A Mid-Westerner at the Edge of the World | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

A Mid-Westerner at the Edge of the World

You never know the heart of someone until you speak.

9
A Mid-Westerner at the Edge of the World
facebook.com

So again I find myself sitting in Jacksonville, Florida. I have met some pretty awesome people down here ranging from completely ripped people with full sleeve tattoos who would never hurt a fly to ladies who look like they could probably bench press you. Yet one of the coolest people that I have talked to while being down here is actually a guy from my part of the country where corn fields extend as far as the eyes can see.

Well this Midwestern kid was pretty fun to get to know. I decided that I would ask him a few questions. I started off with the basic stuff such as age and his likes but when we got to talking the interview was extremely inspiring to myself and was an overall amazing experience. Max Hill, 18, of Blue Springs Missouri and student at Northwest Missouri State University, answered these following questions on Jax Summer Training Program.

Q: Why are you down here?

A: Well that's a big question. I am down here with the Navigators at a summer training program. Basically the Navigators are a nationwide campus ministry. They host a multitude of summer training programs across the nation. All the students at this particular program are from the Midwest and we all came down here to Jacksonville for this.

I work a full time job during the week and on Monday nights we have a worship night and on Wednesday night we have a bible study that we prep for and a bunch of other fun stuff. So basically how I got to do that is I knew that I wanted to become a better leader on my campus and this was a perfect opportunity not only for me to grow in Christ but also grow in my ability to lead in a Godly way. I know that I really felt God telling me to go to Jax this summer but I wasn't fully sure why because I would have been able to make a lot of money and I had a job internship back home. Then things fell through and so I decided why not go. What was stopping me from doing that

Q: How did you get involved?

A: Well my best friend from high school had two sister's that both participated in the Navigator's at Northwest. So through that I was pretty familiar with what the Navs were and I thought that I would just go to school and get connected with them. It was the first night on campus and I had no idea what I was going to do that night because my roommate hadn't gotten to campus yet and my parents were actually gone for the first time. I actually felt oddly free because I didn't really have any commitments to attend to. I wanted to experience everything but then I remembered that I had gotten connected with a worship leader at a local church that I was interested in. He said that he was involved with he Navs as well and invited me to hang out with all of them. Then oddly as I got off the phone I found that my RA was also involved in this program as well. Thus began our friendship and I am actually now in his wedding.That's really how I got involved with this program.

Q: How has this changed your perspective on life?

A: This has changed me pretty hardcore. So before college I had faith in God, I went to church and I had a relationship with Christ. Yet I viewed my relationship with Christ on the same field as my personal life. I viewed these as things that I should try to attain equally but when I arrived at college God showed me what a true relationship with him was instead of just what I thought it was suppose to be. He revealed that I shouldn't make a relationship with him a priority but instead I should put him at the center of my life so that I may perform the task that he has given us. The Navs really taught me how to do this.

Q: What are some things you wish to apply to your life from this?

A: A lot of things so at this summer training program i've been learning a ton of things and it's very difficult, not gonna lie to you, it's very challenging but one of the things that I want to do the most and one of things I want to try and work on is making sure that Christ is my center and not my priority. Basically I want to be able to look at my Bible study looking for scripture memory verses look at all these things and not view them as tasks that I have to do to attain God more and live to the fullest because God has allowed me to be that way. God is giving me the absolute most love He could ever give me and none of us could ever fathom something like that. I need to make sure that I remember that every single day and not treat it like a chore but as a friend to the father that I can talk to all the time. Also I want to add patience to my life. It's not easy you know waiting on God's timing and waiting for something like this to happen and to bear fruit but the cool thing is it all happens in his time. If you plant a tree and you can't stand over and yelling at the ground saying grow tree grow. You can't do that because you have to water it every single day but it was 5 minutes 10 minutes at a time you have to go out you have to water that tree and make it deliberate action and eventually the more time you begin to water that plant you begin to see the tree sprout and eventually grow roots and eventually it grows and grows and its branches spread out and it bears fruit and all that doesn't happen in just a day. Another thing, I have been working with a lady and her name is Rita and she is 63 years old and she is the funniest woman I think I have ever talked and she's been in a relationship with the Lord for thirty years and she has been telling me about how much you struggle to grow in Christ because he's teaching her new stuff every single day but she says that she knows now and the things that she knew then were completely different and she can see that in her life not because she's making it up because it happens with time so I hope to apply patience to my life and just let God work in my life.

