Thanksgiving.... a Time for Turkey and Thanking

So being in the United States I got to be apart of my first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving started something like when the Pilgrims and Indians had there first meal together but what it is really about is it is a time to give thanks. I spent My thanksgiving playing basketball but also got a great feed from some of our boosters and host parents Doc and Rosey. I ate so much turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, bread, gravy, pumpkin pie, brownies. I didn't eat purposely the whole day Wednesday so I could stuff my self for dinner. So anyway although Thanksgiving is passed I would like to list the Top 5 things I am Thankful for.

Number 1:
Jesus Christ, This man is my Lord and Saviour. He died just so that I may live free of the worry of sin and have the opportunity for eternal life.

Number 2:
My Girlfriend Alisha Grace Heglund. In the 8 months we have known each other and the 6 and half months we've been dating she has completely changed my life. I don't know if I have ever loved anyone the way I love her.

Number 3:

My Family. Not just my Mum, Dad and my Brother but everyone from my grandparents to my aunties, my uncles, my cousins all of them the love and support they have given me throughout my lifetime has just been incredible. Couldn't thank them enough.

Number 4:
My Friends all of them, I have met so many great people over the years and they have each taught me valuable lessons so to all of my friends, thank you.

Number 5:

Basketball. This sport has given me the opportunity to pretty much meet everyone who means the most to me. It has allowed me to travel the world for free, right now it's paying for my education and for me to live in the United States not mention it has always kept me fit and healthy.

Our Season so far.

I'm sorry that it's taken so long to post again but these last few weeks have been pretty hectic for me. School work has picked up considerably seeing as it is coming up to the end of semester, we have more test to study for, more assignments to get done. Along with that now that the season has started we traveling from time to time And not to mention last week I was sick as a dog but there's no need to get into how I threw up everything inside me then had to live of crackers and ginger ale.

So going back to the start of the season we kicked off the season at home on a weekend double header against the Wyoming All-Stars and North Eastern JC. Friday night we played the All-Stars this was a team compiled of all ex college players who lived in Wyo. I have no idea how we could play a team like this that isn't even a school and it counts towards our records but it did. So in front of a decent crowd we got our first win by 26 points. Moving on to the next game our team was ready to go we came out strong and got a decent lead before just before the half we allowed NEJC to have a small comeback then going into the second half we had to many lapses allowing it to become a single digit game, But after a timeout we got our heads in to gear, turned on the after burners and blew it out for a 29 point win.

We had 2 weeks till our next game which happened to be another double header in Utah. This was not a good weekend for the T-Birds although it did teach us some valuable lessons that no matter how good we thought we were if we didn't have a team giving 100% we could be beaten by anyone and that's what happened. We played our first game against Salt lake City CC and no need to get into details all you need to know was we blew a 15 point league to lose by 4. The next game was just terrible. We were blown out by Snow College, then had to drive back to Casper straight after. Safe to say it was a long, quiet, dark bus ride home.

We then had our Thanksgiving Tournament at home playing 3 teams over 3 nights. Those teams where; Colorado North West CC, Cloud County CC and Lamar JC. We tipped of Thursday night against Colorado North West, What started as a reasonably close game ended up a 20 point win. The next day of the tourney was against a talented Cloud County this game was close the entire way but as a team we were able to capitalize and come out on top 3 point victors. It was the first time during the season we had been presented with a real challenge and responded. Our last game was against Lamar which compared to the game before was fairly easy for the team we came out with another 20 point win. So our season was back on track we we're now 5-2.

After our Thanksgiving Tournament we played 2 days later on a Tuesday night against Laramie County CC we got the 12 point win in reality if we had shot 75% from the foul line and finished our lay ups we would have one by 30+ points with ease.

The next day was when I got sick which meant that I was unable to go with the team on a road trip to Colorado but the team took care of business getting up against Northeastern JC by 10 then Smashing North Platte CC by around 40 points. We have 2 more games before Christmas break we play Western Wyoming tomorrow night who are undefeated, we will be looking to end there 11 game win streak. Then we play our last game on the 10th at Central Wyoming College. Hopefully we get these next 2 wins and finish the first half of the season 10-2

If I would describe how I feel I have been playing I would say I'm real happy with my defense I think it has improved out of sight, Offensively I have become stronger due to the amounts I've been lifting but my offensive game hasn't been where I would like it to be. When I get the ball I am able to good things I have picked up numerous assists hitting passing cutters or skipping it for the open 3 so my passing game is definitely going well it's just finishing on offense my touch has been of so just have to make sure my finishes are that little bit softer to make those shots I should be putting in go down.

