Category — Following Jesus

We arrived back home safely and it was an incredible trip. The first week of the trip, we spent time in Kampala meeting with various ministries and experiencing life in urban Uganda. The second half of the trip, we traveled to northern Uganda, just south of Gulu to a city called Karuma, and spent the rest of our time there at Restoration Gateway (RG). We were so blessed and encouraged by our time at RG and we really got a good picture of all that God is doing through that incredible ministry. Here is a list of the ongoing ministries that are taking place there.

As a team, we also got to spend a day at Murchison Falls National Park and experience a boat ride down the Nile, a hike to the top of one of the world’s most powerful waterfalls (Murchison Falls), and a safari drive where we saw a full range of wildlife, including giraffes, elephants, and lions,.. to name a few.

Overall we were very encouraged by our time in Uganda, and all the ministries we met with are doing amazing work throughout Uganda. It was very confirming for us as a family and we are still planning on moving there in 2012. Over the next few months, we will continue to pray and process with our church, discuss next steps from our findings during our trip, and confirm the ministry we will be serving with. We will keep you posted and until then, enjoy some pictures from our trip below (3 different albums with 450 pics total)

Evelyn’s baby dedication was last week, and for family and friends that couldn’t make it, we wanted to share it with you.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go on a retreat with Sustainable Faith and spend a weekend away with our House Church. We traveled to Norwood, Ohio and spent two days at the geographical nexus of Vineyard Central, an urban network of house churches in central Cincinnati.

We had an amazing experience there and Dave and Jody Nixon were amazing hosts! Thank you both for your wonderful hospitalilty. We had the opportunity to spend some time with Dave in some guided discussion and we were very encouraged and challenged. The food was delicious and the coffee was great! They get their beans fresh each week and they’re roasted locally by La Terza. They also grind the beans with a burr grinder and the coffee is always fresh! (for you fellow coffee lovers out there) The weekend was filled with great fellowship and a highlight was getting to sing and play some music at Vineyard Central’s church building, St. Elizabeth. We got to go in by ourselves and worship together. It was a really cool experience (more pics below).

*If you, your family, or your church small group,.. are looking for a place to get away, unplug from the bustle of our busy culture, Sustainable Faith is a great place for it!

As 2009 is full steam ahead, I thought I would share a resource a good friend gave me that will help guide some reflection as you look back on 2008 and help cast some goals and vision as you look forward to 2009. Rear View Mirror, it’s called.

It’s geared more for followers of Jesus, but even if you aren’t a believer, I encourage you to check it out, as it has some good things to think about. You can download the document below ( I included a PDF and Word version if you’re a typer like myself) I invite you to spend some time going through it and even meet with someone else and go through some of your answers, as they’re some good conversation starters. Enjoy!

Rear View Mirror (Word Doc)

Rear View Mirror (PDF)

Our church, Common Ground Christian Church, just started a 20-week study on the book of Revelation, and thought we would post a link to the sermons online, if you want to join along and check out the series. Go to the download page.

Hey all. Some dear friends of ours, Andrew, Besty and Noura Timbie, will be moving to Burundi in August for 6 months and they are in need of some financial support. The president of Burundi has asked a team of people from Hope Africa University to start a new radio stations that will: [Read more →]

Hello all. We wanted to invite you to an event ServLife is hosting (for those of you who live in Indianapolis area) called DREAM, this Wednesday, March 19th, from 7:00-8:30, at Common Ground Christian Church (46th and Illinois). Here’s the details on it: [Read more →]

Our friends, Jason and Joselyn Thiemann, are missionaries who work with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and they will be moving to Lesotho (Africa) later this year. They are close to reaching their target fundraising goals, but they are still in need of some final support. Please pray and/or consider financially partnering with their ministry. Here’s a bit about what they’re doing: [Read more →]