you discontinue your financial support until I carry-on with school in the future. Again, I thank you so much for your financial sacrifice, it was not in vain, the past four months have brought about the most spiritual and emotional growth I have ever had in my entire life…as well as four months worth of aviation classes taught by amazing teachers. Thank you!

Please keep updated with me here at my blog, and feel free to email me any time: longlongmangi@gmail.com

I will be leaving for South Korea sometime in mid-late February, this being my final letter/note from Michigan, I ask for and appreciate your prayers. I echo the words of Paul in his epistle to those in Philippi, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership with the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Grace and Peace to you and your families through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Steven

The Final Version

2010-01-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

Did a little bit of adjustments to the video: edited the script and narration, re-interviewed teachers, added some footage, re-recorded guitar, brightened up shots, and now we have a dandy little video!

yep

2010-01-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

School's going pretty well. We've been going over struts, wheels, tires, sheet-metal, and hydraulic systems, of late. Yesterday another guy and I completely removed a strut from a "live plane." Then we serviced it, filled it with hydraulic fluid and nitrogen, and put it all back together. It was a lot of fun seeing how it all worked...and having to be very efficient since the plane we did it on will be flying someday. Anyway...below are some pictures I took in the last week or so.

messin with FILM

2010-01-15T19:17:00.001-08:00

here it is...

2009-12-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

I FLEW!

2009-12-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I got to fly a plane for the first time yesterday! The Chief Flight Instructor took me up in one of the Cessnas so that I could get some footage for the SMAT Informational Video I am making for SMAT. And in the process of flying he gave me a short lesson...handed all of the controls over to me and let me fly the plane for a bit! It was pretty cool! And no motion sickness whatsoever...it felt like a rollercoaster at times, fun stuff!

The SMAT video is DUE to the President of SMAT by the 25th! So I have to REALLY start working on it if I'm gonna make it in time. It's just gonna be a VERY busy upcoming week! I'm thankful for the weekend...in fact, i'm going to bed RIGHT NOW because I can use the sleep. Tomorrow I'm going to work on recording a soundtrack for the SMAT video using some recording equipment and a guitar. It should be fun! Toodles!

snow'n'stuff

2009-12-09T20:32:00.001-08:00

It's been snowing the past two days, which has been fun. School was cancelled today, so that was a pleasant break. All of us guys just hung around the house. We did some snow shoveling for our neighbors and then spent the day playing video games, reading, and eating food. We'll see if we have school tomorrow when we wake up!

A Few More

2009-12-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Elisha, Aaron, Rebekah.

life...now

2009-12-01T14:37:00.000-08:00

tiffany, jordan, aaron

Class

2009-11-24T12:48:00.000-08:00

Today was exciting for me. I got to weld for the first time EVER in my life! It was pretty cool. The teachers say "you're either a welder or you're not" so apparently my first day I did pretty well...so hopefully I'm A WELDER. It's pretty intricate work, you've got to have a pretty darn steady hand and a good eye...otherwise you'll leave your burn a hole in the metal or not get the metal hot all the way through.

We also did fabric work on an airplane fusilage today. It is also a lot of intricate work...you have to cut the fabric out in an anticipatory (is that even a word?) way...because you have to leave some slack (but not too much) because you have to iron shrink it later so that it becomes nice and taut and sometimes it will become too tight and damage the plane's structure. But that's been a fun project!

Tonight I will be going to worship practice at church and then to Burger King to pick up an application.
Tomorrow I have only a half day of school, so Bekah is going to come to school with me for a few hours to see what it is that I do there. Then I'm going to drop my application off at the YMCA and hopefully talk to the hiring manager there (I was told that they are hiring lifeguards...and since I'm certified, why not?!).

It's going to be a nice combination of busy/relaxing over this Thanksgiving time. I'm thankful that God has provided for me so far. I'm thankful that I have shelter and food and friends. I'm thankful for the Word...and the understanding that can be read and taken to heart from it. I'm extremely thankful for my mother, father, and 3 siblings. God is faithful.

