London - Day 2

Today my cousin Andrew and I headed out for a bit. I asked him to give me a mini tour of some of the more fascinating parts of the city. So we hopped on a bus, went to the second level, and rode it to downtown. Along the way, I was able to see a lot of the city that most, when they come to London, don't see. The architecture of the buildings in the city are really incredible. In some areas you can see older buildings next to more modern ones. I wondered why this was so, but found out that it was most likely due to WWII and certain areas that were bombed by the Germans when they stuck London.

That isn't the only reason you'll see modern buildings, as London is really putting a lot of emphasis on the Olympic Games that are coming here next summer.

This picture gives a good representation of what you might see. An older church and a brand new building going up in the back skyline. They are calling this new building "The Shard" because it is designed to look like a shard of glass. Right now they are still building it and you might can see how they are putting the glass in. It will be one of the taller buildings in the city when it is finished.

After taking in a nice bus ride downtown, we stopped at the River Thames to walk along side and take in the sights.

We walked on the London Bridge and I was able to get a good glimpse of the Tower Bridge (the famous one) but walked in the opposite direction.

One thing I can say about it all is there are a TON of tourists that walk along the river. I purposely try and avoid those kinds of crowds and tourist traps, but didn't today. I got a few pics of Big Ben and the Parliament buildings (I don't know why, but I always think of European Vacation when I say that).


Also was able to get this shot of the millennium bridge that feeds right into St. Paul's Cathedral

Here is Southwark Cathedral

After taking in some sights and sounds for the afternoon, we made our way back to the flat to freshen up a bit and then headed out for the evening. We went to an underground, rooftop bar. (Yes, I realize that doesn't make sense, but work with me here...if you need to know what that means, look it up) It was the best part of the day because we got a great view of the city from afar. Hopefully, this picture does it justice.


Not as good of a shot as I would have liked, but with a camera phone, one can't complain too much. Few more photos to follow and one that I just can't seem to get away from...

London - Day 1

I made it to London after a full day of travel from Nashville - Atlanta - and London. Was a little worried at first considering my flight out of Nashville was delayed, but Delta quickly stepped up and moved me to a different flight and got me to Atlanta after a few hours wait.

I was telling Mrs. McGoo on the way to drop me off that I feel a bit coarse with 'goodbyes' considering I had to say it twice a year when I was a kid. Visiting my father when I lived in Kentucky and my mom when I lived in Tennessee led to many tearful farewells, so they don't seem to be as hard for me as they use to be.

However, seeing a wife who was trying her best to hold back tears when I left was pretty darn hard. Fortunately, I was able to put on some sunglasses and sit and wait on a plane. Mrs. McGoo, on the other hand, had to try and drive across traffic in Nashville to reach her brother in law and sister's house.

Maybe they're Florida fans

Once I made it to London, I quickly had to get some money exchanged, then find the 'tube' (subway) and make my way across underground London to find my cousin Andrew, who I am staying with the first couple of days and a few on the back end of the trip. Once I got to Andrew, we made our way back to their 'flat' (apartment) and then went to a 'pub' bar for some much needed food.

View from my room

We then went to watch a 5 a side tourney that some of his co-workers are playing in and caught a bus back to the flat to meet up with his wife, Ally. We had some dinner and I headed to bed. I tried to stay awake for Mrs. McGoo to skype with, but quickly fell asleep and woke up around midnight and got online to quickly say goodnight. (Note: it doesn't get dark here til 10 or so and gets light around 4am)


I woke up around 4am, closed my blinds and went back to sleep. I didn't wake up til noon and moped around for another hour and caught Mrs. McGoo on skype before she was leaving for work. Then headed out to look around the city for a bit and grab a bite to eat. My first official meal - Fish sandwich and fries.

Still a little jet lagged here, but looking forward to getting out tomorrow and spend a full day around London before I have to head over to the University that I am staying at.

Fish Sandwich and a Brew

Questions Abound

Coming back home from a vacation is always tough because you want to stay where you are at. Coming back home from family visits during the holidays is tough because you can't quite seem to have enough of the food you grew up eating. As much as we love HOME, getting there when you have been in a place that steals or has some of your heart can be difficult.

Much is the same for me when I leave Ethiopia. It quite simply is never easy. The toughest part is leaving the relationships and kids you have come to care so dear for. And it isn't like leaving a place that is a days drive or so away. That being said, life doesn't stop here in the states when I am gone. So while I am suppose to be reading 200+ pages worth of journals before I head off to England in July, I am struggling to do so.

I continue to be conflicted with the direction God has the McGoo family headed. One on hand, I love my life here in the US. I have a lot of family, friends, furbabies, a great gig with the soccer program, and an incredible church home. I really don't want to go anywhere. However, the more I am around safety, security, suburbs, and a world that is built on keeping up with the Jones's, the more I'm drawn to get away from it.

It is so easy to log on to Facebook and see a comfortable life in store for me and my network. The problem is that I don't know that I want that. And I know that God doesn't want that for me. Yeah, I want to provide for my family, but what is providing? Buying a large house with a picket fence? Getting the biggest car I can get because I think I deserve it (I've driven a 96 Saturn since I bought it brand new)? It's just not me. And I don't think that is what God has for me. I'm not saying it is all wrong, but I am constantly reminded of the things that do not matter the more I get out of my comfortable surroundings.

