Quilting for Humanitarian Aid

The Quilting Party is Just Getting Started

Today, a group of men and women got together to sew and mark over 70 quilts for donation.  Something I discovered very quickly…I am not very talented at sewing.  Knowing that marking quilts probably took less precision, I quickly volunteered and grabbed some chalk and a ruler.  After about an hour of marking I started to get the hang of it and after that, my partners and I started going through quilts very easily.  With the addition of interesting conversation with new acquaintances, three hours of work few by.

This is a huge, statewide project that is coming to an end.  There are still many quilts to make, so we will be regrouping on Thursday to try and complete as many as possible.

The quilts will go to Deseret Industries, a welfare organization comparable to Goodwill.  From there they will be distributed when the necessity arises.

Casa de la Esperanza Orphanage

Today I fell in love with 50 boys and girls in a Tijuana orphanage.

Around 14 volunteers woke up this morning and headed across the boarder towards Casa de la Esperanza, one of the few orphanages in Tijuana.  I hadn’t been to Mexico since a service trip I took during my junior year of high school, or even an orphanage since I was in France in 2006.  I completely underestimated the impact that these young children would have on me.

We arrived after the children had finished their breakfast.  At first, there was no sign of life outside of the bright yellow buildings.  But soon the sounds of boys and girls running and playing filled the air.  Several of the volunteers went to a nearby field to play kickball with a couple dozen energetic boys.  I took a walk around the facility to meet some of the orphans and observe the atmosphere.

Most of the other volunteers spoke Spanish and were easily conversing with the children.  With my background being French, I had to rely more on eye contact and facial expressions.  Luckily, that appeared to work.  Although we couldn’t understand each others words, we were able to share laughs and the experience of the day.

One of the trip’s leaders came prepared with an art project, which the boys and girls enjoyed and shared with one another.  The project leader told me that she was a part of an international art exchange.  That art is a universal language.  Watching the children create their personal works of art gave me a glimpse of who they are, where they’ve been and who they hope to be.  I pray that they find the opportunity to follow their dreams.  It breaks my heart to think that they might not.

After the art project, they gave the volunteers a presentation of song and dance.  The young Mexican boy to my left became a photographer as he used my camera to excitedly document the festivities.  I held a young Alejandro on my lap, completely content with the idea of taking him home with me.

Following a lunch of pizza baked fresh from their oven, it was time to leave.  I think my favorite memory was Alejandro smiling up at me when I went over to him to say goodbye.  This is a monthly service trip, so I hope that I get to see him again.  I hope that their drawings come true.

Check out photos from the Casa de la Esperanza service trip!

Meeting the New Generation of Rotary

Service Committee Meeting

Service Above Self

I have always had a great respect for the Rotary Club, an international service organization dedicated to goodwill and peace.  When I was in high school, they helped fund Interact Club service projects and humanitarian trips.  It was also the organization that sent my sister to Germany to study and foster intercultural understanding.

I had always wanted to contribute and “pay it forward” as a member of Rotary.  However from what I had observed, the generous members tended to be business owners of greater financial means.  Then a close friend of mine mentioned that there was a new evolution of the organization.  Clubs that tailored to a younger group of working professionals, with fresh and innovative ideas.  This was exactly the kind of group that I had been looking for.

Last night, I visited the Rotary Club of La Jolla New Generations to see what they were all about.  As with the other clubs I had seen, it was full of kind and motivated people who were very welcoming.  They discussed business and shared what they had been blessed with in their lives.  There was a very helpful and humorous guest speaker that we all enjoyed.  Afterward I stayed to check out the Service Committee meeting, since serving the community is my primary goal.  There was a huge list of possible and in-progress activities that benefited not only our immediate area, but people internationally as well.

I look forward to the next meeting and getting more involved!

Full Time Reservist…or Student?

It’s been a month since my Navy Reserve orientation and there is still a lot that is up in the air.

I had to make the decision whether to pursue a full time position as an IT and take the remainder of my college courses as I was able to, or to just be a “weekend warrior” and use my GI Bill money to go to school full time.  With the second option I would try and switch to a different job and go back into the military full time as an officer after obtaining my degree.

After going back and forth with the decision, I finally determined that I would register for a full schedule of classes and knock my degree out.