Opportunity Knocking

2009-11-18T17:28:00.000-08:00

I figured since I've been having a tough time with getting a REGULAR job that I'd just aim at maybe getting sort of a job at my school, SMAT. So I put my two years of Video Productions in college to use...and I made this video to show to SMAT's President. This was just a sample for him to see the kind of work I can do for SMAT for marketting purposes and such. Well, he seemed to like it after I showed it to him, so he then showed it at the SMAT Board of Directors Meeting...and then I haven't quite got a completely clear answer about it yet, but from what I've been told, so far, they want me to make some videos for them in exchange for tuition money. So that's a really great opportunity I have with that. Please pray with me that it will work out! And below is the video sample I made.

Dyrand

2009-11-10T14:04:00.001-08:00

This is Dyrand, one of the students going to SMAT with me. He wanted a picture to send back home to his fiance (he's only 19!). So we went and had a little photo shoot. He's a very genuine and goofy guy!

2009-11-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

humdy-dumbdy dumb! just a few recent pictures...nothing special. School is going pretty well; we're learning MORE about generators and it is going straight through my head...so I'm gonna have to do some extra studying...maybe stay after and talk to my teacher about it...we'll see! But, the weeks almost over...and I am looking forward to the WEEKEND!

this is one of the flight students...she wanted me to get a picture of her to send home

me, ross, and elisha...we all live in the same house...they're good guys

rebekah changing her contact...you'll see more of her ;)

mY rOOMMATE

2009-11-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

This is Ross. He's my roommate. He's a pretty cool guy. He sometimes sleeps with his eyes open...and he often sleepwalks and sleeptalks. He keeps life entertaining. I'm glad you got to meet him!

Bladi bla!

2009-10-28T17:43:00.001-07:00

Another week is flying by here in Ionia, Michigan. I've applied at 3 places for work this week: the hospital, the local hardware store, and Taco Bell! Maybe I'll get some free food out of Taco Bell if I get that job!

The picture below is the inside of my Nuts and Bolts cup. It's got all kinds of different nuts and bolts that I've had to memorize the stats about. Fun stuff!

Ottummmm

2009-10-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

School's going great! We've been doing a LOT of projects lately with shaping sheet metal and making things out of it. We've also been practicing with Safety Wire for wiring on bolts for propellers and things of that sort. My hands are pretty sore from that..but they're getting tough!

Gotta love the amazing beauty all around! The Fall here is short...but it's REALLY gorgeous!

Whew!!!!

2009-10-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

Daniel sporting an air-ventilation mask for painting.

Wow! Well, I've been late in the game in updating this thing! Sorry about that! This week has been a lot of IN classroom time where we sit all day long and do some good old fashioned BOOK READING. We've been learning about Aircraft Corrosion, Nuts, Bolts, Measuring Devices, and Rules and Regulations for building or altering or maintaining aircraft. So my brain is a bit fried this week...there's a small cloud of smoke streaming out of the top of my head!

Other stuff that's been going on: Our house of 8 guys went to a cabin along Lake Michigan this past weekend to the city of South Haven (just in case you've ever been there). One of the guys' families invited us to stay with them there and provided all of the meals for us over the weekend, so that was great! Also, the church I am going to asked me and another guy in my house to help lead their worship service, so we were there this last Sunday playing guitars and singing with their praise team. And now we're a regular part of it, so that was kind of a fast deal! But it is great to be a contributing part of a church and also just to help lead in worshipping the Almighty every Sunday!

Well, it's early here, about 6:15am. I've gotta be at school by 7! But my weekend plans are: to just relax...and possibly find something new and exciting to do (that's free of course). So we'll see how that goes!

Props and Mechanics

2009-10-06T17:34:00.001-07:00

Well, I had one of the guys take a picture of me today AT school because you haven't really seen me working on anything in the pictures I've posted. Today we did some corrosion removal with air-powered sanders. It was some fun stuff. We also had a guest missionary pilot. He works for the ABWE (Association for Baptists for World Evangelism). And he brought a video and we got to ask him some questions. It was a good day.

