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Haiti Team Interview Eight: Tony

It was only if I would let him interview me that Lee would allow me to interview him. As a result, I represent interview eight. To keep with the trend of professional distance, I'll speak about myself in the third person, and relate to you my answers to the same questions I asked of others. This is me.

Tony first heard about the Haiti trip in a San Francisco restaurant, amid the conversation of one of the co-leaders, Julie. They had just finished seeing the National Academy of Sciences, and the conversation between Julie and Robyn turned international. Julie's excitement about the trip was contagious, and when she told him offhand that there were still spaces open for male team members, he took immediate interest.

Still, such interest brought with it necessary introspection. In his mind, Tony couldn't see whether his desire to go to Haiti grew more from a genuine desire to serve God or simply from an interest in seeing someplace new. Still, it only took a matter of days to make up his mind about the trip. Not hearing God's answer to prayer, he resolved that his motives likely stemmed from both places: he did want to serve God in Haiti, but also had an innate desire for the experience.

Tony expected to see the poverty, and wasn't struck by it when he saw it so visibly on leaving the Port-au-Prince airport. In fact, Tony had few conscious expectations, but was more concerned about how he would relate to the rest of the team. This concern has been ongoing in his life, but given his past, he has made significant progress in his relations with others. He's become more aware of himself, and has certainly grown more self-accepting.

This kind of struggle, perhaps, is not surprising. Tony has been described as outwardly focused by others, but described himself as guarded. Indeed, his effort has been to take the focus off of himself and become what he called more "others-minded." This has involved some intentionality in his relations with others, something that doesn't come naturally. As a result, he's described himself as an "exintrovert."

Matters like these, however, take a back seat when it comes to the more important things of life. Tony's favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip, he likes action movies, and has two brothers and a sister. He's lived in Stockton all his life, and thinks soccer is the best sport devised by the mind of man. He played soccer in Haiti, and hopes to do so again someday, maybe soon.
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