garrison's travels

The Great Wall of China

2011-08-02T02:19:00.001-04:00

Day two in Beijing began very early as we were planning on going to the Great Wall in a location called Mutianyu which was a bit further out than the popular tourist location. Emily had looked into the best and cheapest way to get out there which we followed. 1) Walk to the subway station, 2) take the metro to the bus station, 3) take a public bus north to Huairou, 4) find an independent driver to hire for the day, 5) haggle for a good price and get there as early as possible, 6) spend 3-4 hours at the Great Wall and work your way back to Beijing via driver and bus.

And things actually worked according to plan...including McDonalds for breakfast. Plus we met a girl (Hilary) from Taiwan who was on the bus actually heading to the same place as us planning on hiring a driver in Huairou, so we decided to combine our efforts, use her Chinese haggling skills and split the cost four ways instead of three. Everything worked great and we found a driver for a decent price. According to my sister he was kind of annoying and rude though I couldn't tell we he was going on about. All I really remember is sitting in the front praying that he would stop turning around to talk to the ladies because everytime he opened his mouth I almost puked from the putrid smell coming out. Oh, it was bad.

We started getting higher in elevation and I could notice we were getting into real mountain country. The Wall finally became visible and shortly after we arrived in the parking lot where all the festivities were going on. Vendors galore, everything ultra expensive. For a long time I had it in my mind that I wanted to hike from the base up to the actual Wall itself. I didn't want any ski lift or gondola thing to take me up. But our driver kept telling me that I definitely did not want to do that, that it would be too difficult for me, that the roads were washed out...really I think he had a partnership with ski lift people and wanted to give them our sales. In the end, I decided to go with all the ladies and take the lift up which really was a lot of fun. And ultimately it gave me the opportunity to hike the great length of the Wall that I did.

We wandered around and took pictures for a little bit. Then we started to head west on the wall until we reached a bit of climb and Mom decided that was as far as she was going to go. So Emily, Hilary and I pressed forward up a pretty steep climb which led to some gorgeous views in both directions. The steps were pretty small, almost like half a step...they had been redone and restored as it was a heavily trafficked tourist area. Once we reached the top we could see the steep climb that was about a quarter of a mile ahead and it looked treacherous. But my mind was made up. I had about an hour and a half and I was determined to go as far as possible. So I said goodbye to Hilary and Emily for the moment and ventured on.

Best decision of the trip. What came next were probably my favorite moments of my entire summer thus far. First of all, let me just say that the Great Wall is the most incredible structure I have ever seen or stepped foot on. The Sydney Opera House is a close second, but the Great Wall seems to be in a league of its own in just the vast size and the time period it was built within the wild intensity of its location in the mountains. Breath taking when you really think about it. Now unfortunately there was a haze over the mountains that kept me from seeing long distances but as I continued on and got higher and higher I had an incredible vantage of the Wall in its enormity. It is a massive and treacherous structure.

I came to a spot (which was my favorite spot on the Wall) that twisted around and had two humps in the middle of the curvature. Really beautiful part of the Wall in my opinion. I sat down just to soak it all in and jot down a few sentences in my journal. Just the day before I did the same thing just before we left the Forbidden City. As the sun performed a golden glow on the Palace I just sat and soaked it in. Incredible to think of the places I have been blessed to see and experience.

As I was sitting on the Great Wall of China I just sat and listened. I was pretty far away from the buzz of the tourist traffic and only one group passed me, gleefully chatting with one another in French. I peered to my right where the ridge of the mountain continued to climb into the West, the Wall following its jagged ridge. I could smell the white flowers blooming from the quiet trees behind me. As I sat there on the Wall my life began to slow down and I was able to listen. To hear the noise inside my head. To clear out the confusion from between my ears and wipe everything clean. And God met me there, on the Great Wall of China. I felt His calling on my life, a reassurance of my identity in Him alone. I was a small speck sitting on a dot which sat on a tiny piece of this universe. Yet, as small as I am I felt giant. That feeling is the greatest single feeling I have ever known. To be sitting on such a grand structure knowing I am far Greater because of He who lives within me.

So I hurried on and finally reached the path which held a series of what looked like a thousand stairs...and these were big and steep stairs. But I was determined and motivated by time and quickly scurried up the stairway. But to my surprise I found that the Wall continued to sky upwards as I finished the first level. But I had come too far to just stop at this point so I carried on. And eventually I was pretty much all alone and the Wall was back in its original and untouched form. Gorgeous, it really was. And I was so high up I could see all the distance I had come. It was phenomenal. The air was clearer and cooler and I felt like I had tackled the largest obstacle I had ever faced. Truly a great feeling of accomplishment. There was a Chinese guy up there with me who kept asking me to take pictures of him and then wanted to take pictures of me which was pretty funny. At the very top there was a couple selling some nic nacs and at this lady offered me this accomplishment medal thing for 180 Yuan which I was able to barter down to 20! And they engraved it for me and everything...pretty sweet.

From there I sped back and met up with the ladies. And we jumped on these little sled car toboggan things which were awesome and before we knew it we were back in the smelly guys car. Once back in Beijing Emily took us to this pizza place called the Tube Station which made us the largest pizza I have ever seen in my life...for only $18! It was a great day.

Here is the Great Wall video:

Much love to all.

-b garrison

Beijing: the Forbidden City

2011-08-01T01:09:00.000-04:00

Well. Time continues to fly a million miles an hour...and I have some catching up to do.

It was over a month ago now that Emily, Mom and I arrived in Beijing and jumped into a taxi headed for the Hutongs. But I remember it as clear as any other portion of the trip. Our goal the first day was to get into the Forbidden City before it closed...anything after that would be bonus. So I will say that we had quite the successful day in Beijing, despite some serious heat and the intense shine of the sun through the layer of pollution.

We arrived in the Hutongs at our hostel and took some time to get settled in and eat lunch. From there we hurried to the subway and made our way to the city center where Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are located. The metro was absolutely packed...it seemed that we hit some sort of traffic at just the right moment; kids going to or from school, people going home from work, or perhaps it was just normal Beijing. Either way, we arrived at the city center and walked outside to see the entrance to the Forbidden City on our right and Tiananmen Square on our left. Absolutely mind blowing at first sight...to think of ALL the history in this specific area was incredible.

There was quite the crowd, but it wasn't too bad. It was pretty hot that day, I can remember forgetting to bring a water bottle and being too stubborn to pay for water...and I regretted that decision later as my lips felt like sandpaper and my throat as dry as cardboard. The sun was out but it was hard to tell with the polluted haze overhead. It was somewhat of a searing heat.

We walked through a couple different levels of walls before entering the actual City, but when we did it blew me away. There was a phenomenal size and grandeur to the place. I felt like I was in Mulan where the Huns attack the city filled with people. The beauty and architectural glory of the Forbidden City is truly remarkable. I was loving it. One could certainly get lost just exploring the place and could take literally all day to do it...and you still would run out of time. There were all sorts of side alleys and maze like areas to discover off the main areas. The gardens were also very lovely to the rear of the Palace. Pretty cool trees and gardening skill.

After our time in the Forbidden City we walked across the street to Tiananmen Square, which is really nothing more than that...a large square in the midst of the government building, the palace, the history museum and the rest of the city. It was nothing but paved ground...no shrubbery, no fountains, no seating, nothing to encourage any kind of gatherings I suppose. There were police everywhere and two huge screens which were showing a celebratory communist anniversary video.

For dinner we wanted to eat Peking duck and we went on quite the adventure to find this specific restaurant that we eventually found with the help of several different people and lots of walking. The duck was a good experience and it really did taste good...but thinking back to it now makes me sick. The cuts of duck were so fatty and rich, oh I think I'm going to puke just thinking about it. I ate a lot that night and regretted it later on that evening. The rest of the carcass that was not sliced finely for us was cooked in bits and parts and given to us in a bowl to gnaw on. Almost like eating fried chicken, with bones and stuff inside.

After dinner we got back on the metro and headed to the Olympic Park, the site of the 2008 Olympics. The Bird's Nest (main stadium) and Water Cube (swimming arena where Phelps broke the record) were in this area along with the basketball arena and a few other areas and the giant torch. First of all, I love the Olympics so it is always special to see an actual Olympic site. Secondly, this meant that I had been to the last four summer Olympic host cities (Atlanta, USA; Sydney, AUSTRALIA; Athens, GREECE; Beijing, CHINA) within the year which is pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

All in all it was a fantastic day. An exhausting day. But a full and enjoyable day...great way to kick off Beijing!

Here is the video of our first day:

Beijing Part 2 is coming soon. Summer is almost over, which I am actually very thankful for...while it has been good I can finally say that I am looking forward to more routine in my life. Pretty soon I will probably be begging for some unplanned adventure to occur...but until then I look to the future with eager anticipation while I press through the present.

-b garrison

Yangshuo

2011-07-11T00:59:00.006-04:00

I wanted to write very briefly about my experience in Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is a very beautiful city which sits in a lovely location surrounded by pointy mountains, flowing rivers, and thick forested jungles. These all hold outdoor adventuring opportunities like rock climbing, hiking, biking, kayaking, and white water rafting...along with the famous, more lazy bamboo boats which putt down the river.

We arrived the first day under a bit of rain. It took us a little while to find our hostel. But the rest of the day was spent exploring and discovering most of downtown Yangshuo...all the shopping that was offered. It was a pretty crazy place, not gonna lie. Vendors were everywhere trying to sell us stuff, just because we were foreigners. Literally every 5 minutes we were interrupted by someone. I spent the whole first day shopping and bartering...it was great, I really felt proud of myself. I also, took a long walk along the river which was enjoyable because it was nice and quiet for a little while, which I hadn't experienced in a few days.

Day two was the bike day. We rented a bike and a scooter and rode around the entire Yangshuo area it seemed. Following rivers and cruising through little villages and rice fields. It was awesome. That is all I can really say...it was amazing. We got lost and turned around a few times, but overall it was a really special experience and a beautiful one as well.

We rode out to a place called Moon Hill and my sister and I decided to hike up it. It was certainly a beast to climb. About 700 or so steps straight to the top. And we picked up two friends on the journey...two ladies who were trying to sell us water walked all the way to the top with us and chatted away with Emily. They were actually really funny and it was good to have their company.

