Another year gone by....

This is the time of year that I become very sentimental. I am heading back to StL this coming weekend and am very much looking forward to seeing or talking to as many people as possible. Its been an eventful year. I have seen and done many things. As I look back over the years, I would never have imagined living the life that I live right now. Last year I posted "A year of Firsts" (see myspace). I thought now as good as a time as any for another list of adventures.

- Finished my trip around the world by flying from StL to San Diego. I had flown from Norfolk to Azores to Naples to Souda Bay, Greece to Bahrain, to Diego Garcia, to Singapore, to Tokyo, to LA. This completed the circle.
- Learned to control helos on and off the flight deck. Very Challenging.
- Worked with Night Stallions, helos that fly our special forces in and out of battle in the dead of night with no lights.
- Got my first apartment by myself...and furnished it completely. I had my seabag and about 12 boxes...no furniture.
- Traveled to Guam
- Traveled to Philippines to meet the ship.
- Attempted Humanitarian Aid off the coast of Burma (Actually we did circles for a month waiting to do nothing)
- Traveled to Thailand (Payetta and Bangkok) Missed all the protests though.
- Completed a Hull Swap. The USS JUNEAU swapped out with the USS DENVER. I am now on the USS DENVER and the USS JUNEAU was decommissioned on Oct 30, 2008.
- Traveled to Tokyo for five days and had a vacation with Tony on his way through.
- Climbed Mt. Fuji. Eight hours of agony. Old saying goes "He who climbs Mt. Fuji once is wise, to climb it twice is to be a fool." Something I will take to heart.
- Traveled to the Philippines again (We go there as much as we do Okinawa).
- Saw a live Amphibious exercise of an amphibious attack off the coast of South Korea. There were AAV's, C-130's dropping things out of the sky, helos, explosions, F/A 18 flybys. It was awesome.
- Traveled to Hong Kong. Did lots of shopping.

God has truly blessed my life. I have great friends at home and am having great adventures abroad. Live life with no regrets. The more I learn to follow Jesus the more I realize just how blessed I am. Looking forward to seeing everyone when I come home for a while. I have missed you all.

Hong Kong

This is one of the main reasons that I jumped at the chance to join the Navy. To travel the world and see places I would not normally see. We just finished a long needed liberty port visit to the great island of Hong Kong. We were anchored in the harbor and had a great view of the city. The view was even better at night if that is possible. This is the Wall Street of China only its an entire island. We took a water taxi to the pier in the heart of the city and from there went to our 5 star hotel on the Kowloon side. In order to get there we had to take another ferry. We stayed at the Royal Plaza Hotel. It also happened to be attached to a shopping mall. We hit the mall for lunch (I had a traditional chinese noodle/meatball soup). Then downtown for shopping. We hit the Opal Mine because I had some special shopping to do. Then we hit a Irish Pub for some beers and enjoyed the rest of the evening wandering downtown. We headed back a bit early because we were all exhausted. We got breakfast the next morning by room service. Then we hit the Bird Market and the Flower Market. Off to Ladies Market and did more shopping. I got a great painting of Hong Kong harbor. We had to get back to the ship because we had to attend a reception on the USS ESSEX in dress blues. Then out on the town again to the club district. We hit a few bars, including the "ice bar" where they serve vodka shots in a freezer that you take pictures in. It was pretty cool. It was one of the best ports that we have hit in quite some time. Again a great time with great people.

My Job

We were in the Philippines last week on liberty. It is not the best liberty port I have ever been to, but it does its job. We get a massage and get good food. We go out and enjoy the SMBA compound. I have never quite figured out why the Navy left the Philippines. We still spend as much time there as any other place. In fact in many ways the place has never changed. The whole infrastructure is still there as well as the fences. Its still a different world from the rest of the area. But the thing I noticed more than anything happened on my way back to the ship on the first night. I looked at the old girl USS DENVER and I realized that I have a very unique job. I actually travel around on a warship. Who does that really? I mean there are of course the merchant sailors and such, but I get to travel the world on an amphibious platform dock. My ship lands marines on beaches, acts a lily pad for marine helicopters, and does everything in reverse when we leave. It is one of the most unique things I have ever seen. Just like when I went to Diego Garcia and it took a while for me to really come to terms with the fact that I lived on a tropical island paradise in the middle of the Indian Ocean and get paid for it, this is much the same. I get to do some pretty awesome stuff. I live and work on a warship in the United States Navy. Totally cool. I know there are people with more awesome jobs than me. But I enjoy mine just the same.

A Reflection

Two days in a row, must be a record. I am feeling very reflective tonight and thought I would share my thoughts.

