Friday, December 26, 2008

6100 miles (and counting!)

During the months of November and December we put about 6,100 miles on the good 'ole 1997 Ford Explorer Sport. Where have we been? Who have we seen? Check out photos of each state by clicking on their links! Enjoy!


Until we reach our monthly support goals, we will continue to travel as we share our ministry with others. Thanks for your prayers!

Read our Year End Letter for 2008!



Read our Year End Letter for 2008!

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Virginia and DC

For a couple weeks in December, we were able to spend some good time in the Virginia/DC area. Some of our friends from DTS and CAM -- Aaron and Carrie Kraft -- hosted us for a week, as we had opportunities to speak to different pastors, ministries, individuals, and also share about our ministry.



Brad had the chance to preach at Aaron's church twice and we really enjoyed getting to know their congregation and new town.

It was Lindsey's first time in the DC area, so Aaron gave us a drive by tour (it was really chilly and overcast...so Lindsey was perfectly content seeing it all by car.) We did jump out for a couple pictures outside though.



The Krafts were fantastic hosts and really went out of their way to set up opportunities for us to meet with other pastors, ministries, and individuals who wanted to learn more about missions and misisons in Spain/Uruguay. It was a fruitful week and we really enjoyed the area.

For lots more pictures of our time in DC/VA, click here.


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Monday, December 22, 2008

Cousins

While we were in DC, we took some time to travel a bit north of DC and see Brad's cousins. It was awesome for us to see them at their homes and get some time with them and their kids. This time we saw the Fenimore boys -- Mitchell and Scott. THEIR KIDS ARE AWESOME. All boys and tons of fun!



Mitchell and Pia have Will and George. They are two precious little boys. George (the youngest) was named after Brad's Grandpa George. William (their oldest) was actually the ring bearer in our wedding. He's obviously changed alot in the past 4.5 years!




Scott and Lindsey have Wesley and Lucas. They both have a precious smile and contagious laugh. They are expecting their 3rd boy in January! Wahoo!




When we were in Philly we got to see Mitchell and Scott's mom -- Brad's Aunt Carole. Her husband Emilio plays the standing bass with the Philadelphia Orchestra. We got a chance to hear him play during their Christmas concert. It was awesome.



While we have been meeting with some many different churches and ministries, it has been a blessing to also have time with family during the holidays.


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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Partner Profile - Aaron and Carrie Kraft

Did you know that one of the best ways to partner with Lindsey and I is to connect us with other people?

I'd like to introduce you to Aaron and Carrie Kraft (and their two little children Jonathan and Jackie [recently adopted from Guatemala, check out the video]). This past week, Aaron and Carrie connected us to all sorts of people from pastors, to Uruguayans who could teach us about Uruguay, to friends of theirs who wanted to learn more about missions.

Another way that they have partnered with us is to allow us to stay in their home and use it as our home base for when we are in Washington, D.C. They held a dessert night at their house one night for us to share about our ministry with the church they are serving in. We also got to know many of their close friends from that area and were encouraged by all of their questions, advice, and prayers.

Aaron and Carrie also welcomed Brad to preach during both of the church services at their church. Not only did this give us an opportunity to meet another church but also gave us an opportunity to serve the congregation. It is so helpful for churches to get to know real-life missionaries :) like ourselves and begin to connect what they read about in the bible with what God is doing in and through people around the world.

We are so lucky to know this couple and deepen our friendship with them. At DTS in Dallas, TX Aaron and I were able to encourage and counsel one another as we not only were classmates at DTS but also served in full-time ministry at CAM International together for the past few years.

If you get a chance, pray for Aaron and Carrie as they serve faithfully in DC. Also if you get a piece of mail with our Year End Letter for 2008 highlighting YOUR IMPACT, thank God for people like the Krafts who spent lots of time helping Lindsey and I to send the mailing out!

Thanks Aaron and Carrie for the impact you are making on so many people (including us!).

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Roommates!

During our time in DC, we both had the opportunity to reconnect with our college roommates. It was a blast to see them again and have a bit of time to catch up!

Gen was Lindsey's roomate for all the 3 semesters she was at Trinity University. Gen was also a bridesmaid at our wedding.




Galdo was Brad's roommate at Davidson. He was who Brad was living with when we first met at Davidson. Now he is working in DC and will be getting married next year to another Davidson Wildcat -- Anne! Too bad the day we met up was the day that Davidson lost horribly to Purdue... :(




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Zurbricks and Lancaster

One of the women who is on our team to Uruguay and Spain is Rebecca Zurbrick. She currently lives in Lancaster, PA, so we decided to make a trip up there to get a chance to see her hometown and meet her family.



It was great to finally meet her family who she has shared so much with us about. We had a wonderful lunch (thanks Mrs. Zurbrick!) and really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know them better.

Rebecca and her brother Mark gave us a tour of the Lancaster area and taught us a lot about the culture and people of the area. It was fabulous!

Rebecca will be in the Dallas area in about a week for our Uruguay Team training. We are looking forward to seeing her again and having the time to continue to develop as a ministry team.

To learn more about Rebecca, check our her blog. For more pictures of PA, click here.


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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Time with Family in NC

Visiting family is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world. In November, we had a chance to spend some time in NC visiting my three brothers, their wives, and children as well as my parents and many others. Somehow we never really get enough time with them which is a good sign to me that we enjoy our time with them.

This year in particular I was amazed by how relationships even with people you have known your entire life change but in many ways remain the same. One notable example was how blown away we were by the encouragement and generosity we experienced while with my brothers and their wives in NC.

Our little (or not so little anymore) nieces and nephews were so much fun. It is always tough to leave them as they now refer to us as Uncle Moose and Aunt Lindsey.

Click here to enjoy some of the pictures from our time in NC.

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Sunday, December 14, 2008

A Stomach Bug

Stomach bugs are tough. Ever had one?

For the past seven days I've eaten a total of 2 "normal" meals. What I mean by normal is a meal that is not solely composed of coke/powerade and crackers/bannana. Weird huh?

The reason I am posting this is that it struck me today how fortunate I am. The reality is that I have never gone through a day wondering how I would afford food, a place to sleep, or anything like that. But then when I get a stomach bug one of the first things that I do is revert to complaining about how difficult it is.

Do you ever do that? As a Christian, I believe that Scripture teaches that I should respond to the things that seem difficult in life with gratitude rather than complaining. Maybe you are like me and today, even though life hasn't been terrible, you might need to respond to some adversity in your life with thankfulness for all that you already have and the blessings that are already in your life.

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Thursday, December 04, 2008

Paradox of our Age

This was a piece that most people believe was written by comedian George Carlin; however, it was written by a pastor in Washington state. (Snopes.com tells it here.)

If we take the time to digest the truths in this, we might change some of the ways that we live and act on a daily basis....enjoy!

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We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider freeways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy it less; we have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, yet less time; we have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgement; more experts, yet more problems; we have more gadgets but less satisfaction; more medicine, yet less wellness; we take more vitamins but see fewer results. We drink too much; smoke too much; spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get too angry quickly; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too seldom; watch TV too much and pray too seldom.



We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values; we fly in faster planes to arrive there quicker, to do less and return sooner; we sign more contracts only to realize fewer profits; we talk too much; love too seldom and lie too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things; we've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.



we write more, but learn less; plan more, but accomplish less; we make faster planes, but longer lines; we learned to rush, but not to wait; we have more weapons, but less peace; higher incomes, but lower morals; more parties, but less fun; more food, but less appeasement; more acquaintances, but fewer friends; more effort, but less success. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; drive smaller cars that have bigger problems; build larger factories that produce less. We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.



These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, but short character; steep in profits, but shallow relationships. These are times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure and less fun; higher postage, but slower mail; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes, but more divorces; these are times of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, cartridge living, thow-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer, to prevent, quiet or kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stock room. Indeed, these are the times!

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