Day three was the bamboo boat day. We took a bus to the northern portion of the Li River and met up with our boat driver, Mr. Xie (not sure how you spell it). In my opinion, this topped the bike. Another amazing experience. We just got to cruise (very slowly) down this muddy river on a PVC raft, basically, with high mountains all around us, and tons of Chinese people in boats around us waving and taking pictures of us. But the sheer beauty really was phenomenal! I have never experienced an outdoor beauty such as the Li River and the mountains of Yangshuo. Certainly one of the more phenomenal places I have been. And not because it is the most gorgeous per say, but because of the rawness of the experience. We were just out there in the midst of it. It's hard for me to put it into words, obviously.

After the boat we were dropped off in the village of Xingping and from there we walked back to the bus. All in all, one of my favorite days in China. Definitely.

Be sure to check out these videos as they speak to a lot of what I did not...if that makes sense.

The next update will be of Beijing and the Great Wall of China.

Tomorrow morning I am heading to the beach on the Florida panhandle...until next time. So long.

-b garrison

Back in the U.S.A!

2011-07-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

Well, hello everyone.

It has been quite the journey since I last posted and I have much to catch everyone up on...but, oh, the adventure has been incredible. God has been SO good to me and I am continually amazed as I unwrap and discover more and more of His blessings in my life.

Last I wrote I was on my way to Yangshuo with Mom and Emily. The time there was awesome...probably the coolest location of my trip. From there we went to Beijing for three days where we visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, and the Temple of Heaven. I will post later about all of that and share some great pics and videos.

After Beijing was the craziest most intense travelling segment of my life. It was CRAZY. In 51 hours I would be in 4 countries and 5 flights, and I wouldn't spend a night anywhere because of the international dateline...just on the go 24/7 except for on the airplane.

I left Beijing at 8:45 AM to fly straight to Hong Kong where I would have 12 hours to explore the city...which I was pumped about. But, apparently, there was a mega storm (aka tropical storm) going through south China and Hong Kong as we arrived over head so after circling for an hour our pilot took off for the city of Guangzhou, just an hour train from HK, so it was really close. Literally, just as we where about to touch down on the runway the pilot took off...straight up and hit the acceleration, which freaked everyone out. There was crazy turbulence and it was pretty scary. The storm was really bad there as well, so we flew another hour and a half to Guilin, the same place we had flown into to go to Yangshuo. That entire escapade took about 6 hours, instead of 3. Then, we had to wait on the tarmac for 2 hours...frustrating. Especially since I was one of the only foreigners on the plane and everyone was speaking Chinese...I had no clue what was going on. I REALLY missed Emily at that point in time.

Finally we took off for Hong Kong and arrived after circling the airport for another hour. It was a very bumpy ride, and I was just happy to land and get my feet on the ground. All in all, 10 hour trip. So my 12 hours in Hong Kong diminished rapidly...but I knew God had a reason for it all so I didn't let that get me down. And Hong Kong was AMAZING! Incredible city. I want to go back there right now.

After HK I flew to Seoul, South Korea for a 8 hour layover and went in to the city to see the 2002 World Cup stadium. I was pretty exhausted in Seoul so I didn't do as much. Then I hopped on my flight to Los Angeles which was 11 hours. But Korean Air was so lush...amazing airline to fly for a long trip. Watched four movies, ate great meals, complimentary wine...was loving it. I will post about HK and SK later and share my pics and videos from there as well.

In LA I had about an hour and a half once I got through customs. So I left the airport to find In-and-Out Burger. Unfortunately, I made the wrong turn and went down the street the wrong way and ran out of time...I was super bummed. That was probably the low light of the 51 hour journey. I had to settle for some McDonalds from the airport. Poopy. I flew from LA to Charlotte with beautiful views of the Grand Canyon. It was so nice to see REAL blue sky again and be around all English speakers. Though, it was pretty funny that I sat next to a guy from Malaysia who had flown from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong to LA just that day as well. The one Asian guy on the plane was sitting next to me...pretty funny. In Charlotte my plane got delayed a bit, but we finally took off and landed in Chattanooga in an hour, around midnight last Friday.

My buddy Joel picked me up and took me back to my new apartment in Chattanooga. I slept there that night (on the couch because I still have no bed) and slept well. The next day was the first day of my new job working with North Shore Fellowship, my church in Chattanooga, as their new youth director guy. Still don't know my actual title, but I am the full time youth guy at the church. And my first day was taking the Junior High kids to camp up at Covenant College...ironic. God really has a sense of humor. I just can't seem to get away from that place. But it was a really good week with the kids. I am really excited about my job and the next couple of years I will have to work and invest there.

That brings me to today. I am finally unpacking all my boxes and rearranging all my stuff. God has been doing in lot in my life and I look forward to discovering more of what He has for me as I try to follow Him earnestly and faithfully. And I look forward to sharing that all with you as time goes by and I enter into this new phase of my life. God is most worthy to be praised! It is ringing so clearly in my ears. I look forward to posting more about my trip shortly and sharing with you all the grand adventure God allowed me to be a part of...the longer this summer has gone by the more I have realized that His plans for me this summer were not to just discover a new culture and people and land, but really to rediscover myself and my identity in Christ. Who I am is so tightly bound into who He is...what a joyous rediscovery!

God bless!

-b garrison

On to Yangshuo!

2011-06-15T06:33:00.000-04:00

Well, this chapter of my travels is over...we are about to be on the move, spending a few days in the Guilin/Yangshuo area and another few days in Beijing. I doubt I will get online in that period so the next time I'll post will probably be in Hong Kong on the 23rd.

My time at my sister's home has been really great. I am thoroughly satisfied with my time here. We did a lot of really cool things. Ate some awesome food, met some great people, saw both city and country.

Saturday had to be my favorite day. Emily's friend Xiao Li invited us to his farm for the day. It was so good to get out of the city, away from the pollution. And it was a beautiful day too! Xiao Li's family was amazing...I loved spending time with them in their home. He showed us around his farm, we went on an awesome hike up the top of the mountain and fought through some serious thorny plants, we picked peaches (which they love to eat crunchy), we grilled a bunch of great food (and the family cooked up a bunch of great dishes for us as well), we played Dutch Blitz, spent some time watching Yang Bing and a couple others buy chickens. It was an awesome day with an awesome family.

Sunday we spent the afternoon at Jinli Street and the Tibetan area which was also a highlight. We got to go to a Tea House performance and I bought some really cool Tibetan beads.

Here are a few videos of the week:

I don't have much time so I must bid farewell for now. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers, this trip has already been life changing as my time here has begun to sink in.

Much love.
-b garrison

the Hot Pot

2011-06-14T22:24:00.000-04:00

Right now it is 7:30 in the AM. I normally wouldn't be up this early but I have been experiencing a bit of rumbling in my bowels, which I had to address a little while ago. Last night a bunch of us, me, Mom, Emily and about 14 of her friends, went out to dinner for the infamous "Hot Pot". I didn't know what to expect, just that it was good and also somewhat spicy. Now, I can handle spice, so I wasn't too concerned about that, but I kept getting hints that this could possibly destroy my stomach, so I was still a bit weary going into it.

However, I have been gung ho about pretty much everything we've eaten or that's been offered me (I've already eaten sheep brains, fermented eggs, cooked flowers, chicken parts, among other things) so I was ready to eat whatever was before me. Hot Pot is somewhat like a fondue restaurant. There were large bowls sitting in the middle of our table that were hooked up to a heater. The bowls were divided into two kinds of oil...the spicy and non-spicy. In the non-spicy were some vegetables and a raw fish soaking to create flavor and in the spicy were these red hot looking pepper things...it looked like some sort of death brew, dark red and full of ominous looking things.

People started passing around this yogurt drink and I was encouraged to take a swig. Apparently it helps line your stomach to keep the intense oil from the hot pot messing you up too bad. So it isn't necessarily the spice that gets you, it's just the richness of the oil...though the spice helps the process I'm sure.

Once the oils got hot we started putting all sorts of meats and veggies in to cook them. Beef, black chicken, little sausages and meatballs, potatoes, tofu, seaweed, sprouts, and a bunch of other things I didn't know the name of. Emily told me that I needed to eat from the spicy pot, so I did. And it was really good. Sometimes I would get a veggie that had really soaked up a lot of spice and it would be rough to the taste buds, but other than that I really loved the spicy stuff and ate from it most of the meal. Once things started rising to the top of the oil it meant that they were ready to eat. So you just reach in with your chopsticks, grab whatever it is you want, and put it in your little bowl of oil, then after letting it cool off you partake. (And, by the way, eating in China is great because everything that would be considered rude in the U.S. is perfectly normal in China...like making noise while eating, putting elbows on the table, slouching to put your mouth close to the bowl, picking off peoples plates, and reaching around others. It's so awesome!)

The Hot Pot really was delicious. I even added cow stomach and pig throat to my list. The pig throat was certainly the weirdest thing I've eaten thus far...like eating a rubber band, took me forever to get it down.

It was a good night. Met some really awesome people. I'm envious of my sister's crowd of friends...I would love being a part of that group. I finished the evening playing Ticket to Ride (if you've never played before you've got to try it!) and I won again...I won on Saturday night as well so my international record is 2-0.

But then I woke up this morning at 6 feeling that the bowels were in distress. And I ended up pooping out a completely green poop...never seen that before in my life. So I blame the Hot Pot for that, though it was pretty cool.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the city center and a Buddhist temple called Manjushri at the Wenshu Monastery. It has been so cool to see such a BIG city filled with so many temples and cultural sections. Another interesting observation is that Chinese people hate the heat...actually they really just hate the sun. They want their skin to be as light as possibly so they use umbrellas, stand in the shade, wear gloves or weird hats...they really hate the sun.

A couple of other cool things that we got to do yesterday were, 1) ride the subway and 2) ride in a three wheeled cart. The subway system is brand new and is certainly the nicest one that I have seen or been in. Awesome new technology that is brilliant for a subway line. The three wheeled cart thing is this motorcycle that has a little cart attached to the back like a mini-taxi. It was a pretty fun ride, especially with all three of us piled in the back.

I was actually able to download a video of yesterday! Found some faster internet. Check it out.

