Please don't mug me!

I sit in my parents' living room as if it were all a dream. Kelsey's still alive so at least I can sleep tonight. The visit to Shiloh turned out really well. I wish I could have stayed longer. They asked me if I had plans for the summer, and I had to say yes. Hopefully we'll be getting things cranked up for an academic experience at New Frontiers. I wore my camp shirt many times during my tenure in the Europe. (this could be due to the fact that I only took four shirts) Alas, they didn't overbook the flight to Nashville tonight. I was hoping to get bumped officially so that they gave me some flight moneys. Oh well. Back to life in TN. Thanks to everyone that encouraged and/or prayed for me while I was gone.

I did not die in what may or may not have been a fire at our hotel. I did, however, leave there and go to Manhattan. New York City never ceases to amaze. I am currently typing this from underneath the 5th Ave. Apple glass cube that I didn't get to visit last time I was here. Tonight was the Apple iPhone premiere. I saw the super annoying guy from G4/TechTV. Beck is playing on the overdriven ceiling speakers, and this place is hopping. It's funny how as I approached the entrance to the Apple store and they had people clapping as someone would exit I felt more and more like it would be a good idea to buy an iPhone. Again, brains are weird. Tomorrow I'm gonna try and visit my bro bro at Shiloh camp in NY state. I love having vague directions and hoping things work out. Well, when they actually work out it's fun. Typing on this MacBook makes me want one. I gotta get out of here before I do something dumb.

Quite a lot has transpired since we last talked. 1. I read The DaVinci Code . It was a good, fast read. The hostel loaned it to me and even let me take it on the plane over the Atlantic. It made the 6 and half hour journey fly by. Pun definitely intended. 2. My flight to Nashville from Newark, NJ was cancelled. I got put up in a hotel and fed good food. I can deal with that. 3. Right now a fire alarm is going off in the hotel that Nick Howell and I have checked into for our second night's stay. 4. I'm sure some more stuff has happened, but I better evacuate the building. Laters.

Well, we made it to the airport on time to fly to Belfast today from Glasgow, Scotland... WRONG AIRPORT!!!! Yes, another missed flight and I feel like a champ! Only 200 dollars down the drain between the two missed flights. It's just money, though, right? No, it's expensive lessons about not assuming things will work themselves out automatically. So after 7 hours of travel and 150 dollars spent, Nick Howell and I are successfully in Belfast, N.I (228 miles from where we were this morning!!!) We have a goal of only spending 120 more dollars before we get home. We'll see if it works. (no way)

My European excursion is quickly coming to a close, but thankfully, there will be a few more hurtles to overcome and sights to see. The group from Murfreesboro is heading back, and Nick Howell and I will strike out on our own. We may flub it up royally. Haha. Speaking of royalty, I got to go to Edinburgh (pronounced Edinborough) today. It was straight raining for a long time, but we go a ray of sunshine on the way out. It was funny because our friend Kevin that drove told us that in his conversation with God, God said that the rain was a necessary part of the day but we could have some rain shortly. We got the first ray of sunlight while Kevin was telling someone that on the phone in Edinburgh. It was cool. Let me go ahead and say that John Jones was a trip maker for this leg of the journey. Along with others, John has broughten levity where it was very much appreciated. We just kind of picked up where we left of in the nineties. I'll also go ahead and say Jon Burgess is the man. P

click on I saw this on yahoo's site. Way to go, TN! Recent news from over the ocean... I met up with the group from North Boulevard. Despite popular belief, people from different bodies can work together! It's been good to have to get to know people so that I can be a part of the whole. For real, these jokers eat too much. Well, the problem isn't that they eat too much it's that they always have food available to eat. And as everyone knows, if there is food available I'm probably eating it. John Jones (a former Stones Riverian) got in to Dundee today. It was good to have another familiar face in a sea of people that I don't know yet. Also, we got to see a baptism of a nice girl named Leanne. She was dunked in the North Sea. It was a good day. We'll be working in Dundee, Scotland for this week and then I'll be heading back to the U.S. Next week. It's been both a long and short trip. Thankfully, it's not over yet. See you soon.

Today was my last German day. Tomorrow I become a Scot. We did it right, though, and visited a hugest Catholic cathedral, a museum of chocolate manufacturing and a Roman-German archaelogy museum. All were impressive. I'll see if I can't upload some pictures. Go to said link for 'eum. I must thank my gracious hosts, the Siebels family, for all their hospitality. THANK YOU! There have been many times over the past two weeks where I imagine how life continues at home. It doesn't correspond easily to what I do over here. The world in Tennessee seems to have stopped even though I know that it's waiting just the same as it was when I left. I'm not ready to go back to work, but I have a feeling that I will be when the trip is over. I'm glad for breaks. Daily life is seldom appreciated.

For new photos please klik your maus here.