There were many times in my life when I used to be the person that everyone looked up to. I am not so sure of that anymore. I think as I have gotten older, I have realized how many of them are the ones that I look up to. There was a story told to me once that went something like this..."Tommy wanted to be like Harry, who wanted to be like Tim, who wanted to be like Sam, who wanted to be like Jim, who wanted to be like Fred, who wanted to be like Mike, who wanted to be like Tommy." Funny how that works sometimes. I want to be like Jesus. I am nowhere close and failing miserably. I'm not even in the same stadium.

I am Bible College educated, ministry experienced and I am no example to anyone. This is not me feeling sorry for myself, so don't take this as that. I want to make sure that I am not trying to put on some self-imposed false humility. I have this committment posted next to my bed. And I have decided that it is something that I want to live by. I am not even close. But every night before I go to sleep I write it down in my journal. Maybe someday my banner will be clear enough for Christ to recognize what I could become. For only he knows. I am not unhappy with my life. I have no regrets about doing what I do. I am simply not there yet. And God help me, if I ever think I have arrived.

May God bless you and keep you, all my friends. For He knows how much of a blessing you have been in my life as I try to emulate your image of Christ in my own daily life.

Big Blue

We have been underway now for about 3 weeks. We still have some time to go before we get to head home. While I have only been here since February, I have definitely spent more time at sea than I have spent on land. The sea is something that affects each person in a different way. When you look outside and see nothing but water in all directions, it can be very overwhelming.

For many the sea is a dreadful overpowering force. It makes one feel so small and insignificant to think about the power of water and how we have no control over where it goes or what it does. Its been known to swallow whole civilizations in a single night and yet leave something unscathed. Almost like tornadoes that I grew up with only on a much bigger scale. It has been known to drive many to a cabin fever like attitude. Being stuck on a ship with only the people you left with for 3 months and no land can drive many people mad. Believe me, I have seen many sailors have nervous breakdowns apart from family and no place of their own to hide.

For me however, the sea has a very calming affect. I am less afraid of being at sea than I am of flying in an airplane across the oceans. There is a rhythm and routine about life at sea. God is very kind in knowing that I love when life finds that rhythm. There is a scene in the movie "Shawshank Redemption" talking about the Pacific ocean. Tim Robbin's character says, "The pacific ocean has no memory." There are so many spiritual things that could come out of that statement. God says he will cast my sins as far as the east is from the west and remember them no more. The pacific ocean is so vast that you will never look at the same water twice. I find that to be truely beautiful. Every day is a new adventure when on the open ocean, as you are always finding new territory to explore. God is truly great in all his creation is He not? Some day I hope to see it all.

Hays Gray and Underway

Well there is one big fundamental difference between being on the JUNEAU and being on the DENVER. The DENVER rocks a whole lot more than the JUNEAU and yet I have been less sea sick. Its that time of year again. Off on Fall Patrol and doing what we do best...getting Marines to where they need to go. Its been a busy deployment so far. We have been doing AAV (amphibious assault vehicles for you non navy types) ops and recovering LCU's and LCAC's. I got to send a few of my guys out on the AAV's the other day and they had an absolute blast. They deserve it. They work long hours and get little thanks, like anyone else in a food service profession. We spent a few days in Okinawa getting loaded up and playing a round of golf. Unfortunately I didn't get to finish my whole game. My group was so slow we actually got yanked with two holes left to go. It was a good time though. My good friends sent me a care package the other day. It was perfect timing. They sent books and candy and some toiletries from the States. All things that are dearly missed. It made the whole deployment. We were able to celebrate some of my guys birthdays with some brownies and cake. Its not very often they get to do something that is just them. Its been a great beginning. I'm sure it will only get better.

Conquering the Mountain

My day began with a duty day...I got on watch at 2200 and got off at midnight to go pack. I packed what I thought I would need...a little food, water, extra socks, MP3 player. I set out into the night to catch a 0130 bus to the highest point in Japan. I was joined by about 25 others, all of whom had one mission...the conquer Mt. Fuji and live to tell the tale. I managed a little sleep on the way there and was quite groggy when we arrived at the fifth station (2200 M). There we bought our walking stick...part souvenir part helper/lifesaver. This piece of wood would come in handy many times along the journey.

I begin my climb with the Chief Engineer. He is greatful for my slowness as we manage the mountain as at each rest stop he gets to rest a little longer as I come up behind him and I am thankful that I have someone to enjoy the climb with. Each station brings with it cooler air, thinner oxygen and more wood burnt stamps for our sticks that get more expensive as we climb. Each station also brings with it a need for a little more motivation and a realization that I feel my feet a little less. We are supposed to reach the original eighth station by 1100. We manage to reach the Fujisan hotel at 0930...we are ahead of schedule. This is encouraging...so I thought. We start the next portion of our climb and I think I see the top. I am motivated to keep going thinking I just had a little more to go. We finally reach the shrine at what I think is the top only to have the wind knocked out of me.

