Exploration, Rest & Relaxation

Over the past few days I have had the wonderful privilege of making memories and capturing joyous moments with some of my dearest friends and loved ones. Below, you will find some of those moments frozen in time and displayed unlimitedly for all to share in our enjoyment.

Due to the fact that school is over for the year, Dara (my girlfriend) was albe to come back to Asheville, NC with me for a few days before returning to her home town. While she has been here, there has been innumerable occasions for laughter, sadness, anxiety, and love. We have explored, gone out to eat together,  shopped downtown, visited the Biltmore Estate, gone shooting at a range, and had dinner with the extensions of my family. All in all, the time that we have shared together over the past few days has been refreshing and exhilarating. God has so blessed me with a girlfriend, family, and friends who love me tenderly and compassionately. I feel overwhelmed by the happiness and comfort that I gain when I spend time in their presence.

The first photos you will see are from a Goodwill photo shoot that Dara and I fashioned one afternoon before heading home. (Just so you know, it was supposed to be an ugly photo shoot- so it is intentional that our outfits look hideous) The photos following that will be from our adventures at the Biltmore House.

I hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.

Thanks for reading! I do very much appreciate your loyalty and dedication to listening intently to my heart and mind as ascribed on this blog.

Spanx

Meet William

Today, as I was walking around Downtown Asheville, I had the opportunity to make a bench buddy. While taking a load off, I was able to talk to this gentleman and find out a little bit more about him…

William is an 80-something year old man. He recently left his home state of California to make his way to the mountains of Western North Carolina. He hitch-hiked all the way here. Everything that he has was given to him. In fact, I gave him the furry jean jacket he is wearing. All he had with him was a backpack, bought by a couple from Walmart, and a sleeping bag, handed down to him from some guy in a pickup truck. The little speck of food stuck in his beard? Yeah, some lady just brought him a sandwich and 5 grapes. What is more interesting is what was given to him that you can’t see. Under all those layers of clothing, William has a pacemaker sticking out of his chest. William has Congestive Heart Failure  and struggles with arryhthmia. He has 4 stents in his chest.

Ah!! That’s why he’s here! He is here to see the doctors at Asheville Cardiology Associates to get his pacemaker checked. Right? ACA is the one of the best in the business and it’s no more than a few miles down the road! NO. William is not here for that. He can’t afford to have any more work done. In fact, the doctors he has seen have all told him that he doesn’t have much longer to live. William is dying.

“I left California a few weeks ago. I didn’t wanna die there… so here I am. Brother, I can’t even get into the shelter down the way. They won’t take me cause they’re afraid I’ll conk out on ‘em. I’ve got my sleepin’ bag though, so I reckon I’ll just sleep out here tonight; but hey, I won’t get cold now with this here jacket! Man, I sure do appreciate it brother.”

Born in East Tennessee, he spent a good many days in Cumberland around the Tennessee River.  We got to talking about where I come from and where I’m at now. I found out that we knew a lot of the same roads in Tennessee, so I told him about the small college that I go to around where he grew up. He asked me what I was studying, and I told him I was studying Intercultural Studies so that I can do missions work around the world.

That opened the door for me to ask him if he had any faith and if he believed in Jesus Christ.

“Well, I used to go to church a long time ago… but I don’t go no more. That was some time ago. You know what, I heard about one of the deacons in the church had gone and molested some little girl. I said, ‘if that’s the way they’re gonna act, I don’t want no part of none of that!’ So I said I’d never go back to that church, and I never have been back in church since then.”

I then proceeded to explain to him that, as you know, nobody (in or out of the church) is perfect- that we’re all sinners. I told him that I’m a Christian and I’m not perfect. He agreed that nobody was. I told him that sure, it was wrong for that guy to do what he did, but that being a Christian doesn’t mean you’re never going to screw up again. I assured him that even if he was in church, he would still fail to meet God’s expectations; but God, if we confess our sins, is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God can even  forgive that man back in that church he went to so long ago.

I asked him if he was opposed to going to church again. He returned to this thought:

“Well, I ain’t got much time left to live. I’m not sure it would do anythin’ for me. But, nah… I ain’t got a problem goin I guess. Just haven’t done it.”

As a Christian, what would you do next?

I don’t know about you, but all I know is he’ll be in church with me this Sunday.

Pleasure Amidst Pain

The image above is a photograph of the drum circle in Asheville, NC. I have enjoyed going to the drum circle for quite some time now. I play the djembe, an African drum which you can see most people are playing on the front line. It is quite an intense environment for the drummers because everyone really gets into the rhythms. One thing that makes this particular circle an interesting one is all of the dancers that show up. The drum circle is free for anyone to observe, play, or dance. What you cannot see in the photo are about 30 people dancing to the beats that we come up with. I love adding my part to the beat and I go all out with my playing. Below is an image of my drum before I started playing it and another image of my drum after one night with it.

Before

After

What you see on my drum after its first use is blood. Why are their blood stains on my drum head? Well the answer is quite simple: I play till my hands bleed. Wanna see what that looks like for a djembe player? Well I’m going to show you either way! 

This is my hand. This is what happens when you love drumming so much that you play non-stop for 4 hours. This is pleasure amidst pain.

“Didn’t that hurt?”  This is the question I get most often. YES it hurt! haha DUH!

“Well why did you keep playing?”

I kept playing because I love playing. Spending time at the drum circle is very enjoyable for me, and it only comes once a week. If I am going to go, I am going to beat out as much fun from those 4 hours as I can. The pain is worth it!

Are my fingers still like that right now? Absolutely. I went to the drum circle last night! Does it hurt to type? Yes, it does hurt to type; and typing with my fingers wrapped up is a very difficult task, but it is worth the effort! I love blogging too much to let some blistered fingers stop me! 

Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to endure pain in order to do the things that  you love most.