'Tis the season

In my 29 years on this earth, I have only spent a handful of Christmases away from Colorado. This year will be my third international Christmas.

1995 - I'm the King!

In 1995, I celebrated Christmas Eve, French-style in Nantes, eating a "Galette Du Roi" cake with little figurines in it and dancing "La Britanique" until midnight when we opened our presents. In 2006, I went to Italy with my mom and attended midnight mass at St. Peter's Basilica following a wonderful Christmas dinner (with live Opera) and a couple ridiculously expensive Limoncellos at the Hassler Hotel at the top of the Spanish steps in Rome.

2006 - St. Peter's Basilica Midnight Mass (View Pics)

This year I'll share Christmas between Switzerland and England. I've throughly enjoyed the traditions associated with Christmas here in Luzern - brass quartets and alp horns, holiday markets, the Klausjagen procession with St. Nicholas, the Schmutzli and the men with cow bells (click here to see a video). In London, I'll take another stroll down Oxford Street and Regent Street to see the lights and if I'm lucky, I'll sneak into midnight mass at St. Paul's Cathedral after a Christmas Eve dinner with close friends.

2008 - My nose blackened by the Schmutzli (View Pics)

But of course, the core of Christmas is truly only about one thing... the birth of Jesus Christ and He was truly only about one thing... dying on the cross to save us. So in spite of all of these traditions, presents and time with family, I will try and remember to take time to be grateful that my sins (many that they are) have been forgiven.

And in doing so I hope that I will remember to keep those less fortunate in my prayers... orphaned children in Sudan, families all over the world that have been left homeless and/or jobless in the wake of the financial crises, those who have lost a loved one this year and will experience their first Christmas without them, the list goes on and on.

That being said, it is with my most heartfelt sincerity that I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and if you are struggling this year as so many are and would like me to pray for you in any way, don't hesitate to email me.

Life Changes...

As it has been a while since I've updated my website or input any blogs, I thought I would use a lazy Saturday morning to get caught up. Life has changed quite a bit for me in the past few months... I got engaged, moved to Switzerland and will start a new job in a week.

Tim and I the night we got engaged (more pics)

My fiance, Tim, proposed at the Beijing Olympics in a paddle boat on Lake HouHai on August 18th. It was a bit of a surprise since besides a 10 month stint of dating in England back in 2001, we hadn't seen or spoken with each other in 7 years until China. Tim was at the Olympics as the head rowing coach for Switzerland and I was there covering Archery for the Olympic News Service.

Among other things, the Olympic spirit runs in our veins... before coaching, Tim was a three time Olympian for Great Britain, winning Gold at the Sydney Olympics and Bronze at the Atlanta Olympics. 

After the Olympics, I returned to California and packed up my stuff, visited my family in Colorado for a couple days, met my nephew (who was 3 months old at the time), and then moved to Luzern, Switzerland. Luzern is absolutely beautiful and I've enjoyed living in Europe again (I lived in France 1995-96 and England 2000-01). 

Luzern, Switzerland (more pics)

The adjustment has been major but I am very blessed to have found a job which starts in Zurich next week. For the past 8 weeks as I've been waiting for my work visa to come through, I've been taking German courses und jetzt - ich kann ein bisschen Deutsch sprechen. 

As for archery... I have been meaning to start shooting for some months now but my equipment has literally been sitting on a boat crossing the ocean. Overall it has probably been a good thing that I haven't been shooting - for starters, I needed to let the tear in my teres minor fully heal which I wasn't able to do last year and secondly, I needed to enjoy it again. 

I have however, been preparing myself physically for the World Indoor Trials in Iowa in January. Tim wrote a training program to build up my strength and fitness which I have been following for about 7 weeks now. I've been cross-training with the erg (indoor rowing machine) and my scores have been steadily getting better week by week. I may even row at the Swiss Indoor Championships in January if I feel like I can get close to my personal best.

Well... that is all for now! Hope you have a great day! To see more pictures check out my website.

Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon - Yay, I finished!

First, I want to thank all the people who helped me raise money for Team Darfur. I don't know the final number but I'm pretty sure that we hit the $2000 goal. Second... my legs hurt soooo bad! But however bad my legs feel, all 5 hours and 20 minutes of running was worth it!

This was the second marathon that I ran (also the second that I was dumb enough to run without training). In 2003, I ran the Boston Marathon in just under 5 hours (4:59). Marathons are challenging and make you push yourself to the limit. Something that surprised me was just how many people ran the marathon. There were all body types and ages.

