Happy Thanksgiving!

These last five months (yes, we are a third of the way already, can you believe it?) have certainly taught us a lot about being thankful. It is amazing how being here has made us thankful for so much, especially the things we used to take for granted - things like a shower, clean/running water, electricity, a vehicle and even paved roads. Living side-by-side with Tanzanians who lack so many of the things we often feel entitled to is humbling and the cause of much gratitude. Here are just a few of the things we are thankful for:

• Family & friends (most of all)
• Clean, running water
• Electricity
• Good Medical Care
• Showers (especially hot ones…many of our Tanzanian friends use a bucket and washcloth)
• Food
• Paved roads
• Social & Political Infrastructure
• Opportunity
• Free education and the opportunity to go to college
• Grocery Stores
• High-Speed Internet
• Movies :-)

The Gratitude Challenge
This Thanksgiving, we wanted to challenge you to partner with us in our experience. So, we’ve put together a little “Gratitude Challenge” to give you just a taste of what living in Africa is like and to help you think about all the things you can be thankful for.

Check out the list below, and chose one, two, or even all of these ideas to practice this week – maybe even all in the same day! We invite you to let us know if you will be participating and to email us your reflections or post them as comments beneath this blog. We’re excited to see how a small sacrifice can shift our perspectives and make us thankful for what we have. If you are part of a small group we encourage you to do one or more of these challenges together and reflect on them in a group setting.

Challenges
(do as many as you want depending on your ability and willingness)

• Take a cold shower in the morning using no hot water. If you want, you can do this “army style” – jumping in the water, turning it off, soaping up, jumping in again to rinse off. It helps! ☺
  
• Brush your teeth with bottled water.
  
• Don’t use your car for an entire day: rely on walking, biking or public transport
  
• Forego electricity from 5pm until you go to bed. No computer, TV, A/C or heat, microwave, washing machines, etc. (you may want to make an exception for your refrigerator). We recommend a good book by candlelight to fill the time ☺
  
• Cook rice and beans for dinner. This is a staple in Arusha and makes up the diet of many people who live here. You’ll find it both affordable and delicious.
  
• Spend time journaling and reflecting on all of the things you are thankful for and feel free to share them with us!
  

And above all, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

-Liz & Shannon

What it means to give your life away...

When God first called Liz and I to “Give our lives away” New Years eve of 2010 I was both excited and challenged. I believed that as I stepped out in obedience that God would reward me, not with fulfillment or joy, but with ease. I believed that because I was doing the right thing that my task should be easy as a reward. This could not have been further from the truth, and I wanted to share with you so far what it has meaned to me to give my life away:

1. Giving your life away is difficult. Packing up an apartment into a storage unit, quitting your job, packing a car, filling out over 20 forms with identification, changing your address and saying goodbye to friends and family for over a year is very, very difficult.

2. Giving your life away is delay of gratification. As I ramped up several film & TV projects before I left, all but one of them has now fallen to the wayside as I put my career on hold and each will require a great deal of energy to get going again. I’m not making connections or getting more experience, despite a single script I’m working on, nothing else I’m doing will directly further my career and I’ve had to trust God to take care of it on the back end.

3. Giving your life away is sacrifice. Except getting minimum payments on Liz’s student loans, we are not making any dent in our remaining student debt. We are not putting any money into savings or a 401k. We are living by faith that God will provide for us while we are here as well as when we return. We believe that He is indeed a faithful God.

4. Giving your life away can be frustrating. Leaving everything that is comfortable, normal and familiar (friends, electricity, food, product availability and common language) and having to adapt to ways that are completely foreign can completely break a person. As much as I’ve enjoyed living here there are days when I wish I could walk down the street without being called “Mzungu” (White person) or be able to converse with people I meet without having to think through every single word. To not be able to find things that I need or spend an entire day on one task has required me to trust God that He is able to accomplish what He desires here.

5. Lastly, Giving your life away can be freeing. Jesus said that the only way to free ourselves from our addiction to “self” and “selfishness” is in fact to give our lives away. Without this experience we could spend the rest of our lives worrying about “me”. What’s best for “me”, what’s comfortable for “me”, what’s fulfilling to “me” or simplest for “me”, but God never called us to live for “me” but for Him, and if we lived to love Him, we would also live to love those who are around us.