As for things away from the court that have been interesting. I had my first Thanksgiving which was great I will blog a bit more on that but to sum it up here. We ate really really well thanks to some of our boosters Doc and Rose, we went over to there house and they cooked up a storm. We played in the Thanksgiving Tournament here that I mentioned above and overall just was a time to reflect and remember all the things I am thankful for. It was amazing how many blessings I could count.

A lot has been going on with our church here. One of my favourite things I have done in the last month is make shoe boxes to send to kids in 3rd world countries so they can feel the love of Christ and learn all about the Gospel. It was a lot of fun wrapping all the boxes and organising gifts knowing it was going to such a good cause.

Due to our churches growth we have also moved to a bigger location with more classrooms for Child Ministry which has allowed the church to break up kids into age groups and has allowed me the chance to help minister. I've just started it but I am loving it right now we are talking about Christmas obviously and it has reminded me how much I love the Christmas story and all the arts and crafts we do really brings me back to how I learnt about Christmas back in my North Junior school days. So right now at church I am having a blast really loving it.

Wrapping Shoe Boxes

Showing of my work with Pastor Bob

Me with some of the kids, I like to think I'm a favourite around the place mainly to do with the fact I can pick them all up and carry them all and also I am giant 'Just like Goliath'

So that's what I've been up to over the last month or so. I am really going to start trying to get my blogs out consistently so stay tuned!!!

If I die young

First of all let me apologise for posting this before I told you about what happened in our season so far but something happened to me today that I had to write about. my blog covering the first 4 games of our season is currently underway but anyway back to today's event.

It was about 9:55am and I was walking up to my health class. to get to my health class from the dorm I have to walk up this massive hill then cross the road to get over to the class room which is in the same building as our T-Bird gym. To set the picture over the weekend we have had mass amounts of snow and with snow comes icy floors. So I have hiked up this hill and as I get to the top I turn to cross the road to go over to class but it so happens I am looking at my phone and as I get to the curb I slip forward on the ice and luckily I catch myself and pull myself back because at that second I slipped the school bus that does loops of the campus was coming past. I had no idea it was there but as I pulled my self up the front of the bus skimmed my fringe and my nose was literally less than an inch away from the bus and I pulled my self up and this tingly kinda feel just ran through my whole body. I could of sworn my heart skipped a beat and all I could do was smile and start laughing. If had gone a few inches further my head was getting knocked off and if I fell completely that was a bus driving over my chest. Thank God it is just something now I can smile about, But it really made me think if I were to die today or even tomorrow in the next year what have I left behind? Have I really done anything that has helped anyone, would I be remembered for that long? I think it's a blessing that we have no idea when our last breath will be but if you died today would you be okay with that?

Two quotes that I have read over the last week really stand out in my mind today more than anything. I have no idea who said them but one was 'You are not able to live until you are ready to die.' How might this be you ask? how could I be okay with dieing? What about the life ahead of me? The family I need to support? well I will get to those questions later in this blog. The other was 'What you do for yourself goes with you when you die, but what you do for others will live on long after.' This may be one of the truest things I've ever heard how often do we consume ourselves with me, me, me. I mean what have you done today that could have an effect on someone if you were gone tomorrow. Did you go out and buy yourself a new pair of shoes when you already have more than you need. Did you go out and buy a whole lot of video games which sure may be and probably will be very amusing but lets be real whats gonna happen once you finish the new campaign on Call of Duty or you finish a season on NBA 2K? I know what will happen because I've done it before it's just an empty feeling it's done. You find you have no purpose for the game anymore and if you counted up all the hours you realise you probably could have done a lot more with your life over the last week. Now don't get me wrong I love to play video games from time to time but there's a difference between a bit of recreational fun and being an addict. Same goes for Buying stuff for yourself whatever it maybe clothes, cars, house. Now I'm not saying live in a bin and wear a potato sack give all your money to charity because I still do believe from time to time It's nice to treat yourself. Me, I love fashion and self appearance is something that I'm big on. I do think it's important to feel comfortable in what you wear and do self image helps big time with self respect and if you don't respect yourself who will?

Anyway I've gotten a little bit of point but I guess what I'm really getting at is as species we are extremely materialistic and the power of giving is so much bigger than receiving. I guarantee that if you give money to a charity, spend time helping those who need it, YOU are going to feel a lot better than if you went out and did something just to self indulge.