Hanging out by a prop, trying to look like a mechanic.

Stop typing and Give us Pictures!

2009-10-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend, hoorah! Finally, some rest! I'll try my best!

I've heard that most people are never really happy with the way they look physically...like fatness, or facial hair, or nasty feet. But you know, I think I'm pretty happy with the way God allowed me to turn out. I mean...I like to be active and use my body doing athletics, but I also love to use my tummy and eat all the good foods that God created and allowed humans to make! So I'm on the middle ground...a muscular/fat guy. I'll take it!

I like to think of myself as a gladiator for Jesus...or something like that...

This past week in school we did work on "bucking bars" which are used for putting rivots into wings (we practiced drilling them out, now we're gonna practice putting them in). But we got to design our own bucking bar, so that was fun. We made them from steal, so there was a lot of hand-crafting as well as machine work. So I snapped a few pics of some guys hard at work.

Daniel smoothing his bucking bar's surface.

Elisha grinding away at his bucking bar.

1 month, 1 week

2009-10-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

I've been away from Tilikum and Oregon for a bit over a month now. So I decided to do a little "Tilikum Tribute" and show 3 pictures. The first one is the overall Tilikum staff of 2009, the second one is "The blue eyed girl," and the third one is "Boy vs. Goat." Tilikum is a truly enchanting place...filled with many great examples of God's creation.

experiment B

2009-09-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

So, I tried out making a moving picture with PICTURES. So I took about 125 pictures. And then I put them on a video making each pictures equal 1 frame out of 24 frames a second. And it made this beautiful little fast motion picture. One reason it's so stuttery is that each picture is a one-second exposure. and this too is also red. I think for some reason all the blacks got turned to red when I tranfered them to the net. too bad, so sad.

experiment A

2009-09-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

This is my test with speeding up time. I took 8 minutes of video from a fixed position from the top of the tallest building in town, and then crushed it down to 8 seconds, which is 1/60 of the original length. Pretty cool stuff that happens when you do that. It's like seeing Creation...almost...or actually not at all. But it's cool. and for some reason it is red...it is not red on my own computer...but here on the internet it is red. So just imagine a nice blue sky with luscious white clouds...and that'll do.

times of night

2009-09-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

the storms are coming! the wind is roaring! the rain is pouring!
so naturally, I took a walk in it all and took a few pics on the way.

Wheat fields and Coffee shops

2009-09-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go spend some time at a local coffee shop. Just relaxed. Road my bike around town. Found a nice wheat field. It was an enjoyable day.

taxiing...yay!

2009-09-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

today was pretty monumental for me. i got to wash a few planes. peeled the paint off a wing. took some rivots out of a busted wing. and got to taxi a plane for the first time! we had just finished washing one of our planes called a Muskateer, when my instructor came up to me and said, "Hey, come with me, let's taxi this thing." So I followed him and we both jumped into the cockpit. he started the engine up and then the plane started moving...and he asked, "Have you ever taxied a plane before?" and I said, "nope." and then he proceeded to tell me that it was all in the petals. and so i steered the plane down the runway to the planes parking spot...did a mighty fine job of it, i might add. and now that i've got the taste of controlling a plane in my blood...i can't wait to start flying! which will probably not be for another year...but God's just working on my patience!
anyway...below are some pictures from my classes...and the last one is dawn at our airport.

mmhmm

2009-09-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Another weekend. Road my bike around town. Met some cool kids at the skatepark. They let me take pictures of them skating...said I can do it whenever I want. A good day all in all.

Finals

2009-09-14T16:50:00.001-07:00

I think it's been about a week since I last posted.
Last week I took two different finals. Yes, you'd better believe it, within a two week period, we already had two finals. They were on Math and Airplane safety/ground maintenance. I got A's on both of them, so that's something to be thankful for.

