Well, I live in Chicago with my two half-Ecuadorian, half-Irish roommates, Christopher Gowdy Riley and Matthew John Riley.What do I do? Well that's a simple question but for me a complicated answer. I am a volunteer YUTE pastor at the Northwest Church in Bel-Cragin, which is in northwest Chicago. I teach ESL (English as a second language) classes at my church through Wright College. I volunteer about 20 hours a week at Ames Middle School, a inner-city school in Logan Square during the school year. I also write Christian teenage curriculum for Randall House Publications in Nashville and I am on staff for the National Youth Conference of the NAFWB. I love everything I do, or else I wouldn't be doing it!!!I used to work downtown in the lobby of a high-rise building, where I networked with many, many high rollers and hobnobbed with some pretty powerful people. But it wasn't what God called me to do in Chicago, so I resigned to take a position with Chicago Public Schools. The same week I resigned, the position fell through. So I started volunteering in the school until they would hire me (I read in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" that this was a good idea). Despite starting my new teaching gig, I still like to volunteer because I absolutely love those kids.I am running the Chicago Marathon this year to raise money to take our church's YUTEs (teenagers) to France next summer. This year we are going to Mexico. It'll be me, 5 or 6 other adults, and 8 YUTEs. Before this trip, however, I am going to Peru for 4 weeks to immerse myself in Spanish. My church desperately needs ministries for Hispanic people (which constitue 66% of my neighborhood).On the lighter side, I love "Seinfeld," Chicken, Chickens and, Chicago Youth Culture. I am obsessed with quotes (the wall behind my computer is filled with them) and pictures (the wall beside my computer is filled with them). I never wear jeans, unless I'm dressing up like Napoleon for the kids at church, and often I laugh so hard I fall out of my chair and beat the ground. One of my favorite memories is the time Matt and I went to see "Dickie Roberts" for his 16th birthday. I laughed so hard on two different occasions that the entertainment in the theater ceased to be the movie and became me laughing and Matt laughing at me laughing. Every year on September 12th, Matt and I don't celebrate his birthday; we celebrate the anniversary of that "incedent".Lastly, my church is planning on daughtering another church here in Chicago in the next couple of years. I will be a part of this church plant and might be the senior pastor. I am scared to death, but I can't go with God and stay where I am.If you would like to see more pictures of me in my element, please visit www.northwestfwb.org and go to the "Activities for the Young at Heart" link.
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