Now this is want I really wanted to get at. If I were to die before you the reader ever see me again this is what my last wish would be, I don't know if you are family, a close friend, and acquaintance or maybe you just stumbled onto this blog somehow. My last wish is that you will find Christ as I have.

For those of you who know me and really know me, you will know that growing up my opinion was that there was always a God and growing up in the Christian school that was Trinity College I believed in obviously the Holy Trinity. So my God was the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now by no means was I ever an extremely religious person and had outstanding faith and lived by the word of God. My thing was well something had to start all this life. It didn't just come from no where and the extent of my religion was when I was in a situation where I was just lost and confused I prayed because I figured theres a God and if anyone can help me or my love ones right now it's 'the man upstairs.' Now I had no real understanding of this great and almighty God I had basic knowlege and that was basically ok so there is a Father (boss God) Jesus (the Boss's son) and the Holy Spirit (the God that is everywhere) and some how these where all the same God. Don't know how and to be honest still really don't but I have no doubt that it's 100% true.

It wasn't until earlier this year where I gave my life completely to Christ aknowleged him as my Lord and Saviour and let him take control of my life. If for some reason you have just been skiming through this blog because it is starting to get long PLEASE HEAR THIS NEXT PART! Now for many of my friends I have heard quotes like 'I believe there is a God' or 'I'm open to religion' others I know have said theres no God thats nonsense. for me those people who don't believe there is a God is beyond me because in my heart of hearts I've always felt a presence that is far greater than me or anything I could every do on my own and I'm almost ceartin that anyone anytime you really focus in on 'Is there a God?' You can feel that little pull on your heart, that warm little glow inside your chest. Why not try it now? Take a minute break from reading this and just close your eyes meditate and ask 'God are you there?'

Do you fell it? I know I do just writing it.

Now here is what my biggest concern is with a lot of my friends and family. Just because you think you're generally living pretty well, You are a nice person and you think there is a God by no means do you get a pass into Heaven. The only way into The Lords Kingdom is to aknowlege Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. Essentially all you need to do to live an eternal life of happiness and peace is to answer this question right:

Q: Who is Jesus Christ?
A: My Lord and Saviour?

Congrats if that is already your answer then no matter what I will be seeing you in Heaven. If not I hope that that will become your answer. It seems pretty simple to me. Obviously you can't just say yeap okay Jesus is my Saviour sweet going to heaven and not really believe it because God know what your real genuine answer is.

So to everyone still with me who may be fence sitting, 50/50 or whatever else here are two points I would like to make. I go back to why I believed there was a God in the first place. How are we hear well science tells us the big bang happened when something like two atoms collieded and from there our universe began and started to expand and make elements so on and so forth eventually joing together to make stars, galaxies, earth and life on earth. Well even the Catholic Church aknowleges the Big Bang Theroy. Ok so now let me ask you this where did those to objects that collide come from? and how did they possiblly colliede I mean try and imagine the universe, every little part of it. You can't can you? so how is that these two objects which came from nothing all of a sudden collided when there was nothing bit infinte nothingness? Yeah try and figure that one out. I am certain my answer is better than anything you came up with, mine is God because what else could it possibly be?

My second argument is lets say for a second you believe exactly what I believe there Is a God, a Saviour, a Heaven and a Hell. Now In my case if you believe that if you aknowlege your Saviour Jesus Christ you will be allowed into the gates of heaven once you die, where you can live in essentially complete bliss for ever. On the other hand if you deny Christ you will be thrown into Hell where you will be drowning in a lake of fire you will be beyond any sadness and grief you have ever felt in your whole mortal life. Your skin will burn and you will be in agony forever, literally forever you don't get used to it. It's not like getting into a hot tub or a really hot summers day. It passes all pain you've ever felt for eternity.

Now your point of view say for a second there is no God (there is) but okay I live life here then it's done I just go to sleep forever. Now okay I guess end of the day I would rather sleep for ever than burn but is that a chance you really want to take? Are you willing to gamble your eternity? I most definetley am not. here is a real testimony of a women who says she has seen Hell you might think she's crazy but I know this is a place I never want to be: http://www.jesus-loves-you.org/?p=1913

That video was taken of a great website called jesus-loves-you.org it has so many amazing videos and stories not just about God and the Bible but real miracles that happen to real people.