We're still pushing on through basic electricity, we've been working on a lot of schematics and wiring circuit boards, tomorrow we learn soldering (pronounced sauter)! It should be interesting.
Also, I'm learning physics and aircraft drawing right now.

It's always good to hear from friends and family! Grace and Peace!

mas exploration

2009-09-06T17:42:00.001-07:00

I like Sundays.

Roaming

2009-09-04T14:26:00.001-07:00

I got Friday off of school today, so I took a nice leisurely bike ride and snapped a few photos on the way.

Night

2009-09-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

Pictures in the night.

Life

2009-08-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Life's been pretty okay over here. I'm starting to get more comfortable and beginning to make some friends. I'm just trying to keep active with my life. School is pretty easy-going right now. We haven't really gotten into the BIG, COMPLICATED stuff yet; but I'm sure it's coming and I'm going to need a lot of good concentration and diligence while studying it; and might I add PRAYER.

I just need to remember everyday that I'm doing this for the glory of God. And it's going to do so much in advancing His kingdom. Remembering this pushes me to be the best mechanic/pilot I can be.

Feel free to write me a letter every once ina while. My address is: 607 N. Jefferson St, Ionia, MI 48846
I LOVE letters!

An update from Michigan!

2009-08-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Michigan!

2009-08-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm actually here now! I took a plane from Portland to Phoenix...and then was in Phoenix for about 15 minutes before I caught my next plane to Detroit...and then I took a bus for two hours from Detroit to East Lansing...and then got picked up from there for a 45 minute drive to Ionia...where I collapsed in my NEW bed...and slept until 9am this morning when I woke up in time to go to Church! So it's been an exhausting day and a half...but I'm surviving pretty well. I haven't gotten a chance to move into my room fully yet because the guy I am renting from is still clearing his stuff out of it, but he should be done in an hour or two.
I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me. God was good and there weren't any complications with traveling or anything...it worked out just fine!
After church today I was able to walk around Ionia a little bit to see what it has to offer as far as jobs go, and to familiarize myself with the area. The whether is pretty even here. It's overcast and around 70 degrees..and actually my mind is still registering that this is Michigan. Today in church the youth pastor mentioned that the youth are leaving on a rafting trip tomorrow..and my mind immediately thinking of different Oregon Rivers that they could be rafting down...I completely forgot that I was in Michigan!
School starts this coming Wednesday for us...the rumor is that there are only 18 students attending this year: 14 guys and 4 girls. So I've got the next two days to really get myself situated and comfortable.
I'll keep you all updated on the happenings!

Last Week of Camp

2009-08-18T22:36:00.001-07:00

I'm finishing out my last week of Tilikum here. My body and mind are pretty worn out, but I'm still trucking along. I'll be hopping on my plane to Michigan Saturday morning. It's a little intimidating, but also pretty exciting. Keep me in your prayers.

Pictures as of Late

2009-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Silver Falls

2009-07-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Got a chance to go to Silver Falls this weekend on a Tilikum retreat. Had some fun, swam a bit.

Picking Berries

2009-07-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

It's the time of year for "U-Pick" Berry Farms. So a group of us Tilikum folk went to one.

4th Weekend Trip

2009-07-06T22:47:00.001-07:00

I got a chance to head down south to Crescent City, California, for a much needed visit with family and relatives. I traveled with the Toyer family (my aunt, uncle, and cousins) and got to have a grand old time with them.

An update on Aviation School: The school has offered me a 5,000 dollar discount if I start the mechanic portion of the school first which means that instead of coming up with 18,000 dollars for a year of school, I only have to come up with 13,000...ONLY :) But I'm trusting God to provide...and I know that if this is really where He wants me, then he will provide. Thanks for prayers!

Here are some pictures from the trip to Crescent City:

I'm BaaaAAACK!

2009-06-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

So, it's been awhile. And things are in the up and up. I'm working at Tilikum as the photographer and audio dude and I'm having a dandy time of it. Below is a slide show I made for Family Night. It has pictures that I took from this last week.