The highlight of my run (besides seeing all the "Elvi"), was when Jon showed up at mile 20 and ran the last 6 miles with me. I was really happy to see him and he helped me push through the hardest part of the race. One of the other touching parts of the race was how many people were running for someone else. There were people running with pictures of their loved ones on their backs. It felt good to know that I too was running for someone, the children of Darfur.

Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon & other stuff...

Last week I sent out a new enewsletter with pictures from the photo shoot as well information on my plans to run the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon to raise money for Team Darfur. I've decided to use some of the money I made from the Polo Ralph Lauren Photo Shoot to match all donations going into Team Darfur up to $1000 through June 1st (the day of the marathon). So... that means, if you donate $10, I'll give $10, for a total donation of $20. Or, if you can give $50, I'll match it and make it $100. Please consider becoming a "fan" of Team Darfur. The money raised will go to help schools in Sudan.

Press Release on Team Darfur's website: http://www.teamdarfur.org/node/336

Other happenings... I went to the McCain rally yesterday in Stockton at the AG Spanos Jet Center yesterday. I'm so thankful the Spanos' for letting me join them on this trip! I met Senator McCain and got to hear him speak about his time in Vietnam and on the campaign trail. While I was waiting to go to the rally, I also got to meet Norv Turner, the head coach of the Chargers. He has a really great outlook on football and life and it was a privilege to get to talk to him.

I'm still undecided about McCain and Obama. Obama inspires me and McCain has a huge heart for the men and women who protect this country. I guess the key is that eventually I decide who I want to vote for... not voting isn't really an option!

Apart from training for the marathon, working and trying to educate myself about the presidential race, I'm enjoying the beach and I've actually shot a few arrows. I hope you have a great memorial day weekend!

Polo Ralph Lauren Photo Shoot

I have 8 minutes until I have to catch a car that is going to take me to the airport so I can go home to San Diego. I had a blast in New York city. I'm so thankful to the Polo Ralph Lauren crew and Shawn Frack from the USOC for putting it all together.

There were three other athletes for the shoot, Brianna Glenn (athletics), Giuseppe Lanzone (rowing) and Deontay Wilder. We had a blast... Giuseppe even got to be on the Today show this morning (we went as his posse).

I'll write more later, but pictures are up on my facebook page and also at: http://www.pixagogo.com/5702924365.

Budweiser Youtube & 10 year high school reunion

Right now I'm back in Boston (I was here a few weeks ago for the national championships) and fortunately as of yet, there have been no rental car accidents (my rental car was totaled on my last trip as I was driving to the tournament). Last night, I hung out with a couple of my buddies from college. We had a great time hanging catching up.

One of the things that we talked about was my youtube videos for Bud (www.youtube.com/jfahrenkrog). I shot the videos after the first trials when I was in North Dakota promoting the 4H shooting sports program. My buddies were so excited about them and wanted to know if I really did shoot the one can on a single shot... the truth is that I did! That is why I was so excited about it. The Bud guys basically gave me 7 or 8 shots at 70 meters at a practice can to sight in (with NO warm up... usually I shoot 40-50 arrows warm up) and then they had me pull my arrows and put up a second can for the real deal.

They told me to look at the camera and say "One shot, one arrow, no problem" and then actually do it. A dream I always wanted to accomplish in archery was being in the gold medal finals against the Koreans and being the anchor shooter (the last person to shoot) and needing to shoot a 10 to win on the last arrow. In my visualization, I always nailed it... so when they asked me to do this, that is what my mind immediately went to and then I just took a deep breath and thought about my technique and shot. IT WAS SOOO COOL because the arrow nailed the can at that moment. Even though it wasn't in the gold medal final against the Koreans it was a lot of fun.

Anyhow, enough about that... the rest of this weekend is going to be great... I'm going to my 10th year high school reunion, something that I couldn't have done if I'd made the finals of the Olympic trials (given the choice, I'd probably still pick the finals... but there is always a reason!). So, I'll be out here with all my old friends, catching up and sharing fun stories. Ironically, a couple of my classmates won't be there because they are still trying out for their respective Olympic teams (one in mountain biking and one in rowing).

I'm waiting to hear back but I may have a chance to be on the Today show next week for Polo Ralph Lauren... I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I also wanted to keep you up to date about the book I'm reading about Darfur. If you get a chance, please sign up to be a Team Darfur fan (or part of the team if you are an athlete) at www.teamdarfur.com. The book, "Not on our Watch" is an incredible insight into the background of the Darfur genocide. It gives two distinct perspectives, one from a life long advocate for Africa and one from a famous movie star.