Monday we went to see the Panda's...and it was pretty awesome. Our driver, Yang Bing, was a phenomenal tour guide and he took us to a spot away from the tourists where there were 6 pandas all frolicking around. The Pandas really were fun to observe. The Chinese love panda bears. It is their national animal. They pamper these things like crazy. It was a pretty cool place...basically a zoo of Pandas, Red Pandas, peacocks, swans, other birds and Coy catfish. The lake where the catfish were was crazy...there were so many of them wriggling all over the place trying to get in line for food from tourists throwing in little pellets. All those pandas got us in the mood for Kung Fu Panda 2, so we decided to go to the theater that night to watch it since it was still being played in English.

Here's another gem of a video:

We ate dishes that night, again phenomenal. Egg and tomato dish, fried eggplant dish, and cabbage and pork dish and then walked around a nice little park where I bought a couple of DVDs for 75 cents a piece. We then went to see Kung Fu Panda and it was hilarious...made it even more special to watch a movie set in China while sitting in a movie theater in China!

Well, that's all for now.

-b garrison

China: Day 2

2011-06-14T00:41:00.000-04:00

Day two was another great day. Another cloudy/polluted looking sky day. At this point I could really feel the pollution in the air...it was affecting my eyes and throat a bit.

I slept in until about 9 AM which was really nice. We ate a bit of breakfast and left by 10 for the Qingyang Temple, an old Taoist temple on the west side of town.

Going to the Taoist temple was a really incredible experience for me. It was kind of surreal to be surrounded by so much in my face darkness, a religion that is so blind and lost. Granted not many people are still religiously devout but much of the superstition and ritual are still very present among young and old. Several people came in burning incense to appease certain gods, of which there was a separate building for each. The architecture was beautiful. Everything you'd think an ancient Chinese temple to look like.

From the temple we went to eat lunch and we had noodles again...not the Muslim noodles that we had the day before, but the traditional Chinese noodle dish. It looked like a big bowl of Ramen, honestly, but it was SO much better than that. And so much food too. I was surprised I finished it all. After lunch we went across the street to a Art/History museum where we checked out some of the exhibits, which were really cool. And we walked in thinking it was free, though we found out later that it wasn't...however, Chinese people won't confront foreigners if you play the dumb card according to my sister. And they didn't confront us. Funny.

We then went to my sister's university where she had class and dropped her off. We wandered around a bit while she was in language class and saw the normal student life around the campus. We stumbled upon a bunch of elderly people playing some sort of croquet game and they seemed really intense about it. Mom and I went to a cafe type place a couple of blocks away that my sister referred and spent some time there reading and then met up with Emily at the end of her class.

Her tutor taught us some Chinese phrases and mentioned that I had a bit of knack for it, though I don't think I did too well. That was pretty fun though. I learned "ce suo" which means toilet. Crucial. After class we met with Emily's old tutor who bought us dinner at a northeastern Chinese dish place...also awesome. It seemed like a sketchy place to eat, but at this point I had gotten used to that.

After dinner we went to TV night at a family's house that are friends of my sister and watched a couple of old episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. And that was day two.

I am hoping to write about our Saturday trip to the farm by tomorrow. Saturday was certainly the highlight of my trip thus far. And Sunday's trip to Jinli Street was also really enjoyable. Overall, I have had such a great trip and I've been able to meet some amazing people who blow me away. China is such a unique experience...and I have been doing a poor job explaining it thus far. You really cannot describe the feeling that this country offers. God is good. He is allowing me to look into this culture and learn much about my life and my heart, my passions and idols and how God wants to use me for the future.

in Him,

-b garrison

China: Day 1

2011-06-13T04:17:00.000-04:00

I am back in my sister's apartment today after a very enjoyable morning at the Panda Research Center. The capital of the Panda Bear habitat in China...the panda is certainly China's beloved animal. It was pretty sweet. But I'll get to that later on. I will also note that trying to upload one video on YouTube or a dozen pictures is showing up to take at least "230 minutes" which is not what I was expecting. Therefore, videos and pictures might not come until Hong Kong and the States...unfortunately. But I will see what I can do.

So my mom and I left Beijing early Thursday morning on Hainan Airlines...a local airline leaving from the domestic terminal. People taking our tickets looked at us twice to make sure we were in the right place, seeming to say, "Are you sure you want to be here? Are you in the right place?" We were definitely the only foreigners on our plane. They put us on a stand up bus to get to our plane on the tarmac. They kept filling the bus up until you would be absolutely certain there was no more space available and then they would pile in a few more. Mom and I got on after about three of these instances...I jumped on the bus shoving a few guys into the mass of humanity standing helplessly without a pole or handle above them. Mom looked at me and said, "Are you serious?" I'm pretty sure she was the last one in, plastered against the door like a wall ornament.

We got to the plane, which was huge...8 seats across and 45 rows deep, and once the doors of the bus opened it was a mad dash up the stairs into the plane. There was no line. In fact,m I'm pretty sure since I have been here I have yet to see any resemblance of a line. And I've loved that, actually! The plane was very comfortable, plenty of leg room and a larger than usual video screen in each persons seat with plenty of movies and TV shows to watch.

After our 3 hour flight we arrived in my sister's city eagerly anticipating her friendly face and exciting smile. Once we got to our baggage, we could see Emily outside the gate eagerly waiting and waving at us. I grabbed our bags and tried to catch up to my mom who was running out the gate. And I tried to document the embrace on camera but I couldn't get there in time. I will say, it was SO good to see Emily, and so great to see her and Mom greet one another on Emily's home turf.

We jumped outside to grab a taxi and I was again thrown into the thrilling roller coaster ride that is the Chinese traffic world. It was crazy, yet again. Several times I could have slapped another driver in the face we were so close to other cars. Here's the thing I've observed about driving around big Chinese cities: 1) There are no rules. People go through red lights, drive the wrong way down a one way street, don't drive within the lanes, do not give pedestrians the right of way and park anywhere they can. 2) You must honk your horn at least 5 times per minute. OK that's an exaggeration, but there is so much honking of horns. If anyone is in your way and you are going faster, or if you are driving through a red light or going the wrong way down a street, honk your horn and people will get out of the way. 3) There is always traffic. I haven't noticed a difference to rush hour and calm traffic, though my sister says there is. There is always a huge amount of cars, scooters, buses, taxis, bikes, pedestrians, and all sorts of other transportation devices.

Anyways, we began driving closer to the heart of the city. And, while it's true that people are everywhere in China, I could definitely tell that the amount of people was increasing as we got closer and closer to the center of a city which holds 13 million people. Everything was still so new to me, so I was snapping pictures of buildings, signs with Chinese characters, traffic, dudes carrying huge bags of you name it on the back of their scooters...

Finally, we arrived at my sister's apartment complex, where she lives, but also the location of the apartment we were all going to be staying in for the next week. It is a large complex of about 8-12 buildings, maybe about 16-18 stories each, no elevators, and a big pool in the middle that you have to pay to use. After getting settled in a bit we were hungry for lunch and Emily wanted to take us to get Muslim noodles, a dish originating from northwestern Islamic Chinese peoples. This place was awesome! Only 6 yuan (or kuai which is the slang term, like "bucks") for a bowl, which is equivalent to around 90 cents. And it was a huge bowl of noodles, which can be fat or thin, with any kind of meat and sauce, just not pork. So much great food to eat for less than a dollar! I loved watching the guy made the noodles by hand, it was fascinating to see how he made each noodle, which originated from a large roll of dough. I have a video, but it'll have to wait I suppose. This was also my first time to use chop sticks in a very long tie, and honestly I have never really been able to use them before. But I am committed on this trip to not use any utensil but them and I hope I am getting better. I have been complimented twice by locals that I am doing pretty well...probably made fun of many more times.

I forgot to mention that to get to the noodle place we got there by way of scooter and bike. This certainly fulfilled my Chinese bucket list of riding a bike in the midst of traffic. My sister drove her scooter with my mom sitting on the back and I got to ride Emily's bike, pedaling hard to keep up with her while avoiding cars, pedestrians, bikes and mopeds going every which way. Often a bike would come in from a side street and try to zoom in front of me or a scooter would be going against the flow of traffic and you wouldn't see him until he was a foot in front of you. And often a taxi will make a turn through a red light and force his way through pedestrian traffic which would split me up from Emily and Mom and I would have to book it to catch up. Here I am talking about the traffic again...the thing is, it is SO unique, it continually blows my mind.

Anyways, after noodles we went the the outdoor market which was another sight to be seen. We are in no touristy location, by the way...this is my sister's world in the midst of the city, everyday, normal China. Which is what made it feel all the more raw for me. We stood out like sore thumbs everywhere we went the first couple of days because we were the only foreigners around. The market was filled with everything you would expect it to have, fruits and veggies galore. Plenty of stuff I didn't recognize. There were huge bags of rice, eggs, spices, etc. But there was much more that would wouldn't necessarily expect to see. Like huge slabs of meat hanging from a big rack outside the meat shops...several buckets of fish and eels alive in water, a cage of big frogs also alive, pig snouts and chicken feet unpleasantly sitting in an ice box. It was a pretty cool experience.

From there we took our goods back to the apartment and then went for a little walk around the neighborhood. Visited a few shops and stores that Emily frequents, went into the large Carrefore, which is like a WalMart and a mall combination to see more unique foods, a KFC, a ton of people...

At that point my mom was starting to feel the sleepiness...I was convinced that I was totally fine until we put on a movie in the apartment and all three of us fell asleep. I woke up and drowsily made my way outside to meet up with some of my sister's friends for dinner. We went to a place close by that served what Emily calls, "dishes". Local Sichuan dishes are amazing! There are some weird flavors and interesting mixtures, but overall the food was phenomenal...and it is NOTHING like Chinese food back in the States. I now know what REAL Chinese food tastes like, and I'm very thankful for that. My sister's roommate (a national) was telling us how upset she was that they don't get Chinese food right in the U.S. And now I completely see what she means by that...it's not even close. The food has definitely been one of the best things about China thus far.

Once back at the apartment, I jumped in bed and passed out until the morning. It was beautiful.

-b garrison

China

2011-06-12T10:42:00.008-04:00

Hello everyone!

I wish it hadn't taken me so long to post here...I am just now completing my fourth full day here and there is so much I could write about. So because my time is short and because internet here is extremely slow I will write about my first two and a half days. Tomorrow I will complete the rest. Also, because the internet is so slow right now, I am unable to download hardly any pictures and no videos. So you'll just have to wait for those until tomorrow when I can get on some faster internet speed.

Alright. China. Such an overwhelming experience to take in so quickly. Nothing could have prepared for what I have experienced these past few days...and I have loved it!

On Tuesday evening I met up with my mom in the Seattle airport. Her gate was right next to our departure gate, which was pretty sweet. We left the states at 7 PM Eastern Time and braced ourselves for an 11 hour flight...of which we were served one meal and the video player was broken so we saw the same episode of Big Bang Theory 6 times and no movies. However, I was able to do some good journaling, a bit of reading, and a little napping here and there. We arrived in Beijing around 10 PM local time on Wednesday and it really didn't seem too out of the ordinary for me time-wise. Honestly, I think jet lag wore off by Friday, which was a lot better than I was expecting.

Mom and I arrived in the Beijing airport and went through customs fairly quickly and harmlessly (you always think something is going to go wrong and you'll be stuck in this weird limbo of not being allowed in the country but unable to get back home or something...or maybe that's just me) and I got my China passport stamp! We picked up our luggage and made our way out to the main lobby to find our shuttle bus to our hotel, which after a bit of asking around we were able to find. On that same shuttle was a very nice local girl who was coming back from college in the States and she allowed us to use her cell phone to call my sister.

All this time I am trying to allow everything to soak in. I am in China. There are people everywhere...the place is bustling. Everyone is staring at me, I certainly stick out being tall and white. There are so many people and we are the only white people to be seen. No one speaks English. We walk outside and you can smell and feel the pollution. The sky is red in the light of the city with a heavy haze which is unlike anything I have ever seen. There are a couple of huge video screens on the side of the road playing commercials. We walk to the bus and I almost get hit by two taxis, having to carry my mom's luggage I'm not as agile as normal, but honestly, these dudes are just driving like maniacs. It was evident that I was in a completely different world.

The shuttle ride to the airport was CRAZY. Our driver was ridiculous! Cutting people off, coming within inches of bikers and honking at everything moving. I was loving it. We got to the hotel and I was really pleased at the room. The shower was awesome! and it was very modern and comfortable. One thing I didn't realize was that I could not drink the water from the tap here, which I should have known, but somehow I guess I didn't view China the way I see it now. I also thought I would be able to use a credit card in some stores, but China is still very much a cash society, which really surprised me.

I got a few hours of sleep and we woke up around 5:30 the next morning to get to the airport and catch our next plane to go see my sister. On this flight I am certain that we were the only foreigners...kind of hilarious. Getting on the plane was a stampede like I have never experienced before and getting off the plane just as crazy. I have a video I am hoping to upload soon of the madness.

Well, this is taking me much longer than I expected so I will write much more in the next two days...

Until then, I will just tell you that I am loving China. It is hard for me to explain, but it has been such an awesome experience...every bit of it. I have met some amazing people, seen some really cool things, gone to temples and museums, rode a bike through crazy traffic, played games with locals, picked peaches at a farm, eaten some amazing food, hiked through some mountains, learned some Chinese phrases, been stared at a lot (many pictures taken of me, people pointing, etc.) and overall I have been blown away at my sister's world and so impressed by her love of the country, the people and her skill in the language (we'd be lost without her, seriously).

Much love. I will keep updating in the next few days.

-b garrison

Hello, Seattle.

2011-06-07T19:16:00.000-04:00

I have about 15 minutes to write so I will make this quick...

Well, today is the day. I am meeting my mom in the Seattle airport and we will fly to Beijing nonstop this evening. I am pretty pumped...this morning it finally set in.

I flew into Seattle on Saturday morning after getting a ride to the Atlanta airport the previous night, which was a fun adventure in itself. I got to Atlanta around 11 PM and my flight wasn't leaving until 5:30 in the AM. So I just woandered around a bit. Funny thing happened; I ran into an old friend who went to Covenant who just returned from Costa Rica with a buddy and they gave me all the rest of their fruit bars (which was a real blessing because I was starving). So that set the tone for my trip...I knew God was going to bless it and some cool things were going to happen. I slept for about 3 hours in the airport, then got on the plane to Charlotte and from Charlotte to Seattle.

In Seattle I was picked up by an good friend of my dad and uncle's, (they lived together in Portland for a while) Andy, whose family I was staying with while I was in town. It was an incredible blessing to get to spend time with Andy and hear awesome and hilarious stories of my dad and his brother in Hawaii or in Portland. I greatly appreciated the entire Northrop family for taking me in and giving me a great experience.

On Saturday Andy and another friend of my dad's, Dave, took me through West Seattle to Alki Beach where we had some fish and chips at Spud's. It was a gorgeous day in Seattle...no clouds whatsoever. The Olympic mountains were gorgeous that day. And tons of people were out. I loved that atmosphere at the beach. Then that night we had a great dinner cooked by Terri, Andy's wife...after I fell asleep for a couple of hours on the couch.

Sunday morning after church I went with Anna (their daughter) and her boyfriend, Jeremy, to a Seattle Mariners game...forever my favorite sports team. And it was awesome! Safeco field is amazing and the Mariners won! From there we hung out a bit and went bowling that night. The next day I slept in a bit and then went with Anna and Jeremy to the Waterfront downtown and the famous Pike Place Market which was pretty sweet. I really loved the Market and the environment that it brought. And the weather was still beautitful! Warm and sunny. tons of people were out, many street performers, the fish tossers were throwing fish around, the hippies were selling their art, the produce was fresh and amazing, etc.

And one really cool experience was the gum wall. A huge wall where everyone has put their gum over the years.

Today I walked around the marina here in Des Moines and spent some time on the Puget Sound. Terri made some amazing salmon for us. And now, I'm about to head out the door to the airport. So, here we go...next post will be coming from the Orient.

-b garrison

the Summer Adventure

2011-06-02T21:56:00.001-04:00

I want to start by saying that my summer this year will not be nearly as epic as last year's trip to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand; however, I will say that it will still be pretty sweet. And I'm really excited about it all.

Tomorrow night I will get a ride down to Atlanta to catch a flight to Seattle, which leaves at 5 AM. I will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in Seattle with one of my dad's old roommates and then on Tuesday I am meeting my mom in the airport and we will fly to Beijing, China, nonstop. I am super pumped for this trip because my mom and I are going to visit my sister who I haven't seen in a year and a half. We'll get to see where she's been living and going to school, meet her friends, etc. Simply getting to see her life is so exciting for me.

We're going to spend about a week around her area and then travel to the Guilin and Yangshuo area for a few days and then finish in Beijing where we will visit the Forbidden City and Great Wall. From there my mom will fly back to the States and my sister will go back to her city, while I will go on to Hong Kong for about 12 hours (which should be enough time to explore) and then fly to Seoul for 9 hours (which may be pushing it) and then to LAX. From there I will fly to Chattanooga via Charlotte and get in just before midnight of the same day...crazy how that international dateline thing works. Anyway, the plan is to really explore as much of Hong Kong and Seoul as I can, we shall see how that ends up. In the end it may just be a really bad idea, but I'm going for it. To see more details you can go to my Upcoming Travels page above.

Here's a map:

View Summer 2011 in a larger map

So much has been happening so fast here at Covenant that I haven't really had time to let my trip sink in. I can't believe it's already time for me to go to China...I probably should start packing. Part of the craziness has to do with me preparing to leave Covenant, a place I have been for 6 years, and moving forward with life. It is both sad and exciting. I got a job as a Youth Director at my church in downtown Chattanooga and am really excited about that. The last few weeks have consisted in me ironing out the details before I leave because the day I return I am getting thrown into the madness. I also, just last week, signed a lease on an apartment closer to my church, which was a pretty big deal for me. The place is just a bunch of boxes right now and will be for a while since I'll be gone most of June, but I'm excited for what it will be.

Anyways...this was just a quick update about my summer and what is soon to come. I hope to be posting on this blog frequently as I travel from place to place and I would ask that you would be praying for myself, my mom and my sister as we travel around together. I appreciate your prayers...

Much love.
-b garrison

RECAP: Athens, Greece (the third time)

2011-05-30T01:39:00.000-04:00

Hello, everyone.

This is just a quick post to share with you a bit about my trip to Athens, Greece, back in the first week of March. I don't have nearly the adequate amount of time it would take to describe this trip. It was certainly incredible and much of the experience was really beyond words.

This was my third time travelling to Athens during Spring Break with Covenant's RUF group. The first year I went as a college senior and the last two times I have been a staff leader. It has truly been phenomenal to be a part of these trips. Each year I have been able to walk away with life changing experiences and memories that will always stick with me. My first two trips to Greece were very different from each other...both incredible, but just very different in the experience. This year was no exception, as I found myself stuck in the midst of familiarity, yet experiencing things from a completely different point of view...and some things were absolutely new experiences for me.

This year we had the opportunity to stay in a hotel in the dead centre of downtown, about 3 blocks away from the First Evangelical Church who we were partnering with. I could see the Acropolis right outside my window which was a beautiful setting at night, with the ambiance of a lively city surrounding us. Because of our location we walked everywhere and at times took public transportation to get to areas further outside the middle of Athens. I thought I already knew Athens pretty well from my previous two years, but I really got to know the city this year. I remember taking a walk one afternoon when we had a couple free hours. From my previous years I have learned how to dress to fit in to the environment there...wear dark clothes; a dark shirt with a black jacket and some really dark jeans with dark shoes. Anyways, I was blending in just walking around and some American tourists asked me for directions and if I would take a picture of them. They said, Excuse me, do you speak English?" and while I debated messing with them a bit I just responded, "Yes. Yes I do", which was met with a surprised look on their faces.

Some of the things we did this year were pretty remarkable. Not that we made a huge difference and 'changed the world' or anything like that, but it was remarkable that we were able to participate in some of these ministries. Just witnessing what these people were doing was amazing enough. But we found ourselves getting thrown into the thick of it every time. The first day our group went to this local resort place with the members of the church because it was a Greek holiday...the first day of lent. It was incredible to get to spend time with the church body, eat a meal with them, play soccer with the kids and fly kites (a traditional festivity of this holiday). I met a guy named Orestis at this gathering. Orestis is just a couple of years younger than me and I got into some good conversation with him. We ended up hanging out quite a bit for the rest of the week which was really a blast. It was a blessing to get to know him, such a great guy.

