In the Rough - The Blog of Joel McDonald Jr.

The head of 7 Helpers Outreach, and organization with feeds and supports the sheltering of the homeless in Virginia Beach, has agreed to endorse and vote for me at the Virginia Beach Democratic Caucus! I am very happy to have her, and her organization’s support.

I have worked with 7 Helpers Outreach on multiple occasions in fundraising activities and in feeding the homeless. If you are interested in donating to this wonderful organization, please shoot me an e-mail at nxtoracle[at]gmail[dot]com.

Last night I attended a charity dinner for the Judeo-Christian Outreach Center. This ecumenical organization is the result of the support of 120 churches, temples, and other organizations, religious or otherwise. The mission statement of the JCOC is “to empower homeless families and individuals to recover from crisis situations and return to being self-supporting, productive and independent members of our community”. Their programs are transformational for those who enter them and follow the guidelines provided by the organization, and I was honored to attend.

As you may know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints participates minimally in ecumenical activities and organizations. I wasn’t surprised to not see them listed along with the supporting organizations, but I was very surprised when a scholarship was given to a young woman who is an active member of the LDS Church. Now, I’m not saying that this young woman was undeserving because she is a Mormon, or for any reason otherwise, but it does cause me to think about how this young woman is associated with the JCOC and how the organization may be providing the kind of qualified support that the LDS Church is not able to provide most of its members.

Let’s face it, the local leadership of the LDS Church are really ill prepared for the real challenges which face them, such as poverty and addiction. We know the church has welfare programs in place, and that the church does much good for people around the world, but often locally these programs are ill run and can place additional burdens upon people.

Further, I wonder how local Mormon leaders feel about her accepting a scholarship primarily by churches’ who do no see the LDS Church as a valid Christian church, in addition to wanting to know if they feel their programs are lacking in not being able to provide the same kind of scholarship that this organization has.

So in a somewhat odd turn of events, I received a call last night from an administrator at Mission.net. The site is a collection of mission sites and missionary profiles. It’s a great resource for keeping up with mission alumni and for general information about the site. I’ve had a profile on the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission site since 2004. The administrator, after explaining how he had my phone number and after explaining how he came across my profile, asked if I would be willing to volunteer as the Webmaster of the CCSM site on Mission.net. Now, volunteering as the webmaster of the site was something I had considered doing before my mission, but I knew I would need to wait until after I returned. By that time, someone else had volunteered. However, due to health reasons, someone else was needed. I accepted his invitation and have spent some time today making some changes to the design.I served in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission from 2004 to 2006. I loved the area and hope to return there soon. I didn’t have the greatest of experiences as a missionary though. Through no fault of the mission, I found myself not believing in what I was doing any longer. I cherish the good times and try to represent the total of the experience and not focus on the negatives. Besides being the new Webmaster of the CCSM site on Mission.net, I am also President of the Colorado Springs Mission Facebook Group.

So here’s to new opportunities!

If this picture doesn’t make you jealous, I am considered about your priorities in life! I had planned to buy a tower to act as a file/media server and connect to my HD TV, but I just haven’t had the impulse to buy one yet. Yesterday, I thought I’d just connect my laptop and see how I liked it. I’m loving it! I’ve been able to sit on my couch and use a wireless keyboard and mouse to control the laptop while using the TV as the monitor. It’s worked out really well. I do have to wear my glasses in order to read, but that’s a minor thing. I haven’t played any games on it as of yet, but I’m planning to try that out today.So, for those few that actually visit my blog here at www.joel-junior.com, you’ve noticed a change in the theme. The old theme was nice, but just wasn’t really what I wanted. I cam across this great iTheme for Wordpress that caught my eye. Along with the theme, I updated Wordpress to take advantage of a few new features which have made setting up the new theme a lot easier. I hope you like the new theme! In some subconscious way, I think I’m just pandering for someone to send me an iPhone. Any takers?

