Like Father, Like Son
Last month I got the honor to serve alongside my father in Romania. Even though it was only for a week, the experiences we shared will last a lifetime. I have always loved my Dad. There was never a time growing up that we ever fought or had our disagreements, but it has only been in the past few years that we both have realized how much we missed each other. We were not away from each other or did not want to be around each other, there was just no investment in each other. Around summer time four years ago I went through an intense summer internship with an amazing group of men and women who I am still really close with. During that summer us guys talked about life, growing up and being men. What I realized what how blessed I was to have parents who have and always will love each other. I realized I had a father who was still there. Many of the men I know can’t say that their parents are still married and that they have a solid relationship with their father. That summer I realized that while I did have amazing parents, my relationship with my dad had been kind of shallow the past years. It was both of our faults, you know, the awkward middle school and high school years. We did life, but not together. That summer I remember calling him up one afternoon and standing out in the hot Florida sun and telling my dad I loved him and that I wish we’d do a better job of being father and son. I released a lot of my pain, frustration and guilt that day and since then my Dad and I have fought not just for each other, but our family as well.
One night during Parent Vision Trip, while watching a movie, drinking Coke and eating popcorn, we had another moment like we had in Florida a few years ago. This time he took the initiative. My dad and I know what love, faith and family is all about. I get that heart from him. Some may call it sensitivity and some may call it empathy, but I know without it we would not be the men we are today. I have amazing memories of Dad and I growing up. From wrestling and camping to watching scary movies. These are some of my fondest memories. During Parent Vision Trip we made new ones. We visited homes in Romania where we met families, prayed for them, shared the love of God and brought hope. We worked a clinic where we gave glasses to those who could not see. We ran a bowling station at a huge festival we put on at Hope Church. We had a ton of time to go on walks and talk and escape to being just father and son. My Dad and I reconnected again that one night in Romania. We were vulnerable and honest. We made a promise to keep on living and loving alongside each other no matter what.
I knew that night was no circumstance. A week later my father called me to let me know his father had suddenly passed away. My dad loved his father. I loved my grandfather. My grandfather taught my Dad and I the love of family, the wonder of nature and the necessity of grilling out. My dad and I get to continue that legacy and pass it on from generation to generation. In the Bible it talks about how our actions and the consequences of them can pass on to future generations. My Dad and I refuse to let poor our choices and those who came before us negatively affect us. We want to set the standard of a father and son relationship. We want to show what family really looks like. We want to show what it is to love and to be a man. World Race and Adventures in Missions helped for us to realize that even more so at Parent Vision Trip. No longer did my Dad see me as a boy, but a man whom he could walk side by side with and live life together with through thick and thin. This is manhood. This is family. This is love. Thank you God for my Dad. He is my hero and so brave and courageous and wise. I love you Dad! I always have and I always will!
Meeting Dad at the airport.
Dad and I visiting a woman at home.
Dad helping sort glasses for the free clinic.
Goofing off at the railroad tracks!