The next day we went to a ministry called Helping Hands in a section of the city called Omonia. This was the immigrant and refugee part of the city...primarily Muslim peoples from Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan made up the majority, but there are many other Eastern European, African and Arab peoples there as well. Omonia feels like a completely different country than downtown Athens, for sure. Helping Hands is a ministry to the refugees in this area. They provide meals, showers, clothings, etc for families in need and the way that they do their ministry is incredibly impressive. Each member of our group got assigned a task...mine was a floater, just going around and starting conversations with any of the Muslim men who spoke English. Of course, it's always a bit awkward to be standing in the midst of a hundred Arabic peoples, very few of which speak English, and try to start a conversation with someone...however, I immediately began a conversation with a guy named Hussein who was 24, like me, and from Pakistan. His English was very good, but still incredibly choppy. This was a conversation I will never forget. Hussein cut to the chase...he wanted to know my opinion of God. He told me that he was stuck in between Christianity and Islam...he saw truth in both, but also saw faults in both. He really just wanted to know the truth. It was absolutely mind blowing that I had gotten into this conversation with Hussein, completely led by the Spirit. I learned so much from Hussein about his culture, his family, about his Shia upbringing, about his problems with the Christian faith and what he understood of its theology. I shared with him a bit trying to give a satisfactory summary to his questions. It is incredibly difficult to talk theology in a very broken and primitive form of English, but somehow we managed it. Eventually, I just asked if I could pray with him and he agreed, and that was such a blessing. I met another man, named Orian who was from Iran and had been stuck in Greece for 3 years trying to get to England. We sat and drank a few cups of tea and chatted about all sorts of things...Orian was very curious of what America was like, he had so many questions for me.

You can check out Helping Hands here:
http://www.helpinghands.gr/en/about.htm

Later in the week we were able to participate in another mind-blowing ministry, which does outreach on the dirty streets of Omonia to trafficked prostitutes. The women go and chat with the girls, bring them tea and cookies and try to create a basis of longterm trust. The guys walk the sides of the streets as protectors and watchdogs, keeping an overall awareness of the surroundings and safety of the girls. This particular night our group went with the people of this ministry, Nea Zoi, to the street where the Nigerian women worked. It was incredibly heart breaking to see so many girls, really young girls, trying to run down cars and get their money, hoping a guy would pick them up. However, I will say never I have seen a group of people model Jesus as well as the group of ladies we had talking and ministering to those girls on the streets and outside the brothels. And never have I ever felt more masculine fulfilment than I did that night as a "bodyguard". One time I had to get in the way of some drunk guy who wanted a closer look at the white women...it was an adrenaline rush for sure. But it was amazing to hear that our girls never once felt in danger. I'm not going to go into all the things that Nea Zoi does, but I will say that they are an incredible ministry who have established themselves for years in this community. There biggest hope is that this small exposure would capture our hearts to pray for them and their ministry.

You can check out their website here:

http://neazoi.org/

The other bulk of our time was spent going into universities and having conversations with students about various different things...ultimately we were there to try to plug people into the church through an event we were doing called Expressing Hope. We would ask university students what they found hope in, and express a bit of our passions. I found that several people we talked to just loved practicing their English which was a great avenue for good conversation. One of my Greek friends (who I have gotten to know well from the last few years), whose name is Christos, had a friend that he wanted me to talk to. One day when we were at the philosophy university Christo told me, "Ben, I want you to talk with a friend of mine. He will not listen to me, but maybe he will take you more seriously if you invite him to the church and share with him what you believe." So we left the rest of the group and met up with Thannasis. We grabbed a coffee (cafe nes) and chatted a bit about our interests, what America is like, what Greece is like, what the education systems are like in our countries, about film and TV shows, sports, about religion, and eventually about what Thannasi believes. While we didn't agree on a basis for God, he did agree with my concept of hope...that we can catch glimpses of hope and beauty around us and that ultimately that has to come from something outside of us. While Thannasis didn't come to church while I was out there, I hope that my conversation was helpful for he and Christos' friendship. It was so cool to see the partnership I was able to have with Christo in sharing the Gospel with his friend and how my comfortability and experience in Greece were very influential in allowing me to have many long, deep and fruitful conversations with those God put in my path.

We did so much more than I was able to share. Explored Athens, went to Corinth and viewed the ancient ruins among other beautiful sites, hung out with Christo and George at a pub and watched the Barcelona vs Arsenal game late one night, ran into a Jehovah's Witness gathering with Joel by accident, had group devotions on the Areopagus (Mars Hill) with the guys, ran around the track of the 1896 Olympic Stadium, ate some INCREDIBLE suvlaki (aka gyros), spent some really quality time with our Covenant group....it was an amazing time.

Below are two videos summarizing our trip there. The first is a picture slideshow and the second is a compilation of videos from our group.

Shortly I will be updating you on my upcoming trip. I leave in 6 days. Crazy. Until then...have a blessed day. Thank you for all your prayers and support for my trip to Greece. It was a life changing and absolutely phenomenal trip. God is good and his goodness carries throughout the nations!

in Him,

-b garrison

Santa Rosa Beach, FL

2011-05-17T22:41:00.000-04:00

Well, hello everyone. It has certainly been a considerable amount of time since I have last posted in this blog and it is about time I do so. This Spring semester has flown by and much has happened. There will be a post coming soon about my trip to Greece back in March. But for right now, I'm going to update you on the most recent happenings that have surrounded my everyday life.

Most recently I have just returned from Santa Rosa Beach, which is located just east of Destin, on the Florida pan handle. I went along with three others from my RD staff at Covenant College. It was a phenomenal time to get away, relax, enjoy the weather, the company and the awesome food we cooked up. It came at a much needed time as well...the end of our semester, at Covenant, ended in a scramble.

I'm sure many of you have heard of the events that occurred in the Southeast on Wednesday, April 27. Covenant College, on Lookout Mountain, was right in the midst of the gigantic tornado producing storms that swept through and killed hundreds throughout the region. Just in Chattanooga alone, 20 tornadoes touched down, and 8 came within 5 miles of our campus. By God's grace our campus had no damage whatsoever and it became more and more shocking to hear and see of the immense destruction that surrounded us. The links below show the destruction from areas not more than 20 minutes away from our campus:

http://www.timesfreepress.com/photos/galleries/2011/apr/28/cleanup-begins-after-record-storms/

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=619006534446&oid=100681630045&comments

Though we were not damaged physically, much of our county was. We lost power and water for several days and because of that we ended up running out of water on campus, which then caused us to close down the school for the rest of the year and evacuate campus in 24 hours. It was mass chaos on campus as people were packing, saying goodbye, trying to find places to stay or buy plane tickets. I was at the airport waiting for my flight to Chicago for a job interview when I got the call saying that we were shutting down campus. For me, this meant I was saying goodbye to everyone, to my job, for the rest of the year...about a week and a half earlier than I or anyone had anticipated (because I am not returning to Covenant next year).

Those three days: tornado Wednesday (where we were constantly running to the basement, living the day in the dark quite literally and on edge), evacuation Thursday (where the word went out to all students and we commenced our evacuation plan), and shut down Friday (where we closed down campus for good) were the craziest days I've ever had as an ARD at Covenant. The craziest end to the craziest semester I've ever seen...if you remember we started the semester with a week off due to "blizzards". We finished missing finals week due to tornadoes. Crazy.

But God was in control of it all. Here are some of my reflections in retrospect:

So, because of all this and much more going in in my world and the lives of those around me, it was very good to get away from all the madness and just relax and have fun. I was able to remove myself from the context of chaos and process through and really reflect on the past few weeks.

And we really had a blast. I compiled a video of some of the highlights of our trip....however, most of you will probably find this uninteresting.

In upcoming posts I will recount my experience in Athens, Greece, back in early March and will begin posting for my summer adventures, where I will be travelling to Seattle, parts of China, and Hong Kong. Until then...

God Bless.

-b garrison

...and a happy new year!

2011-01-15T16:44:00.003-05:00

Well, I know it's two weeks past New Year's Day; however, it seems that there is much to write about as we have turned the corner into 2011.

I am sitting at the Barnes & Noble Starbucks here in Chattanooga upon the aftermath of what will be known (someday) as the blizzard of 2011 here in the southeast. Up on Lookout Mountain Sunday night/Monday morning we received over a foot of snow, which is unheard of in this area. And there was at least 7 or 8 inches down the mountain in Chattanooga, as well as the rest of northern Georgia and Alabama. Absolutely insane! I'll just say, in my six years here I have never seen anything like it or even remotely like it! So schools all around have been canceled for the entire week, even us. So at times it has been mass chaos as the students are running free and becoming more and more bored as each day passes.

It's good to be back, but it hasn't really felt like I have been completely back as there has yet to have been a normal work day back on the campus. But I will say that I have been able to spend time with many students, take some great snow walks, have some really cool conversations, play a lot of games, do some good reading, etc. And might I add, the campus is really beautiful with so much snow...along with the surrounding views from different overlooks where the landscape is full of rolling white hills and snowy ridges.

I don't feel as if I wrote much on Christmas and my time in Florida. The break was really fun and enjoyable...just really busy at times (on my own choosing). I was able to do a lot of cool things and spend some real good time with my family and with friends.

Here is a short video covering a bit of my time in Florida:

I left Florida on the 30th to be in my old roommate's wedding in Montgomery, AL. I left at 6:30 a.m. and drove up through Tallahassee through Dothan and finally arrived in Montgomery 14 hours later for the bachelor party. It was a really awesome wedding...most of the groomsmen were good friends of mine and it was just cool to be a part of a wedding. Especially a wedding where the families were from Alabama and Maine...so cool to see the combination of those very different cultures.

2010 was a great year. The Lord truly blessed me and those around me. Just looking back through this blog I see how fortunate I am to have had such fantastic experiences. 2010 was an adventure, filled with great people, fun times, beautiful places, and a lot of learning. In 2010 I visited 6 countries, 18 U.S. states, had 26 flights, and drove 20,000 miles. It really is crazy when I think about it. And all these experiences have brought me back to the same place...