I’m thankful for this year, and as I experience deep culture shock, sorrow and loss I anticipate the joy of having done the right thing, the thing that God has called me to. When we left I met many, many people who said, “I would give anything for the opportunity to do what you’re doing.” Yet when I asked them why they wouldn’t do it now, there response was a sad reflection of their fate, “I could never do that now, I have a family….a job…a mortgage…I’m too old…I don’t have the time…the money” and on and on. God give us the strength to give our lives away, to be free from the desire to serve only ourselves, that we may truly love and serve others. Amen.

Packages, Permits, and more...oh my!

Well this has been a fantastic week to say the least. God has given us quite a few surprises as he continues to bless our time here.

Last Saturday was my (Liz's) 30th Birthday, and it was such a treat. Jill, Melissa, Cara, Stacia, and Jen all surprised me on Skype in the morning, so I got to catch up with them before our power went out for the weekend. Then we had afternoon birthday cake and tea at the Borden's house. In the evening, Shannon and I got to go to a fabulous dinner...French style food, four courses, outside with a beautiful view. It was my birthday present from the team. I also got emails, cards, and facebook messages from many of my family and friends back home. I felt so loved and blessed!

During the week the surprises kept coming. First, I received a birthday package filled with goodies: chocolate chips, Peanut M&Ms, Twizzlers, and Dried Blueberries (all stuff we can't get here). Yum.

Next, we received our work permits! WOOHOO! After three months of waiting, we are now legal. We can technically stay in Tanzania as volunteers for the next two years. This also allowed us to go get our Tanzanian drivers licenses (a hilarious process where you basically go in with a copy of your license, pay $10,000 schillings, and get a little stamped piece of paper with your picture hand pasted on it - no test, no other approval, nothing). So now if we ever get a car, we'll be able to go anywhere we want.

And finally, we got an oven! Yes, God is good. Until now we have been baking in tiny toaster oven that looks like it came from the stone age. No handle on the door-so you burn yourself almost every time you use it-and black gook caked to the bottom. We were thankful to have it, but we are overjoyed to have a full size, evenly heating appliance. In honor of the occasion, we baked chocolate chip cookies as soon as we got it installed!

If you have any good, from scratch recipes, send them my way, cause now we will be cooking up a storm.

A Walk in Africa

One of my favorite things about being here so far has been my walks to the grocery store or veggie stand near our house. Every walk is an adventure and a reminder that we are, in fact, in Africa. Here’s just a sampling of what happened on my walk the other day:

1. Passed two Mamas selling roasted corn. They cook it over little homemade grills that they set up along the roadside. I have yet to try some.
2. Saw a guy on a motorcycle “taxi” called a Boda Boda carrying a live chicken.
3. Had at least 3 people yell “Mzungu!” (White Person) at me, followed by some series of Swahili that I couldn’t understand. To which I lovingly responded, “Mafrica!” (African). We have been told Mzungu is not disrespectful in any way, rather simply a statement of fact. Who knows…
4. Witnessed a fight outside of a Dala Dala. I’m not sure if the driver almost hit a pedestrian or what, but the man standing outside the van was very upset to say the least. He was attempting to punch the driver through the window. I just walked on by.
5. Talked briefly to two young boys coming home from school. One said, “Good morning!” to me, and the other was quick to point out to him “It’s not morning. It’s afternoon.” Then that one proceeded to converse with me in impeccable English about what he wants to be when he grows up. I am pretty sure he said a Pirate, but I can’t be positive. I am hoping maybe he meant Pilot. But hey, Pirate is a good job to, I guess.
6. Was overtaken by a huge cloud of dust when a gigantic truck passed me on our road.
7. Said hello to the guys making bricks at the end of our street. They have a huge vat in which they hand mix cement, dust, pebbles and water. Then they form the mixture into large blocks for building or into a variety of decorative pavers. It is quite interesting to watch.
8. Noticed again that every sign for every bar or restaurant has the same picture of some woman drinking a Coke. It is hilarious. (Picture to come soon)
   

Farewell and You Never Know

Well, it is the beginning of a new season here at our house. Oliver left us this past Friday, and we said goodbye to Tom and Steve yesterday, so now it is just Shannon and me. Farewell gentlemen...it was such a privilege to have all three of you here with us these past two months and to get to share this journey with you. You will be sorely missed!

As part of this farewell post, I wanted to finally post a blog and video I wrote/filmed a couple weeks back. The video has been awfully tricky to upload; hence the delay. But better late than never! It will tell you about some "adventures" that Oliver and I had during his time here and a little saying we adopted for moments when nothing else will do...

