I was raised in a Christian home, which became reformed by the time I was in late grade school. However, I was not personally affected by this until graduating high school, and was not saved until the age of 21. I am thankful to God that He saved me at a relatively young age in spite of myself and the path I was going down. The process of sanctification is a long and never-ending one, moving quickly at times, and much more slowly at others. Having grown up in an environment in which all other Christians that I knew either believed the same that my parents did, or were only nominally professing, my recent experience in Germany has been an interesting and somewhat trying time. I am surrounded, somewhat surprisingly, on all sides by evangelicals of varying belief systems, which has been challenging, but also made me think more than I have had to before about my faith and what it is that I believe. This has been a good experience so far in my estimation..

I have not known Christianity apart from the doctrines of grace, so what I can say about them isn´t distinguishable from what I would say about my faith in general. In my own experience, the total depravity of man has been quite evident, as well as the fact that salvation is entirely from God and not by anything that we can do ourselves. My conversion experience was a "bolt of lightning" type, and I was changed from having a total disregard for things of the Lord to suddenly wishing to serve Him and put others before myself. This I can only attribute to His calling and desire to save me, as I never would have sought Him myself.

This is always a struggle, but I firmly believe this is an important part of every day and I strive to set aside time every morning to read the bible and pray. I am currently reading through 2 Corinthians

I COULD continue to live as a single guy indefinitely I guess....if the Lord calls me to this. It has been alright this way for several years, but I wouldn´t be opposed to changing up the status quo

God´s sovereignty, my salvation, my family

Hmm..hard to say. I like spontaneity and flexibility, a sense of humor, being trustworthy, non-flakiness (is that a word?). I would say these probably describe me as well, including being pretty laid-back. I don´t suppose it´s essential that others be quite as laid-back as I am ;)

Proverbs 3: 5-8

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. NKJV

I am currently teaching English in a private German middle/high school in Gießen, Germany. I have been here a year and a half, and my contract is up at the end of this school year (June). I enjoy teaching for the most part so far, although I will admit that I would rather teach high school than middle school :P

My lifelong goal is to do whatever the Lord will have me do, whether that be teaching, mission work, or something else I haven´t thought of yet :). Whatever it is that I can best do to serve the Lord, that is what I want to be doing. I would also like to be married and have a family if this is according to God´s will

I like to travel and experience new things, often spontaneously. This often takes me on all kinds of adventures, which I have survived up to this point for the most part... I like to be outdoors and in nature, although in practice this happens a lot less than I would like. Hanging out with friends and family is always high on the list as well.

I was born in WA and have lived there most of my life. While I was growing up I traveled quite a bit around the country with my family, primarily in the western coastal states and the northeast. Since leaving home for college I have lived and traveled extensively in Europe, but would like to extend beyond this into other continents in the near future.

I am quite close to my immediate family, but living away from them is something I´m used to by now. Relocating is not an issue