My roommates:
- Daniel, also my brother and longtime roommate (since he was born). He’s a biosystems engineering major at UNL in his third year. He just proposed to Debbie and they are getting married sometime this summer.
- Jared, the roommate that isn’t related to me. I know him from my two years of living on campus and he’s in ROTC. It has been fun to see our friendship grow and develop
My Family:
- Dad- the Patriarch, elder and guide.
- Mom- I couldn’t ask for a more awesome person to be my mom. She is so wise and knows the Bible so well. I go to her often for advice about life.
- Anna- My older sister. She is a PA in Columbus, Nebraska, where she likes her work. She has come back to Lincoln every weekend for Church since she moved there at the beginning of October.
- Rebekah- My other older sister. A master’s student at UNL in Dietetics I believe or maybe it’s Community Nutrition. She has a blog as well.
- I am next, the third of seven. I work on East Campus as a painter and go to UNL, hopefully graduating in December 2010 with a History Degree. I want to coach high school sports and write as much as I can.
- Daniel- He’s my oldest younger brother. Having three youger brothers allows me to use the superlative here. He is the aforementioned roommate.
- John- My middle younger brother, sometimes called Jonathan, though it’s not his name. He used to be the runt of the brothers, but now is the same height as me and knows how to throw his weight around. Sometimes, I can’t understand his actions or comments, more because he doesn’t either, but I really enjoy hanging out with him. He is entering his second semester at UNL in Business Administration.
- Timothy- My youngest brother. He is a smart cookie and a senior at Lincoln East High School. After graduation, he plans to enter the Marines in the ROTC program at UNL
- Grace- My younger sister who I have many nicknames for, older brother’s perrogative I guess. There’s not much I can say to describe her except that she’s Grace. If you know her, you inderstand. I think I’m one of the few people she is comfortable enough to talk about some issues with, which humbles me greatly.
Friends:
- Debbie- Daniel’s fiance and a longtime family friend, an easy addition to the crew
- Casandra- Another longtime church friend recently adopted into the family, she is an active part of the goings-on around our house.
- Steve- John’s friend from antiquity (yes, I am using that word to denote age, not of Steve but the relationship) who is the only non-biological relation in my aquaintance to ever beat me in a 5k race.
- Joseph- My cousin born the day before my first birthday. It snowed that day. We’ve played together since before I can remember. In 2004, we started writing a book together. In 2006, we were roommates at the college dorms for two years and again for the last 6 months of 2009. He’s married to Dana
- Dana- Joseph’s bride and a college friend of mine. We used to have deep conversations late at night.
- Jason- My friend from before I was in junior high, my youth pastor, and now my pastor. Great friend and comrade in Christ, fellow bondservant in the Work and a great encouragement and inspiration for me.
- Mary- Anna’s PA school classmate and roommate.
Fictitious Characters that may help you understand me.
- Jhadiz- (Pronounced like the spanish J and -u dez) He is one of the main characters of my book, once shared that main role with the next entry, but has been given a more central role because I understand him better. When I talk about him, I will most likely use his nickname–Dez. He is the 14 year old son of a prominent tailor in an unwalled medieval town that is forced to leave because of some bad decisions he made. Like the one who discovered him, he enjoys food, perhaps too much, yet learns self-control and gains maturity through the events he faces. In a time when the work of Christ on the cross is just being completed, Jhadiz finds himself in libero between his old way and the life Christ offers.
- Lars- He is the other main character in the book, relegated to less storyline because of his unweldy and complex character. He isn’t really understood by the author because of his weird morphology and in that respect symbolizes, to a certain degree, the author’s perception of others’ understanding of him. He is the 14 year old son of a great lord of men and valiant general, known throughout the world for his great prowess and ability to inspire loyalty from his men. Lars lives with his mother and older sister and is ‘Dez’s best friend. As their choices force them to leave their homes, Lars is given his father’s great sword and, as he hears story after story about his father, feels the weight of that reputation everywhere he goes.
- Ashûr- (the accent makes the pronounciation like a shoo r) Ashûr is Lars’s father and the great warrior and general. He has a long and hard life before meeting Lars’s mother, Lillian, and I have written a poem about those years, if anyone is interested. Though he is dead by the time the book starts, his reputation and deeds of valor infiltrate the storyline and are kept alive by his older brother, Rufeo, also an important guide to the main characters, though not as known for his valor with the sword. As Lars is burdened to take up the mantle of Ashûr, the character that best resembles him is ‘Dez.
- Rufeo- Ashûr’s older brother and the young men’s guide in their travels. A sage and scholar, he seems to have an answer for everything and teaches them much of what he knows. It is when circumstances divide the company that we find what the young men are made of. Rufeo, however, has been looking for the Messiah his entire life and lets Lars and ‘Dez travel their paths alone when he finally finds Him.