_________________________________________________________________

You never know...

When the bottom of the jam jar is going to drop out. This is the new phrase Oliver and I have started saying whenever the unexpected happens around here – which is quite often I must say.

The saying started the other day when Oliver was making a PB&J for lunch. I am sitting in the other room practicing my Swahili when I hear “agggh!” I run to the kitchen to see Oliver holding an empty jam jar with a stunned look on his face - and on the floor a pile of grape goop. He had finished creating his sandwich and was proceeding to carry the jam across the kitchen to put it back in the refrigerator, when suddenly the entire bottom of the jar just fell out. No conceivable reason. A clean break. Jam on the floor.

Well needless to say, we were dying laughing, and from that point on whenever anything crazy or unpredictable happens, we have been using our new favorite catch phrase. Here is a quick list of just a few “jam jar” instances this week:

1. While walking home from church, I slipped and almost fell into the drainage ditch beside the road that was filled with fetid, black trashy water. Praise God I caught myself, but it was a close one.
2. Oliver and I both spilled bleach water on ourselves while doing the dishes - in two separate instances.
3. The soy sauce tipped over in the fridge and spilled all over the place. Then, as we were cleaning that up, the pickle jar fell spilling pickle juice and we had to start all over.
4. On the way back from the grocery store – which is about a 10 minute walk - I was carrying a bulk package of toilet paper. The bag ripped and almost dumped 40 rolls of tp all over the ground. I had to precariously balance the package the rest of the way home.
5. We bought veggies at the vegetable stand and when we arrived at home, we discovered that the man had put all the tomatoes at the bottom of the bag. Luckily only one was a gonner…completely smashed.

Now these incidents may seem small and inconsequential, but when they all happen in a span of a few days, they really start to make you wonder – "what’s happening around here?!"

And for our final incident of the week, please enjoy the video below. And remember…

You really never know when the bottom of the jam jar is going to drop out!

The Great Exchange

Let's go back several months to December 2009. Liz and I attended Urbana, a Christian Missions conference in St. Louis, Missouri, with a group of young adults from our church. This was a journal entry from that trip:

"After visiting the St. Louis Arch a group of us began heading back to the convention center where Urbana was being held. Since Liz headed back to the hotel to get the cushion used to protect her still unhealed tailbone and the rest of the group stopped by Starbucks to get coffee, I continued down the cold St. Louis street alone. A few blocks up a man stopped me and asked if I could spare some change. I told him no, but would he be willing to walk with me as I headed to the convention center.



His name was Damon, he had two boys, one in junior high and one in high school who were being raised by his mother, and he had just been released from prison. I asked and he told me that he had taken someone’s life and had to pay the penalty and now he was homeless, wandering the streets, looking for a job or a place to stay. I asked if I could stop and pray for him, and if he would pray for me as well.

As we prayed I sensed God speaking and I told him as we finished, “Damon, the world would have us believe that only one of us is in need, but that’s a lie. The truth is that I need you as much as you need me. You need me to fulfill your hope just as much as I need you to fulfill my purpose.” We kept walking and seeing a liquor store up ahead I agreed to buy him some food for the night. In the store I handed him the money and he asked if he could buy a pack of cigarettes. I told him it was his money and he could do with it whatever he wanted.

As we stepped back out into the cold he asked where I was going. I told him it was a missions conference that would send people out to give their lives away all over the world. He said, “Like to Africa?” I said, “Yeah, like to Africa.” He pondered this for a moment and then responded. “I would give anything to be able to do that.” I realized how privileged I was, that I even had the opportunity to give my life away – who would support an ex-con living on the streets to do missions work? I prayed that someday I would see him out in the fields, working alongside the poor, God fulfilling the desire of his heart to live for others.

As we approached the subway entrance where he planned to take a train across the state border and sleep on a friends couch, I pulled a granola bar out from my backpack and handed it to him. He started to turn away and then looked back with tears streaming down his face. “Thank you.” I embrace him and said, “No, thank you.” As we hugged and he wept we told each other that we loved each other, and we meant it.

As I relayed the story to our Urbana team that evening I told them, “A poor orphan in India has just as much to offer you as you have to offer them. Don’t think that just because you have “stuff” it means you have more to offer." I believe what God is most interested in is an exchange between the lives of His children. God, be with Damon, wherever he is. Would you fulfill your purpose for his life, and grant him forgiveness for his sin, and a second chance to fulfill the desires of his heart."