No matter where I am or what I've done, how exciting or mundane, I see God's hand in it all. It has become impossible not to see His intricate work in this world. He is intimately involved in the vast beauty that surrounds us. And that beauty can be found anywhere, anytime...Yes, it is easier to find and appreciate the beauty in the mountains of New Zealand than sitting here in this Barnes & Noble, without a doubt. But I think what God has been teaching me is to slow down and see the wonder that is around me; the wonder of His creation. Beauty is inescapable. And God reminds me of His character as I live out each day...that He is intimately involved in the affairs of this world. All of creation cries out the glory of God, and though as C.S. Lewis states "Nothing is yet in its true form," as we await the true fulfillment of all things, we still can see His hand at work.

I have been learning to see this beauty in people, which as a Christian, I realize is the most important thing I can do...recognizing that this Weight of Glory (again Lewis) lies on my shoulders as I have opportunities to share the truest beauty with those who long to have the deepest longings of their hearts filled with beauty that does not dissolve.

May 2011 be a year filled with true wonder and beauty...and may we all be eager to share it with those around us.

-b garrison

Merry Christmas...

2010-12-30T02:50:00.001-05:00

A very Merry (belated) Christmas to you all!

I truly hope that each of you were able to see and savor the wonder of the Incarnation this season.

I am currently sitting in the house I grew up in here in Cape Coral, FL. South Florida is such a wonderful place to go to for Christmas vacation...the weather is extraordinary. And we've had some cold days (some 30 degree weather) but overall it has been simply gorgeous over my 9 days here. And I am sad to leave...sad to leave my family once again. And I really don't know when I'll be back or when I'll get to see my parents again. So I'm very thankful for the time I've had down here.

Tomorrow (actually today) morning I'm leaving for Montgomery, AL, for my buddy's wedding, which is on New Years day. I'm pretty pumped for it, and really excited for him.

I will be updating this blog before too long, and there will be another post more in depth about my time here. I've been able to do quite a bit: go kayaking a few times-once getting lost (which is a great story), once with my dad (which was fun) and once at the beach where I witnessed an incredible act of nature (which you'll just have to wait for); also was able to spend some good time with friends who are moving to various places in the country, play a lot of games with the family, replace my broken phone with a new one, play a round of golf, catch up with some old friends from church, celebrate Christmas with my family (even my sister over Skype!).

It really was a good time...it just flew by. So I'll post again to share some good stories from some of those mentioned moments. And hopefully I'll have a video made as well. Plus, there should be a bit about the wedding!

So, again Merry Christmas and if I don't get around to posting in the next couple of days, Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy the festivities of the season and are able to celebrate the coming of our Savior.

Finally, I challenge you to create some legitimate goals and resolutions for the new year. Things that you can actually follow through with and be held accountable to. I always have too many of them and nothing gets accomplished. At this time I find myself with as many as ever...my "New Year's Resolutions" are a combination of little to do's, new habits to form and bigger picture things. I get nowhere with this compilation of ways to better myself.

This New Year's I challenge you to sincerely pray that God would show you one or two things that you need to work on and add to or take away from your life. Pray that He would empower you to push toward that goal in 2011 and that He would give you accountability to help you get there.

That's all for now,

-b garrison

RECAP: exploring sydney: cliff top walk

2010-12-16T01:18:00.002-05:00

Many of you may know that this past summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel around Australia for a couple of weeks. We arrived in Sydney on June 13 and, while we were a little out of it from the jet lag, we still managed to have a pretty productive day. The 14th (a Monday) was jam packed from 4:30 in the morning (watching the Australia vs Germany World Cup game live on the big screen at Darling Harbour) into the later hours of the night. We had spent the day discovering Sydney's many beautiful parks and gardens, gazing upon the inspiring Opera House and surrounding harbor, enjoying a gorgeous ferry ride to Manly Beach and a long trek around the peninsula.

I remember returning to Sydney on the last ferry of the evening, the stars were out, the moon was a lovely crescent overlooking these silent sea gulls which glided beside us the entire journey. The three of us stood at the front of the ferry to catch the view. We were all loaded with groceries at the time and definitely exhausted from our long day in which we had to have walked at least 15 miles. It was a bit cold standing in the front, but it was peaceful, very calm, standing at the front of the boat which tipped up and down ever so gently. I can remember my mind was melodically processing all it had registered over the past few days. The sea can do that to a man...or at least it can to me. It puts me at ease within myself. As if I belong to its systematic rhythm.

And then we saw it in the distance, the stunning glow of the Sydney Opera House. It is a whole different experience to see the piece of architecture at night under the gaze of the moon. It was lit up in these purple lights which washed over the Opera House like the ocean. It was a really cool effect and it looked pretty magical coming into the harbor being greeted by something so spectacular, with the big city looking over its shoulder. I can remember our ferry coming in toward the port, Circular Quay (pronounced "key"), just marveling at the romance of the city. It was so majestic. The Harbour Bridge is a pretty sweet spectacle as well. It is so big...giving the city a genuine feeling of safety.

We were tired. But coming into port from Manly, in the dark of the night was a tremendous experience. We wandered down toward this area of the city called the Rocks. It is an awesome place! Basically there are parts of old historic Sydney that are still there and there are new buildings which have been built within or on top of old Sydney. So the Rocks is this great experience of restaurants, pubs, apartments, and office buildings that have a unique feel. Now that I'm writing I realize how hard it is to explain, but it is a really cool area...and you'll just have to take my word on that.

We discovered three crucial things while going through there:
1) There was this awesome international cuisine festival going on throughout the Rocks that night. Everything looked and smelled so good. I was so upset to have groceries in my hand at that point. The streets were filled with tent after tent of flavorful smells. Mmmmm.
2) We ran into a tent where a guy was selling licorice. We stayed and talked to him for a bit and he ended up letting us taste through his entire display of licorices. They were so good. We finally bought a few ropes of it. But I remember that guy so vividly; a very engaging older man who kept cutting us off pieces to taste.
3) On our way back toward our hostel we ran past this pub which had a sign on it for $10 steak dinners on Tuesday nights...which after our time in Australia thus far, we had realized was a really good price for a restaurant in a legit area. So we walked in, talked to the bartender who happened to be American, and he hooked us up with a reservation for the next night (which was Tuesday) at a table up on the balcony, which overlooked the Opera House. So that whole discovery ended up being the means to an entirely other amazing experience the next night.

I write all this (as you wonder what it all has to do with the "cliff top walk" title at the top) to give you context of what happened next. I can remember sitting on this big rock by the harbor as it was late at night and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do the next day. Some of the ideas were: trying to get out to the Blue Mountains somehow, go to the zoo and aquarium, go to the outback and see some kangaroos and aborigines, or go to Bondi Beach. Now I had this guide book, which really was a big help and I recommend it , by Frommer's, which was telling me that Bondi Beach and the cliff top walk along the coast was a must see. And so, after some discussion, Bondi was in and the others were out.

Let me just say how happy I am that we made that decision. For so many reasons.

Both the map and video below can give you as small visual taste of our time on the Bondi to Coogee walk. Most of the icons on the map have pictures if you click on them, which gives you a bit of a visual picture of the walk.

View Exploring Sydney - Cliff Top Walk in a larger map

We took a bus the next morning from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. This was a very different beach from Manly...it had a strong commercial feel to it, even though it was pretty empty (since it was the middle of winter and pretty early in the morning). We just sat and relaxed for a while. I took pictures, Scott read, Joel took a nap. It was so peaceful out there, which is rare for Bondi. In the summer Bondi is crowded with 35,000 people an any given day. Crazy!

After a while we decided to start our walk. Our goal was to get to Coogee Beach where our hostel was putting on a cookout, which meant free food. It was remarkable as the day went on how many people we saw walking and running the pathway coined the "cliff top walk". So many runners, just really active people. We started walking up hill away from the beach and the views became magnified. There was something special about the way the golden sand meshed with the topaz ocean. The sun glazed over the waters melting the sea and sky together into a harmonious blue tint. It was magnificent.

And we walked and walked. I was continually stunned by my surroundings. Was I really taking a stroll on the cliffs of a beautiful beach in Australia?! Each cliff that jutted out to a view told me that I was simply observing a living photograph. The colors and shapes seemed to perfect to be real at times. My mind was racing of ways I could live along that area. I actually ran into a lady who was originally from Britain but had been living in this beautiful home here on the coast and I envied her. It soon came to my understanding that I would never live in Bondi Beach...but it was fun to pretend for a little while.

Needless to say, there was a certain feel along those cliffs that really energized me and ignited an excitement and vigor for life within the deeper parts of me. I love the ocean and the beach and Bondi had hit the spot!

There is a lot more to our walk that I could rattle on about. You'll notice on the pictures that we pass through a huge cemetery. It was pretty cool to take a look at. People born as early as 1850. We also passed a bowling green, which was awesome to observe for a bit...seems like such a gentleman's game. Also, I saw the most colorful wild bird I had ever seen in my life, we hung out with people from our hostel as we grilled out on the barbie, and we tested out my newly purchased boomerang in the sand. I can also remember some great conversation we had.

Most of my thoughts, as we returned to Bondi Beach from the cookout at Coogee, were fixed on the people from our hostel who were obviously so lost. The hostel culture in Australia is actually quite sad, and it was tough for me to watch. We were really surrounded by a bunch of kids who are searching for a place to belong, a place to feel happiness, excitement, a place to get away from what's familiar. In Sydney we stayed in a 30-bed male/female dorm room. Sometimes, I'll be honest, it made me cry to see how everyone lived. I thought about that a lot as we walked back to Bondi. I thought about the task I've been given to bring the news which reaches into the heart of this longing. The great responsibility to live life to it's max each day, no matter where I am. That God has great plans for me...and those plans always involve the Gospel.

Whether we are in Australia or our very home, we have been given the task of living a life which reflects the glory of God and points others to Christ who gives life and breath to all who are weary, worn out, confused and lost. As beautiful as the Australia coast is, it does not compare to the magnitude of a human soul...and that is what caused me to marvel. That the inexplicably wondrous sights I had before me could not compare to the masterpiece of human life. The most beautiful part of our adventure was actually each person we encountered along the way.

-b garrison

back to work

2010-12-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I am back at Covenant as we close up the first semester. Things seem to get hectic, in a fun, Christmas-like way, these last few weeks.

