Thailand Mission 2000-2002

I wanted to put up a post about how wonderful my mission was. Everyone says it but it really was the best thing I did at that time in my life. I grew so much and learned to serve and love people more than I ever could have back at home or in college. My mission was a springboard for all the other successes I've had in my life. I learned then that putting the Lord first allows you to be that much better in other endeavors.

Not only is a mission spiritual, hard, and full of service, it's also fun. I got to cut the throat of a pig at a slaughter house in Chiang Rai near the Chinese border. I got to ride my bike barefoot in floods and use giant banana leaves as mud flaps. And of course, hold baby tigers and oragutangs, and ride elephants. I also put on 40lbs from the delicious Thai food. The last picture is in front of the mission office in Bangkok. And my arm is around one of the members from a ward I served in. He was always going on splits and helping out with missionary work.

Rex Kwondo in Training

So for Christmas my parents got me Taekwondo lessons. I made it to yellow belt and then came to the realization that my older bros could still beat the tar out of me. But you have to admit I look pretty tough in this picture. The funny thing is I used to wear a bandana a few years back and everyone said I looked like Johnny from the Karate Kid. Once again - the Power Ranger power stance. Obviously my legs got larger from delivering the newspapers in the snow.

Trust Me, You'll be Fine

I can't tell you how much of an advantage having older brothers and sisters is. You learn right off that life isn't fair. All I remember from this picture is that this supersweet windbreaker was supposed to keep me safe from the bees when I went to storm and pillage their nest for honey. And my older sibling I'm sure is giving me the confidence and encouragement to man the task.

Early Years - Oklahoma Grapplin'

I wanted to put on some great memories of my early years. Plus Clint, my older bro has given me a hard time saying that 75% of my blogs are about food and the other 90% I am practically naked.
SO here is the story behind this picture. I go to a "wrastlin" tournament with my dad and 2 older bros, Lance and Clint, to watch. We show up and Big Russ, my pa, looks at he brackets and sees that there are only 3 other kids in my weight class which makes sense b/c at 3 or 4 years old who puts their kid through that kind of torture? Anyways so he calls up my mom and says, "Get Josh's wrestlin' shoes down here. There's only 3 kids in his weight class. All he has to do is beat one and he gets a trophy." So I think I got worked pretty good, but pa or Lance or Clint gave me the advice I needed to medal. "Go out there and growl." So I go out and growl at this kid who's dad probably threw him on the mat. Sure enough it worked. He started crying. I took the forfeit and went home with a trophy. Yee haw!
This pic is of Clint getting me psyched for my match. That is my Power Ranger power stance.

Cancun

Whit and I went to Cancun in October of '07. What a blast! It was just so relaxing. The food was great and we got all the specialty drinks we could handle. And for me that was lot. We swam with the dolphins and had them push us like Superman through the water. good times.