Q: What are some words of wisdom for everyone?

A: Find something that you love and do it. I know that it's really cliche but The Navigators and God is something I live for you know God is my life and it's not just a hobby you know I don't just hang out with the Navigators because they say they don't have drama I hang out with the Navigators because it's fellowship. God has entrusted them in my life so I'm not trying to preach to you and I'm not trying to convert you through this interview but anything it could be a campus ministry whether it be a club, a fraternity, a sorority find something out there that just gets you going. Find something out there with people that you love to be with and go hang out with them. Go do things with them, go to the park, go to their hometown and go do things together. Those are the people that you want to be friends with for eternity so yeah that's just some stuff that I can leave for you.

Well this was possibly one of the best interviews I have ever conducted. It is crazy to see someone else's perspective on things that you may be involved in. I loved speaking with Max and just getting know him on a deeper level even though we mainly stuck to one topic. This may have been one of my first interviews that I have conducted but I can assure that it will not be my last.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Lifestyle

10 Signs You Work In A Restaurant

There's always chaos in the restaurant business.

694
10 Signs You Work In A Restaurant
Brisanis

Working in the restaurant industry is possibly the most fundamentally challenging occupation I have ever experienced when it comes to hospitality and customer service. When you go to a five-star restaurant you expect the time of your life, a two hour getaway, a walk through another time period (rustic Italy, France, Spain, etc), or simply a honeymoon undergo. What you don't see are the behind the scenes scut work: carrying trays, polishing glassware and silverware, kitchen chaos, the list is endless. Now, I'm not saying being a host, server, or bartender is the worst thing in the whole wide world, there are definitely worse things. But the fact of the matter is that it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. In the two years that I have spent in restaurant and customer service, I have spoken my share of expletives, yelled at kitchen staff, and dealt with not-so-happy guests. It isn't easy to keep a bright and shiny smile on your face when all you want to do is choke every person who walks near you. Anyone who has spent even two weeks working in a restaurant understands the rigor and stress that comes with it. Restaurant culture is a tiny world in and of itself that operates on its own principles and creates its own society. It even has its own language. The sayings "runner", "corner", and "on a bus" wouldn't make sense to anyone otherwise. My mother and I both work in a restaurant and the best advice I can give someone going out to eat is to treat us like people. Yes...believe it or not we are people, people. Say "please" and "thank you", or stack your cleared plates before a busser gets to the table. Trust me, the gesture goes a lot farther than you may think.

So, if you work in a restaurant, you can relate with the following points. If not, check out how the brain of a restaurant service (or any customer service) worker actually works. See if you can identify any crazy weird habits your friends have a tendency to partake in.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

11 Things I Learned My Freshman Year of College

Not everything you learn in college can be found in a textbook.

513
Breanna Vogel
Breanna Vogel

One of the scariest things we will ever face in our life is going to college. Many of us move away to a new town, join new organizations, and make new friends. We are expected to study, have a social life, relationships, maybe work, and be healthy. It seems pretty easy to do, and in high school all we wanted to do was graduate and move on to this next chapter of our lives. If you are in high school, here are some things that you can learn from before you get to college. If you have already been through your freshman year of college, hopefully you can relate to the things I have learned in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
how to get away with murder
Tumblr

It's about that time where we are too tired to do anything productive, too cold to leave bed, and too lazy to find a new show to watch so we result to re-runs.

For all of you home-bodies, for all of you cold weather haters, here are my suggestions for this holiday break. Let the binging begin!

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

12 Long-Term Relationship Milestones

You've got a keeper if you've made it to any of these milestones.

853
couple on the beach
Pexels

You've been together for so long. It's great. And as the time spent in your relationship grows, you hit certain milestones where you know it's real. These can be make-or-break moments, or just little things where you finally realize that you're both doing it. Everybody hits these milestones, no matter how long it takes; they're inevitable.

You know you've made it when you hit these long-term relationship milestones.

Keep Reading...Show less
10 Of The Best Shows To Binge Watch Over Winter Break

As the semester is coming to an end, most of us are going to have more free time on our hands. This calls for binge watching a new show on Netflix and really using this break to relax from the stress of school. Here are some of the best shows on Netflix that you should be watching.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments