Hearing His knock

I wrote this note February fifth of last year (2014). Ash and I weren’t married yet. Reading this again was a much needed reminder of the need to not just spend time in quiet, but also seek close intimacy with our Father in Heaven. Only through the power of Christ can I live to the fullest.

This morning I had the privilege of enjoying some time in quiet and thought. Recently I’ve been trying to be more intentional about taking the time to do this. I know Jesus’ example of getting away from people and busy-ness to pray and commune with His father but I’ve never really tried to make this my practice. Until now.

And the blessings have been numerous.

So often I tell Ashton of my love for her, I want to spend time with her and be part of her day and thoughts. But who is my God if not one who loves Ashton more than me. By who’s power only I can perfectly love Ashton. So this morning as I thought through this I was reminded of my need to seek close fellowship with my God. He is knocking at the door waiting for me. I need only to open and enjoy His participation in my thoughts and heart.

2-5-14

Starting Something New

Recently my wife and I have made some changes in life. We moved to a new apartment and I left my job to look for a new one.

These are both pretty significant changes. One of our living environment, the other of my working environment. With changes this big there are a lot of opportunities to create change in other smaller areas of life. I feel more alive and free after leaving a job that created a lot of stress and I see the future filled with opportunities to forge a path in a different direction than we were heading a month ago.

Here are are four changes I’m excited to make to shape my future in an extraordinary way.

Winter Plans

A fellow student from my NTBI class of 2013 blogged about his recent and future short term mission trip opportunities. Check out his blog here: Winter Plans.

Whatever happened to whats-his-face?

I have many friends around the world and I know some of them are curious about where I’m at in life. Maybe you are one of them. That would be convenient because I’m gonna spend a few minutes briefly digressing right now. This is meant to be concise so I won’t elaborate much here, but please pursue further conversation if you are interested in knowing more! I value your participation in my life in even the smallest way.
Call me @ (517) 392 1134

A) I’m living in Jackson Michigan. My sister and I are

This is my home.

In May of 2010 I left the place I called home for my 18 years of life. A cement block, tin roof house on the outskirts of a small village in Guinea, Africa. Ever since then

Beginning 2013 @ NTBI

Christmas break is almost over for New Tribes Bible Institute and students are returning in preparation for another semester. I’ve taken the opportunity for more hours at work to prepare for the semester by earning what I can. At this point I’m almost ready to pay the initial payment that was due on the first of this month, so I am grateful. I received several generous gifts last semester to help with my bill and my parents have been very supportive as well. Because I still do not have enough to pay off my senior semester fees entirely, I’ll be working part time as I have done the last couple semesters.

The classes we will take this semester excite me. They include but aren’t limited to:

1. Public Speaking
2. Pauline Epistles
3. Ecclesiology (study of the church)
4. Christian Life
5. Daniel/Revelation (the end times)

Then if that wasn’t great enough we’ll also take a trip to Wayumi (http://usa.ntm.org/wayumi), a camp of sorts in Pennsylvania that some New Tribes Missionaries run to offer Americans a brief but very realistic tribal experience and challenge ’em with God’s heart for missions as seen in the Bible. Wayumi is open to high school and college groups, offering either weekend or week long adventures and at the very affordable cost of $200/person. An excellent short term missions alternative. Let me know if you have questions. To give you an idea of how incredible it is, a certain well known Christian University requires their students to experience it before graduating with their Missions degree.

So in short, I’m pretty excited. But of course, much more is going on than I’ve taken the time to write here. If you’d like to get in touch, please do!

For the mean time, I’m in Michigan, studying God’s word at New Tribes Bible Institute.

Moravians Who??

For our class on Missions in Church History we were required to write a paper on the Moravian Mission movement. And now I wonder “Why have I never heard of these guys before??”.

Ready! Set! Go!

School has begun. I mean training. NTBI is truly a 2 year training course. Classes on the Bible do fill almost every class period and almost all of our homework requires us to break open God’s Word. But the teachers are much more concerned about our Spiritual maturity and walk with God than our grades, believing that one who is consistent in their growth is one who will put greater value on what they are studying, despite what the grades reflect as well as benefit most from their time here.This is seen very well in the example of a servant-leader given us when the school president rushes through his lunch to wash dishes with the students.

And this is where I have the privilege of studying.

A mid Summer Report

The two first weeks at Camp Pearl have ended. Considering how camp can go sometimes, these last weeks were very good.