I'm basically a man torn between a life of comfort with a society that tells me I deserve all I should have and a life of servant-hood with a God that tells me less is more.

I have a confession to make. I went on this last trip to Ethiopia thinking it might be my last for a long time. I thought I could get this sports ministry program up and running and they wouldn't need me anymore. Exact opposite. I left with more questions than resolved answers. I left knowing that I was needed there more than I could have imagined. I left after having conversations with missionaries, government officials, and university presidents and ultimately God telling me they needed more of me. That after a years worth of work, I hadn't even touched the surface of what needed to be accomplished.

One can certainly be discouraged by it all you know? However, God let me see what was possible. God showed me how when listening to him, he'd provide the way. I had a government official tell Nega (The director of Onesimus Children's Development Association) that if I had come all the way from America to tell people about Christ, he thought it would be good if he listened and learned more.

My Ethiopian Princess - Ruth

And just like that, God said, "See Kelly. I'm here and I am with you."

I spoke with a missionary who said it took years of prayer for him and his family to decide to GO. The two hours worth of conversation with him was the best part of my trip. It affirmed in me that I didn't have to make a rash decision about things and that "providing" for my family didn't have to entail the American way of providing with big cars, big boats, private schooling, and the latest trends. I bought my first apple product before I went. Now I'm sick to my stomach because of it. I could have made better use of that money.

All of this just affirms that I have a lot of prayer and decisions to make over the course of the next two years (While Mrs. McGoo is in nursing school), but I know one thing is for sure. I'll be back in Ethiopia sooner than I thought.

African Adventures & Wayne Rooney

Today I head out to Ethiopia for the third time in a year. You can read more about what my experiences will be like while I'm there on The Forsaken Children blog.

I just found out a few days ago that I'll be speaking to about 300 or so people at the local university in Addis Ababa. I'm told I can share my faith and incorporate it into sports. Yeah...that's all I have to go on.

I do have one thing going for me. Most everyone there thinks I am Wayne Rooney. If you don't know who Wayne Rooney is, look him up. Pretty famous footballer for Manchester United. So while I have many nicknames here in the states, Rooney is what I get called in Ethiopia and because of that, they'll listen to me. Hey, God uses people...




Do you see a resemblance? I don't.

Anniversary Weekend

Last Wednesday Mrs. McGoo and I headed out for a late anniversary trip to St. Louis and Kansas City. Our actual anniversary is actually March 17, but with Mrs. McGoo and I both being in school, this past week presented the best time to get away for some fun times.

We made our way up to St. Louis, only stopping to get some throw'd rolls at Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. I decided to check out priceline.com following a recommendation by a buddy of mine. It turned out we got a pretty good deal as we secured a $300 room at the Hyatt in downtown St. Louis for only $65 a night. Then we were upgraded to a corner suite when I told the lady we were there for our anniversary. Take a look at our room and view. Not too shabby.

Once there we made our way to the Budweiser Brewery tour and then went to a Cards baseball game. Again, secured a great deal on tickets - 2 $93 seats for $32 total. We ended up right by the first baseline and I got to watch Albert Pujols knock one out of the part while my bride was trying to take pictures. This, unfortunately is not the picture she took. This was taken from the panoramic feature on my phone. Not too shabby either...



After we enjoyed a good time in St. Louis, we headed over to Kansas City where most of my MILC's family lives. On our way over, we had some awful weather getting out of St. Louis. It wasn't until the next morning did I realize that we missed the tornado that hit the St. Louis airport by a few minutes or so. All that time I was blaming the bad tired on our car for the reason it felt like we were all over the road.

Once we got in, we stayed with UILF and AILT for the visit. We got a good steady dose of Mrs. McGoo's cousin's kids. It's neat to see how fast they grow when you only see them once or twice a year. Clayton, the middle child, and I seem to hit it off every time I come in. Last year he had me watching the Backyardigans and this year he almost had me playing Thomas the Train with him. It would be encouraging to see that he can now call me Kelly and not Telly, but instead, he has learned the phrase, Smelly Kelly. Who could have taught him that, I don't know....

Saturday night we had the whole family over for dinner and uFrank had been smoking some brisket for 24 hours or so on his new electric smoker. Unfortunately for him, the meat came out a little dry. This unfortunate happening just allowed us to lather the meat up more so with BBQ sauce than normal. I could tell he was a little bummed, but pushed through it. I think somewhere his son-in-law Dan put a curse on the meat since he referred to the electric grill as "cheating."

The next morning we made our way to church for Easter service and then came back to the house for some grub before we hit the road. We were all set to be treated to a wonderful meal by aTerri when uFrank's string of bad luck on the grill continued. This time on a propane tank. I know...difficult right. Some where on one of the many shows he "Likes to watch" he saw that you can put greasy bacon on the grill and cook them. So he decided to give it a whirl. I don't know if 5 minutes went by before all the girls in the house start screaming. I am playing with uFrank's iPad at the time and asked what was going on. They're all now laughing and saying that uFrank has caught the grill on fire.