Loneliness

I (Liz) have been feeling really lonely these past couple of days. Even though I am living with four other people, and there is a lot of work to be done, still that feeling of loneliness has been creeping up on me. Isn’t it strange how that can happen? Surrounded by people and lonely just the same.

Of course part of it is just missing home. I miss talking to family every week, going out to coffee with friends, summer bonfires, game nights and such. And part of it is that we don’t have a network of friends here yet. I am being reminded of what it is like to be somewhere new and have to start over finding community and a place to connect. It is difficult, and I hope I can always remember this feeling when I meet new people who are looking for a place to belong.

But another part is not speaking the language fully. There are so many things I want to communicate, to ask, to hear from people, and to share - and I just can’t yet. It is so challenging and frustrating at times.

I am realizing this is how Jesus must have felt. He left his home in perfect unity with the Father to come be with us in this messed-up world. He had so much he wanted to share, to give, and to have us understand. He was proclaiming the Good News of salvation, of restored relationship with God. He came to tell us that God loves us and that we can have freedom, love, joy, hope! But so many couldn’t understand him - and many still don’t. It was like he was speaking another language. And when he was on the cross, dying so that we could have life and all his disciples had deserted him, He must have felt so alone.

So this morning I decided to just sit with God in my loneliness and talk to him about it. I asked a few questions: Why does God allow us to be lonely? What should I do when I am feeling this way? And how can I grow in the midst of it?

God reminded me that we live in a broken world. Though our relationship with Him is restored through Jesus, this world is still not as it should be. We will still have heartache, pain and sorrow. To which, I thought, “Oh great Lord, that really helps, so I just have to wait for eternity huh?”

Then God reminded me of something else...Jesus said, “take heart, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) God showed me once again that He is always here. He will never leave me. (Heb 13:5) Even when I feel lonely, the truth is I am not alone.

So instead of dwelling on my feelings of loneliness, I choose to remember the truth of God’s Word and dwell on that instead.

I feel better already...

One month and counting

Well, I can't believe it's been a whole month. Everyone told me that the time would fly by, and maybe it will slow down once the summer's over, but for now it feels like we've been here a couple weeks and it's already been four.

God is really giving me a good life/culture perspective. It may be easy to understand how I could take for granted certain amenities like Six Flags, Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip ice-cream and clean water, but I'm realizing other things I've taken for granted that were unexpected: things like infrastructure, resource availability and opportunity.

I've heard of America being referred to as, "The land of opportunity" but how was I to know what opportunity was without seeing the lack of it? In Arusha you can find almost anything, for a price, but the people I've met would thrive in the States if they had that kind of resources and opportunity at their finger-tips that most of us do. Instead, many people here set out to find whatever work they can just to make ends meet daily. I pray my time here changes my heart, my attitude and appreciation and helps to create some of the same opportunity here that I've seen stateside.

On a different note, our project this weekend has been to rehab the office, so we'll upload some before-after pictures once we're finished. One of our tasks will be to take on some of the administrative roles so that the Russell's and Borden's can focus more on ministry. It may not be as glamorous as hands-on ministry but it fills such a practical need that I feel very useful and engaged. I'm excited to use all of my process-efficiency training for God's cause and pray God gets nothing but the glory.

As my father told me before we left, "You can never go wrong giving your life away." Peace, and we miss you all...

Inside Out

Some of you have asked what it's like inside our house - so we decided to show you. Or rather, Liz decided to show you. The host and the director, she's quite talented as you can see for yourself:



Also, if you haven't gotten an email with our first Newsletter, you can download it here: June 2010 Newsletter

Karibu Tanzania!

Welcome to Tanzania!We were so excited, thrilled and...(well, you get the point) to finally arrive safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday night.God was incredibly faithful in protecting us, helping us adjust without jet-lag and ensuring that all of our luggage arrived safely in Nairobi. Friday morning Peter, Tammy and the twins picked us up from our overnight stay at the Mayfield Guest Inn. The drive to Arusha was bumpy, but we were able to cross the Tanzanian border without any problems.

We just purchased local cell phones so we can communicate with the team and are just working on adjusting to the environment and finish unpacking everything. Our house (see below) is AMAZING and we are so honored to be able to stay in such great accommodations while we are here. While there is quite a selection of food, clothing and personal effects, the prices are still fairly high when purchasing name-brand American products - our goal is to live frugally while we are here and we hope to honor God with everything He's given us in the way of provision.



As far as diving into Wild Hope we're excited to join the morning prayer time on Wednesday and the weekly team meeting on Thursday. They are hoping to ease us in slowly so as not to overwhelm but we are excited to get our feet wet. We miss you all and are excited to Skype with you (GiveYourLifeAway) all soon. Love and Peace.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

And we really don't know when we'll be back again. We have nothing but excitement at this point - God has brought us so far and through so much. We owe debts of gratitude to everyone who has hosted us or helped us in some way. Special thanks to Don & Sharon for hosting us and allowing us to leave their home in complete disarray as we departed for London in haste on Friday.

Tomorrow we depart for Nairobi, Kenya where Peter & Tammy will meet us Friday morning to take us into Arusha. We ask for your prayers that our Visa's will be ready on time for our arrival. To Guy, Heather, Buddy, Andy & Susan and all the rest who have hosted us so graciously in London, thank you, thank you, thank you...

Isaiah's Commission

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

-Isaiah 6:1-8 (NIV)

Well. I woke up this morning and a little man inside my head (who must have been hybernating or on vacation for the last six months) woke me up and said, "What in the world are you doing?!?!" I have to admit, until now I've been so busy packing, planning and traveling that nothing has really had time to sink in... Until now. I woke up feeling nauseous for the first time really thinking to myself, "a whole entire year?" That's a long time. And it's not just around the corner, or in Boston or even Alaska, it's the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!

We're nearing the end of our three week road-trip to see friends and family and complete our fundraising (we currently have 40% of our monthly expenses pledged and 35% of our One-Time costs donated). I had an incredible time in Colorado visiting old college roommates of mine and showing Liz around my Alma Mater, Fort Lewis, in Durango. We stayed with wonderful friends, Bob & Sue, who were incredibly gracious despite some current circumstances - if you have a moment please pray for them.

We were also able to visit Mesa Verde and the ancient Cliff Dwelling ruins - there's a short video below if you're into that sort of thing. After traveling through Kansas and avoiding some pretty hairy Tornado watches we stopped by to visit our Friend Hillary and then onto my hometown, home sweet home Chicago to visit some friends and relatives. Tomorrow we leave my parents gorgeous farm in Lancaster Wisconsin to head down to Atlanta Georgia where we will depart for London in only 9 days. Please pray for safe travels (British Airways has reported an employee strike up until the day before we depart). We love and miss you greatly. Bye for now...

A joyful farewell

Joy and sadness filled my heart tonight as we spent our last evening for at least a year at Fusion and the Café. Looking out over a sea of smiling faces as we were prayed for and commissioned to go, I realized again how blessed I am to have called Christian Assembly my home – this place that has shaped me in so many ways, where I have built life-long friendships and grown in my walk with Jesus like never before. We are grateful and honored to be sent out from this community. The love and support we have felt from all our friends is overwhelming, and I stand amazed yet again at God’s incredible plan. He knows the people we need in our lives, the places we need to be, and exactly when we need them.

Though I know we have only planned to be gone for a year, I can’t help but think of all the changes that will happen while we are away. Good ones, challenging ones, life-changing ones. And it makes me sad to think that this year will hold so many memories I won’t be a part of. But in the midst of sadness comes indescribable joy – to know that we are embarking on a journey of obedience to give our lives away. To know that God has called us and chosen us to live out His Mission. To know that when we return lives will have been impacted for His Kingdom.

So I hold this joy and sadness with open hands…awaiting whatever God has in store.

3460 Miles. 8 cities. 11 states. 4 weeks.

The Ultimate Road Trip.


We head out from California this Monday, May 17th to spend four weeks visiting family and friends all across the country. If we are coming your way, we can't wait to see you!

