Trip background...

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For those of you who haven't heard from me in a while, I'm planning a cross-country motorcycle trip this summer. In June I will be graduating from Oregon State with my mechanical engineering degree. I really feel the need to get out and travel for a little while, and I think this will be a prime time to do it. I have many reasons for going on this journey, though I won't bore you with them right now. Most importantly, I don't really have any large commitments in my life right now.

School has had its ups and downs for the last 6 years of college. For the most part it has been a great experience, and I have learned a lot along the way. I guess this relates to academics as well as general life lessons. But the question I ask myself a lot is "Where am I supposed to go next?" I have plenty of options, but I don't feel extremely confident in all of them. A few of these include a couple offers for grad school at OSU, Both companies I interned at in the last couple years, work for the Post Office (Dad, you might be the only one that gets that joke), start a business with my brother, and several other options too. I'm trying to keep as many doors open as I can, and trusting that God sends the right people in my life and helps me find His direction for my life.

So right now the decision has been made: Ride my motorcycle across the country, no real time limit or schedule, see a lot of my friends and relatives, and just enjoy the life of a young single unemployed traveling man.

For those of you who I haven't talked to yet, please let me know if you may have a couch or floor I could crash on along the journey. I basically require no maintenance, and only a roof over my head. I'm relying mostly on friends and relatives to stay with, along with my handy-dandy Mennonite Your Way publication. Worst case I just find a cheap motel for the night. I'm planning on leaving around the end of June or early July, and I have no idea when I'm returning home.

I'll be posting on here as much as I can during my journey. Your prayers are always appreciated; pray for safety, an open heart to serve and listen, rest, and whatever else the Holy Spirit leads you to. And emails or phone calls are always appreciated. If you don't have my phone number, just PM me or send me an email.

I'm pretty much counting the days until I can leave!

Mike

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