So coming to the end of this blog I hope it spoke to you and didn't get to deep at times. My prayer is that after reading this you will come to know Jesus. If you were like me the biggest thing that may keep you away is the fear that you have not been living right and will be judged. Our God is a loving God he wants you with him. You don't have to change completeley to be a 'Perfect Christian' honestly there is no such thing the only person never to sin is our Saviour. But God forgives you the second you ask for it. He has no Hate. He Loves you, A Love more powerful than anything you have ever know. Another thing that might not be appealing is the idea that you have to follow all these rules. but really everything God tells us is for our own safety and if we screw up, which we will once again we are already forgiven. Good Times!!

So please, I beg of you if you want to come to know this amazing Lord that I know pray this with me now. 'Dear Father, I aknowlege that your son Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. He was the lamb sent to earth in order to pay for my sins. I let you in Lord that you may begin to have an impact on my life and that it is not now I who live but your son who lives in and through me. I pray this in Jesus's mighty name. Amen'

As soon as I post this I am going to take a moment to pray for each of you who have read this and those who have come to know Jesus as your Saviour. Maybe you don't feel that it's your time to turn to our Saviour for whatever reason but maybe some day in the future you may think of this, you might feel that tug on your heart, that warmth inside you and when that happens stop and pray what you need to pray and I promise you it will be one of the most purest joys you have ever felt.

Now obviously I can't tell you the whole bible and everything you need to know how to live but if you are serious about what you have just done then I recomend go to Church this Sunday and you won't regret it. if you live in South Australia here are a few sites that may help you.

If you live in the northen suburbs I highly recomend Victory Church it was my home Church back in SA and can't wait to go back when I visit home.

http://www.victorychurch.net.au/

If You live closer to the city or on the other side of town I recomend Edge Church it has a few different churches spread out I have been there before and also loved it.

http://www.edgechurch.com/

Also If you live close to Gawler and prefer not to travel more than 10 minutes I have heard Salt Church is good and is similar to these other two aswell

http://www.saltchurch.com.au/

If you go to any of these three I'm sure you will have a great time, without a doubt you will at Victory some of the kindest most genuine people I have ever met. Not to mention there band is awesome oh and they have a mosh pit, yeah a mosh pit a church. Thats something you have to go and see no matter what

Also If you're interested in getting a bible and one that is easy to read mine is a new living translation study bible. It is my favourite. My girlfriend bought it for me and it is one of the greatest gifts I have ever recived unlike other bibles I have read it is easy to understand and also has basic notes for you to read under all the scriputure so you can really understand what the story is telling you.

if you would personaly like to talk to me more either facebook me or my email is deisel_25@hotmail.com I would be happy to talk to anyone about anything any questions.

I will leave you with these thoughts Religion sets rules but Jesus sets us free.
And whether you know it or not Jesus loves YOU more than anything.

I will be praying for you. :)

Casper Jamboree

This was a weekend I'd been hanging out for along time. We were going to be playing 4 games in two days at home but most importantly Alisha was coming up for 3 days (Fri arvo - Mon morning).  In terms of Basketball the weekend was a success we went 3-1, the one game we lost was the 9 am game Saturday morning and in all honesty we came out with no flare and the other team just wanted it more, it sucked but it was a great lesson learned for the team. Now that I've got the negative out of the way time to look at the positives our first game and our last we won by 20-30 details for these two aren't really that important we played well and won that's about all you need to know.

The main highlight in terms of basketball was our Friday night game against 3 time national champs and listed number 1 in the preseason rankings (we are currently ranked at 14th) College of Southern Idaho. We started off the game hot gaining around a 10 point lead within the first 12 minutes of the half but our last 8 minutes of the half were woeful, CSI went on a 17-0 run and we finished the half down by 7. Coming into the second half we played hard but CSI pushed it out to a 12 point lead but from there our fight back began. As a unit we locked up our D and held them to 5 points for the last 10 minutes of the 2nd half and we began to have great ball movement, execute our plays and finish at the basket and on the free thrown line. with about 1:30 to go we took the lead by a point. It was a great environment to be in and I loved being on the floor in the last half. With a few more stops and added 2 more points we ended up getting a win over the number one ranked team. Great sign that the Thunder birds are headed in the right direction.

Defense!!

