If you want to read this in the proper order... scroll down to the last picture and read up... otherwise... this is how my pictures appeared, and they are the real story tellers :).
So here we go.... from most recent to the distant past... that being April... here we go!
Sabine Creek is quickly becoming our home for MK Camp! It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Creed this year. Creed is a senior this year and that means this was his last time at camp with us. I had Pete (our worship leader for camp) and Lindsay (our camp speaker) pray over the seniors at the end.
I was so happy to finally get a female camp speaker. Last year Nadia co-taught with me, which was awesome. This year we had our first ever female camp speaker, and she shared about prayer, which is the theme of our year! It was great, God is working, and we had so much fun! Stay tuned for a great slide show, for now here are some highlights.
The week leading into camp was 'meeting' week for me. I had two days of department meetings and then we had two days of org meetings. It was exhausting... nothing like sitting for hours to make you tired. It was valuable, and one of the special moments for me was getting to see Diane worship. She has such a pure and powerful way of worshipping, and I love being around it. (Don't tell her I took this picture :)
Asher is determined to do every sport he possibly can while back at Village Tech. He is doing cross country (not very fun to watch...Diane strongly disagrees) and flag football (very fun to watch) and just made the basketball team (I hope that's fun to watch).
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| Here Asher, the team's strong safety, is getting close to their 37-6 thrashing of this team. |
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| Meeting Caleb has appeared! Real Caleb... who knows where that guy is! |
We are about to officially really and finally kick off the fall semester at FORT (formerly known as MK). School starts so much earlier these days... but after Camp is when it feels real to me. Anyway, this is our last event before camp... Skate Night! Here we farewell all the graduated Seniors before they head off to college, or wherever. This is the last event they can come to.
This is where I wish the pictures would have cooperated. We did a big yard project this year, having astro turf put in. Here you can see the finished product before you see what it used to look like. We are very happy with the result and even happier with no more muddy dog paws!
We also had a new sliding glass door put in. It was time. The other door was barely opening anymore and didn't keep the outside weather very hidden.
Creed the amazing cross-country captain and superstar! So proud of him!
Some FORT fun... ugh, MK is so much easier to type... hmmm maybe I'll do FT instead... anyway here is someone who was visiting from Uganda. It is great to get the visit on both sides of the ocean. Only able to come for one night, but it was so fun to reconnect.
We really enjoyed the Olympics this year. Here we are practicing for the next year... Okay maybe not. But we did get to take a family vacation this year. It was too short, but God does a lot with a little and I am so grateful for the time we got together. We went to Fredericksburg and enjoyed a house with all sorts of fun things, including a dead squirrel in the chimney. The best thing was the people and the pool. I loved star gazing and having hours with people I love and miss and nothing else to do but enjoy being together.
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| A truly enchanted rock ;) |
One of the fun things we did this Summer with FT was doing a Thursday at the Park event. This one was a hike. It was so great getting out and enjoying nature!
Sometimes the best laid plans go to heck. We had planned to see Inside Out 2 at the drive in as a FT group a month after it premiered. When we got there it was sold out. Only those wise enough to get tickets in advance were able to still get in. With a car full of sad and disappointed people we headed home... until Holy Spirit said "Hey check and see where else it might be showing." Well we did and turned lemons into lemonade. It was a sweet experience, and I'm so grateful for the work that God is continuing to do in my heart as He makes the kingdom grow in me. I can remember a day where frustration would have led me home and annoyed, and I would have missed the potential right in front of me.
The girls did a dance class again this year. It was so fun... and I got to be in a dance off. I don't know where the footage is... probably lost forever somehow. I got second place... out of the three of us :).
The 4th of July happened again this year and it is such a fun family and friend tradition. Every year seems better and better.
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| I'm so clever to take a picture of someone taking a picture :) Firework inception! |
The glorious tradition lives on. Blueberry picking, where I sit and eat blueberry treats, while my family harvests blueberries for us to take home. I love this tradition.
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| She's so cute! |
You do this job long enough and you feel like you have done everything you can think of... then you go to Cidercade. It was so fun getting the group out there and I discovered this wonderful game!
I love how big and strong my two oldest boys are! We got the joy of helping someone move and it was so great being able to bring them along... although Creed did sit around a lot ;).
One of my favorite times of year is when everyone comes together for what Pioneer Bible Translators calls Discovery. I get to run a youth week and that is lots of fun... but I also get to have a day out with the interns, and I love running games with them. This one was particularly fun! You have the legs, the hands, and the eyes and you have to retrieve an item hidden on the playground. I laughed so hard... it was great watching them figure it out!
