The End

SO I realize that I haven't kept this up the past few weeks, but life has been busy and I have simply forgotten to keep this up! I hope that all of you have had an enriching experience the past few weeks in the heat and humidity of the west coast. In the past few weeks I have been to the Deleware beaches and they are wonderful! I visited Williamsburg and met up with my Mentor Derek Archer and spent the day with his family, it was a wonderful time to catch up and have fun! Today marks the last 24 hours that I will spend on my journey, it has been a wonderful time. I have been reflecting of this adventure and those to come, how blessed I have been! God is so good, and I am simply in awe of what I have been given.

I have learned so much both in the office and outside of the office. Relationships have been built and I can now say that I have deep friendships with people all over the U.S. I have seen what many only read about in textbooks, I have walked in the hallways were men have shaped the nation that we now live and impact. From this time I have seen and heard many ideas and have a deep need to continue processing the entire journey. Today I spent some time watching "The Hurricane" which stars Denziel Washington, it was a very interesting story of a man wrongly convicted because of the color of his skin. It looks at a man's motivation for living, and how relationships can change a man. I am excited to unpack the past few months and would love to share with all of you what my eyes have seen and continue to unpack this rich experience with each one of you! Love ya!

Over the Rainbow

Time flies by to quickly. It is hard to believe that I am over 6 weeks into the fellowship program, we had our first fellow leave today. I am sad that it is all over so soon, I remember months ago being so excited to have something to do this summer. The past 6 weeks have changed my perspective and I have learned so much about life, about who I am, and what is in front of me. New relationships have been formed, and old ones have continued on through my time away. I couldn't have asked or prayed for a better 6 weeks. As I prepare to head home and conclude the summer I still have so much that I want to accomplish, things I want to see and do. Tomorrow I hope to run the mall walk to Abraham Lincoln and maybe over to the Jefferson Memorial. The next few weeks will be filled with fun, food, and laughter but with the agging feeling that it will all end too soon. At times these past few weeks I wish that DC and Washington could be one and the same. That the friends that I have made over here could come and join the ones over at home, that home could be close to the Capitol. The next few months will be difficult as I begin to decide what course to take after graduation. Please pray that God would give me wisdom as I begin to take leaps of faith.

Last week was an enjoyable one!! I met Steve Largent, Seahawks hall of famer, he has a great story and it was awesome just to spend time with him. Although I will not be a hall of famer in football, I still have a shot at Congress and business. In those regards it was great to met him and just to say from a fan's perspective it was Great!!! I also sat in on a meeting with players from the NFL and learned about their present contract conflicts. Worked on some financial reform research and reading, sorted some mail, and answered some phones.

I hope that all of you back at home are doing great!!! Enjoy this week for me!

July

So, it has been a couple of weeks since my last post! Sorry!

I have been busy traveling the east coast and working hard in the office! I took a trip up through NY, NY and finally arrived in Boston, Ma on July 3rd where I met my Dad and a family friend (Shawn Adgie)! I met up with my friend Daniel Gifford for dinner and some hang out time on the river with his new friends, and then met my Dad back at the hotel! Boston is a pretty cool town (for the parts that I was able to see) and has a BIG Red Sox following. It seems that everyone there is a Red Sox fan in some way shape or form. On the 4th we went to the Red Sox game and watched the Mariners beat up on the Red Sox and saw a win at Fenway Park!!!! We then went down to the river and got inside the oval (that’s a whole other story!) to watch Neil Diamond and the Boston Pops play for the 4th of July celebration! What a show and what a time with my Dad!

After the 4th we proceeded to drive 12 hours or so down to Washington DC! Although it was a fun experience trying to navigate all the way down, I'd recommend taking the train! I then had the opportunity to walk them around the Capitol City, with my intern pass we saw the Capitol without reservations, walked right into the Holocaust Museum, and saw the sights! What a day we had around the city. And after that we went our separate ways and the week was finished!

This week at work I have been really busy with different tasks, and answering a lot of phone calls! One cool highlight was running in to Senator Lieberman and General McKinley (a four star general)!!! Also had the chance to sit and listen to former Lt. Col. Ollie North speak (he was a big deal with Reagan and the Iran Contra Affair) at Fox News!! Their studio is pretty bomb dot com!!

Well I hope that all of you have been having as much fun if not more than I have!!! Love you all!! Let me know how your doing if you get the chance!

Days Go By

Its hard to believe that I have already been on the east coast for more than two weeks! It seems like just yesterday I left on an airplane and said goodbye to my family and friends for two months. Yesterday the guys and I went around to the air and space museum and to the American history museum. As we walked around the War section of the history museum I was amazed to see how much of our history has been spent at war. We as a country are so young, and yet our country has barely known peace. As the years go by what will our nation grow to be, will we continue to dominate the rest of the world or will we begin to change our identity?

