After not updating a blog post in about a month, I figured it was time to crank one out, so I don't get too rusty with this blogging process, with which I'm already unfamiliar. I thought the easiest possible blog would be to tell my story.
I hate blogs that run on too long, so I'll try to keep it reasonably concise (not gonna happen), and not ramble on too much; though it's hard to sum up 26 years in one blog post.
Disclaimer: This is long. Please make sure that you have plenty of free time before venturing into this blog post. I've tried to include pictures to make it more interesting.
1. The Early Years:
As I'm sure will be the case with many fellow Racers, I can say without hesitation that I was raised in a very conservative Christian home, where we read devotions, sang praise songs, and said family prayers around the dinner table.
Some people complain about growing up in this kind of family, and act like they would almost prefer an upbringing in a secular household, so they could have a cool coming-to-faith story for their testimony… I don't need any of that. I can't thank God enough (truthfully, I don't thank Him enough… but He knows it, right?) for the family I've been blessed with and the way I was raised.
I have two terrific parents who have nurchered my faith over the years, and have been supportive in all of my work ventures, as well as Mission efforts, no matter how non-traditional they may seem.
My older sister Andrea has set an amazing example, which has encouraged me to try to live up to her Godly example. She was the first one in our family to get involved in overseas mission work, and I can say with great certainty that if it wasn't for her, I would probably never have gotten involved with mission work, and would certainly not be the man of God that I am today.
She also has a great husband, Paul, and their relationship is one that I hope to emulate, and strive for in my future relationships… and their daughter Lenora is awesome. All other babies pale in comparison to Lenora Goodrich.
My younger sister Keri has set an example that could be inspiring for all ages. She lives a life wholly focused on her Savior, and the relationships that she has with the men and women in her life are awe-inspiring. She truly wants to honor God in every way possible, and lives to further the Kingdom every day of her life. We're very similar, which creates a lot of conflict, but all the while, we're very close friends.
My younger brother Grant has grown up a lot in the last few years, and it's been inspiring to see his growth as a young man. I'm excited to see where his college years take him, as he seems to develop and mature more and more every year.
All these people have played, and continue to play major roles in my life; and all of them are very supportive of my mission efforts.
There aren't many stories I can tell about my childhood that would give you much insight into my current life-status; my Mom might be better suited for the story-telling. But my family has been the one constant that has had an effect on my life.
It would be cool to have a more exciting "coming-to-Jesus" moment, but I really don't have one. I remember one year at church camp, I really felt like I understood what it meant to follow Jesus, and what God's forgiveness means to us… that's really it. I think a friend of mine said it best when he told me that it doesn't really matter if you have this one big day where you turned everything over to Christ. All that matters is that you have that belief now, and that you currently trust in Christ as your Savior, and believe in the hope and redemption that God ahs granted us.
2. The In-between years:
I was home-schooled for my elementary school years, and part of my middle school life, but I got enrolled at a public school in 7th grade, which played a major role in my social development.
I was definitely an awkward home-schooler. Not quite the stereotypical spelling-bee finalist that some people picture, but still needed some social nurturing.
I got bullied a lot in those first couple years of public school, but eventually developed a strong group of friends, with whom I enjoyed many ridiculous high school excursions.
However, in my high school years, I'd be lying if I said I was living the complete Christian lifestyle. I still went to church and youth group, and I knew that I believed in Christ as my Savior; but I could have been a much better example to the people around me.
I never got involved in the party scene, as my high school really didn't have one, but still could have done more to live for Christ and set an example for my peers.
I'm definitely thankful for the friends I had, and the experiences that we shared in high school, but I still look back and think that I could have had a more positive effect on the people around me. Most of my close high school friends are now either non-believers, or live a very cold Christian life, and I know I could have had a more positive effect on them if I had tried harder.
3. The College Years:
My college life is not one that would make for any great movies. I had a hard time making friends in my first year, as it was tough for someone who didn't party to make that adjustment to the college scene, and find a social circle. I was blessed to have a friend from my home church start at UNI the same time that I did, and she was very active int trying to find a church, so she took me along for the ride.