The next day, I went to speak to the career counselor at COMTHIRDFLT (my reserve unit) to see about putting in a conversion package for a new intelligence job.  But when I went over there, I was snagged up by a petty officer in my division who introduced me to a lot of key senior enlisted members.  Apparently, they are lacking IT watchstanders and are very interested in acquiring another full time reservist.  So they took my information and said that they would see what could be done.

I hadn’t heard anything in a couple weeks and am not in a position to rely on hopes and dreams.  So I have been setting up all of my college courses and proceeding as if I wasn’t going to get the full time position.

Today I checked in with COMTHIRDFLT and they told me that they had in fact highly recommended me for a six-month to 1-year position, but the request hadn’t come back yet.

So I’m in the same boat.  Leaving it to fate.  Even if I don’t get the full time position, I still have my education plan backing me up.

That’s the update!  Hopefully I’ll know more before the fall semester starts.

Father’s Day on the USS Midway

I always knew we’d end up behind bars!

Since my sister and I were out of the country, we decided to celebrate Father’s Day a little late this year.

We wanted to take our dad to the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum in San Diego.  Neither my father or sister had ever been on a naval ship, so I was pretty excited to take them aboard and show them a little bit about what ship life was like.

My mom joined us and we set out to not only spend a beautiful day together, but also to spend time just being ourselves.  We saw all of the exhibits and walked on the flight deck to check out the restored aircraft.

After seeing and learning about the ship and naval history, my family enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner.  We all had such a great time!  I would consider Father’s Day a huge success this year.

Check out our gallery from the USS Midway!

Taking Tokyo by Storm

I recently had the opportunity to visit a good friend of mine who is stationed in Japan.

Previously most of my traveling had been in the European and Middle Eastern regions, so I was really looking forward to experiencing an entirely different culture.  I found an awesome deal on a flight to Tokyo and began my adventure to the other side of the world!

The first day my friend Clay and I took a bus ride up to Mt. Fuji.  We were lucky enough to be able to see it’s peak before being covered in a dense fog.  What was unfortunate was that we were two weeks too early for the climbing season. So close!! I suppose I’ll just have to go back

On the way back we took a boat ride on Lake Ashi.  It was a short ride, but the scenery was absolutely beautiful.  After that we took a cable car up Mt. Komagatake for a “view” of the valley and surrounding areas.  Unfortunately, by the end of our cable ride we were completely surrounded by fog and could barely see 10 feet ahead of us!  We had fun though, exploring the mists to find excitement before catching the bullet train back to the city.

The next day we set off to explore Shibuya and see the busiest intersection in the world.  This area was basically what I imagined the flashy, bright lights of Tokyo would look like.  We also checked out the Ueno Zoo and later Tokyo Tower, where we were able to get some great night photos of Roppongi.

On the final full day of my trip, Clay and I set out with the mission of finding the Great Buddha.  Due to a series of navigation mishaps, we spent hours on trains going in a lot of wrong directions.  But we didn’t give up!  Eventually we did make it to the wonderful town of Hase.  Hase was a very traditionally authentic-looking area.  The houses were close together and the main street was lined with shops that contained items that weren’t just “souvenir” quality.  We decided to ride through the town on a cart pulled by a very animated man named Yoshi.  The lively gentleman would stop the cart to take a photo of us or to point out anti-ninja fencing and tell us a little about Japanese history.  Soon he took us to the Great Buddha and our mission was accomplished!

As a bonus we were also able to investigate the Hase-Dera Temple on the way back to the train station.  The temple was beautiful!  The shrines and statues were very interesting and definitely made me want to learn more about their religious culture to fine out what everything represented.

All in all, my trip was fantastic.  I had great company and there was so much that I was able to experience and see.  The Japanese are a very kind and respectful people.  I look forward to possibly traveling to other countries in that region in the future.

Check out photos from my Tokyo trip!

One Journey Ends, A Future Begins

I can’t believe that it has already been a year.

My little sister finally came home from her exchange in Germany.  She left to go overseas without having ever been away from home before, and without knowing much of the language.  She came back more independent and very knowledgeable on German culture and dialect.

I’m very proud of how she decided to face the world on her own.  That she decided that there was more than just the ordinary.  I’m thankful for all the friends she met and the places she got to see.  It really changes a person.  It adds a certain knowledge that can only be acquired through choosing the unknown.  I can tell how much more grown up she has become…how much more prepared for whatever will come next.

I look forward to seeing what future adventures are in store for my sister.  I’m glad to have my best friend back.