4 Questions with Omar | Austin, Texas Photography

As a journalism student back in the day, I had the chance to interview all types of people, from star athletes to guest lecturers to professors and anyone in between. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting new and diverse people, but even after the hundredth interview, I would still get a little nervous before each one. I didn't know the person and that was enough to make me nervous. On top of that I freaked about things like, what if I messed up the questions (and don't worry that happened), what if I ran out of questions (yep, happened too), and how dorky does my 18 pound tape recorder (non-digital days of course) look?? I am going to assume I looked pretty legit.

So when the opportunity came about to do a 4 Questions with someone I had never met, I was both excited and nervous. My friend Doug's brother, Omar, was in town from the East Coast and it worked out to meet up with him on a perfect Texas morning.

It turns out I really had nothing to worry about (there were only 4 Questions, so that would have been pretty special to mess up). In the short time I spent talking with Omar, it is clear that he is one of the most genuine, compassionate and real people you will ever meet. His passion for what he does, his family, his faith and life is contagious and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet Omar and feature him on 4 Questions. Thanks Omar for sharing some of your life with me (and the World Wide Web).

1. What is something about your life right now that you would have never imagined 5 years ago? 

I started doing Prison Ministry in 2003 and I would not have imagined that I would still be doing it now in 2011. I’ve traveled all over, 42 states, doing prison ministry, been well received with people asking for me to come back and things like that. All because of a passion. I wanted to do something. I was tired of seeing people that I knew go to prison. So I said there has to be something I can say or do. I didn’t have much to say, but I had to say something. So I started. I called up this prison in New Jersey. I wrote a couple of poems and asked if I could come share them with the inmates. And now I’ve been all over. God was able to take my small passion, my wanting to do something and turn it into something huge. It’s a beautiful thing. There’s a saying, God isn’t concerned about your ability, but about your availability. As long as we are available, let Him use you. He will take you wherever.

2. What is one thing that you would go back and do differently if you could? 
I would have valued things differently. I know that sounds arbitrary, but I think when we are young (in college and 20s) we value the wrongs things. I grew up thinking that I need a nice car and I need to make a bunch of money. We find ourselves spending time and wasting time searching for the wrong things. You realize that isn’t what really matters. It’s not about having a huge house, car with rims, the prettiest girl in the club. I feel like I wasted a lot of time trying to get things that don’t matter. I could have been doing things like prison ministry, doing things that changed the world, impacted my community. I could have started that a lot sooner had I been focused on things that really mattered, not the worldly and expensive things because in the end that’s not going to make you happy.

 

3. What is one of the happiest moments of your life? 

It would have to say two: My wedding day and the day my son was born. My wedding was just a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful day. It was just amazing. My wife and I both waited and that was huge, so not only was it an inside joke, but everyone new that we loved each other. We had actually met 6 years earlier, dated long distance for a year, broke up for a year and then got back together when she moved to Philly. We dated for a year and then got engaged. Everyone knew that it was supposed to be. From the first day we met we just clicked (he set up by a friend while he was in LA on business) and its always been good.

And then the day my son was born, it was like the love between my wife and I was a being now. He was a physical symbol of our love for each other. Because we loved each other, this happened. He is a sign of our love. I was Mr. Cool the whole time at the hospital and then when they came and handed him to me I just lost it. I couldn’t explain it. It was amazing. It was one of the moments. It all just hit me. We’ve come together and we’ve made this new being. He’ll live past us. Even when we’re gone, he’ll still be here.

4. What is one piece of advice you want to pass along to the next generation? 
Put God first. That would be my number one thing. If you seek Him, He will direct your ways, your path. I feel like that’s the answer, that’s the key. We’ve gotten so far away from that. We have all types of problems; divorce, wars we’re fighting. If more people could focus on biblical principles, putting God first in their lives, we wouldn’t have so many things going wrong. We’re getting further and further away from God and things are messing up. I believe it is the answer. It’s tough for some people to accept, but I believe that if you really want your life what it can be, really want a blessed life, you have to follow God, follow what the Bible says. Do onto others what you would have unto you…all those principles. If we could follow those, this world would be a better place.

I'll end with a quote I came across that I think fits pretty well: "You have to be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living a dream." - Peter McWilliams