The 5 worst kind of interstate drivers

YO! 
Roadtrips.
We've all been there. Some of us love them (me) and some of us hate them. Personally, there's nothing better than windows down, good music and good people to share the trip with. But, we all know that person who can ruin a road trip in a hurry.

I give you, the 5 worst kind of interstate drivers.

1. The leech
Leeches - who likes them? Nobody! But that is exactly what some people turn into on the road. They are the worst at night. They sit behind you; headlights shining in your mirrors. They don't try to pass or back off your tail. They just sit and suck the vision out of your eyes. They don't want the ticket, so they let you take the lead. Finally, someone comes along faster than you and the leech finds new prey to latch on to.

2. The slooooow log
I actually have respect for truckers. Seriously. They keep America running. I have a friend who was a driver for a long time. But seriously, if it takes you 2 miles to pass another 18 wheeler, we've got problems. There is a line behind you longer than Lohan's arrest record bro. Get a move on it, pass your fellow trucker and let the rest of us get by.

3. The camper 
Listen, let me just clear the air. Not everyone belongs in the fast lane. I'm talking to you Mr. I drive below the speed limit. Don't be the person who sits in the left lane and NEVER moves. Don't ever be that person. If you don't know the difference between the gas and brake pedal, do us all a favor and sit in the right lane and figure it out.

4. Joe Cool
He thinks he is the coolest guy on the road. Shades on, extra loud muffler to drown out his bumping subs in his trunk with a car that sits 3 inches of the road. He comes up behind you and rides your butt until you let him pass. He completes it all by glaring at you as he passes by. Unless you happen to be an attractive female. Then he checks you out and puts on the cool vibe. Joe Cool the creep; no lady is impressed. There's a reason this guy is always riding solo.

5. Moms
You know her. You've seen her. She drives a trendy, cool SUV. She is in her 30's or 40's and always on her phone. Always. Who do you talk to for so long? The mom in the SUV behind you? Problem is, because you are on your phone you forget how to drive. You are so absorbed in your call you forget about the other people on the road. And when I honk at you to get out of my way, you glare at me like I have the problem or worse, wave like I just called you a queen. Keep on talking momma, keep on talking.

What did I miss? Who have I overlooked? Feel free to share some of the people on your list.

Riding shotgun,
CT

Reflections on a year in Uganda

YO!
I'm done in Uganda. Officially. Not for the rest of my life, but for now. In some ways, I am relieved that this day has come. However, I know that this is a year that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Now, I can no longer speak of it in the present, but all stories from a journey in the past. Trying to summarize a year in just a few words short enough to not lose your attention is tough, but let's give it a shot.
What I will miss:

• The Sunday afternoon bible study time and the guys who were in it.
• Frisbee golf in the park and all the kids who stared in curiosity as we played.
• A good plate of traditional Ugandan food (most of it at least).
• Ugandan worship and how much fun it was.

What I loved the most:

• Sunday afternoon bible study.
• Working with the young men at the boys home.
• Meeting/making friends with people literally from all over the world.
• Escaping the "rat race" of the American lifestyle for a year.
• Sharing bible stories with my new brothers and sisters in the faith.

What I'm looking forward to in America:

• 5 Guys cheeseburger!
• Living in community with family and friends.
• Boones Creek Christian Church - I can't wait to see everyone from my home church again!
• An east Tennessee sunset in the summertime.

If giving advice to people about to enter the mission field, for a week or full time, I would say this: 

Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

Satan hates what you are about to do. It doesn't matter if it is across the street or the world, he hates it all the same. Therefore, guard your heart because satan will battle for your heart while you are serving. However, he is only the prince of the earth and you have the King of Kings to fight on your behalf. 

Fight the good fight,

CT 

Shark cage diving

May 21 & 22, South Africa
YO!

There was so much happening. My heart was pounding. My body was freezing and going numb. Adrenaline pumping. I was trying to find the bar to put my hands inside the cage. I was trying to get used to being in the cage. 7 of my newest shark bait friends were shouting expletives that became noise. I made sure my goggles fit perfectly. I was trying to not freak out. I was about to have one of the most feared animals in the world swim close enough to me to smell my pee.

"Down diver, down!"

I'm in the middle of 3 months of travel on three different continents. and was looking for my next adventure. I'd heard about shark cage diving. Basically, it's a reverse zoo. The humans get in the cage and the wild sharks get to come up as close as they want to. How's that for irony? I couldn't wait!

I was in Kleinbaai (Little Bay) with Dyer Island in the distance. This is where the BBC, Discovery and others come, the best place in the world, to view great white sharks. The chum was in the water. So was I as I jumped at the chance to go with the first group of the day in the cage. Decked out in a full wetsuit and boots for the balmy 13 degree (that's 55 Fahrenheit) water, I was ready.

"Down diver, down!"