A quick update on other things in my life. I will no longer be going to George Fox, and no longer be studying to be a filmmaker! At the beginning of the Summer I had this crazy awesome experience where I felt like God really was talking to me about stuff. And I'm feeling really called to mission work, specifically missions aviation: being a missionary pilot out in the bush. I'm excited for what's ahead! I have applied at two schools specifically: Moody Bible Aviation in Spokane, WA, and the School of Missionary Aviation Training (S.M.A.T.) in Ionia, MI. I appreciate ANY and ALL prayers as I figure things out and make some big decisions.

beauty, rain, mosquitoes, lightneen...yeah.

2008-08-22T16:11:00.000-07:00

Walkabout was an INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE. Our group claims we got 10 days of action in just 5. The trip which was planned to take 7 days, ended after 5 days after God decided to show us his glory and power.

Day 1 was about 80 degrees. We hiked about 4 miles to Mirror Lake where we set up camp for the night. It was a mosquito nest...to say the least. They sucked blood THROUGH our mosquito nets...it was pretty awful. And then trying to sleep was a nightmare because we had to get deep in the sleeping bags to get away from the bugs, but it was REALLY warm out. So pretty much that first night no one got any sleep.

Day 2 was a little cooler, mostly because we packed up before dawn even and were on the trail as the sun was coming up. I was one of the Leaders for the day and had to lead our group another 4 miles up to Moraine Lake which was higher elevation. We arrived at a record time of 11 o'clock at Moraine Lake. Martha (our AC leader) was bedazzled at how fast we made it. The weather was amazing and the lake was BEAUTIFUL. It was like a miniature Crater Lake...extremely blue and very deep. I gladly swam across it with Heather. We hung out for the rest of the day and then made camp on a mountain ridgetop.

Day 3 we woke up at 3:30 am, put on our smaller packs and began heading up the trail to Summit the South Sister. We noticed lightning storms off in the distance and all around us, but they seemed to stay away from the mountain we intended to climb. Then as we began up the actual mountain we stopped for a second to survey the weather. The lightning had shifted to right above our mountain. So we decided we would have to bail on our summit attempt. But as we were turning around to hike back to camp a huge bolt of lightneed struck about 2 miles back where our camp was, so there was no way we could head back over the bare ridgetop back to our camp, so we had to head up the mountain to find cover in trees because the storm was coming over us. We found cover, split up among the trees and sat on our packs so we couldn't get zapped through the ground. And we waited about 30 minutes for the storm to pass. When it had, we went and looked back to our camp and saw another storm coming over it, so we decided we wanted to get back to camp, so we proceeded to spring, packs and all, all the way back to our camp in an attempt to race the storm. We beat it by literal seconds. As we made it into camp the winds picked up and rain began pouring and lightning was every where. We got in our sleeping bags and slept until the afternoon. Then we woke up and the clouds were mostly gone, so we decided to do a "half summit" where you go just half way up the mountain. So we did, and we had a little Christmas Party up there with Sparkling apple cider and gifts we made for each other out of nature. Then we went back down to camp and just hung out for the rest of the day.

