America. Land of the free. Home of the brave. And lots of bacon.

Maybe it was the 9 month "sabbatical" I took only 6 months into my service. Maybe it was the 18 countries I visited, or 33 beds I occupied within a 3 month period, but I felt pretty prepared to tackle this foreign land of "AMERICA."

Culture shock?

BRING IT ON.

Until mom sent me to the grocery store unaccompanied.

Looking for "normal" bacon.

Whatever that is.

In fact, I'm still not sure.

Cause you know what?

America has A LOT of bacon.

Hickory smoked

Sugar cured

Thick cut

Turkey

TWO CASES.

Of bacon.

Really????

"Honey, do you need help?" Says the unsuspecting supermarket attendee.

YES. What am I doing here? I forgot what I was looking for. I'm blinded… by BACON.

I lasted about a week before I was planning the next adventure. I promised myself I would take July "off." I'd seen the world.

Fallen in love with a country (Bulgaria… lipsvate mi).

Romanced my sojourner tendencies. And returned home. And found it horribly overwhelming. So I found a way to pack my bags again, and did just that.

On Friday, I took another leap of faith. You say, "already?" I say, "it's been awhile."

Too long, actually.

So I moved to Baltimore. Sans job. "Baltimore? But WHY?"

I'll tell you why.

God is moving here.

I don't know how or why or what I expect to do here, but I have faith that God will provide, and that He'll do big things through these two calloused hands of mine. And I can't wait to see how he does so. It's been my dream to live in the city and serve God here. To experience life and love on people and exist in "the gutter" in a way that's new and exciting and raw and deliberate.

So here I am. Waiting to hear back on a full-time opportunity to serve God in this city. To love and be loved. To build community. To grow and mature. Radically.