April 28th, 2014

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. 

Adam and I were blessed to go spend the weekend with my family. There was lots of love shared and laughter and of course delicious food. 

I can't wait for future years when Adam and I get to host big family meals. 

I love the idea of throwing parties for my friends and family. I guess that also means I would need to put the laundry away and not let it just continue to lay on the couch but after working, taking care of Ella, and doing all of the other things that must be done maybe I'll just leave the family gatherings to someone else. 

As you may have guessed our family is tired! There has been so much traveling. Ella and I are currently sick. Plus the last full restful night of sleep I got could have possibly happened before I went to Costa Rica last summer but I'm to tired to remember. 

Sorry for my ramblings. 

Here are a couple pictures I grabbed of Olivia this weekend. 

Thanks for helping be my model Lou. 

(Also please still love me for calling you Lou :))

April 17th, 2014

I'm a little late but Ella is 6 months old now. 

I can't believe our sweet baby is getting so big. She weighed in at a whopping 13.1 lbs and is 26 in. long.  She still wears 3-6 month clothing. She can roll over both ways and is very good at scooting backwards. She can hold herself up on things while standing. She loves to talk to us and tell us all about what she thinks. She has such the sweetest demeanor and is a very easy going. 

Zeke is by far Ella's best friend. She loves to reach out and pet his soft fur. 

She wasn't a fan of her first bite of banana.

She like to touch mommy and daddy's face. 

Singing is one of her favorite things to watch other people to. 

She has very first little cold this week. Poor girl. 

Oracle & Sells,AZ

I was so blessed to spend my past two weeks around Tucson,Az. 

I got to hang out with some fabulous coworkers, great teams, and amazing pastors. Even though things got batty, we literally hung out with bats, sometimes I wouldn't have changed a moment of God's plans. 

  Playing some cards.

Sells,Az

Making new friends.

 Sells,Az

Pastor Jay and Michele talking about the future.

 Sells, AZ

Cleaning and reorganizing the clothes closet.

Sells,Az

Even the littlest ones helped in beautifying the church. 

Sells,Az

Helping build a new ramada. 

Sells,Az

Block party night during VBS. 

Sells,Az

Inviting people from the community to Kid's Club.

San Manuel, Az

Recreation morning.

Father Kino in San Xavier

North of Oracle, Az

Evening worship.

Sells,Az

Sells,Az

Sells,Az

#PelicanWidow

So the rumor is that #PelicanWidow is a thing, although I'm yet to see any evidence of such.  The idea is for those of us who have loved ones on mission trips with PPM to be a support group while they're gone.  I've put Carissa on the search.  Anyway, I'm plugging along "wifeless" until Carissa returns in a week.  Ella stayed with the grandparents this week, but returns tonight.  That was a tough decision to make, but it turned out to be a blessing as I ended up working some surprise extra hours doing radar coverage and 2am breaking news.  Since I was playing the role of bachelor this week, at least work has kept me busy.  I'm trying to continue to grow as a husband and father by keeping the house clean and what not, so hopefully there will be a noticeable difference when Carissa gets back!  Sorry if this post is a little scattered.  I'm working on roughly 3.5 hours of sleep, so I'm not really on top of my game right now.  Anyway, have a blessed week!  And please continue to pray for our family whilst we are apart.  God Bless, Adam.

April 3rd, 2014

Imagine a place sinking from drugs.

Children feeling lost. 

Churches empty.

Hearts broken. 

That's what we came in to in Oracle, Az.

A beautiful broken community.

This week I was blessed to be able to partner alongside First Baptist Church of Oracle. 

And help lead a group of youth from Livermore,Ca.

Sunday morning in worship there were about 20 people in the congregation joined with our 43 students. The students led worship and shared their hearts with this church filled with an older generation.  They sat down to lunch together. 

While the people of the church shared their vision for the town you could see something not only being sparked in the students but also in the people of the town. 

When the students came they had imagined all of the people that they would lead to Christ. 

The children that would show up for VBS. 

The funny thing is that's not what God had planned. 

God wanted to see this community restored. 

The students worked all week in graveyards, cleaning parks, landscaping at local schools, and playing basketball. 

God's plans for this week were about the partnership that they could create with in the community. 

The people that they would teach to trust the church again. 

The friends that they would make on the basketball court. 

And restoring this community to a beautiful place. 

The more I do missions the more I realize that God is in control. 

We can send itineraries.

We can talk through every last detail but that doesn't matter. 

God has the plans drawn out for us ready to reveal them at just the right time. 

A heart shining through from the net on a basketball court that we prayer over. 

The cross at the top of the cemetery where we talked about what legacy we would leave behind.

Our deceased bat friend we made while cleaning out the church. 

We also befriended several lizards who had passed about 20 years ago. 

The students from Livermore,Ca.