Knowing this is too good of a moment for me to pass up, I quickly grabbed my phone and went to take pictures of this kodak moment. Much to my delight, the flames were blazing about the time I got over there. Here, in all his glory is what happens when a bad grilling weekend comes to an end.

After uFrank's Bacon Explosion (kind of funny since he once sent me a recipe called that) we headed back to M-town to try and get in at a reasonable time. It's always a tough place to leave. They treat me like one of their own and really do a great job of taking care of us while we're there.

I know we're missed because we always get the same sad face when we leave.

Jesus and the Martyrs

Like most people, I struggle with my thoughts and my faith as I continue to try and pursue holiness. Yet, I continually fail when I let my selfish desires and worldly thoughts get the best of me. In doing so, I am constantly reminded that as strong as I am in who I am, I am nothing without the help I get from God and the sacrifice he made for me.

All that said, I still wrestle with my faith and death and what comes next. My simple mind cannot fathom, on occasion, what eternity is. With Easter just recently in my mind, the conversation has come up a lot about Jesus's death.

During that 11th hour, Jesus asks his Father to remove the weight from his shoulders and in that small moment, you see the humanity in Jesus. What exactly was the (Cup) weight he was referring to? I often wonder how the Son of God would struggle in the 11th hour with his impending death. After all, if he is the Son of God, shouldn't he know better?

I read this article last week and continue to come back to it for the answers I seek. It's a pretty telling description of the 'Cup' that Jesus refers to and in doing so, explains why he was different from famous martyrs in comparing their deaths to his.

"There are a couple things to say in response to this question. First, it’s reassuring that the Gospel writers tell us about Jesus’ agonized struggle before his death, because it demonstrates that they are honest writers. Who would ever make this stuff up?! There’s no reason to, and every reason not to. It’s a bit uncomfortable to have your God and Savior agonizing, praying not to go to the cross, sweating, and afraid. The fact that Luke reports Jesus’ emotional struggle in the passage above helps confirm that it really happened, that Luke is telling us the story straight.

Second, Jesus’ agony makes sense when we realize that the death he died is radically different from the death of Socrates, the seven Jewish brothers, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It’s not all that different on the physical level. While Jesus’ death by beating and crucifixion was a terrible physical ordeal, the physical agony of the seven Jewish brothers (for example) was perhaps equally great. What sets Jesus’ death apart from the death of any other person in the history of the world is the spiritual component of his suffering. We have an indication of that terrible spiritual reality in Luke 22:42: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.” To what “cup” is Jesus referring?"

It's a pretty long article, so I'm not going to steal a hit away from the author, so take a look at the rest of the article on the link provided above.

It reminds me that I don't deserve anything. There are times when I'd like a new car or new house or new clothes, because I think I've earned it and deserve it. Reading this helps keep me grounded in knowing that my life and debt has been paid for and I am nothing without Christ's redeeming love.

Fairweather Fans

One of the things I love about being a fan of sports is that it gives people a chance to grow friendships. I absolutely detest meeting someone for the first time and being asked what I do. It is like they are sizing me up for how much I make or what kind of car I will drive. Annoying to say the least.

However, I do like finding out who a person likes, or being asked what team I follow. It gives someone good insight into who they are, maybe where they are from, and what they like when you find out what team or sport they like. This can lead to good topical discussion and you don't feel like you're being sized up for how big your wallet is.

In finding out who a person likes, it also opens them up for some good ribbing at their teams expense. That's the beauty of sports is that you cannot always have a good year in everything. Or can you?

Back in the early 90's, I once had a friend that never seemed to have a down year in sports. His favorite team had a remarkable run of success. Who was his favorite team you ask? Well, good question...depended on the sport. Duke basketball, Florida St. football, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Braves. Now, keep in mind this was in the 90's when all these teams were remarkably good and winning a ton.

Now, I don't know where you come from, but my criteria for liking a team is as follows: You went to school there, you played there, you grew up there, your parents were fans, or MAYBE they were good when you were a kid. Oh, and the caveat for colleges is you MUST like all sports, not just one.

For instance, if you are an Auburn fan, you can relish in the fact that your football team is really good, but fan-hood rules require you to suffer through basketball in order to level you out. Again, I am a UK and Memphis fan (Spent half my life in Lex and the other half in Memphis). Basketball fun is leveled out by football frustrations. The Yin and the Yang.

I say all this to say 'fan-code' is being broken by a lot of people I'm around. I see a lot of people say they are UT football fans and Memphis basketball fans. Huh? That same guy that is rooting for Memphis basketball switches his allegiance to UT football in the fall. Sorry, I don't get it. Number one, they are rivals and number two, you should be a fan of the university not the team. I understand it isn't popular to be a fan of Memphis football or UT basketball (especially now), but that's the rules.

Now that we've had the convo about 'fan-code' and what is expected, the world should be a better place. And I'll make fun of your team when you're down....say for instance when you keep losing to mid-majors in the tourney.