Just had a few videos and pictures from Thanksgiving to share. The first is a brief look at my snowy Thanksgiving in Washington:

And a picture with me and my grandparents at the airport:

Here are some pictures from the Salt Lake City airport:

Once I arrived in Nashville I took a shuttle to Chattanooga, but my flight delay brought me in at 2 a.m. and therefore, without a ride. So, I decided to hike up Lookout Mountain from St. Elmo, up to Covenant College. And I did so successfully...finishing in 1 hour and 28 minutes. Wasn't too bad; a 2000 foot climb in pitch dark at 2 in the morning with it being 30 degrees outside. Pretty sweet experience actually. One for the bucket list.
Here's a short clip of my finish:

That's about all for now...be expecting some recaps in the near future.

-b garrison

goodbye to the northwest

2010-11-27T21:08:00.000-05:00

It is sad to leave...for many reasons:

To say goodbye to dearly loved family who I don't get to see very often; to walk away from the northwest once again after a short lived visit; to leave a relaxing Thanksgiving break and head back to work; and to bid farewell the wonderful food which I have been feasting on the last four days (which included rib-eye steak, razor clams, Steelhead fish, fresh corn, baked potatoes, pineapple upside-down cake, Grandpa's hotcakes to name a few...oh and let's not forget the Thanksgiving meal and leftovers!)

However, my time was good and I can leave with a smile on my face for the good quality time I was able to have with my grandparents and aunt. And I hope to return soon; I feel as if the Northwest is always calling me back and I can never get enough.

Right now I'm in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for my delayed flight...only delayed one hour, not too bad. Hard to believe that after this entire year my 25th flight is the first to be delayed. I have certainly been blessed in my travelling. The airport in Salt Lake is really pretty to fly into and even to sit in. Right now I'm just sitting next to a big window where a long mountain range is my background. And it's covered in snow which makes it all the more magical as the sun sets its glow upon it.It's 27 degrees here in Utah and 32 degrees when I left Kennewick, so...still cold, just not as cold. And after having single digits for a couple of days this really isn't bad at all.

It appears that Chattanooga is finally getting cold as it might get below freezing overnight tonight. We've had such a warm autumn.

Well, I just overheard that they are beginning to board my flight so I gotta get going.

----------------------------------------------------------

A couple of hours later now and guess what...I'm finishing this blog from the air! Over the holidays, Google Chrome is giving free internet on Delta flights, pretty sweet, eh? And as a user and avid supporter of Google Chrome (or just Google in general) I want to throw out a plug for Google Chrome, what I believe to be the best web browser out there. There it is.

So this portion of the blog is coming to you from somewhere over Utah or Colorado perhaps. Not really sure, plus it's dark outside so I cannot really tell. Just had a pretty long conversation with the woman sitting next to me about a lot of different things. I honestly felt like she just needed someone to talk to and share things with, and I really appreciated listening.

Yesterday my Aunt Karen and I went around Kennewick a bit to take some pictures in the snow. We drove up to Jump Off Joe, the hill in the background of the city, and took pictures of the huge windmills and snowy fields. It was pretty, but cold and overcast. We then drove down by the Columbia River for a bit. The next batch of pictures are from those places.

We got continual snow through out the week, including quite a bit on Thanksgiving. We got some little "iceballs", as my grandpa called them, yesterday...a mix between snow and sleet. I guess in the south we'd call that a wintry mix. One thing for sure...all the snow has certainly put me in the mood for Christmas! And I cannot wait to get back because the last few weeks of December are completely packed with Christmas festivities.

Well, that's about all I got for now. I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving where ever you are and that you gave thanks to the Lord for His many blessings to us.

Cheers.

-b garrison

Washington here I come...

2010-11-25T00:07:00.011-05:00

In the last two months I have been blessed to take a spontaneous trip to south FL, a kayaking trip to Charleston, SC, a backpacking trip to NC, a weekend staying in downtown Chattanooga for a missions conference, and last weekend at a retreat on the Ocoee River.

This week I'm in Washington state. And it's cold here. At the moment I'm in Kennewick, one of the "tri-cities" in the southeastern portion of the state, by the Columbia River. I flew into Spokane greeted by a foot of snow and single digit temperatures. Both are pretty unnatural to this time of year...in fact I believe that the temperature has been record low for the last couple of days. However, I'm really loving the snow...it is a beautiful layer of frosting over everything around; the view is so much more appealing from inside than the frigid temperatures once I open the door.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am very blessed to be able to spend it with family, my grandparents and aunt, especially family that I don't get to see that often. There's not much more to this trip than that...I'm so thankful to be able to share this week with them.

And the snow is a cool addition. 14 inches of it at the moment. And it has been snowing on and off throughout the last couple of days. It was sunny for a few hours this morning and I took a walk for a while until I couldn't feel my hands anymore. The sun created a coat of sparkling glitter on the surface of the ground...and the pine trees looked like vanilla ice cream cones. It's funny to think what a little bit of frozen rain can do to a landscape.

Just now the TV had an alert that said "Beware of freezing fog"...what? I've never heard of such a thing, but apparently it happens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-b garrison

RECAP: road trip nz - queenstown to christchurch

2010-11-20T18:21:00.011-05:00

Hello, hello.

This is the first of a few (I hope) recaps of my past trips. I really have wanted to give more details to my travels, so this is my first attempt at that.

Looking back at my trip this past summer I can only say that I was very blessed to have such an opportunity...but, oh, do I want to go back.

The following video and map are a recap of the last two days we were in New Zealand. We had spectacular weather most of the time. On the map you should be able to zoom in and follow my trip a bit. The red line was our day trip to Queenstown from Cromwell and the blue line is our final drive from Cromwell to Christchurch to turn in the rental car. Each of the camera icons represent a picture which you can click on and see where the exact location of the picture is. The TV icons represent videos. So click on them and check them out.

View RoadTrip New Zealand: Queenstown to Christchurch in a larger map

Well, that's all I have for now. More recaps to come. And more updates of my upcoming trip to Washington as well, as I will be leaving on Monday evening from Atlanta and flying in to Spokane. I cannot wait.

Sweetness.
-b garrison

the Roan Highlands

2010-11-09T00:38:00.001-05:00

Hello to all!

It has been a few weeks and life seems to be moving faster than ever. Last weekend myself and four other guys (Chris, Jared, Dan, and Micah) went on an all dude RA backpacking trip to the Roan Highlands...a beautiful region where the Appalachian Trail travels from Carver's Gap, TN into the city of Roan Mountain, NC. This is a portion of the AT I have hiked 4 times now and it never gets old. But this time in particular was simply spectacular; the most beautiful weather I've ever had here.

And it really is a blessing to have had such good weather for all three days out there. Last year for this same RA trip we didn't have a lick of good weather...just thick fog and intense wind. The year before we had just one good day of weather. So this year, not only was I thrilled for the sunshine, but I had forgotten how beautiful this hike is and how glorious the sun shines on the golden balds in autumn.

We drove the 4 hours from Chattanooga to Carver's Gap Friday evening getting in around 10 pm to set up our tents and call it a night. It was pretty chilly, but crystal clear throughout the sky. The stars were stunning. It's been a long time since I've seen such a bright sky. We got a decent rest and woke up to a cold and crisp morning. But once the sun came out, the day weather became really enjoyable. We got on the trail around 10 AM because we really didn't have that long to go. Once we got started it was immediate excitement for all of us as we hiked up to 5800' and beautiful views from Round Bald and Jane Bald. I was continually stopping to take in all the views around us.

We took a break to do devotions on top of a rocky portion of Jane Bald. We read through Isaiah 40, and certain verses really stuck out in the midst of such raw beauty.

⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,

and its people are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,

and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

²³ He brings princes to naught

and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

²⁴ No sooner are they planted,

no sooner are they sown,

no sooner do they take root in the ground,

than he blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?

Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

²⁶ Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.
²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

So much of this passage just cries out to the majesty and wonder of the Creator God and reading this amidst the wonder and vastness around us made this so real to me. Creation is so beautiful and huge, but it is NOTHING compared to the hugeness and greatness of God.

The rest of our hike took us down to the Overmountain Shelter, or the "Barn", where we stayed the night. We got in fairly early so we had time for some individual solitude, gathering of firewood and preparation of the "sweat lodge". A sweat lodge is a homemade sauna/steambath. You simply heat up a few rocks in a campfire, then place them in an open space, sitting around them in a circle and placing a tarp over the circle. When you pour water over the rocks it creates a steam that gets trapped in the tarp and cleans out your pores. It's an old backpacker trick for taking a shower and cleansing the body. And did it feel great after a day on the trail!

We had a good evening with a great dinner cooked over the fire. And I slept great that night. There is something really special about a campfire...it collects comradery and demands vulnerability from those around it. There's a real comfort that speaks through the flames and enhances conversation as chunks of wood become burning coals.

The next day was rough. We had only hiked 5 1/2 miles the day before so it was a big jump to push 12 miles with 2000' of elevation change multiple times. We hiked straight up for a mile which gave us terrific views of the "Barn" as we looked back into the valley. After about another mile we had reached the peak of Little Hump Mtn. A beautiful grassy bald which allows complete 360 views around you. Simply stunning vistas in the crisp mountain air. In the deep distance was Grandfather Mountain, a famous North Carolina mountain. It's jagged crest looked like a puzzle piece against the ripe blue sky.

The wind was too intense to hang out for long at the top so we quickly descended and came into another valley at the base of Big Hump Mountain which we began ascending almost as soon as we had stopped descending Little Hump. This is quite a climb. About a mile of straight upward trail. But certainly a beautiful sight. I really love letting others go way in front of me so that I can see them trek ahead of me looking like tiny ants heading up the trail. That's the cool thing about the Roan Highlands is that the higher altitudes are complete grassy plains and balds which gives you full sight of the trail ahead and behind and complete views around you. There are very few places that allow you to see where you are going and where you have come from, even 10 miles away.

We peaked Big Hump, did some devotions, and ate lunch. Met a through hiker who has been out since mid May. On our way back we kept running into him at different rest areas and had interspersed conversations. I always find it a real privilege to meet a through hiker on the trail. There is so much experience in that one human being, yet there is so much peace and chill excitement in their eyes and voice. Each step they take is another cool piece of the journey, but they don't make it anything bigger than it really is...after being on the trail for 6 months there's a certain composure that is evident. Yet, in the Roan Highlands there never ceases to be a "Whoa!" among through hikers. Because the beauty there is so unlike anything you will ever see in the South or in the entire East for that matter.

