My+College+Journey

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My college journey started about eight years ago ("lots of people go to college for 8 years. Yeah their called doctors"- paraphrase of a line from the movie Tommy Boy). If I had to pick one word to describe my college journey it would be atypical. Although I certainly am not the only one that has taken a while to get their degree for whatever reason, my college road has had a lot of twists and turns to it. I graduation from high school in 2003 and sense that time have been going to college at least part-time, with only the exception of 5 months total. The reason I chose not to go to school full time was that I had a high paying part-time job.

My first “career path love,” if you want to call it that was technology (I am a closet computer geek). When I first entered college in 2003, I was working for the Department of Defense on their computer systems and I seemed to have a natural talent for it. So, my bosses kept giving me more and more complex computer system related projects to do until one day they offered to give me a full time position after I finished college (getting my degree in computer science, which they would pay for). However, it was around this same time that I began feel in my heart that even though I liked working on computers, I didn’t love it. It didn’t have a direct impact on people’s lives that I wanted my career to have. I wanted to interact with people on a daily basis and make their lives better. I wasn’t getting that from staring at a computer screen. As I began to do some “soul searching” it took me about a month to realize that this longing had been placed in my heart by God as calling into ministry. During this time I kept taking Computer Science and General Education credits at the local community college.

For several months I resisted what I knew to be a calling from God into the ministry that was affirmed through various circumstances because part of me wanted the comfort of the easy and familiar. Plus, I knew my family was going to need a lot of explaining before they were okay with me giving up a free college education and a nice job guaranteed job afterward. The turning-point came one day as I was helping the Army construct their new computer system. The supervisor asked me to put the motto of the new system on the initial screen, which read in part something like: “to help the U.S. Army become more lethal and effective.” I will never forget that day; that was the day I finally decided to turn my back on all the benefits my current job afforded me and commitment myself fully to the calling I knew God had for me.

My family was none too pleased; they couldn’t understand why I would turn my back on a lucrative career to go into “church work” as they put it (especially sense they weren’t saved). But After several weeks of explaining and planning, I enrolled in my first Bible College in Fort Myers, Florida, with my parent’s hesitant blessing. It was here that I received my baptism by fire into ministry at a very large church, while continuing my education. However, this time my education was now geared toward becoming a pastor, which I believe will fulfill my calling.

During, my time in Fort Myers, which was two years I got the opportunity to serve on three missions trips as well as speak at two youth conventions. Although not all my college experience was gained at SAU. I think my two years at Fort Myers and my two years at SAU definitely served to complement each other nicely, especially in the area of cementing the calling on my life to become a pastor.

Serving After hurricane Katrina, actually, went to LA 3 times to serve || || Speaking in Ireland || Remodeling low-income home in England (separate from Ireland trip) ||
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