Day 4 we hiked 9 miles to Red Meadows where we were put into our Solo 24 hour period in the woods. I had planned on doing mine completely nude the entire time because it is somewhat of a Penn 1 RA tradition to do so. I set up my tarp right as dusk was setting in and within minutes it began raining. I ignored the rain, took a few pictures, and then went to sleep. I slept for about 2 or 3 hours when suddenly I woke up and discovered I was COMPLETELY soaked. After investigation I concluded that the twine holding my tarp to the tree had snapped, therefore allowing the wind to blow my tarp off of me and the rain to drench me. Sad news at 12am. I curled up into a ball for another half hour (still nude, mind you) but couldn't take the cold anymore. I put my clothes on finally (which were still miraculously dry from being in my backpack) and tried to fix up my camp site. I failed and found myself drenched completely, after just 5 minutes. I decided to go back to Martha and Cash (my two leaders) who were under the huge tarp about a quarter of a mile away. I put on my head lamp and trenched through the woods and swamp and mud until I finally found the main tent. I decided I wouldn't give up yet and I found my rain gear, put it on, told Martha and Cash about my situation and headed back to my solo time camp spot to try and fix my camp up. Having the rain coat on was a huge help. I found a new better spot for my tarp and set it up in some trees. The wind and rain was thrashing me around, but I couldn't give up yet. I got it all set up, rolled up my sleeping pad and put it at my head for a pillow, laid down on top of my wet sleeping bag, propped a stick in between my legs facing up to keep the water from pooling up in my tarp and proceeded to shiver and try and get some shuteye...... I FAILED MISERABLY. I was just too wet! After about a half hour of contemplating I packed up all my stuff and headed back to the main tent. On the way over I discovered that Martha and Cash were out and about checking on others to see how they were doing. Some were in similar situations to mine. I got to the main tent and laid my stuff down and laid down on it for a bit. Then after a while two girls showed up to join me: Liz and Elizabeth. Liz had woken up floating above the water. Her stuff was somehow NOT wet, but it was very close to being so. Elizabeth was pretty wet, but here sleeping bag wasn't too soaked. The girls situated themselves inside the main tarps and tried to move our food bags around to make sandbags, while I found a spot 2 or 3 feet away and began setting up tarps where we could stack all of our stuff in to keep it semi-dry. After tying some sweet knots and feeling a little rad like macgyver or rambo, I finished up the second shelter and proceeded to toss stuff under it. Martha and Cash showed up after a while and we all began to grab sticks and make trenches around the main tarp. Cash was the trench master and made some big holes for the water to drain into. Then once we decided to finally get in our sleeping bags and try to sleep the two Liz's decided to get in one sleeping bag together and give me one of their's because mine was just soaked (which was very kind of them). Then through the night more people began to trickle under the main tarp with more horror stories of wetness and rain and by the morning only 3 people remained out at their solo locations.

Day 5 the morning came and we decided it would be best to hike about 5 and a half miles out and just end the trip early since the rain hadn't stopped for 12 hours and didn't look like it was going to. So we stuff all of our wet stuff into our packs and headed off. My boots were soaked inside and out, so I just squish-squashed for the whole 5 miles. Having wet boots did help out a few times though. At one point on our way out we came to a creek which had become a river from all the rain. A skinny, slick log was all that there was to cross it. I was wearing my swimming trunks, so I just decided it to cross through the water. Once across I grabbed two more long tree logs and placed them next to the other one. Then I went into the water and helped each person across by giving them my hand for support. It was actually a lot of fun. Then we hiked another two miles all the way out and that concluded our walkabout experience. It was amazing and intense...and in the end I was nicknamed: Sasquatch...which I have come to like.

Anyway, I grew close to all the people on my team and had an amazing time. And can't wait for more good times.

Martha soaking up the view and lake water at Moraine Lake.

Me nude during my solo time. But don't worry, I have a fleece in the way :D
the hike out...raining all the way.
The view from our ridgetop.
The van ride to Sisters.
During the 4 mile hike to Moraine Lake.

Swimming in Moraine Lake.
Beautiful Moraine Lake and Broken Top, the view from our ridge campsite at dawn.

2am in downtown Newberg

2008-02-14T14:37:00.001-08:00

Ryan Watson and I decided to mess with flashlights and 15 second exposures. This is only four of the MANY pictures we took. It was tons of fun.

Homeless THANG

2007-12-29T00:41:00.001-08:00

So, tomorrow morning Ryan Watson and I are heading off to Portland to begin our week on the street. For updates, see this blog: http://weekonthestreet.blogspot.com/ Prayers would be great!

Hey J. So the lighting is a little weird because I had to compress it a bunch to be able to get it on this site. But enjoy the sample and tell me what you think...if you think it will work with music.