Apr. 5 Restless in Paradise

     The lazy life in Florida is stirring. Major changes may be on the immediate horizon, but things could also stay the same for a while. For now, I'm waiting to see how job opportunities pan out. I've just used my savings and tax return to pay off the last of my credit card debt, so it's nice to be debt-free, but it's also a little unnerving to be broke. I've got enough work for now, but I need a plan.

     Plan “A” has been that I would return to the Canadian border in the spring and re-start the walkabout as originally planned, tracing the eastern coastline all the way to the bottom of Argentina. A few weeks ago I met a man named David Lewis who has probably changed the course of my entire life. David has traveled extensively around the world and seems to have intimate knowledge of every significant location on the globe. When he heard my walkabout plan, he suggested that I forget about walking through the Americas and look towards Europe instead. I brushed it off at first. I already had a plan laid out and a route mapped for my trek to the far end of South America; I usually prefer to stick with a familiar plan rather than change things up mid-course. But, the more I thought about it the better the idea sounded. I still haven't thought of a good way to circumvent the dangerous areas in South America where I'd be likely robbed several times a week. In Europe, that wouldn't be such a major concern. Walking down through the United States would be fun, mostly because I have many friends to visit all along the way, but that's only the beginning of the trip; once I left the US, I would still have many thousands of miles through unfamiliar jungles and wasteland in Central and South America. Europe, on the other hand, would have more frequent towns and villages where I could resupply and find odd-jobs. Survival can be a very persuasive factor, but the biggest advantage to me was the historic land marks. From the very beginning, this whole adventure has been about studying the Bible and learning more about God and Christianity. Walking South America would be an exercise in solitude and jungle survival(not exactly conducive for scholarship), but Europe is packed full of ancient churches, significant landmarks, and historic sites. I'm mostly interested in literal Bible scholarship rather than church history, but the history does reveal how Christianity came to be so off-base and contrary to the original Bible. If I can grow to better understand how we got to be this way, maybe I will understand how to restore our beliefs back to the pure teachings of Christ and the true messages of Scripture. This has been my life's passion for many years, and a walk through Europe and into the Holy Land would give me the best possible education for that mission.

     After much thought, prayer, and deliberation I have finally decided that I want to continue my walkabout on the other side of the puddle, but this introduces several new factors to consider. The first is expense. Not only do I need a way to get there, but general expenses in Europe would be higher. It's also unfamiliar territory, and I won't have a string of friends to visit along the way. With all these complications, I'm feeling like I am not ready to leave right away. I need time to plan this out and I need to save up some finances to pay for it all. So my plan is to wait a year and travel to Europe next spring to start in England and work my way to the mainland and south toward France and finally east toward Israel visiting historic Christian sites along the way.

     That leaves me in another dilemma. Where should I spend this next year working? I could probably get my summer job back at the golf course in Maine, so that's one option, but even in the summer, the climate in Maine is a lot cooler than I prefer. To be honest, I'd really like to stay here in Florida. I love the community here at Sunsport Gardens and I love my church here where I've been getting involved. I feel at home here like I can't remember ever feeling before. I could make a home here and finally start a family. Honestly, if I spend the next year here, it's going to tear me apart when I have to move on next spring. I can easily see myself settling down right here and forgetting about the entire walkabout. I've thought about it, and it's tempting, very tempting. But then I think about all I'd miss. The people and places I'd never see and the lessons I'd never learn. It's easy to give up the unknown in favor of security, but I'm not ready to do that yet. The fear of a stagnant life keeps my heart on the horizon. As much as I long for a settled life, it's too early. Someday I'll settle down, maybe, but not yet.

     So, the new plan is to head to Europe next spring. Mary-Anne doesn't think she will have enough work to keep me fully employed all summer, so I'm trying to get a regular job in the area, but if I can't find work here, there's still a possibility of returning to Maine for the summer. Right now it's all up in the air. As usual. Please pray with me for wisdom, guidance, and provision through the coming months.

Jan. 19 - Hibernation in Paradise

                As of today, I’ve been here at Sunsport Gardens for a month. It’s been a very leisurely life; very different from the grueling 30-mile a day grind. Part of me wants to settle down and live like this for the rest of my life, but deep inside I know this is only for a limited time. Maybe someday I’ll come back to this life and settle down here, but for now this reprieve is only temporary. At least that’s how I’m feeling at the moment. Honestly, my life could go any direction from here. Most of all I want to study the Word and grow spiritually; where or how that happens is yet to be seen.

                I worked for Mary Anne for two weeks before she got word that her mother had died and had to fly immediately to Ontario. I was staying on the resort as her guest, so her departure should have left me without a place to stay, but things worked out for me to remain on the resort, and when she gets back I expect she will want me to continue work, so my immediate needs are met. Other’s here have also spoken to me about job possibilities. I applied for an online job and I passed all the qualification tests, but it’s been a week and I haven’t been given an assignment yet, so I don’t know if anything will come of that.