I have learned maybe 14 German words in the last 6 days. One complete phrase I have learned: "Ich will schwarz sein." I now have aspirations of living in a foreign land long enough to where I am forced to learn the language completely. This was originally a good part of living in New Mexico, but I have a feeling that I would have stayed part of the white culture too much. Our friend Lars has gone back to his native lands. We had fun touring Berlin and Dusseldorf while 11-year-olds checked him out. Of all the culture in Germany, I learned most about the sweets. They have chocolates with nuts, something akin to an ice cream sandwich but not frozen, toffees, kit kat like bars but better, flakes in chocolate, weisse crisp, cookies dipped in chocolate and Riesen (Giants). It's kind of like the Burgess' house in Florence (AL not IT) on steroids. My blood sugar level says more sugar than blood. Tomorrow we are going to Köln (Cologne) to see a huge cathedral and a place where

I finally made it to Yermany. Matt and Lars thankfully got my emails and met me at the airport. It has been super cool to meet up at a different place on the planet after only hanging out for two or so days in L.A. Berlin is more than I can take in. It's hard to relate the past that I have learned about to the things that I see. There is so much from the past here, but it also just seems like any other buzzing city. We went around to some more locations a little outside Berlin, and it's not really what I expected. The first time I realized where I was was when I landed on the ground from the air. It all kind of sunk in as to where I was. Tomorrow we are headed to Matt's house in Dusseldorf. Other than that, things are pretty chilled out. I'll update on any more random action later.

I almost feel like I live here now. Today, I worked in the bike shop that I rented the bike from last week. It has been a strange set of occurences but enjoyable, nonetheless. Austin (the owner and neighbor of Wally) was glad to have some help I believe because he runs this place that does maintenance, repairs, rental, sales and everything else having to do with bike by himself. It's kind of like MOAB but a one man show. Last night was good. I bought some groceries and read part of Road to Ballyshannon . It's a cool book because it has to do with the conflict here in NI. It's also interesting because it mentions a whole lot of the places that I visited on my bike ride. I leave for Berlin tomorrow on my rescheduled ticket and will meet up with Matt and Lars. Good times I suspect.

Two huge things happened just now. 1. I missed my flight to Berlin by my sheer stupidity in not checking my flight time. 2. I was picked up off the side of the road by Wally and taken back to Belfast. Let me explain #1. I have booked a lot of flights for this trip so I have a general idea of when and where each departs and arrives. This general idea obviously didn't cut it. It cost me 70 dollars to reschedule the flight, and it doesn't leave until Saturday (two days from now). I weighed the options of paying over 200 to get a flight out today, but it really isn't that important that I get in today. After shelling out the moneys, I started thinking of ways to shave off expense so that it wouldn't break my budget. I decided to walk back the 20 some odd miles to Belfast and enjoy the beautiful weather. I got about 3 miles away when I realized that I really didn't have any reason to go back to Belfast. I decided to camp out for two days because there is lots of countrys

*I put up a video of the cliffs on the island here http://youtube.com/watch?v=Je0dsNHjyjs * Today was really good. Let's start with yesterday, though. After making my post and uploading pictures that I wasn't supposed to be able to via the Balleycastle Public Liberry, I trekked on to Cushendall. The ride was nice because the sun had broken through the overcastness. On the way up the hill out of Ballycastle I realized that I hadn't filled up my water bladder (back pack not human pack). I stopped off at a B & B and went inside to ask the owner if I could use a bathroom faucet or something. Now, I've never been inside a Bed and Breakfast, but as it turns out, you don't just walk into the living room and ask if you can use a faucet. I guess I scared the woman a little because at first she was okay with me being there but then she changed her tune and told me that you don't just walk into someone's house and show yourself around (or something like that. I do

Yesterday started with trials. However, I got the sunshine that Robin prayed for. Good good. Then it began. I had gotten a flat tire on the way to his house, and he came and picked me up three days ago. Simple enough to change the flat, right? Three more flat tires is what I was looking at yesterday. Ha, I would get about 50 yards down the road and hear that familiar hiss. I didn't lose it, though. I kept my calm and enjoyed the close to five hours it took to ride 18 miles. I did sort of lose it when I was riding on Rathlin Island's roads and my chain got stuck under the chainrings. It took a little doing and a pocket knife, but the last hurtle gave way. I got to enjoy camping on an island in the middle (well, maybe corner pocket) of the Atlantic Ocean. Rathbone Island is what I like to refer to it as, though, because it sounds way more cooler. Learn about it here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathlin_Island It has easily been the highlight of Northern Ireland. I got over t

"Yo Burgess, what's crackin'?" Not a whole lot. Robin and I went up to Mussenden, a home of the late Bishop and Earl. It was cool to see some ruins that are still kind of intact and imagine what it must have been like to see it originally. It's right next to the sea so it has a very striking appeal. In fact, I'll upload some pictures in case anyone would like to go there via the internet. Check my last post for the link to the picture dump. There is a huge emphasis on Protestant vs. Catholic here because of the history of the area. It's strange because I expected the church service to be different due to that, but it wasn't really. Just some jokers praising God. It's good to know that despite the differences in culture the Truth doesn't change. I've found that everywhere I've been. It was overcast again today so I'm crossing my fingers and dotting my t's for sun tomorrow.