I look up just as the clouds are clearing and realize that I still have about 150 meters to go. Not only that but its almost straight up. I almost quit. I was very close to calling it a day and heading back down the mountain. If I hadn't already been climbing for 5 hours I might have. But we pressed on. It was the worst and almost most painful part of the whole climb. By this time all you think about is getting to the top so you can go down. When you are that close, its all that matters. Get up so you can sit down and then come down. It took another hour, but both me and the CHENG made it to the top, with no apparent injuries. We stopped and took it all in. We had made it. We ate some well needed lunch and took some pictures of the crater (Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano after all). Then we started the long and painful journey down the mountain.

As much as the climb up took all kinds of endurance and will, the trip down just took endurance of pain. There was no climbing down rocks, just back and forth down very steep and very loose gravel. This is where the walking stick became a lifesaver, mainly for my rear end and my face. It kept me from falling many times. It took only 4 hours to come down compared to 6 hours to climb up. We had to stop several times just to give my poor knees a rest, but we made it. At 1530...approximately 10 hours after we started, we made our way back to the bus. We had conquered THE MOUNTAIN. I had stood on the highest point in all Japan and lived to tell the tale...not that it was all that unusual.

An old wise man once said, "He who climbs Mt. Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool." That is very true, I have done it and will never do it a second time.

A great game

I don't know about anyone else, but I absolutely love the game of pool. We are hanging in Yokosuka for the next few weeks and last night was my first night on the town. We had some awesome sushi and went to a little hole in the wall bar for a few drinks. Then we made our way to the Country Bar on the main strip. In the middle of that bar was an awesome pool table. Only awesome because I played some of the best pool of my life last night. The only problem is that when you start playing good pool you end up having too much to drink. Which of course the case last night but I had an awesome time.

A good game of pool is all about the perfect angle, the perfect speed, and in my case a lot of luck. Of course thankfully none of us have to worry about doing any of that with our relationship with God. Its all about us having the wrong angle, the wrong ideas and no luck whatsoever, followed by Christ's perfect love. Not exactly what I set out to write but it could be said. If my relationship with the Father depended on my abilities then I, more than most, would fall far short. I am eternally thankful that it is of no cause of mine that I can approach the throneroom at all.

Adventures in Tokyo

I will apologize for this up front as this might be a tad long but I hope well worth the read. This past weekend, I spent it hanging in Tokyo with my friend Tony. He was on his way home from Diego Garcia and decided to stop for a few days. My adventure starts at 0600 last Friday morning as I take the TRAIN 8 hours up to Yokota Air Base, which is right outside Tokyo. This may not have been too much adventure except I had to switch trains 5 times and I'm in a country where sometimes things are hard to read. Thankfully I have my full directions written out to know exactly which train I need to get on. I took a bullet train for the first time. This train moves among the mountains at 120 miles per hour. And it still took 6 hours to get to Tokyo. A baseball team and families joined on my second stop making my trip less than quiet. But it wasn't that bad. Only when I got to Fussa City (which is actually where Yokota Air Base is located), did I realize that I forgot my military ID. This is a big problem as you can't get on a military base without a military ID. I did have my passport but it was little help until Tony flew in some 4 hours later. So I wandered around downtown Fussa for that time waiting for Tony's plane (which was late) got in. I would of course have received the coveted "Butthead" award for my little issue. Who goes to a military base without a military ID?

The following day was extremely uneventful. We basically lounged around the room and watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. We managed to get to the BX and eat some lunch. The highlight of the day would be we went to eat at Kobe Steak. Supposedly this is the best steak in Japan. It was in fact one of the best steaks that I have ever had, though way too expensive. No steak the size of my fist is worth $80. But you can say you had it and its all about experience.

The next day we decided to venture into Tokyo for the day. This involved a sort of plan. We knew we wanted to see the Tokyo National Museum and the Sony Building. So I mapped the trains that we had to take and we were off. The train rides alone took almost two hours. That made enjoying the sights somewhat less than satisfying. The Tokyo National Museum was pretty much a wash. If it had been less crowded it may have been more enjoyable. We walked around the tourist park and that was nice. Then we headed to the Sony building. First we got on the wrong train. So we got off and then took a taxi. This put us right smack in the middle of Tokyo's version of Times Square. It was pretty awesome. The Sony Building was exciting for Tony as he is a big Techie. I was happy because he was happy but otherwise not very interested. We ate at some random noodle and dumpling restaurant. It was pretty good. I had fried rice and dumplings. He had some noodle dish with spicy soup. We did some shopping and then got back on the train headed back to the hotel. Needless to say, such a long train ride there, all kinds of walking, and a long train ride back, we were both extremely exhausted. We watched some Olympics and went to bed.