After spending our time in the museums we meet up with some of the girls from the house in Georgetown for dinner. I haven't been to Georgetown before and it was a very nice distirict of the city. It reminded me a lot of what I pictured old school Washington DC. We enjoyed some pizza and bread and good company. Hope all is well back at home and that your enjoying summer! Love y'all (as they say in the south).

The Weekend

The Weekend has finally started! I think that I might head into the city on Saturday and Sunday to explore! Tomorrow is a possible trip to George Town to check out the campus. This week has been very eventful, I was able to head over to Nationals Park and watch the Republicans play the Democrats in the 48th annual Congressional Baseball game, I was busy at work, and continued to further relationships within the house that I am living in. We have had numerous people speak on Purpose this week, and what that looks like in our daily lives. They dove into Matthew 22: 37-40 and how that is applicable in all situations. It has been an interesting discussion, to say the least, I'd love to hear thoughts on it if you have any! Other than that there have been so many questions rattling around in my head about what life looks like in the future and how life is going to be after graduation. How do I put everything I have learned the past 4 if not 16 years of my life into practice? I am excited to think about and really begin to search out an answer to these questions the next few weeks! I hope all of you are well! Love to hear from you if you get the chance! Your always welcome to email, call, or send mail!

My email: BrianWilliams235@gmail.com
Address: 7402 Princeton Ave. College Park, MD 20740

Work Work Work

Yet another day in the office today. But today was different. For most of the day I wasn't scheduled on the phones or other various tasks, but had the opportunity to work on some fun projects. After work we went over to National Park and watched the Republicans get beat by the Democrats in a the 48th Baseball game between the two parties. It was a great time with friends, and an awesome chance to see some of the nation's leaders have some fun. Tomorrow will be the last day in the office until Tuesday which means I get to catch up on some much needed sleep, and spend some time in the various museums and what not!

Kansas City

Sorry for the delay on posting an update! We didn't have internet at my house until today and we were traveling!! The group of guys spent a majority of the weekend traveling to Kansas City where we had the opportunity to bond as a group of guys and learn more about the community of friends in Kansas. It was a great trip! I saw St. Louis, Nashville, and Kansas City! All beautiful cities with beautiful landscapes.
While we were in KC we visited with Doug and Judy Hall, who I had been wanting to meet since Feb. (I was supposed to try and meet them when I was at the National Prayer Breakfast). It was nice to sleep in a bed after a 20 hour car ride! We listened to many people share their thoughts on life and how we should pursue our purpose. The total time we spent in KC was probably close to 40 hours which was about the same amount of time we spent in the car!
I really enjoyed getting to know the guys...probably the best part of the whole trip, I learned more about their backgrounds and the experiences that have shaped them into who they are today.
Throughout the entire trip we really focused on what our purposes are and what that looks in our daily lives. I've been blessed with being around men and women of God that have really pushed me to look at what my purpose is, so this discussion is not new but it is still challenging. We discussed Matthew 22 briefly and what Jesus talks about for purpose, check it out let me know what you think. We are going to be talking a lot about this question over the next few days and weeks, so I'm excited to hear what the mentors have to say and what you have to say.
Tomorrow promises to be an event filled day! Working in the Senators office till 5 then a meeting with the Marty, Tim, and David Coe and then dinner and hopefully time with the other fellows! Hope all is well! Love ya all.
Your welcome to email me your thoughts or I think you can comment on here if you can figure it out.
My email: BrianWilliams235@gmail.com

First day on the hill!

So Today was my first day on the hill and I finally got home around 11pm! A group of us decided to go for a run and after recording some stuff for my internship I am preparing to hit the hay! Today was really exciting and I spent a lot of time in the office learning the ropes. If you'd like to learn more I can talk to you on the phone but not on here!

This evening I spent my time with 5 of the other fellows serving and preparing dinner for approximately 10 senators and congressmen that live together while they are in the DC area for session. It is a pretty cool set up and was great to see Congressmen live intentionally during their time in the Capital. This summer will definatly be an awesome chance to meet great people, share meals with new friends, and grow closer to God! I have already made so many great friends in the house I am living in and can not wait to go deeper into relationship with them! Hope you all are doing well back at home and that summer comes quickly for those of you finishing up school! Love ya all! I'll post more details about the journey (plus pics) later in the week (if i have time)

Brian

Finalllllly here!

So I left Seattle at approximately 10:10pm Friday and have finally settled down into my new room for the next 8 weeks. I'm living in a sorority! Never thought I'd say that, but I am really excited to meet the guys and girls that I'm living with. I don't start the Fellowship until Monday so tomorrow if I can crawl out of bed I might go into DC and see the sites! Today is going to be a relaxing day with the possibility of a Target run later. Well that's all I'm gunna say for now, its nap time!

The Beginning

Starting Saturday I will begin my 9 week jorney to the east coast. I will be spending time learning more about what it means to work in Congress and make the laws that govern this great land. During this time I will be spending time living in community and learning more of the principles of Jesus of Nazereth and what it means to follow him. I am really excited about this opportunity and ready to learn more about life on capitol hill!