Thank You Team!

I think today is the day the world was supposed to end.... glad they were wrong.

Today was the end of an era for me though.  Officially, this was my last day in my role as VP of Enrollment at Harrison College.  Next week, I move over to the Chef's Academy and begin a new era.  There is a lot I can reflect back on over the past five-and-a-half years and feel very good about.  I entered into this position with a timeline of 3-5 years until I wanted to transition to something else, so the timing is right and the next opportunity is very exciting.

I have had some really great teams in the past and have worked with some very talented people, but I have to say that the team I am leaving has been one of the best groups of people I have had the privilege of working with.  The core group has been six administration team members (7 including myself) for the last three years with others joining more recently as we restructure.  I could spend some time talking about their work professionally, their expertise and how competent they are but that's not really what I will value the most from my experience working with them - at least not the things that will matter in the long term to me personally.

I chose to come to work at Harrison because of the culture boasted a balanced philosophy of Faith, Family, Health, and Job - all very important values to me, personally.  I made no shame in sharing the importance of my family and my commitment to my them as a priority in my life.  As I shared with my team more of myself and my family they came to do the same.  I've had the privilege of watching couples become parents, parents grow and share, and families become friends.  This team grew into a work family themselves because each person was willing to openly share who they are, what they believe and value, and in the end receive acceptance from the entire team.  Each person brought a very different personality and perspective to the group that after some bumpy starts, became a team trait that was valued within the team.  Our individual differences made us collectively stronger. What resulted was not just a group of co-workers, but a group of people with genuine relationships who saw the strengths and faults of each member but worked tirelessly for each other and for the betterment of a vision they all helped to build and develop.

This group embraced an approach of always moving forward (IMUA) and working with the priority of the student experience at the top of the list. There was celebration when that experience was a good one and collaborative problem solving effort when we fell short.   As a team, we were not perfect, but we worked hard to be the best we could be and called each other out when we sensed opportunity.  That ethic and determination will be something I remember and hope to achieve again.

I don't know if others share my same high opinion of this team, but no one has worked more closely with this group that I have and as a result I am confident in the knowledge that I had the honor and privilege to lead a great group of people the past few years.  I have been blessed my their impact on me personally and professionally and I will miss working closely with them on a daily basis.

So "Thank you, Team!" I can't say it better than that.

Countdown to Haiti - 28 days

Ok, I know I just announced that I'm going back to Ghana in February, but before I go on that trip, I'm going to Haiti in January with Kids Against Hunger!

For the last few years I've enjoyed all the different opportunities our family has had participating in KAH packing events and about a year ago was really feeling led to try and get involved even more.  I started taking on more responsibility in running the packing events done at Northview, but also began working to bring this type of service activity to Harrison College and other organizations I am involved in.

1 bag of KAH food, provides 6 meals

After a food pack a few months ago, I came home and was debriefing with Marcy about the event.  I told her that night that I thought it would be amazing to be able to go and be part of a team that delivers these meals to those people who need them.  To see the process come full circle and how it impacts real people would be powerful stuff.  In my head I was thinking some place international, but later thought I could probably have an equally powerful experience if I just went to downtown Indianapolis where some of the meals are distributed and served each month.  That's still on my list to do.

Anyways, a few weeks later, I got a phone call at home one evening asking me if I would be interested in being part of a small group representing Kids Against Hunger to travel to Haiti and deliver meals that have been packed here in Central Indiana.  The purpose of the trip would be to document and tell the story of what happens after the packing events - to meet the people and tell their stories whose lives are impacted by the food and the work of Kids Against Hunger.   I said 'absolutely' without even talking to Marcy (not the most sensitive thing to do, but have I mentioned how amazing, supportive, and understanding my wife is?!).  Fast forward a couple months and we're 28 days from going!

We had our first training session today and it was great!  I knew very little about Haiti, but after today I know a little bit more.  This will be a very different trip than Ghana and I am anticipating a difficult trip in many ways.  I look forward to sharing much more about this outreach trip over the course of the next month and beyond.