So we hiked back down Big Hump, up Little Hump, down Little Hump and then all the way back from where we had come the day before...a lot of uphill. But the beauty made it bearable. We finally got back to the car around 4 pm and that was that. Another great trip...and a much needed outdoor adventure. My first backpacking trip of the fall, long overdue, but the addition of my kayak has kept me from the backpack recently. And honestly, that's not too bad a trade.

So here's a short video of our hike:

A map of this portion of the trail:

View Male RA Backpacking Trip in a larger map

And go to this link for more pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026852&id=146900198

Well...that's all I have for now. My next planned travel is to Washington state for Thanksgiving break to visit my Grandparents. I cannot wait to get out there.

But until then I will say farewell,

-b garrison

the Charleston Trip

2010-10-21T21:08:00.000-04:00

So I really had a successful trip to Charleston and the surrounding area. While I was only there for a couple of days I was still able to do so much. the drive down was really pleasant as I drove some back roads through South Carolina to get down there...and I always love driving backgrounds. Like I said previously, I spent Sunday afternoon around downtown, just checking things out. It was a very old city, with much history going back to pre-American Revolution. Many of the houses in the city were early 18th century homes.

I spent a few hours around the College of Charleston campus. Working in higher education at the college level I really enjoy seeing other college campus' and getting a feel for college life. And it really was a pretty cool vibe, just being in the middle a downtown such as Charleston gave it a special feel. I was able to spend both nights with my friend Chris who now attends Charleston Southern after spending 4 years in the Marine Corps all over the world. That was really a blessing getting to reunite with him and spend some time with him if only for a short while.

Monday was jam packed. I drove out to Sullivan's Island early in the morning to check out Fort Moultrie, a very historic place where African slaves were brought in from 1700-1775, America won its first full battle in the Revolutionary War, and the first submarine to sink an enemy warship occurred. Pretty cool. Then I took some time to sit on the beach and read through some of Ecclesiastes and the book of James, did some journaling...definitely a good start to the day.

From there it was off to Shem Creek, where I had heard of good, quiet kayaking, immersed in wildlife. I put in and took off around 10:30 and was able to paddle around for 4 miles. The area really was beautiful, and very quiet. There were tons of birds and big fish and fortunately no alligators.

After Shem Creek I drove out to Isle of Palms and just took a nap out on the sand. Read a bit. Just relaxed. It was such perfect weather and a fairly nice beach, not as beautiful as Sullivan's Island, a more untouched natural beach. From there I put in my kayak again, this time in the Intercoastal from the point of the Isle of Palms. It was a private boat ramp, but it was really the only one that I could find so I just went for it.

I got out on the water around 5 pm and went with the current to a small little tributary that led me through the tall grasses toward a little island. The path was very narrow at points, but so peaceful and calm. With the light breeze blowing through the grass and the sunset creating a golden reflection in the water I just had to sit and soak it all in for a while. It felt really good to be out there all alone, knowing you're the only human alive, just a spectator of nature doing its thing...whether or not I was there, creation would run its course of beauty. It doesn't do it for me, but because God has established it so. And in that time it became so clear to me that creation was crying out the spectacular glory of God. There is no other reason for such awe inspiring beauty, than to point to the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Beauty is funny like that. In something so simple, some water and some muddy, grassy reeds, there is beauty. Sure it is physically appealing and visually stimulating...it really is. But when we still our minds and see the complexity of creation, that every small ripple of water is fulfilling its purpose, that every blade of grass is moving to its Master's commands...that there is NOTHING, no bird, or fish, or blade of grass, or butterfly, or clump of mud, or body of water that is not under the mighty control of our sovereign Lord; then we see the real beauty of this complex world. And we were created to be drawn toward the One who holds all things firmly in his hand. It is not the beauty but the Author of the beauty we must be in awe of...awe that brings us to worship.

I was struck by this all evening as I was continually stunned by the beauty around me. I was able to just sit in the middle of the Intercoastal and watch the sun set behind islands in distance. The sun's red glow gave the water a stunning color and the sky was immaculate in it's red to blue color spectrum. I will not soon forget that moment. I felt so special to be a part of that, but yet so small in this world.

From there I strapped the kayak back on and drove south to Folly Beach, which is southeast of Charleston. I sat out on the boardwalk and cook up some chili on my stove while I watched the Rangers vs Yankees playoff game on my laptop (using internet from the nearby Holiday Inn). But afterward I had a great conversation with God. I just talked to Him. What struck me was the waves. There were so many and they were so constant in flowing to shore. And again I was reminded of the sovereignty of God. That if He has a plan and a purpose for each wave that comes to shore how could He forget me?

The waves may not know where God is leading them, but they eventually reach their destination and thus have their purpose. And in the midst of all my struggles and discontentment about now and anxiety about the future I finally felt a peace seeing those waves gently pushing up to shore. God was teaching me then and there that He has MUCH for me. Though I may not know what it looks like I MUST trust Him. And the awe and wonder of His majesty brought me to a place of worship deep within my soul. The God who controls the waves of the ocean is my Father.

Blessings.
-b garrison

View Charleston, SC in a larger map
The top map follows where I drove to Charleston and around the area. The below map is a detailed view of where I kayaked.

View Charleston Kayaking in a larger map

Charleston

2010-10-17T20:37:00.000-04:00

So, I am writing from Charleston, SC. Yeah...this was complete spontaneity. I have been wanting to come here for a long time and when my initial plans for Fall Break fell through I decided yesterday to throw my kayak on my car, pack some camping supplies and some food and drive on over. It's pretty sweet here. I enjoyed my afternoon around downtown. I just found out the my friend Chris is in town as well (when I previously thought he would be on vacation) so we might hit the town tonight.

This is what it comes down to...there is no plan. And I have actually worked hard to keep it that way. Sometimes you need to just go, and see where the experience leads you. I believe that can be the most exciting and rewarding way to travel at times. Now, I'm prepared for anything, camping, sleeping in the car, I've got food and water, maps if I need them. But the goal for me, in this trip, is to go without an agenda...well, besides enjoying the beauty of this city and its natural environment. Just go and see what happens. Be flexible, be loose.

Tomorrow I am planning on taking the kayak out...not exactly sure where, but at least I know of a general location. The Sullivan Island area, which I've heard is beautiful, will most likely be the destination. I was planning on just kayaking around the Intercoastal in between the islands and mainland around the marshes, but I providentially ran into a lady around the Battery this afternoon who started talking to me.

It turns out that she grew up here but lived for 30 years in Mentone, Alabama, just behind Lookout Mountain. We talked about that for a bit and I came to speak of my kayaking hopes and she told some crucial facts about the tides and the current; certain areas not to go, etc. She said it can become very dangerous if you go in the wrong areas. The Lord was definitely looking out for me! She told me about this area called Shem Creek on the way out to Sullivan's Island. I looked it up and it seems pretty sweet. Apparently there are dolphins are over this area. So it looks like I will kayak some, then maybe hit the beach at Sullivan's and then maybe do some more kayaking. We shall see.

And I just heard from my friend Chris and he wants me to stay at his place tonight so...free lodging! without having to sleep in the car! God is good!

I can explain some more depth to my trip later. But for now, I'm gonna save my computer battery.

So long.
-b garrison

Updates to my blog...

2010-10-15T12:40:00.000-04:00

hello everyone!

I just wanted to share my updated blog with you all. I really wish I had things set up like this when I was Down Under for the summer because it would have been a much better way to share the summer with you all, but...oh well.

PAGES: I've added a few new pages...underneath the slideshow you can check them out. The first page is an explanation of what this blog is about with my new promo video. The second is a list of upcoming travels I am preparing/planning for; this includes dates and maps. Third is a page filled with some of my videos from recent travels. I'm hoping to rotate some in and out for you...there should also be links to my YouTube channel there. Finally I have added a music page with a continually updating playlist of some of my favorite music streaming live from my podcast.

I appreciate any feedback I can get on what you think. Do you have any suggestions for new pages? etc.

SIDEBAR: To the right of the blog entries are a lot of new "accessories". There is a search bar powered by Ligit, which enables for you to search for any topic within my blog and a list will pop up for you. There is a featured song of the week from Podbean underneath that. Below my profile there is a list of links for you to check out if you're interested. And down toward the bottom of the sidebar is a way for you to help Invisible Children. Just by visiting my blog you can help raise funds for Invisible Children, sponsored by SocialVibe.

So I hope you enjoy the updates. I am hoping to make this a more regular blog than it has been, but than again I feel as if I may have said that in the past. So don't hold me to that...

Alright. God bless,

-b garrison

quick Florida trip

2010-10-04T15:54:00.000-04:00

Well, hello everyone...it has been a little while since I've last had a post. Not that life has been dull or uneventful by any means; I've just been in one place most of the time.

We had the annual RA retreat in northern Alabama previous to the school year and the freshmen arrival. I've been to Atlanta a couple of times for different reasons. But nothing out of the ordinary. Except for my car hitting mile 55,555 on a trip to Atlanta. I got to see my friend Pedro perform at a show and me and my brother hit up the Varsity.

Last weekend I bought a kayak, not really planned. But awesome! This Wednesday I was able to take it out for a bit and it ended up being the perfect day out on the water. I took it out to Booker T. Washington State Park on the Tennessee River and it really was a blast...so peaceful and so relaxing.

But this weekend I took an impromptu flight down to Fort Myers to surprise my mom, along with surprising my good friend Jason (Debo) and getting to spend some quality time with other friends (Pedro, Michael) and my parents. It really was a great trip! And a much needed vacation. God truly blessed the short time that I've had here (Saturday morning from 10 to Monday morning at 9). I had some really great time with people...truly blessed to have this opportunity. It's funny how God does that. I am so thankful for Him making every minute special.

Right now I'm in the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach waiting for my flight to board. It was a beautiful day today...really gorgeous. It's started to get into the high 40s back on the mountain so it was nice to be down here and feel the warm sun on my skin and the 70 degree evenings underneath the majestic sunset. I hung out at the beach here for a little while which was great...I really miss the beach, and the beach is beautiful here.

Well, now I'm heading back to the mountain and to Covenant. I'm praying that my time down here will have been not only restful and replenishing, but a time to really process and brainstorm through some things for work. That's all I got for now...

Blessings,

-b garrison