My name is Tom Riddle.

But really my name is Joel Rothrock.

I am from the best state in the world. The great state of Texas. You wish you lived here. I am from a town called Hutto. It is about 30 minutes northeast of Austin. You don't wish you lived here. 

Currently I am taking classes at Austin Community College while living with my parents. Last year I attended Texas State University in San Marcos but I decided that it wasnt really for me. While I was there I played football and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't miss it. I have applied to several different schools for next fall including Texas A&M University, University of Texas at San Antonio and Biola Universtiy. Basically I have put it all in God's hands and where ever he wants me to be that is where I will go. I am excited to see where He will have me next sememster. I have several different paths to choose from major wise. I will do either International Relations, Kinesiology, or Cinema Studies. The course I choose will mostly depend on where I end up going to school. 

I work at Carino's Italian in Round Rock, a town 10 minutes from my small town, where there is nothing. There I wait tables and I do not care if you refer to me as a server or a waiter. Its an alright job, I have a pretty good time working there. I like to ask my parents for money sometimes too. They like to sometimes not give me any.

I like watching movies, reading books (Harry Potter, Harry Potter ya, Harry Potter, Harry Potter ooh), playing sports, eating and working out. I am not very good at thinking of things I dislike other than foods because I tend to be a very optimistic, agreeable person. I play guitar and I sing and lead worship at my church for adult worship and for the youth group. I have been doing this for about 3 years now and a huge portion of my free time is spent dedicated to that. The Lord has blessed me with athleticism and sometimes I like to pretend that I am funny. I have three pretty big tattoos and I guess that's kind of unique for most 19 year olds. I am naturally introverted and very weird. 

I have never really been on a "formal" mission trip however every summer my church reaches out to the community and we have a sort of local mission trip where we go and share the gospel and the love of Christ with the neighborhood kids. I have been participating in these Backyard Bible Clubs for 6 years and every year God shows up and does amazing things through the volunteers from our church and from all the families whose lives are impacted. I am looking forward to really going out of the country for the first time in my life. However, I don't really regret not leaving before now because no one really wants to leave Texas anyways. 

I am actually really excited to play soccer this summer with some Hondurans. I think that sports is a great way to bond with people and when you are creating relationships with people it is much more natural to share with them the love of Christ. I am nervous about getting my support money and passport information and vaccines and all the other stuff I have to collect before we leave. I tend to be a procrastinator and sometimes it stresses me out, like right now. God has been constantly reminding me of his grace over the past year. He has been opening my eyes to the need in this world for just love and care for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that God calls us to missions and to care for the poor and the widows and the orphans and because of this I know God has been calling me to do something radical, such as international missions. I am truly excited to see what God has in store for the summer and I am very much looking forward to it.

Peace and Blessings, Peace and Blessings Y'all

Joel