Hello NYC!

It took me a little longer to do this than I had planned or anticipated, but hey, better late than never! The transition into life in New York City has been made significantly easier by the handful of friends that I have here. I am living with a friend of mine from college in Brooklyn Heights, which is really quite a blessing. I can't tell you how much at ease I feel since I didn't have to sublet a small room with other people I don't know and spend and arm and a leg to do so. Instead, I am crashing on the couch of someone I know and trust, and paying much less than I would have otherwise. Outside of that, a few other friends from college are out here and have been so great as to show me around and spending their free time just hanging out with me. Getting used to a new city, not to mention the most giant city on the planet, is so much easier and more comfortable when you are with friends that already know it.

As far as things go at the office I am volunteering at, I just completed my first day and it was great. I am so excited about my time there. I'll be working in the Adult Employment office for the next 4-5 weeks before going to the Community Outreach office. While in the Adult Employment office, I'll be working with the new participants getting them acquainted with the program and helping them establish their individual skills while figuring out how to use those skills to secure and maintain a fulfilling job. Already I have been blown away at how fortunate I have been to be raised with every opportunity to succeed at my fingertips. I cannot identify with essentially any of the clients in the office, so I am trying my best to understand that and not portray that I am passing judgment when I ask questions or offer advice. They have all been so wonderfully humble and receptive to my efforts to this point. The biggest contribution I hope to make during my time at this office is spending time with individuals and helping them realize their value as a person and really find their focus. I will have plenty of personal stories in the coming weeks that I hope you all will be able to connect with in one way or another.

This is already, and will become even more, a very enlightening and intense experience. I know I will gain such an appreciation for people in all situations and walks of life and they will teach me more than I have ever learned about myself. At so many points since I got here I have found myself thinking that this must be a dream and it can't really be my life. I'm so happy to be doing what I'm doing and I'm so happy to share it with all of you. The pictures are of my new place, notice the "closet" which consists of my big orange backpack. I also included pictures of the city and the Statue of Liberty at sunset from my journal spot, a park that is about a 10 minute walk from the apartment. Enjoy!

See ya later Seattle

Well, I now officially have said my goodbyes to the city of Seattle and all the people who have made it so special to me. After pushing back my train departure twice, the day finally came and I still wasn't ready to leave. As each day ended and I was closer to leaving, I realized that I would never be ready to leave until I was already gone. Many tearful farewells with people and places have solidified the realization that Seattle is my home. I am in Portland again spending time with some close friends before I hitch a ride to Salem later this afternoon. Once I arrive in Salem, I will have about four days to spend time with my family and friends there before I get on a plane in Portland to head to New York for the beginning of my journey.

Logistically, I am completely ready, but from an emotional and psychological standpoint, I am feeling complete chaos. The denial of the situation is starting to disappear as I continue to make the real transitions. Someone presented a very interesting and wise thought to me the other day as I was letting my emotions run their course. She said that perhaps I need to go into this journey completely broken in order to get the most I can out of it. I need to take as little of my own "stuff" with me throughout each leg of the trip so that I can see things objectively and form opinions based on the realities.

I have posted a few photos from the last few weeks; one from the Jog-a-thon at the SAC, one from the Harvest Dinner at Portage Bay, and one representing my entire life moving from Seattle. Both events were very successful and I cannot thank everyone who was involved enough for their hard work and selflessness. All of the staff at the SAC was amazingly supportive of me personally and the mission of ERACE. John and Amy Gunnar of Portage Bay Cafe were so generous and encouraging throughout the whole process of planning and hosting the dinner. It was such a humbling experience to be at an event in which everyone is there to support something that we created.

So I sit here completely psyched out by it all, all while knowing that when I write again in a few days or a week I will be even more confused in different ways. Just a little something to look forward to.

Preparing for Launch

Life sure is getting chaotic. I am already beginning to feel the lack of a “home” as I have now slept in three different cities in the past week, and am on the road again. I am currently sitting on the Amtrak train in Portland, Oregon, on my way from Salem to Seattle. This will be the final week I spend in my “former life” before heading off to places unknown and launching what I see as the next stage of my life.

The nice thing about being away from Seattle for the past week has been that I have been able to take a break from the emotional and psychological preparations for my departure. While I understand that those preparations are just the beginning of the emotional toll of my journey, they have nevertheless been exhausting. My friends and family have been amazingly supportive of me personally. This has been really nice, obviously, but especially as it relates to me trying to keep my focus on the implications of this journey for ERACE Poverty, and not simply my own life.

We have had some exciting developments for the organization recently. Last week we received a notification from the IRS that they have received our application and are currently reviewing it. From the time they mailed that out, the typical turnaround time is 60 days, which means we should expect to be an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by early November. That will be an exciting day for us not only because it will be the culmination of all our energy and time, but also because we will then be able to deal with larger foundations that offer loads of financial assistance to organizations such as ERACE Poverty.

I will soon post photos from our two fundraising events, the SAC Jog-a-thon and the Portage Bay Harvest Dinner. There is still a few open spots for the dinner, which will take place this Wednesday the 10th at Portage Bay Café in South Lake Union. Appetizers and drinks will be served from 5-6pm and then a wonderful local, organic 3-course dinner from 6-8pm. Check our website for more details and to get the number to make reservations.

One Step at a Time

As I sit here eating breakfast in the family room at my parent's house, I can't help but be completely psyched out by the current situation. I am unemployed, homeless, and all around unsure about where the next year of my life will take me. Brooklyn, Belize, and Kenya are all places I know I will be, but exactly what I will see and do, and how that will affect me internally are all completely unforeseeable to me at this point. That has always been the way I liked it, but I so easily forget that it is always much more scary than it is exciting at the outset.

Yesterday, as I was preparing for my departure, I took a few minutes to stand out on the deck to soak in the last bit of our amazing view. After those few minutes I found myself in a prayer aloud that was really quite comforting and moving. Lately I have been praying for trust as I embark because I naturally feel that God has gotten me into something I can't handle, and maybe he isn't aware of that (brilliant thought). During my prayer, I realized that that's the point. He does know that I can't handle it, but He knows that He can handle it, and if I just trust and continue to take steps of faith, He will give me what I need each step. This realization came to me as I was saying thanks for bringing me to Seattle, even though I had no idea what was up here for me, and for keeping me in Seattle when I tried to bail after a couple months. If I hadn't come to, or stayed in Seattle, the chances of my growing as much as I have and starting ERACE Poverty would have been very slim. If hindsight is 20/20, then I have to say that foresight is at least legally, if not completely blind. With that established, I am very excited for the experiences of the next year as they relate to my own life as well as to the launch and growth of ERACE Poverty.

How about an update on the ERACE side of things? We had a successful jog-a-thon at the SAC last Wednesday, and I cannot thank everyone who was involved enough for their support. We had a total of 21 runners cover over 82 miles in twelve hours. Everyone had a great time, and the members were very generous and excited to be involved. At the end of the day, we were over $6,000 closer to our budget goal! It goes down as probably the longest day of my life, but definitely one of the most exciting and rewarding. Now we look forward one week to the dinner at Portage Bay Cafe where we will try to get even more people involved and more money raised. Seeing the connection between all this work and our involvement in global poverty eradication in the years to come really excites us and keeps us going. Once we have created partnerships and are able to carry out our programs as we envision, many lives will be saved and changed, both on the impoverished side and the endurance racing side.

I hope to see everyone at the dinner next Wednesday the 10th, check out our website for more information and email me with any questions. I will post some photos from the jog-a-thon and the rest of the week once I get to a place with a wireless connection. Have a great week everyone!