Bella played soccer this last spring for the first time ever, and it was surprisingly fun watching her play. I really enjoyed being at her games. What a hero! Go Tigers!
I have many hidden talents... some hidden more than others. Now you can call me Caleb the amazing rat killer. These babies were making it very hard to store anything in the garage... so I killed them! My first time doing this classic missionary rite of passage. Add my name to the list :).
Liam finished 6th grade with the prominent distinction of earning the Cougar Award, the highest award the school gives! You're going places, Liam... in fact you are already there... at Village Tech in 7th grade... thanks to the order of the pictures.
I think I'm finally able to enjoy the Ice Cream Social again. After injuring my back at this event more than 10 years ago, I think I'm finally past that. See how I didn't even feel the need to mention it again this year. Any way, it was great to host another awesome FT fundraiser and get the community out. We made what we needed to help the group take some relief off of the expense of camp costs.
I did another Bible in 90 days challenge this summer. I'm currently on my 5th time through the Bible this year and would love your prayers to reach my goal of 6 times total this year. I love the word of God but have never tried to get through it these many times in a year.
Before Skate Night comes FT graduation. Here we say farewell to a great group of seniors, one of whose arms I broke many years ago playing musical chairs. My big butt (appropriate for my size and quite muscular) and her little, tiny arm collided in what I'm hoping will soon be forgotten now that she is finally moving on. Jo, I will miss you lots, you added so much to the group. Go in peace... not pieces ;). Pete did a great job with the charge to the Seniors.
We loved our annual Mother's Day hike. This year to spice it up we stole someone's dog and held it ransom for $25. That helped pay for Diane's extravagant lunch of soup or Pho as some call it. It rained our whole hike, which was fun, but then we felt very sorry for this puppy that started following us, right from out front of its house. We called the number on the tag and returned it a mile away from its home. It was sweet of them to offer us some money for our trouble to them.
You can pray for Asher & Diane who have really gotten into the nightclub scene. Or make up your own story for this picture... but really it was just Asher getting invited to a quinciñera.
Darn you picture order... foiled again. Here is our new fence... before you get to see the old fence. Which was very old and very falling apart. We got this done in one day thanks to the amazing help of so many.
This lady is a legend and a treasure in FORT lore. Johanna you are awesome! We had the joy of doing a service project for her and it was a great way to end the year before summer.
Here I am getting back from Uganda before even leaving. I never get tired of my welcoming committee. What amazing young ladies.
Uganda was such a special time. Here my colleague Nadia playing the role of Super Aunt and playing games with the kids of the family we stayed with. It was an amazing trip and so rewarding. We talked about being the light of the world. It was great to get to know more families with PBT and see where they live. God gave me a huge heart for them, and I have started having FT pray for several families by name. I can't wait to see what God is going to do through all of this. We had a sweet time of fellowship before we left and got to pray and dream and eat delicious food together. I love my job!
While I was away Creed got to do his first Ragnar! Look at that boy run!
Texas was a great place to be this spring for the total Solar Eclipse! What a gift! God you are so amazing, and I worship you and praise you for you are better than anything else that could ever be!
And that brings me to the beginning and the end. So much going on and so much Kingdom happening and being expanded. I hope you enjoyed the highlights and the recaps. I'm so grateful for you and your support and partnership in what God is doing here. I couldn't and wouldn't want to do it without you! Your prayers and encouragement keep me going! Thank you!
And now for the part that I was saving for last... because who likes talking about this kind of stuff...
I am currently under supported by $400 a month. I'm confident that God will continue to provide and raise up the right people at the right time to help close this gap. How did I come up with this number you may ask? When I left the Hotel in 2013, I used the amount I was getting paid there to set my ministry budget. Since then, I haven't taken a raise. I've been very thankful for how God has used my wife's job to help supply our needs. COVID and the passing of some supporters along with difficult and changing economic climates have impacted my support over the years. God has let me know that it's time to share this information with you all and ask you to pray with me and maybe even join my team.
Whatever happens I'm confident that as I choose obedience, God is faithful in provision. Thanks for sharing in my joy in this work and being whatever part of it you can be. God is good all the time and has been so faithful and I know will continue to be! I'm looking forward to an amazing fall with the group and I'm grateful that the only trips I know about right now are for next year.
January to Portugal and next Summer to Canada! Stay tuned for more information.
Blessings,