Team Huddle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MdB_Av_HHg&feature=share << Check out this link to see our final minutes against CSI
Now that talk of the ball is over time to get to the rest of my amazing weekend. Alisha and Laura Got into Casper after something like a 17 hour drive :O that's commitment, but I guess its fair as I traveled 8 hrs to Denver and had a 2 hour for only a third of the time. Anyway they got there during my first game and it was so good to be able to walk up in to the stands and give Alisha a big hug. After icing down my hamstring (oh yeah I've been playing and training on a strained hamstring the last 2 weeks) we went and got some lunch then chilled out a bit before I had to go back for the night game. After the night game I had a crazy head ache but after some I Hop, a nice shower and a joint head massage from the Heglund team I was feeling a lot better but still extremely exhausted and had a game early so whilst Alisha worked hard on her sports ministry home work I was sound asleep.

Love of my life

Saturday we got up early and headed off to my game (that was the one we lost). After that it was time for a much needed hair cut and despite all of Laura's worrying it turned out great :)

Thanks Momma Hegs 

After that it was time for some lunch then off to my last game. We got to finish on a win and from there it was free time for the rest of the weekend. I had a quality nap while Alisha worked more on here online sports ministry course. After some recovery it was time to get ready and out to dinner we were headed to out Outback Steak house, Supposedly Australian....... It was a good meal but they didn't live up to the stereo type as much as I hoped for. Safe to say our waitress was pretty excited to know she was serving a real Australian. After dinner it was back to the C'mon Inn for some more chill time and then some time in the spa which was awesome the Spas they had were so cool, the whole Inn was if you ever plan on coming to Casper for whatever weird reason you have, You must stay at the C'mon Inn.

OutBack for the Aussie

Cute Photo whilst waiting to be seated

 Spa Time :)

Sunday Morning came around and it was our last day together. Time was just going way to quick. We went to my Church and it was great to hear the word of God and worship him with Alisha by my side once again. After that it was time for breakfast at Eggingtons which was delicious. After that we got to venture up to Mt. Casper where there was still snow from the week before. Being my second time in the snow ever I was pretty excited about it all. We had some cute pictures and a good look around then it was time to head back to the Inn so Alisha could get more of here sports ministry in. That night we went out to the Olive Garden a nice Italian style restaurant. Had a great meal with even better company. Sadly this would be our last meal together. We headed back and had a few hours together to relax before it was time for bed. I had to wake up early the next morning as I had class at 8. Alisha dropped me back at CC and there we had to say our goodbyes :( It's currently 31 days until I will see her again for Christmas break and I can not wait.

View over Casper

Cute photo in the snow

Pre Season

This is going to have to be a quick update as I am trying to catch up to the current date. Since the first few days I got to Casper Training had consisted of playing pick up full court 5 on 5 for about an hour. Through out the week we may have a couple of individuals for me these mainly focused on post work, rebounding, shooting and ball handling. We also lifted around 3 to 4 times a week with some agility work in there as well. Once we could start 'official practice' we began practicing for 1 and a half to 2 hours. Our practices mainly consisted of some effort drills, shooting, putting in our offensive plays and our different types of defense, then we would finish with some kind of scrimmage.

before I get to our pre season jamboree that I will put in a separate blog we played 2 preseason games 1 in Denver, Co the other in Billings, Mt. Our first game in Denver we played Trinidad State and narrowly won and played no where near our best as a team. In Billings we played Montana State Billings University a D2 school that game was a lot better and we won quite convincingly.

A quick story I have to throw in is our bus trip back from Denver. We were staying in Cheyenne as the next day we had been invited to watch the University Of Wyoming practice aswell as get to watch my first live American football game. Wyoming V UNLV I was going for Las Vegas mainly because they had the cooler uniforms but then it became apparent that they sucked so I jumped onto the Cowboys band wagon in the second half. Anyway back to the bus story, as you may have noticed from my previous blogs my bus trips in the U.S. haven't been all that great this one was no exception. Half way to Cheyenne smoke started appearing from the hood. Something to do with the oil leaking, we stopped at a servo so the driver could buy about 10 bottles of oil and from then on we were stopping every 15-20 mins so he could refuel the oil. mind you we had to get out in the cold everytime because the smoke kept coming into the bus and well no one is real keen on dying of smoke poisoning. Luckly we made it to the hotel and had a new bus waiting for us when we got up the next day.

Next time I will get to our pre season jamboree which includes Alisha and here Mom coming up for the weekend which was very much appreciated.

Nice team shot. T-Birds doing big things this year!