We thought about trying to play golf the next day, but it was not to be. We both just wanted to not do much. We decided to venture out and go to the shopping mall near the train station. We did some shopping and thought we could enjoy some Sushi. We are in Japan, a sushi restaurant should not be hard to find. Well in Fussa City, there are no Sushi restaurants. We know because we walked about 3 miles around in a big circle (getting partly lost) and never found one. We ended up eating at the local sandwich shop on base, which wasn't bad. Another day gone and not too much but relaxing (both our jobs are somewhat demanding so some time off is exactly what we needed)

The day we were both supposed to leave was the biggest adventure. I get a phone call the night before to find out that I had NOT forgotten my ID. In fact, I had actually dropped it at the Sasebo Train Station and it had been turned into security. I am glad that I found out then, because I would have been hysterical if I had known sooner. Thankfully it would be waiting for me when I got back later that night. Tony on the other hand had a different problem. His plane was due to leave at 1130 and shuttles didn't start until 9 to the Airport which was a 3 hour ride. So we thought about a Taxi. Well a taxi would have been 40,000 yen ($400). That was out of the question. So we had to take the train. Only we didn't have a clue what trains we needed to take. So we got on the train to Tokyo and hoped that we would cut the taxi fare there or find the correct train. We got on the train at 0800. The train finally arrived at Tokyo at 0915. We were working our way to the taxi when we saw the Express train to Narita Airport. This is where I left Tony. I was nervous about him finding his way there but he assured me that he would. Unfortunately he got to the airport at 1130 (when he was supposed to be on the train). He got another flight however and is now safe and sound at home in the States.

Me I got to do the whole trip in reverse and hang out at the bullet train station for three hours. My train didn't leave until 1430. Nothing interesting except that the train back to Sasebo got lost or something and we were about a half hour late. I got my ID from security and made it home just in time to go to bed and go to work the next morning.

Ok....so not the most exciting adventure but a much needed vacation just before I go underway for a long while. It was an awesome time with awesome company. We didn't do a whole lot, but it was well worth the time to get there and get back. I believe the sentiment is mutual. Adventures are about what you make of them and mine was pretty much what I wanted.

Duty Blues

As of right now we are in 4 section duty. For those unfamiliar with the military, that means that right now every 4 days I have to stay on the ship for the night. Its not usually that bad and today is no different. I stand watch tonight on the quarterdeck from 2200-0300. That's my favorite watch so I am not upset about the lack of sleep.

What makes today a bluesy day is that for some reason, we can put out one of the best meals all week at lunch and then put out one of the worst meals all month for dinner. I didn't recieve one positive meal evaluation. What makes me even a little more miffed is that my watch captain signed all the meal evals without a single explanation as to why it was so bad and left before I had a chance to question him about it. I'll take care of that in the morning. I don't have to turn in those meal evals until then and he will give me a quality explanation on paper as to why it was horrible.

Life is not very exciting on a duty day, especially when we are not getting ready to go anywhere. We don't leave for a little while so things are pretty routine. I do get to take some very anticipated leave in about 8 days. Hoping to climb Mt. Fuji and spend some quality time with a friend that is coming to visit. I can't wait. Just long enough to recharge my batteries for our very long underway coming up next month.

Missing Friends

You know as much as I love having Facebook and Myspace, it has actually made me homesick the last few days. I don't usually get homesick. However, in the last few months many of my good friends and many people that I grew up with have gone and gotten married and I have been forced to miss it. I hate missing these events. It has made me feel as though I am missing out on great things. I may be serving this great country and I may be traveling the world, doing things most people only dream of doing, but its the things at home that may some of the greatest of all.

Don't think that I am wanting to get married any time soon or move on to another line of work, but sometimes I do miss being near friends and family. Facebook has brought me back in touch with many people and being over here I can't do anything but have wall to wall conversations. That's not in the cards right now. I love what I do, but sometimes I just wish I could go home.

2 Timothy 4.7: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

If I can live my life and at the end be able to say this with confidence, it is a life well-lived. May God bless us all with that privilege.

A Fresh Start

Since I am living overseas and have sometimes limited access to both my facebook and my hotmail, I thought this would be a great way for everyone to keep up with me and hear about my adventures around the world. The Navy has taught me valuable lessons most everyday that I have been in. I hope many of you will join me and see the world through my eyes.