Go here to see some pictures I've taken so far. Each has a small description. http://www.flickr.com/photos/billipo/sets/72157600301548136/

It's been too long. Alright, I figured out that you can send texts to my phone for free via... asus a6000 keyboard... no wait, I had the wrong thing loaded into ctrl+v http://www.cbfsms.com/ (Be sure and uncheck the two boxes before the one that is mandatory to check) There it is. Just put in my number ( 7748697296 ) after the 44 that automatically shows up. I'd like to hear from you. Today, the biking wasn't so bad, but I didn't eat a lot so that didn't help. It was slow going so I called Robin, my couch surfing host, and told him I would be a little last. He offered to pick me up so I said sure! However, after I got off the phone with him I had more hope that I could make the haul to his place. Long story short... I went ahead, but was thwarted by a flat tyre. My gracious couch surfing host fed me pasta and bread to fill that food/carb hole. It was just enough. I've been relaxing at his house that he is about to move out of while he and friends watch a DVD at

As I'm sure a lot of people know, the sun goes down over here at literally 10 pm. So when I was camping out two nights ago the sun went down then and the full moon came up at 10:12 pm. The only period of complete darkness was from like 4:30 - 5:00 am. Incredulous. The couch surfer last night was super hospitable. She even paid for me to see an awful movie. Ha, it was called Paradise Lost, and it was about these travelers in Brazil that get trapped and cut open to steal their organs. At the end I asked her if she was trying to imply anything. She said no. I still have my organs. My bike is being serviced at the moment due to a bad cassette. I know, I know. Everyone has been there. I still have more than three weeks left on my trip. It feels like three separate trips all in a row, which is how I would like to do things from now on. It makes each experience feel more important because I only have 5 more days. Hopefully you understand. Thanks again for the prayers. Today is the first r

On two accounts. The ride today from Magherafelt to Derry was more than I expected. This on two accounts, also. Sights as far as my eyes could see. The other of the original accounts is that I was going to stay with someone in the city tonight, but I think I waited too long to contact them. I checked my email just now to find that I was homeless. WAS HOMELESS. Ha, but God strikes again. I have seen more provision in the last few days than maybe ever. This could be due to me looking for it, but I know it has a lot to do with family and friends praying for me. I realized today that we have to be put outside our usual world to even appreciate what is out there. Last night was a really good night of camping by Lough Neagh (Lock Nay/not Loch Ness). I've so much to say, but internet costs 6 bucks for 30 minutes and those are almost gone. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you how God provided for tonight. I was looking for an internet cafe to see about an email from the guy I was supposed to stay

Yesterday began as uneventfully as the day before, but it quickly gained momentum. I went out by myself to look around the city some more and change money, and I bought some groceries for lunch. Fun. But then after lunch I met a guy from Salt Lake City, and I made my first friend. We toured around the historic fighting places in the city. It was interesting to get to participate a little in the history of the area. They have lots of murals commemorating each side's participation and "sacrifice" to the conflict between loyalists to the crown and the traditional Irish. The day got even more betters when we met two pretty girlies from Quebec. It was about 8 pm so we escorted them to see the sights we had just learned about. Ha, you can pretend to know a lot at least, right? We all had a good time just discussing the place here and what we have all been doing that brought us together. It was really interesting. After that, we went to a cool pub and stayed until they closed at

Well, I learned a few valuable lessons yesterday. 1. Belfast is not a temperate paradise. However, the Lord has fixed me up with some sunshine today. I had planned to begin my biking adventure today, but the more I thought about it after I woke up the less it seemed like a good idea. It worked out for the best, though, because the bike I was going to rent needed some work. 2. Don't spend money when experiencing jet lag. It seems I spent a lot of pointless money yesterday compared to my usual miserly expenditures. This is especially true when money costs twice as much. 3. Don't drink alone. Ha, don't think that I am a drunk. I went out last night to buy a Guinness in an Irish pub simply for the experience. This experience turned out to be less than exciting. I went first to a bar called the Kremlin just because the name is cool. I was greeted by a lady at the door asking if I had been there before. After I said no she asked if I knew it was a gay bar. I said, "No thanks

This trip has gotten off to an interesting start. Already there have been adventures in simply getting to Belfast. Thankfully, there have been lots of friendly and helpful Irish along the way. Also, God is putting a hand in where need be. Let me tell you how... 1. I got to the check-in counter at Nashville's aeropuerto only to hear that my connecting flight to Newark, NJ was delayed 1.5 hrs. I didn't really have a problem with this, and I thought it might even earn me some flight bucks. No. The delay was due to weather in Houston which earns noone flight bucks. They checked other flights to find that the next definite flight that I could take was Thursday (this was Monday). I finally remember to ask God to fix it, and about thirty seconds later the guy helping me said, "Oh, wait your Belfast flight is a little delayed so it might work out." (or something to that effect) Bonus. 2. There were two other people going to Belfast from Nashville(natives), and they just happe