From what I have read, it seems that the situation in Darfur is extremely complicated. The perspective that the book takes is that Sudan's government is behind the killings but is trying to make it out to look as though it is tribal civil war based on limited resources and opposing religious beliefs. I still have a lot to learn and I would encourage you to learn more as well.

I also watched a documentary called "The Devil Came on Horseback." It was incredibly graphic so I would recommend not watching it with your kids. The documentary highlighted just how much red tape is involved in trying to make a change. The guy behind the documentary talked about how he would write reports on violations that were being made but only 8 of the 40 or so he wrote ever went anywhere and nothing was done about the ones that did get turned in. The documentary argued that other countries were aiding Sudan's government by providing the ability to purchase weapons from profits made in the sale of oil.

On that note, please keep Darfur in your prayers. Please sign up to be a fan and spread the word.

What next? Surfing & Sudan

Many people have been emailing and calling the past few days with words of support and love. I am so thankful that other people care so much about what I am doing. Ironically, one of the emails I got from a very dear friend of mine pointed out something that is becoming clearer as the fog from the past week is starting to burn off.

Most people who know me well, know that there was only one reason I got into archery and that was to go to the Olympics. It is fair to say, that I have loved the pursuit of the Olympics and the purpose that my life felt in that pursuit more than the actual sport of archery itself. When I realized that rowing, a sport that I loved, wasn’t going to be my vehicle to the games, I tried to find another one. Unfortunately in that transfer, I left behind the key ingredient to success, the love of the sport.

Immediately after I broke my bow down on Friday following the conclusion of the Olympic Trials, I was on the web looking into other Olympic sports that I could still try and pick up... 10m air pistol, some kind of track and field event, anything... and then I stopped. I thought, "Holy crap," immediately it hit me, it didn’t matter if I switched sports, if I didn’t love what I was doing, it would never work. Archery, unfortunately for me, was just a means to an end and that is why it didn’t work.

So, what next? Well, I guess the first thing to do is try and figure out what I love to do, try different things, leave archery for awhile and see if I miss it. Two of my closest friends, independently of each other told me write out a list of things I wanted to do and try in my life. The past 5 years, everything has been on hold. I’ve missed weddings, graduations, vacations, skiing, rowing, etc.

I decided to do something completely out of character, I went surfing. I have never surfed in my life... in fact, to be honest, I’ve never really liked salt water and the way it gets in your mouth and eyes. But, I decided that I would try it and signed myself up for Surf Diva school (www.surfdiva.com). It rocked! Wearing a wet suit made all the difference in the world as far as me not being bothered by the salt water. I actually got up on my very first try! It was so cool, the water moves so quickly under you. For two straight hours on both Saturday and Sunday, I smiled non stop - even when I wiped out!

I also started working full time... now to be honest, I was working 40-60 hour weeks before but it was over 7 days not 5. It was strange to be sitting in my office realizing that I was there for the next 8 hours. What normally took me a whole week to do, I was able to get done in two days. I actually had to pace myself and take required state law breaks!

Despite the surfing and working and even trying outrigger canoe, a piece of the puzzle is still missing. The purpose that I felt in training for the Olympics is now void. I need to fill it with something... but this time, maybe not a personal quest so much as contributing to make the world a better place. That is where Sudan comes into play.

A while back, Joey Cheek, a three time Olympic medalist in speed skating, emailed me and asked me to be a part of Team Darfur (www.teamdarfur.org). I’m so impressed with what Joey has done with his fame, he has a true heart for making a difference in the world. The same day that I was knocked out of the Olympic trials, I received a packet with a book called Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast.

As I’ve begun to read it, I feel convicted that this is something I can put time into and feel a sense of purpose again. In the coming weeks, I will share with you my thoughts on reading the book. I would encourage you to purchase it and read it along with me and have an open discussion with me by leaving comments in my blogs. One thing that the book has already taught me is that one of the most powerful things you can do to stop genocide is to stop turning a blind eye to it. I look forward to your thoughts on the issue!

Links:

What you can do: http://www.teamdarfur.org/takeaction

Purchase the book: http://www.amazon.com/Not-Our-Watch-Mission-Genocide/dp/1401303358/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207819216&sr=8-1

Educate yourself: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/08/google.refugees.ap/index.html