We were close friends for several years in college, and through her I made some amazing relationships. A lot of my friendships that I still hold can be traced back to my time with my good friend Lana, and the people I met through her when I was having such a tough time transitioning to college.
After that year, I tried to get involved in as many groups as I could. That's what led me to join the UNI Men's Glee Club, the UNI Cheerleading squad, as well as the student newspaper, the Northern Iowan.
Even though I wasn't making loads of close friends, I at least was staying busy and making many casual acquaintances, who I could call friends.
After my second year of school, I had open-heart surgery for a mysterious heart condition that I developed from… who knows what? Doctors still say it's something of a mystery, and they have openly said it was a somewhat miraculous recovery, as they weren't quite sure how to treat it, but this was a point in which I really had to trust in God for healing, and look to Him for my health.
Through this time, I continued to slowly grow in my faith, though it was hard to get heavily involved in any church or student ministry with all the groups I was involved in.
My final 2 years of school were when I finally found my true church home. I went on my first Spring Break mission trip to a non-profit Christian church camp, where we just did manual labor, and helped the camp in whatever aspect they needed.
This seems like a small trip, but it made major changes in my life, as I really developed a heart for service, and learned how important it is to serve the Lord with everything you've got.
I also made some great friends, and finally found the social group that I had needed all along. It was the first time that I felt like I was really surrounded by like-minded people, who cared about me and my growth as a Christian, and who I could relate to on a spiritual level.
4. Post College Life:
After college, I continued to serve God through short-term trips, but was subconsciously searching for more. I would do the Spring Break trips, and even did a short trip to Mozambique, where my church partners with a community in which we are trying to develop churches, and nurtuer the faith of the believers that they have already won over.
It was a long few years in the job market, as I graduated college in the spring of 2009; right when the economy really tanked. My desire to go into TV broadcasting had to be somewhat delayed, as TV jobs were especially hard to find. Fortunately I was able to stay afloat with numerous part-time jobs along the way that still brought in an income, and helped me develop my work with video, as well as on-camera reporting.
The biggest change came this last summer, as I joined a small group of people who took a vision trip to Cambodia, where the goal was to visit several organizations that have already been established there, and help them out in any way that they needed. All the while, we were trying to find what our future might hold, and hope for some type of revelation as to where God might want us to go next.
My form of a vision came after I had been talking with someone else in our group about dreams, what they meant in our lives, and why God gave us paritcular dreams.
As this girl was sharing with me about her recurring dreams, I could only say, "wow that's great… I've never had anything like that". I've never been a vivid dreamer. All my dreams are fairly vague, and I rarely remember anything that happens.
But one night on our trip, I had some dream that still escapes me. I still don't know what was happening, or what context I was in, but I just remember having the phrase "Adventures in Missions" stick in my brain. I'd probably heard of this group before, and it turns out one of the groups we worked with in Cambodia was through AIM, but I had no idea what it was, or if it was even a thing; but for some reason, that phrase lingered in my mind.
Finally, when we got back to America, I was sitting at work one day, looking into future trips, and what my next journey might look like. Eventually I remembered that phrase that had been stuck in my head, and googled Adventures in Missions. Obviously their main page came up, and the first thing that I clicked on was the World Race page.
I was immediately drawn in, and probably within those first 2 minutes of watching videos, and reading up on the organization, I knew that it was something that God was calling me to.
I casually told people that it was something I was thinking about, though all the while, I think I knew that I really didn't have any choice but to sign up.
After about a month and a half of praying and talking to family and friends, I signed up, and the rest is very short history.
It still feels like our squad is a long ways from our departure, but I know this time will fly by… as well as our time to fundraise. But it's been an amazing journey already, getting to know my squad, and trying to let everyone I know, hear about what I'm going to be doing, and why this journey is so important to me.
Even though this is a huge journey, it's still just one year out of my life, and is just one more step in my faith journey. I can't wait to see where it takes me, and what God has planned for the 11 months that we step out of our comfort zone and become a part of His bigger plan for us.
