Hi everyone,<\/p>
I want to thank you for subscribing to my blog. I know I use it primarily to share Bible studies, but occasionally I pop in with a more personal post.<\/p>
I\u2019ve been intending to write this one for a couple of months, but more and more things happened that I wanted to add, so I\u2019m finally just doing it. It won\u2019t be as in-depth as I had originally planned, but it should cover everything that\u2019s been going on.<\/p>
In June<\/strong>, I put a new roof on my house. What should have taken about four days end up taking two weeks as we kept running into one problem after another. I thought the rest of the summer would be easier.<\/p> In July<\/strong>, we took two of our kids to camp and sent two to Costa Rica on a missions trip. We all had a good time, and Nathan and Micah learned a lot about their faith, ministry, and how big and diverse God\u2019s Church really is.<\/p> In August<\/strong>, my dad went into the hospital in Florida, underwent emergency surgery, and wasn\u2019t released for a month for many health reasons. During that time, Saralynn was with my parents for a week, then I was with them for 10 days, helping my dad gain strength and walk again. He\u2019s back to work, albeit a little slower than he was.<\/p> While I was in Florida, my maternal grandma died back home in Indiana. My brother took care of most of the arrangements here, then my mom and I came back. Josh and I did the funeral on August 28.<\/p> In September<\/strong>, Saralynn and I took Nathan to Word of Life Bible Institute in New York<\/a> for a year of college. Although we talk regularly, it\u2019s different having our first son gone and looking to see the next one possibly leave in a year. It\u2019s a whole new season of life.<\/p> In October<\/strong>, I attended a lecture series in Florida with some friends. The day after I returned a church member died after a long battle with renal failure, diabetes, and more. I did his funeral just two weeks ago.<\/p> Also this month, I was invited to teach as a guest lecturer at the Word of Life Africa Bible Institute<\/a> in Uganda at the end of November. Although it was short notice, my passport is renewed, my vaccinations are done, and my visa application was approved, so I\u2019m ready to go. I\u2019ll be teaching the book of Matthew for two weeks to 30 students from countries like Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Mozambique.<\/p> Because of the poverty level of this area, I am going as a short-term missionary. They will cover my expenses while I\u2019m there, but it\u2019s costing us about $2,000 to actually get there. If you\u2019re in a position to be willing and able to help fund this trip, we\u2019d be grateful, because it is stretching us. I\u2019m not setting up a GoFundMe, but you can use our PayPal account<\/a> or give through our church<\/a>. (It\u2019s tax-deductible if it goes through the church.)<\/p> Regardless, I appreciate your prayers for our family. It\u2019s been an interesting summer and fall for us, and there are more things coming up that we\u2019ll have to make decisions about.<\/p> Thanks again for reading. If you ever have questions about the Bible or something I\u2019ve written, please send me a note<\/a>. I\u2019d love to talk with you.<\/p>