Here's the plan:

Mon 5/17 - Depart for Yuma, AZ (5 hrs)
Tue 5/18 - Yuma - Visit & night at Jamie's
Wed 5/19 - Drive to Durango, CO (12 hrs)
Thu 5/20 - Sat 5/22 - Durango
Sun 5/23 - Drive to Hotel between Durango/Wichita (6 hrs)
Mon 5/24 - Drive to Wichita, KS (6 hrs) - Visit & night at Hillary's
Tue 5/25 - Drive to Chicago, IL (12 hrs)
Wed 5/26 - Fri 5/28 - Chicago, IL
Sat 5/29 - Gurnee, IL - Visit & night at Greg & Lavonna's
Sun 5/30 - Kenosha, WI - Drive & visit Adam & Annie, Drive to Farm
Mon 5/31 - Wed 6/2 - Lancaster, WI - Visit Shannon's parents
Thu 6/3 - Drive to Lexington, KY (10 hrs)
Fri 6/4 (or Sat 6/5) - Drive to Atlanta, GA (7 hrs)
Sat 6/5 - Mon 6/7 - Atlanta, GA - Visit with Liz's Dad & Family
Tue 6/8 - Fri 6/11 - Suwanee, GA - Visit with Liz's Mom & Family
Fri 6/11 - Depart for London @ 9:15pm
Sat 6/12 - Arrive in London @ 10:15am - Train to Liverpool to visit Heather & Guy
Thu 6/17 - Depart London @ 10:20am/Arrive Nairobi @ 9pm (Night in Nairobi)
Fri 6/18 - Take bus to Arusha, TZ

Moving Day

As you can see we are finishing the move from our apartment to our storage unit. We had a great day with several people stopping by to help us move. We will be house-sitting for friends for the next two weeks while Liz finishes her job and then heading out on our 2 1/2 week road trip.

On the travel front, we have purchased our plane tickets and will be departing Atlanta on June 11th, arriving in London on the 12th and spending a few days with Liz's friend Heather. Our second flight will depart London on the 17th of June landing in Nairobi, Kenya where we will spend the night before taking the bus trip over to Arusha, Tanzania on the 18th. We covet your prayers for safe travels and things to go smoothly in this enormous transition. Thank you to all of you who have been praying and agreed to support us financially, spiritually, emotionally and the like. We'll update you all soon with more details!

And away we go...

Thank you all for your encouraging support, emails and prayers. God has been faithful through the application process and after finishing our final interview just over a week ago we are officially accepted to join Wild Hope!

Currently our plan is to move out of our apartment by May 1st, spending time staying with and visiting friends in Los Angeles. Our current goal is to depart LA sometime around May 17th after Liz finishes work at C.A. and begin a ~ 2 week road trip to visit friends and family in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois and Atlanta.

We hope to end our road trip in Atlanta and depart from there to London and then onto Arusha, Tanzania, arriving sometime in mid-June just prior to the time the team from C.A. arrives (the one Liz was a part of 2 years ago).

We are incredibly excited to go on this journey, and though stretching, we have felt God's hand of provision, peace and excitement over us through it all. "He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love." -Song of Solomon 2:4

If you would like to partner with us financially you will find the info under "Partner with Us" to the right. We are working on getting a PayPal account setup to accept donations online. In the meantime we pray God blesses and keeps you all as we each fulfill his journey for our lives.

Tanzania!?!

Yep, you read it right. There's no need to adjust your computer screen or send this blog through spell checker. Shannon and I are going to Tanzania!

We have yet to set an exact date, but right now we are planning to leave in June of this year. We are committed to stay for at least a year, but possibly longer.

For those who don't know, Tanzania is on the eastern coast of Africa - bordered by Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia, and a few other nations. Tanzania is home to Mt Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park, and Gombe National Park where Jane Goodall studied her chimpanzees. It is a beautiful country filled with breathtaking scenery and wildlife and incredible people.

You might wonder how we suddenly decided to move half way around the world. Well, I went on a short trip to Arusha in the summer of 2008, and I have never been the same. Our team spent a week teaching an English camp to a group of young soccer players: the Nyota Club. We also visited the Maasai people and got to experience God's amazing creation on Safari. Africa and the people there touched my heart in a way that no other place ever has; I have never felt more alive or purposeful.


Since then, God has been growing in me a heart for the nations and to see His kingdom come to all people. Similarly, Shannon's spiritual New Year's resolution this year was simple: Give Your Life Away. Together we have yearned for a life that is more than just about doing what we want and striving after things that will benefit only us. We want to live our lives for others and for God in a way that will impact this life and eternity.

Not knowing what our next steps should be, we attended Urbana (www.urbana09.org) with a group of young adults from our church. After a conversation with our pastor, Shannon walked away with a strong conviction that this was something we needed to do - that now was the time in our lives to do it.

So, here we are. We are stepping out in faith and obedience on what is sure to be an incredible journey. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for us!