I'm heading back to Ghana!

I spent a significant amount of time over the past year sharing thoughts and stories about my experience leading up to my trip to Ghana, West Africa this past March.  As I indicated in the posts after I returned, the experience and the people I met through the mission trip had a profound impact on my life.  More importantly though, I really felt that because I was obedient to his calling, that God used me in some great ways that have helped me to grow personally, spiritually, and even professionally as the lessons learned have helped me grow as a leader as well.

How I tried to describe my last trip to Ghana...

Apparently, God's not done with me yet in Ghana because I am heading back to Ghana in February 2013 with another Global Outreach team from Northview Church.  My role will be a little different this time as I'll be one of the team leaders this time - I look forward to sharing what this difference means and how it impacts both my preparation and overall experience over the next couple months.  Tonight was our first meeting as a team, and although not everyone was able to make it, I left the meeting excited about what God has in store for our group.

Northview's partner in Ghana, Manna Mission, is a place filled with wonderful people who give their lives to minister to and love the people of Ghana.  I look forward to returning to West Africa to work alongside them to serve and help some of my Ghanaian brothers and sisters in need.  I will certainly be blogging and sharing the experience this time as well, so I hope people will follow along and be praying for the entire team, and the staff at Manna, as we prepare for this short term mission trip.

More to come....

S.O.S. Prep: Courageous

About a year ago, I took Caleb to see a special screening of the movie Courageous.  The message of the movie was excellent and challenges husbands, fathers, and all men to be 'courageous' and resolve to   live a life honoring God and leading your family in the same way.  It was during that movie that I first heard the song 'Courageous' by Casting Crowns and from that point on it had a natural connection to the movie for both Caleb and I.

Fast forward to this weekend and my final S.O.S. prep session with Caleb.  I could think of no better song than Courageous because the idea of being Courageous and living a God honoring, obedient, and intentional life applies not only to grown men, but certainly to the youth of today.  Choosing to sacrifice part of your summer to go serve others flies in the face of the selfish nature of our culture and certainly the selfish nature of the teenagers of our culture, but as the song inspires:

We were made to be courageous.

We were made to lead the way.

We could be the generation

that finally breaks the chains.

It is a great call to action and this S.O.S. trip is the perfect response.  I encouraged Caleb to remember this song and the lyrics and to be praying each day during his trip for courage and all that the word - in the context of the song - encapsulates.  

As we loaded him into the van this morning, I gave him a hug and reminded him how proud of him I was.  I said a quick prayer for courage, protection, and blessings on Caleb and all those going to serve and be served in Memphis.  I can't wait to hear all the stories Caleb comes back with...

S.O.S. Prep - All About Love

So imagine you're in middle school and you're sitting outside a busy Dunkin Donuts shop on a beautiful Saturday morning with friends from school walking in & out of the shop.  You say "hi" to some friends from school and try to act cool even though your with your Dad who keeps dunking his donut in his coffee - gross!  Then to top it off, your Dad tells you - in a not so quiet voice - "I want to talk about Love today." If it was 25+ years ago, I probably would have been mortified, but that's about how Caleb's Saturday morning started out as we did our third S.O.S. Prep session together.

We began by listening to the Steven Curtis Chapman song "All About Love." Caleb may not be the biggest SCC fan, as his songs may not match Caleb's style and preference, but these conversations have been about the words and meanings behind the music.  As you might imagine, SCC isn't talking about a romantic kind of love in his song but God's love when he says:

Everything else comes down to this,

Nothing any higher on the list than love.

This is the reason we were made, 

to know the love of our creator

And to give the love he's given us away.

