God is the awesomest!!!

My Life, Chapter TOMS, Page 1

So I just finished my last final and I am sitting here trying to process all that is going down in my life right now... Let me tell you what there is mucho and I am super stoked to finally get to write it all down! So here goes...

New job, new city, new place of residence!

Well I just found out last night that I got hired by TOMS shoes to be a Vagabond on the Spring '09 tour!!! I am so awesomely stoked that it is hard for me to even begin to express what I am feeling inside, so I'm going to start by explaining what I'm going to be doing and then go into what I hope to gain from the experience.

January 8th I am going to fly out to L.A. and begin training and tour planning with the rest of my new fellow Vagabonds:-) We'll spend the better part of a month working out the details of the tours and learning how to effectively host an awesome event. On Feb. 6th we finish training. This is interesting to note because that also happens to be my birthday... Perhaps there will be some celebration! We will then hit the vans and proceed on our tours, canvasing the country telling the TOMS story and giving people the opportunity to take an action step through the one for one shoe purchasing program, where TOMS donates a pair of shoes for every pair bought. I will return on May 22nd.

Alright enough about the details... Let's move on to the good stuff, the feelings and expectations... I'll try to keep up with this whole blogging thing when I'm on the road so that I can keep everyone up to date on all things Derek. I guess my biggest hope is that I get at least one christian teammate. I really would love to have someone that could help with accountability and that I can grow with spiritually. I realize that it is going to be a super hectic time in my life and I am a little concerned about taking a step away from God while doing something that I know he wants me to do. I think the key is being super intentional about time in the word and prayer. I also have a great group of support here in Morgantown that I know is going to stay after me and spur me on toward growth. P.S. I love you guys!

On top of that I really need people who are into deep conversation. I am addicted to conversations that make me think about what's going on around me. I love to have my mind blown! On that note, I feel like anyone who is willing to drop everything and agree to live out of a van for 14 weeks, has to be a pretty awesome person... LOL!!

I've been checking out the TOMS shoes blog the last couple days and all the current Vagabonds are much cooler than I am... I'm not really sure how I fit in with such a trendy organization, but I'm gonna do my best to be me and not pretend to be cooler than I am... I really feel like I have a unique skill set that is useful in the type of environment that I'm going to be faced with, though. I mean how many people do you know who have accounting degrees, have worked on computers for 7 years, I love to drive, and have 4 years of experience with sales and talking to people? I really thought my random skill set would be useless but I guess there are jobs that can use all of them. Just so happens that I found one:-)

Anyway I don't really want to make this any longer than it already is, because I want you to actually read this line and I know if I make it any longer no one will make it this far... So I will check back soon with a packing list.... oooooooo....... I know what does one take when they're going to be gone for 6 months and have no idea what climate they'll be in??? I'm thinking a nalgene french press is probably a definite but other than that I think I'm gonna hit up my good friend Tiff who's spent time touring with Invisible Children for some cues on what I'll need and won't need.

Love and prayers,

D-Wreckosaurus