Today I spoke in front of 400-500 teens from mostly America about what it means to give your all to Christ. I know for many people this “giving your life to Christ” has become hackneyed, myself included. I talked about sacrifice, trial, and reward. It was hard for me to talk about the first two, because what I am living now is the reward. I am not driving a Hummer or starring in a new movie, but I am loving life and very happy with all that I do. I can’t imagine trading places with anyone in the world. It is always so cool to chat with individuals after I have spoken to the group. We can change this world.Most Americans here recognize me. Random Americans on the streets of Turin shout my name then yell, “…that’s the guy from the Real World!” I never thought this would happen to me. The non-Americans don’t look at me twice. It doesn’t hurt my ego; it is just interesting to contrast the two groups. I didn’t know how American I was until I came to Europe.

For lunch my new friend Matt Maher and I went to a cute sandwich shop to grab something to eat. We sat out on the deck by the street and talked about how we got where we are in life. He has had such an interesting journey. It is so much fun to see how two separate journeys have converged for this week. Make that hundreds of thousands of journeys converging. It doesn’t matter how we all got here, but that we are here. Matt is an amazing musician, songwriter, and singer. I am listening to his CD now. I’ve got to get some more for my friends.

Our lunch finished before our conversation did, so we walked a few blocks along the streetcar line and stepped into a coffee shop. The cappuccino here is so good! Even the cappuccino from the vending machines is damn good. We sat and chatted about adventures in relationships. I couldn’t help but talk about her for 20 minutes.

I don’t know what to expect this fall. I know she is leaving for several months. Some say I will get used to her not being around. I don’t want to get used to her absence, because I want to be with her all the time. Part of me wants to stay here in Europe for weeks more, and part of me wants to fly home in an hour to see her. I will see her on the 21st, less than ten days. And counting…