California Dreaming

I think the title is very appropriate because this weekend really felt like one, to good to be true.
Basically it started as a little joke between me and Alisha, It was 5pm on a Friday night and we had just finished practice. Coach D had just told us that we had the weekend off so on my way down to the caf I was messaging Lish and she told me I should come to Cali then. At first my answer was I can't but once I was eating dinner I decided I would do my best to get there even if it was going to cost a lot and I would be traveling more than actually spending time there, It would be worth it. So after a quick call to make sure it was okay I was booked on a bus to Denver from Casper at 11:50pm and had my flights booked from Denver to San Diego. Within the hour I had made the most spontaneous and expensive decision I had ever made because booking flights the day before, not cheap!

My journey to San Diego (Which I believe means a whales vagina (please be Anchorman fans reading this))  was really nothing but stressful. First of all the bus was an hour late so I already had a bad feeling. Then I knew things weren't good when every stop was taking 20 mins longer than it should have been and jut to cap it off at our last stop we broke down. 4am an hour and a half away from Denver and had a flight at 8:15. According to the bus schedule we were suppose to be at 6:15 giving me plenty of time well that wasn't going to be the case. After not doing anything but sitting there for half an hour the bus driver finally decided to go look at the engine. 30 minutes later still no luck but then the second bus driver walks up and goes why don't you do this, I have no idea what he pressed but it started up straight away. We had been sitting there for an hour and he just got up and turned it on. Not like people needed to be somewhere but anyway, we finally got to Denver 7:30 45 mins to make my flight. Wasn't looking promising but raced out of the bus, luckily found a cab straight away. It was a 30 minute ride.

 The next part of my story I like to remember it like I was the flash, I kinda through my cash at the cab driver, busted through to check in. the guy told me I had 10 minutes so I could try but if not I would have to fly stand by so I grabbed my ticket and legged it. Now for those of you who have been to Denver airport you know it's not small and for everyone at home it's at least 5 times the size of Adelaide's without a doubt. I was running like in those action movies when the police are trying to catch a fugitive, obviously i was neither but i was dodging people jumping bags and the thing I hate most about American airports is you practically have to be naked to walk through security so as I am running I have taken my phone, wallet, ipod out of my pockets taken off my belt, hat and jumped shoved them in my back pack and as soon as I got to security whipped of my shoes, excused myself through a lot of people and finally got through. my journey through the airport was far from over. I began to compare myself to Frodo in Lord of the Rings, It was really a relentless journey with many challenges and I was losing hope with every second that ticked buy. Back to reality and I was waiting for the elevator. As soon as the doors opened I rushed in and was kinda jogging on the spot to stay ready. As soon as the doors opened again I rushed out onto the platform...yeah platform for trains. The airport is so big it has trains! anyway I was gate C 31 which meant I had to go through gates A and B before I got to mine. C it was 8:14, I was sweating and kinda tired by this point but I wasn't going to walk it. Ran up to escalators then probably a good 100m sprint to my actual gate and just as I got there I saw the plane backing up. I was devastated...

The girl at the front told me I'd have to wait stand by for the next flight so I went and found the gate it was an hour and 45 minutes till the next flight. There were 2 free seats and I was 3rd on the list. The next hour and 15 minutes were spent walking up and down praying out loud 'Dear God, Please please please please please please please please PLEASE let me get on this flight.' on repeat. I'm certain people thought I was a nutcase but I didn't care if i had to get a mega phone to yell out my prayer i would have. I was definitely feeling desperate. When the girl called my name. There weren't words to describe how happy and relieved I was.

On the plane I realised something, obviously this all happened for a reason then I began to wonder was God trying to use this as a metaphor something for me to learn from. Well how might you ask? I though about it, now I love Alisha more than any human on this planet but the crazy thing is God loves me, he loves you more than anyone could ever imagine so when I was deprived of seeing Alisha even if it was only for a few hours I felt so upset but is that how god feels when we deprive ourselves of seeing him, when we walk off his path and he must feel helpless because he wants to be with us so badly but we aren't there. if he loves us lets say 100 more times than we could ever love another person, even though we can't use any kind of math to measure his love but lets just say as an example. that means he must feel 100 more times upset when we are not with him. Now I don't now about you but someone that loves me that much I would never want to hurt like that. Not my family, my friends let alone the creator the only reason I am given the gift of life. So if i took anything out of that experience it was to always make sure I was staying on Gods path for me. Crazy how God speaks to us through the most odd or even frustrating situations.

I slept for most of my flight and when I Finally stepped foot in Cali I was just over come with happiness. I hustled through the airport and when I got out and saw Alisha face, It was just one of those cheesy I don't want to be any where else in the world right now feelings. Just to hug her, hold her hand again I can't describe it.