Until Mary Anne gets back, I have plenty of free time which I’ve spent on an in-depth study on the life and teachings of Christ. I’ve been praying about how I might start some small ministry or outlet, and the thought has occurred to me that I might be able to start up a weekly Bible study here. In a conversation with one of the pastors from Community of Hope, he also suggested that I consider a Bible study here, and just the other day Dave, the manager here encouraged me to start a weekly study group and told me that I would have full management support! I guess the message is clear, I’m supposed to start a Bible study group here. I’m a little intimidated by the thought but I’m sure it would be an interesting experience. I have had many engaging conversations here about God and spirituality. A small minority here are conservative Christians, but most who call themselves Christians track in the more liberal direction. Several who I’ve talked to mix Christian beliefs with pieces of other religions and philosophies. Despite the broad range of opinions, everyone seems to have a good opinion of Jesus as a person. They disagree about what He taught and stood for (they all seem to think that He secretly agreed with them) but was misrepresented in times since. If I’m going to organize a weekly event, I feel the best place to start would be with Jesus and what He taught, so that’s why I’ve been focusing all my free time on that. I’ve spent several days pacing the loop around the resort listening to a lecture series on the life of Christ and taking notes as I listen. I’m hoping to get a topical outline together in time to start the study sometime in February.

                When it’s time for a break from the studies, there’s plenty other things to enjoy here on the resort. The pool, hot-tub, and sauna are always nice. There’s also a variety of events put on including a weekly oldies dance, potluck, karaoke, and other activities. There are also organized games of volley ball, tennis, and Pétanque. Neither the social events nor the competitive games interest me much. I prefer the nature trails, Bible study, and my writing projects. There are several young families with children that live here and I’ve greatly enjoyed interacting with the kids. They love to catch the little snakes and lizards that live in the back woods. Yesterday I spent most of the day out there with a ten-year old girl hunting through the forest on our hands and knees. We originally set out to catch critters to put in a big plastic terrarium, but we ended up switching over to air potatoes. Air potatoes are seed pods that fall from an invasive vine that grows everywhere here. Since management wants to eradicate the plant, they pay 10¢ a pound for these seed pods. After crawling through the bushes for three hours we found forty pounds of the air potatoes. We pretended to be raccoons foraging for food. By the end of the day we were both covered from head-to-toe in dirt, leaves, and scratches, but I had more fun than I’ve had in a long time and she got four dollars toward a pet bird she wants to buy.

                A couple days ago I found a rusty old bike on Mary Anne’s lot. I inflated the flat tires and with a little WD-40 the shifter started working, so I took it into town last Wednesday to run some errands. Kasey Castle runs the student ministries out of Community of Hope and she heads up a young-adults Bible study at Panera Bread every Wednesday morning, so I went to that and then spent the rest of the morning  shopping for a few supplies and depositing my recent earnings in the bank. Though Sunsport is in a very rural area, this nearby city has all the conveniences and big supermarkets I could need, so it’s a great location. Besides the Wednesday morning group, I’ve also started going to a Tuesday night Men’s group at the church. I’m attending a membership class on Sunday afternoons right after the church service, but when that finishes up I’ll be going to another young-adult’s study on Sunday afternoons. I’ve been able to meet several people at the church and they all have been wonderful! They made me feel like family as soon as I walked in the door, and the more I get plugged in the more thankful I am that I found this group. I was at a beautiful concert there last evening. A particularly emotional song brought to the surface a great deal of pain over family issues I’m dealing with right now. When a young man I’ve never met saw me in tears he put his arm around me and just prayed for me! If all churches had such compassion for broken and hurting people, America would not be in the condition it’s in.

                I may not be done my traveling yet; I may have more exploring to get out of my system, but when all is said and done, I feel like I may have found the home I’ll be coming back to. I love the family-oriented atmosphere at Sunsport. I can’t think of another place I’d rather raise my kids and I love Community of Hope church right down the road and the town nearby. Ultimately, my life has been so crazy and unpredictable it would be silly for me to think I can plan ahead with any certainty. But all the same, I like to have a default plan in the back of my mind just in case the unexpected doesn’t happen. My default plan for now is to wait out the winter here in Florida and then this summer re-try the walkabout from Canada to Argentina. After that I have another dream of touring Africa on a motorcycle and visiting every country on the continent. I’d like to do something in Europe too, but I can’t think just what yet. Maybe on foot again or maybe a tour in a small motor home. By then, I expect I’ll be ready to settle down, so I’ll head back to whatever place was my favorite along the way. Maybe that will be here, but I’ve hardly begun, so it’s impossible to say at this point.  I’m completely in favor of a young lady entering the picture, but I fully realize it’s not likely I’ll find someone who considers a hand-in-hand walk to Argentina as a good date. Compound that by the low chances of finding someone who shares my unusual faith and philosophy and it becomes clear that I’m praying for a miracle. Maybe the romance will come along after I’m done my travels, but my heart aches a little at the thought of waiting that long. That’s all in the Lord’s hands and I trust Him with it. My driving focus remains to seek after Him with all my heart, soul, and mind. Any logistics beyond that will be handled one day at a time. Since I’ve more-or-less settled in for the winter, blog posts will be less frequent, but don’t hesitate to remind me if I go too long again. I’ll try to keep occasional stories posted about anything of interest than happens.