Northside's Family Camp

Hello everyone! We hope you are doing well. Megan and I just returned from Family Camp with Northside, and it was an amazing experience. As most of you know, Northside is our sponsoring congregation, and we were there as both "Family" and "Ministers." Megan and I will be spending time with Northside towards the end of the summer before departing for Argentina, and we used this as an opportunity to build relationships with the church.

Daniel and Megan both spoke at the Family Camp. We both approached the topics of "Men of God -- Press On!" and "Women of God -- Press On!" (Can you figure out which was which?) Megan approached the topic through the story of Hannah, and I was told that she did an amazing job. She wanted to encourage the women to stay strong in their faith and commitment, even when life was tough. Daniel used the story of Paul and also the Scripture Hebrews 12:1-3, reminding the men to fix their eyes on Christ and cast off their burdens, but also to be the "great cloud of witnesses" for one another. It was a great experience.

We both enjoyed every aspect of Family Camp. Megan's two sisters, as well as two nieces and nephew were there, and it was great to spend time with them. We are trying to get in as much family time as we can before we depart. Sadly, almost everyone wound up sick at some point. (Daniel and Joanna were the only two to not get sick at some point.)

One of Daniel's favorite parts of Family Camp is Old Church Singing. It is a great chance to sing old classic songs in praise to God. There are some pics below.

We had a blast, and met some amazing people. We truly felt blessed by our time with Northside, and can't wait to be with them this summer.

On a different note... We are only $3000 away from our goal! We are sending out new fundraising letters today, so pray that God would raise up the funds that we need.

Thank you for your love and support. Keep us in your prayers! More pics from family camp are forthcoming! God bless you!

What I Am Learning Through Fundraising

Hey guys, thanks for your prayers. I apologize that it has been 10 days since our last post. Not a lot has been going on here, aside from work for both of us, my class at the hospital, and winding down our semester in ministry.

I wanted to tell you a little bit more about our fundraising. As of right now we have close to 94% of our need, which is an amazing blessing from God. We have been blessed by the partnership with two churches (Southside in Lawrence, KS, where I currently work; and Northside in Wichita, where I will work part-time until we leave.) They are blessing us immensely with funding and prayers, and we are blessed by their dedication to God's work.

We are also being sponsored by numerous individuals from around the country. Although we don't have 50 individuals yet in our 50 for $50 drive, we do have quite a large number of individuals who are giving that amount (or more!) We are incredibly blessed by so many great friends and family who are sacrificing for us and the Kingdom.

We are still about $3000-3500 short, and we are seeking to make up the difference. If you know of anyone who is interested in missions in Argentina or a church looking to get involved, please let them know more about us and our work. You can also put them in touch with us, and we would be happy to talk more about our work.

I am learning a number of things I am learning in the midst of our fundraising.
1) God is faithful, and he has been able to do great things through this endeavor. Our faith is strengthened each day by the results of the giving.
2) People want to do great things for the Kingdom.
3) Satan doesn't like when good things are happening. We've had some discouraging things come up over the past few weeks, and these things have really thrown us for loops. Pray that God will protect us, keep us safe from harm, keep us healthy, and keep us in good spirits.
4) I am learning to pray more. James 4 tells me "You do not have because you do not ask God..." While that verse is being taken slightly out of context, it reminds me that I must be in earnest prayer. God wants to give us good gifts, and he is opening up the storehouses of heaven through the generosity of others. We feel incredibly blessed, but we must also continue to be fervent in prayer.
5) I am learning to be more thankful. We are trying to let people know just how thankful we are for them and show our appreciation for their love, support, and generosity. Thank YOU for your love and support as well!

There are a number of other lessons, so stay tuned for that.

A random Spanish lesson for each of you. The word in Spanish for wife is esposa. Interestingly, it is also the same word for "handcuff." Not sure what that means semantically or exegetically, but it is funny! (I am thankful for my esposa every day!)

Have a wonderful, blessed day! Hasta luego!

Our Time with Northside

Good morning, friends and family! I hope you guys are doing well. I just wanted to update you on our lives and fundraising.

This morning Megan and I were in Wichita talking to the Northside congregation about our work. Northside is our sponsoring church, and they are providing approximately 45% of our funds for this next year. It is such a blessing to have this church behind us!

Daniel did a 5 minute presentation this morning during the sermon. Today was their Missions Sunday, and they were attempting to raise $134,000+ for missions for the next year. They have an interesting pledge system, and that allows people to contribute throughout the year.

It was a great chance to be with our wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ and to spend time with this great church. We ran into some old friends while we were there, and we also met the family of some good friends of ours who are missionaries currently in Portugal (but on their way to Angola, Robert and Teague Meyer.)

Megan manned our table in the foyer and we both talked about missions with those who stopped by. It was a great Sunday to encourage and be encouraged, and we were truly blessed by our time with this congregation.

Keep us in your prayers this week. Megan and I begin our DVD training for LST. We are also in the midst of reading missionary biographies for a report for LST, so remember to pray for our diligence. We are continuing our language study; pray that God will continue opening our hearts and minds to this beautiful language.

Thanks for being such a blessing in our lives!