I took a big breath and pushed myself down in the cage. Right in front of me was a "Holy crap that shark is huge and headed straight for me!" great white shark. Exhilarating! I could see everything so clearly. The fins. Scars on it's body. Gills. Eyes. Teeth. Man, those teeth. I came up out of the water and started shouting something I don't remember that was a mix between awe, awesome and excitement.

I cannot even begin to tell you how great shark cage diving is. At one point, a shark passed so close to me in the water I could have poked it's eye ball. I didn't, because I like my fingers :) This is one of the coolest adventures I've ever had. Definitely worth the money. I even went back a second day to do it again. I give it a 10 out of 10. How often do you get a chance to watch an animal like that up close in it's natural habitat (while not having to fear dying)? Go big or go home is what they say. I went big and it was awesome!
On to the next adventure,

CT

Drinking, smoking and getting High

YO!

No, I have not turned into a partier since coming to Africa. My last post was about the boda (taxi) drivers I'm building relationships with. They are a great group of guys. I've been living here for 7 months now and they are the only ones who have bought me a drink (it was pop, for the record). The more time I spend with these guys, the more I know about them.

They, just like me, have bad habits. However, their habits are more socially and morally "wrong" than mine: namely, drinking, smoking and getting high. They are now comfortable enough with me they don't hide it from me anymore and ask me what I think about their habits. For the record, I visit these guys Tuesday and Friday mornings. Their habits have become a part of who they are.

"Wait, CT are you sure you should be hanging out with those guys? Isn't it unsafe?"

If you thought something similar to this, I appreciate your concern. But, look at Jesus. These are exactly the kind of guys he would hang out with. So, if I profess with my mouth that I love God, my actions better back that up. This is exactly where I need to be. And, those of you who know me, know that I like to live on the edge anyway.

But check it, Jesus is so cool that He is starting to have an impact. These guys know about the bible. and can tell me some of the stories. They are beginning to ask me about my faith and what I believe. Even today, I shared with one of the men from Matthew 25. It's the story about the ten virgins waiting on the bridegroom. We studied that because he specifically asked if we could look at that story!

God is moving in these men and they don't even know it yet. Once you've experienced the heart of Christ, nothing else looks as good anymore. That is what I hope happens with these guys. One drink, one cigarette, one maragi drug and one Jesus conversation at a time.

Keepin it real,

CT

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Failing

Every Friday morning, feeling like a failure, I walk home analyzing what went wrong.

I am an American attempting to build relationship with locals in my town in Uganda, Africa. Every week I battle cultural and language barriers. It's hard to have conversations and even harder to get to know this particular group of guys. I spend much of my hour with them trying to figure out what to say next. It is hard, frustrating work.
We are afraid of failure. Perhaps better put, we are afraid to even risk experiencing failure in our lives. Think about it:

• Months of classroom work are judged on a final grade. 
• A guy will never ask the girl out until he knows she will say yes.
• At work, we are afraid to take a risk because it means we could fail.

How many times have you said, "I wish I could...(play an instrument, learn a new language, run a marathon etc.) More often than not, we will never accomplish those things because we are too afraid of failing.

From a very young age, we are taught that failure is something to avoid.
Forget everything you ever knew about failure. Embrace it. Learn to love it. Take risks. Accomplish something you never thought you could.
Expose yourself to the risk of failing. Put yourself in a position to fail.
Why?
Because, as Robert D. Smith (www.TherobertD.com) says, when you learn to laugh in the face of rejection, it becomes the fuel to your success.

We all fear failing. Yet, the education received through failing gives more than can ever be accomplished by not trying. Will it be hard? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Which is worse? Staying in your comfort zone and never reaching your potential because your fear held you back or attempting to be great and learning along the way?

Where in your life do you need to risk failure? What is the "Friday morning," in your life?

On the up and up,

CT

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1st international marathon

YO!
I know, I'm committing blogging error 101. I'm writing an extremely long post. Having said that, if you make it all the way to the end, there are lessons you can learn from this read. Let's get to it:

I ran the Kampala international marathon Sunday, November 25. Everything about it was terrible. I've never hurt that bad or had that bad of a run in my life. The day before I left our WGM board meeting early because I was feeling lousy. I slept the afternoon and evening away before waking up to eat dinner.
I woke up at 5:30 AM on Sunday and felt pretty good, or so I thought. I caught my boda (taxi) ride to Kololo airfield where the race was starting. We walked about a half a mile to get to the start line. MTN, a cell phone company, sponsored the race. They gave everyone a yellow, sleeveless jersey which 99% of the runner's were wearing. It was an explosion of yellow. Thousands of yellow shirts in every direction I looked. Naturally, I didn't wear my yellow jersey because I pride myself on not blending in (as if being one of the only white people wasn't enough). I walked through the metal detector and found my start line.
This was a 10 kilometer, 21K (13.1 miles), and 42K (26.2 miles) race. Over 10,000 people ran the 10K but only 300 warriors did it all. (Sidenote: don't insult my race by calling your 10K a "marathon." If it's not 26.2 miles, it's not a marathon. Yes, that is a pet peeve). The marathoners got to take off first and away I went on my first ever international marathon.
It was fun! I was running with two friends and the three of us stuck together early on. I was holding down an 8:15 pace per mile for the first few miles. I was wearing my fancy GPS watch for only the second time in my life. I'd heard plenty of stories about people getting lost or running more than their race called for, so I was trying to avoid that.
Soon, the course for the 21K and 42K split. I had a small video camera I was carrying in my right hand. I recorded something about how it was, "time for the warriors to step up." I was still feeling great and carefully mentally planning out the rest of the race.
At the 17K mark, we had to move up a large hill. That's where it all fell apart. I still don't know what happened. That hill killed my pace and was tough on me physically. I was never able to recover. The pain in my legs got stronger and my pace grew slower. I watched my time climb over 9 minutes a mile; and then 10.
At this point, I wasn't even halfway through the race. That is horrible! A 9 minute mile is bad for me anytime, but especially this early in the race.
By the 24K (15 miles) mark, I started walking. I was questioning how in the world I was going to cover another 18K (11 miles). Everything from the hips down hurt. For my racing standards, I was a pathetic sight setting an even more pathetic new racing low.
The next few miles were a slow, painful and discouraging run/walk mix. It was taking 20 minutes or more just to complete a single mile. I've never had physical failure before in my life, but reality was starting to set in. I couldn't finish. I was already struggling with how I was going to have to tell everyone I quit. But, I couldn't go on; it simply hurt to bad. I felt like a failure.
At the 34K (22 mile) mark, I laid down in the grass accepting defeat. All but 6 runners were ahead of me, no one was waiting at the finish line and I wasn't 100% healthy. Hurting more than I had ever experienced, my race was over.

"NO!" I thought. "CT, you are not a quitter. You weren't raised to be a quitter."
The internal battle began.
"My body has already reached it's breaking point."
"But it's only 4 miles. You've done that thousands of times in your life."
"Maybe, but never feeling like this. Just accept defeat."
"No, I don't care if I have to walk every step and am the last person to cross, I'm finishing!"
I dragged myself off the ground and stumbled to my feet. One step. Then another. And another.
"No quit CT, don't you dare quit."
The kilometer countdown was on. 7 to go. I started to jog. I was actually doing it.
6K...
5K...
4K...
The whole time I was telling myself over and over I could do this. By this point, I was 2nd to last in the race. The roads had opened up and the people directing the runners where to go had already gone home. I was following the yellow signs I saw in the distance.
3K...
2K...
25 miles in, only 1.2 more to go. I watched each hundredth of a mile tick off my watch. I heard the music from the finish line party. Mentally, I had already checked out and was picturing myself being done. Just little more to go. I saw another yellow sign in the distance.
"OK CT, last kilometer. Bring it home baby."

7K
"What. What? Did that sign just say 7K? That's impossible."
I went back and looked at the sign again.
7K
"Holy shit! You have got to be freakin kidding me," I said out loud to myself.
To say I was upset was an understatement. How could this be possible? The worst race of my life threw me a curveball. Somehow, I got off the 42K course and found either the 21K or 10K course. I asked a guy wearing a yellow jersey, obviously finished, how to get to the finish line. He told me to take a left at the next street and the finish line was, "just up the hill there." Typical African directions with no time or distance reference.
Now, turned around in an unfamiliar city, I was relying on this stranger. I was angry with myself and the race organizers. I had no idea how to get to the finish line, so I grudgingly followed his directions up the hill.
The next sign I saw read 4K left to go. I started the countdown once again, every step ringing pain in my body echoed by frustration in my head. Finally after what felt like forever, the finish line came into view. I was walking. A local told me to run because I was almost done.
Those next few hundred steps were the most painful of my life. I ran past the live band. Past the sea of yellow shirts already finished relaxing. Past the people eating in nearby tents. With each painful step the finish line grew closer. I finally crossed the finish line in a disappointing 4 hours, 57 minutes and some seconds to spare. I slowed to a walk never more thankful in my life to be done.

But I didn't quit.

3,2,1...Bungee!

No, I didn't lose a bet. Believe it or not there are still people in this world that love adventure and live on the edge. I'm proud to be one of them. So when my friends asked if I wanted to bungee jump the Nile River, what do you think my response was.

"Dude, I'm in. I'm so in. This is gonna be epic."

150 feet, half a football field of free falling, breath taking awesomeness.

That's our view from the deck.

 I went up to the top and they tied the towel around my feet with a rope.
"Wow," I thought. "Not much to that. Good thing I'm a light weight." All strapped in and ready to go, I waddled over to the stand and put my toes over the edge. I was shocked at how calm I was. No nerves, I wasn't even scared. I was pumped and ready to do this. I looked down at the river that I would soon be splashing into. Looked back at my friend Christian and gave him the thumbs up.

Let's do this baby!

Then, I heard the countdown.

3...

2...

1...

BUNGEE! 

And I'm free, free fallin...

Sometimes, you just gotta jump.