Wow. A post on Nick's blog! I know you are all dying to read this new post. "Where has Nick been?" you might ask since my last post was in August, "Has he decided to move to the middle of nowhere and remove himself from the internet?" No. "Has he gone on a trip into outer space to see what it is really like?" No. "Has he forgotten he has a blog?" Yes, I pretty much just forgot that I had this blog. I normally don't have much to say anyways, so posts are sporadic at best! 

So what spurs this new post after a couple months? Why now? 

Well you might know that I am leaving in a few days, Thursday the 3rd of January to be exact. I am beginning a new adventure, one that will undoubtedly change my life. Since I'm sure you all want to hear about my life, I'll sum up the past year, but mostly the past couple months. If you don't want to hear about the past and just about the future then scroll down until you hit the giant text that says "THE FUTURE!". 

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING SECTION MAY BE A BIT RANDOM. 

I graduated from High School this past school year, but decided to take a gap year. So for the 2012-2013 school year I am doing little more than traveling the world, taking photos and making movies, and hanging out with friends. Sound fun? Well you'll have to read about that in "THE FUTURE!" section. The past few months have been a whirlwind. Full of college applications, tests, working around our ranch, taking photos, hanging out with friends, enjoying my family, and celebrating the Christmas season. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and I love the holiday cheer, the friendship, the lights, the food, the cold (to some extent). It's hard to say why, but I just love it! 

(This song does a pretty decent job summing up the feeling I have about Christmas)

Aaaand one more. I just love Curt Smith's "This is Christmas". So different, yet undoubtedly filled with holiday spirit!

Ok. Enough about Christmas, though you're all dying to know what I got I am sure. My aunt and uncle gave me a great and useful gift that will be used very soon, sunscreen! (You'll find out why in the "THE FUTURE!" section. Am I hyping it up enough?) My parents gave me a joint Christmas/Birthday/Graduation gift which was an external flash for my camera! Yay! 

I also bought a new lens for my camera, a 70-200 f4 with IS! I'm proud to finally own an L-series lens! 

Both of these things came in super handy this past Saturday when I was the second shooter for a friend's wedding. Congrats Dani and Sean! Interesting note, I'd met his family through debate before realizing it was his family. Then I show up to the wedding and was all "Whaaa? Whoah." neat little connection. I'd post some photos from the wedding but I don't have any done yet. So you'll have to check my Facebook page for those at some point.

On Friday night there was a murder at our house! Ok so no one died, and it was just a murder mystery party, but it was super fun and I got to wear a tux. Score! My dad did an AMAZING job on this, and he pretty much did it by himself and even though my mom was recovering from surgery she made a great dinner! Talk about great parents! 

This was a Going Away/Graduation/Birthday party apparently, thanks to everyone who came! (Oh, and we were supposed to look scared in this photo, instead we just had interesting facial expressions....)

For Christmas we had our traditional birthday party for Jesus complete with musical chairs, cupcakes, a piñata (that I held while the kids hit it with a Maasai war club) and my uncle's family. And for Thanksgiving we now have a new tradition! Have Thanksgiving the Sunday before with our extended family so they can go to wherever they need to for Thanksgiving, then just watch the football games and have Hors d'œuvre and leftovers on the day of!

Aaaand I forgot, I had surgery on my wrist. So I know have a purple line about an inch long running across it. I just wish I had some amazing story like, "I ripped it up while rafting down the Nile in Jinja. We flipped over going through a class 5 waterfall and I had to grab the boat with one hand and pull us to safety, tearing my wrist in the process!" Yeah. We did have a great time whitewater rafting on the Nile, but nothing like that story. Stupid cyst. 

Hm. I ran backwards through this time, weird. 

In other exciting news, I SURVIVED THE END OF THE WORLD! (and if you are reading this, so did you). Take that you Mayans! 

Well that's probably enough from me about the past, what about,
THE FUTURE!!!

Well on Thursday the 3rd I am leaving California for Hawaii! (Tough life, right?) I will be going over for a Discipleship Training School (DTS) that Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has on documentary filmmaking! It involves three months of training in Kona, and then three months traveling around the world putting what I've learned into practice. It is going to be loads of fun! Check out the promo video they have! 

Once I get back in late June, I will be working around our ranch until I leave for college sometime in August. Don't ask me where I'm going, I don't know yet, but it'll most likely be either Azusa Pacific University or Point Loma Nazarene University. 

It is going to be a SUPER busy year for me! I'd love to have your prayers as I go about this next phase of my life, that God would show me the plans he has for me, which college to go to, and what to get a degree in. All areas that I have a feeling, but prayer that God would make it clear would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks to all of my family and friends, I love you all!

In Christ,
Nick
The Towheaded Rambler

Wow, been a while since I posted on here. Since it's been so long I think an update on both what I've been doing and where I am going from here is in order. 

Our family arrives back in California on November 4th, actually only four of us do, the other six will arrive on the 5th. Once in the US our family is there to stay! Sort of. 

In January (I'm super excited to announce this) I'll be going to a six month Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Discipleship Training School (DTS) called "Voice for the Voiceless". The focus of this school is documentary filmmaking and showing the plight of those who otherwise wouldn't be heard. 

Three months are spent in Kona (really tough, I know) and the other three months are spent putting everything I've learned to use. I'm really excited to see what this has in store for me and all the possibilities for God's work. 

I'll get back in late June, but then it's off to college that fall for me! Still praying on where the Lord would have me go, but I know it's all in His hand. 

Enough of the future, what have I been up to? 

Other than helping out at Agape with work projects, loving the kids, and Saturday morning bible study and activities, I am also tutoring some of the kids from a local international school. The most recent "trip" I went on was down to Agape's Farm, the vocational training center. 

It teaches three different professions: carpentry, masonry, and mechanics, in addition to farming skills. 

Plus it's right on the shore of Lake Victoria and has amazing sunsets. 


In addition to all of that, I've been working on a promotional video for an organization based outside of Kisumu. It's a great ministry with lots of different areas it works in. I'll be sure and post the finished video when it's ready.

Overall it's going well here and I am thankful for all that I have, seen and learned. 

In Christ,
Nick