initial thoughts on tampa
| December 11th, 2007Wow…I can’t believe how quickly the last 2 weeks have flown by! It seems like yesterday that I arrived here in Tampa to begin this new chapter in my life. I think I’ve lost track of what day it was several times, so you could say it has been an interesting adventure so far!
I’m living in what we’re calling the Intern House, which is where Steve Sjogren and his family, along with 2 interns, are living as well. The house has plenty of room, though not enough (right now, anyway) for me to have my own living space. So I’ve setup camp in a living room upstairs to sleep in that doubles as our worship meeting area on Sunday mornings. Thankfully, Steve and his family will be moving into their new house this week, which means I will be able to move into my own room and establish some sort of rhythm again in my life.
I’ve already been able to use many of my gifts, talents, and experiences here at Coastland. I’m helping bring their use of media during Sunday morning worship up a notch by utilizing some presentation software that’s out there for the Mac. We still need to decide which software to use, something I’ll try to post my thoughts on this week. I’ll also have a big part to play in implementing FellowshipOne, the ChMS that I helped rollout while at my previous church. And though I haven’t had much hands-on development (ie. actual coding and graphic design) of websites, I’ve had a fair share of experience developing a number of websites. I’ll be able to use that experience as we move forward with revamping some of the many websites we have here.
Besides enjoying the work I’ve been doing, I have also met some great people down here. I’m enjoying getting to know the Sjogren family as well as the rest of the talent team, who are a fun-loving bunch of Jesus-followers from all over the country. One of the couples are from western NY and we’ve been able to reminisce about Buffalo food we miss, the Bills and Sabres, amongst other things. We’re planning on having a “Buffalo Food Night” every so often, just to keep close to our roots.
Finally, I’m loving the weather and the Tampa area. It’s been sunny and in the 80s almost every day that I’ve been here, something so odd for me to experience in the month of December! I’ve been to the beach a couple of times and absolutely love it. I thought the sunsets were great in Ohio, but seeing the sun set into the Gulf is like no other. I’ve also been able to get together with my parents and siblings since getting down here. I’m so thankful to be living near my family again!
Sounds like the south and you are getting along great. Glad you’re having no trouble adjusting.
I’m happy you’re doing well and liking it there, TJ.
Please have a Wonderful Christmas and give our Love and Best Wishes to All the Family.