First off meet the parents at a Mexican fast food joint (which happened to have the best thing I've eaten in America so far Salmon, avocado, lime and corn burrito. Was delicious) now I was pretty confident with the whole meet the parents thing because I like to think of myself as charming and like able so i was pretty comfortable. My down fall at the meal was how many questions I was asked and how good my burrito tasted. deadly combo found myself talking with food in my mouth so much. rookie mistake, they didn't say anything but I'm sure they were just being polite but overall I though my first meeting with Laura and Dale went pretty well.

After Lunch it was off to Trevs (Alisha's bro) water polo game. It was my first time watching water polo have to say I rather like it. It's kinda like evry single sport put into one then thrown in water. It was really cool to see though. On the way back from the game we got some In and Out which I was told it was the must eat burger joint in Cali. Safe to say I wasn't dissapointed. We got to the beach house and I got to meet Faith and Kodi, Alishas 2 beautifu golden retrivers. I missed my dog, Marley back home so much it was so good to have some canine company again.

For the rest of the afternoon Alisha and I went and walked along the beach and got a whole lot of cute pics to make sure we would remember the memories a few are below:

Yeah we are cute I know. The walk was probably one of my most favourite parts of the trip. I love the beach and to have air at sea level (something I forgot to mention in previous posts Casper is over a mile above sea level so oxygen is limited) and the sand between my toes again was awesome.

After the walk it was time for dinner. It was Alishas grandmas birthday so got to meet more of the fam. couldn't have picked a better weekend to come really. Dinner was amazing Dale and Laura whipped up a storm I was getting fed so well. It was bliss. After Dinner I was extremely lucky to be able to witness red tide. Red tide is this amazing thing were at night the waves glow eletric blue, it has something to do with the plankton dieing and photosynthesis I believe but It was one of the most beautiful things of nature I have ever seen. Once we took it all in it was back to the beach house. Safe to say I was out real early with no sleep the night before I pratically passed out as soon as I sat down on the couch.

Red Tide

Getting in with the fam :)

Sunday morning came around and this Sunday just went to quick. We were up at 8 and after been treated to a delicious breakfast. It was off to see Trevs last waterpolo game. He had been telling me about this bicycle kick and headbutt move which is some baller thing that results in him kicking people underwater head butting them and the scoring. Sadly I didn't get to wittness it. After the game there was only a few hours until my flight. Alisha took me on a nice cruise around SD showed me where we had to go when I came down for Christmas break but before to long we were at the airport and it was time to say goodbye. I've already talked about how I'm over emotional when it comes to goodbyes so like always it all came out.

once I got on the plane it was allright. time to get back to buisness, I had learnt a lot about myself and God just from this trip. I learnt that I really love my girl friend so so much, I knew it before but it was just one of those things were I was now sure I would do anything for her. I also learnt that in the end I would much rather be around those I love than have money, I mean again I knew that but just drove home what point is having money if you can't be with the ones you love and most of all It was just another reausring sign of how much God loved me and how he would always come through.

I got back to Casper easy enough, The bus ride was a lot better. Well quicker, there was definitely a strong scent or marijuana in the air the whole way home and the guy behind me was deffinitley flying high (he spilt an entire can of cherry coke on a lady without noticing and the just started craking up when he realised he was spilling it on her, she was not a happy camper) but all in all got safe back into my dorm room at about 2am, then Had a nice little sleep and up Monday morning at 7am for class. All in all, Great weekend.

Casper, Wyoming

Finally after so much rushing and stress back home I was here. My first few days on campus were spent being familiarized with the school, my teachers, team mates and coaches. That all went pretty smoothly every one to do with the team is great. I feel so blessed to come into a group with such smart and passionate coaches and every single player on our roster is extremely talented.  The campus is great I love it, It's not to big so I find it easy to get from class to class. The dorms are all new and are quite spacious for a college dorm I have room for my bed, draws, a wardrobe, desk and then there's still room to move around. Our gym is amazing for a JC the court, stand, locker room is all so nice. hard not to be motivated to win when you're playing in a place like this.

Casper College

T-Bird Gym

Some of the boys after a volleyball game

I've joinded a great new church Calvary Chapel Casper. It's small no where near as big as Victory church which I miss so much but It's crazy how God provides. Such an amazing group so devoted to Christ and the love that I see come out of them amazes me whether it be to others in the church or to their kids. I hope I can be a parent like some of these guys one day. I love the messages always is a bright light I look forward to each week.