The past two weeks have been sort of stressful with me trying to decide is I wanted to transfer from the University of Phoenix to a local community college. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to both. I met with a counselor at the school here and left really worried that I would take a major hit in credits. My first reaction was that I should just take the hit and start working on the degree I’ve always said I would get, one in Computer Science. After thinking about it, I’ve decided to finish out my Associates in Information Technology with UoP. There were many factors that aided this decision, not the least of which was me not being prepared to take Calculus & Analytical Geometry as my first math course for the Computer Science degree locally. The Information Technology degree at UoP requires only up to College Alg. I. I don’t think I need the basic mathematics course, so I’ll be taking College Alg. I & II, and then Finite Math as an elective. This should help me slide into the classes I’ll need to catch up if I want to transfer locally to complete a Bachelors in Computer Science. You probably didn’t want to know all that, but it’s the first time I’ve actually written about it, so it’s good to see the plan in black and white.

It’s summer, so things are really quiet at work. I started in my position around this time last year, so I remember how slow everything seemed. The difference between last year and this year is that I’m not having to figure out the position, so this year has seemed a bit slower. There have been some neat additions to my data toolbox though, which has helped the planning for next year to kick into full throttle.

Facebook now has a marketplace where people can post things or services for sale. I decided to post a ad listing me as a web designer and photographer. It was more of an experiment than anything. I did receive messages from people looking t design or redesign their site. I was impressed at how quickly people responded. Maybe I can generate a little income on the side this way. We’ll see.

The Kiva group I’m involve with loaned $425 to nine different third world entrepreneurs this week in Ecuador, Cambodia, Nigeria, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. It’s really been neat to read the biographies and descriptions of these people and chose who to support. Everyone on Kiva seems worthy of investing in, so we try to find those who are going the extra mile, such as studying for their degree or employing others in their community.

Well, I suppose that’s enough to convince everyone that I’m still alive. Feel free to leave comments or drop me a line some other way and let me know your still kicking too!

On June 14th, 2006, I boarded a plane in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and made my way back to Virginia Beach, Virginia. I had left exactly 23 months before. During that time, I served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a difficult period of time for me, as it is for many who choose to serve. And like many, it left me feeling far removed from the teachings of a Church I once loved.From that date to now, the past year has been a whirlwind of activities. For the most part, I’ve accomplished what I knew I needed to do in the first year. I acquired a car in the form of a ‘93 Mustang, got a good job a the Data Support Specialist of Luxford Elementary School, started school at Axia College of University of Phoenix, and moved into my own place.

My work has allowed me many opportunities to experiment and learn new skills and use these skills to develop useful applications. These applications have enhanced academic curriculum and have saved hundreds of hours of valuable planning time for teachers. One such application received newspaper and television mention. It’s the time saved that I’m most proud of. When I hear a teacher speak of the time one of my applications saved them, I know that what I’m doing makes a difference. I plan to continue in my current position into the next school year.

One accomplishment this past year was in an area I’ve never engaged in before. On March 18th, 2006, I completed the Shamrock Half-Marathon here in Virginia Beach. I’m not an athletic person by any stretch; however, I was inspired by the health initiatives ongoing at Luxford and I set out to complete the 13.1 mile course. I did not train like I should have, but I pushed my way through. It was an incredible experience. I’ve never pushed myself as hard as I did that day to complete the course. I plan to do it again this coming March.

Not being active in a church has created something of a void in my life. I’m currently seeking opportunities to engage in worthwhile endeavours. Most recently, I became a shareholder of a group known as the Bladarion Financial Group, a partner with Kiva.org. This group provides micro-loans to entrepreneurs in third world nations to help them become self sufficient. I’m sure I will write more about the people and businesses we fund as time progresses. It’s a great feeling to be a part of something that is making the difference in the life of a person who may not otherwise have the means to support themselves. I, and other shareholders of Bladarion Financial Group, have been blessed with so much. Partnering with Kiva.org is just one way we can share these blessings with others in less than desirable conditions.

Internally, the last year has been a quest for a balanced perspective on life and an acceptance of who I am and what I believe. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a perfect person. I have flaws. I make mistakes; sometimes large ones. However, in each imperfection I hope to gain an increase in understanding about life. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think anyone does. To make matters worse; the answers I do have are likely to be incorrect. That’s okay. I’m not going to stress about what I don’t know. I refuse to let my life be ruled by the dictates of my imperfections. I refuse to let my emotions hurt me and those around me. I refuse to let the trivialities of life get in the way of being the best person I can possibly be. I look forward to the next year and what I will bring to it.