My weeks consit of school, practice, lifting and sleeping. Theres not a whole lot to do out in Wyoming, unless I were to go out buy a gun and start hunting with the rest of the locals but I'm to soft and would just prefer to watch the bunnys and deer run around freely. Oh yeah I've never seen so many deer or rabbit in my life, they are everywhere. So that basically sums up Casper and what I do here. It may not be as exciting as what many people back home think of college life would be like but I like to stay outta the trouble and just go about my buisness get my work done on the court and in the class room. I am continually learning a lot from coaches, team mates, teachers and most importantly God is continually revealing new things to me every day.

My New Chapter Begins....

So where do I start? This is my first time blogging ever so we'll see how it goes. I guess I'm gonna go all the way back to when I first left Adelaide to come to Casper. After basically deciding a month before the school year would start that I would attend a junior college; I chose a school, Got all the paper work done, organized my Visa, Packed my stuff and said my good byes. Before I knew it, it was 6am in Adelaide airport and I was standing there with my family. It was a weird time for me I was going through so many emotions I felt that I was so internal that the eyes I was looking out of weren't even my own. I was so excited, going to college has been my dream for as long as I can remember but at the same side I never want to leave my family and friends. I have been so lucky growing up to have a true group of friends who really care and always have my back. I've had amazing coaches who have not only coached me in basketball but life as well and my family, words cannot describe how much I love every single one of them the support and love they have given me throughout my whole life has just been amazing. I knew that when the final call came up to board the plane despite my happiness and excitement to leave for college I knew my other emotions would get the better of me. When that final call came a turned to my Nana K and the picture of her tearing up just set me off from there it was a lot off tearful good byes, I Love you, I'll miss yous between the rest of my family. The last thing I really remember before I got on the plane is Alisha grabbing me and telling me 'It's only good bye for now.' The rest is all a blur from there mainly because my vision was blurred from all the tears.

 Yeah I definitely hate good byes

From there it was a long series of plane flights; Adelaide to Sydney, Sydney to LA, LA to Denver and then a four hour drive from Denver to Casper. I'm not exactly sure what the toughest part of all of this was. Was it the 30 hours of continually travel, was it the thoughts of knowing I had no set time until I would physically see any of my friends or family again or was it the fact the 3 and half months prior to me leaving I had met and fallen in love with the most amazing girl in the world, Alisha Grace Heglund. There had not been a day in probably the last 4 months that I hadn't talked to her. Safe to say I was definitely having withdrawal symptoms not being able to see her or just pick up the phone and call or text her. This was only 10 hours into my journey yeah I know what you're think this guy is a massive softy well whatever the case was why I was stressing myself out like crazy I knew I needed a way to calm myself down. What did I do, I reached for my bible and on the first page read:

Presented to daniel james carlin
By alisha grace heglund

On the occasion of just because :)

Instantly I was calmed. I turned to Romans and there I found a verse which just basically made me throw away all my worries it was Romans 8:28 and it read 'And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.' It's crazy how all you need to do is seek God and he will tell you exactly what you need. Sometimes you want to hear it, sometimes you don't but He told me exactly what I needed to here. I am so happy I found Christ before this whole adventure began. To know that no matter what I have someone with me guiding me, protecting me and loving me unconditionally is an amazing feeling. I knew that no matter how upset or home sick I could ever feel all I would have to do is turn into him and let him take all my stressors away. Every day I am continually amazed by the power and beauty of God.

When I first got off the plane in LA I was so happy (once I got through customs of course). To see the sun and the palm trees reminded me of when I was there just a couple of months prior. I love California, a little part of me really just wanted to stay there and wait for Alisha to arrive home and somehow just start a life there but I was not supposed to be there, well not yet anyway. The flight to Denver definitely went by the quickest probably because I slept the whole way but once I got off the plane I was so happy I had no more flying or security checks to do. I was greeted at the baggage claim by Coach Russell, It was a great first impression I thought and the four hour drive to Casper went by very quickly. We had great conversation and I was starting to feel like I had really made the right choice in coming to Casper College. Once I arrived I was shown a little bit of campus, Met Coach Davidson (the head coach) as well as Rosey and Doc who were host parents to the players here. They provided me with some bedding and snacks, then it was straight into my dorm room for some sleep. Just lying there it felt like a dream. So crazy to think that I was now living in the United States but the craziness wasn't enough to stop me from passing straight out, it had been a long trip but I finally had arrived.