1 Corinthians 13 (NLT)

Caleb acknowledged that he's starting to get a little nervous about going on the trip - he leaves in less than a week now!  When we talked about why he's nervous, I think it comes down to the unknown and uncertainty about what exactly he's going to be doing.  I tried to encourage him that the most important thing he can do while he is on the trip is to love others.  Certainly those he is going to serve, but also his teammates and leaders.  We also did a bit of a dive into 1 Corinthians 13 - the Love Chapter - for some reassurance that it doesn't matter what we know or do in life, but it is that we love and share God's love that is important.  I told Caleb that if he is looking for a manual in the bible on what is expected of you when serving others or when you are on a mission trip, it probably doesn't any better than 1 Corinthians 13. 

As I dunked by cake donut into my coffee, I also made sure to remind him that it also applies to life at home with the family - especially his younger brothers! ;-)

Faith, Family, Health, & Job

I missed my Wednesday morning Bible study at Northview today in order to participate in the very first Prayer Fellowship meeting at work.

My employer, Harrison College is not a faith based institution, but we have a work place culture that centers around the values of Faith, Family, Health, & Job.  Harrison College recognizes that all four are important in an individual’s life and is supportive of employees finding a healthy balance between commitments to their Faith, Family, health, and their Job.  I could share numerous stories about how I have personally experienced and benefited from this awesome culture, but until today I would be challenged to identify intentional actions around Faith within the work place and outside of 1 on 1 interaction.

Today was just about sharing.  It was a bit surreal at first though, to sit in our training room without laptops and projectors front and center, but with Bibles in hand and a sharing of stories and testimonials – opening and closing in prayer.  Although I sat quietly through most of it, inside I was very excited to be participating in this first meeting. Just being there was a blessing and an energetic start to the day.

It is uncertain yet, how these meetings will evolve, but I look forward to them continuing and growing.  Our first meeting had 11 participants, but I am sure that through word of mouth the participation will increase and these morning fellowship meetings will flourish. I am also excited that our next meeting will give me the opportunity to begin to share and walk our group through the same Leadership study we did while in Ghana.  It's amazing how that mission experience continues on today!

I am thankful that God has placed me in a job with an employer that acknowledges my relationship with Christ as the central part of who I am as a person, leader, and employee.

S.O.S. Prep: Give Me Your Eyes

This has been a week full of S.O.S. prep conversations with Thursday night being the highlight evening of our young summer so far.

Northview Church's 2012 S.O.S. Team

Thursday was the Pack-n-Pray for the students and adult leaders going on the S.O.S. trip.  The purpose of the evening is a commissioning by the church for those who are going to serve on short term mission trips.    It's quite the site to see the nearly 100 youth and adult leaders who are giving up part of their summer to go and serve those less fortunate through hard manual labor in the hot summer sun - tangible acts of God's love for the people in the Bing Hampton community. My favorite part of the evening was the time Marcy and I were able to spend with Caleb talking with him individually about what we are praying for regarding this trip and our expectations of Caleb.  Most meaningful to me was the opportunity in this special setting to tell Caleb how special he is to us, how humbled we are that God has entrusted Caleb to us as his parents, and how proud of him we are.  I'm anxious and excited to see how God uses Caleb's gifts on this trip and what he learns from the experience.  I'm also confident that we will have a great conversation around the topic of What's Next? after he returns as God continues to move in our family with a growing focus on outreach and missions.

We also continued our own prep work, just Caleb and I, this weekend as we broke down Brandon Heath's song Give Me Your Eyes, discussed issues of compassion and surrender, and then shared what we both felt we could learn and apply from James 1:22-27.

James 1:22-27 (NLT)

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
²⁶ If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.


While there are certainly important points I am wanting to convey to Caleb through these discussions, God is challenging me through this experience in how I can learn from Caleb and his perspective as a 12 year old.  His fresh eyes on scripture or the application to his life he hears in a song is awesome to hear and I am so thankful for his willingness to share them with me in these moments. My prayer is that this openness will extend to his peers on this trip and through that openness he will be able to grow personally and spiritually.

S.O.S. Prep: I Refuse

Counting the days down to my trip to Ghana and sharing the experience leading up to it was a great way for me to focus my attention on the mission trip/opportunity ahead of me.  As we lead up to Caleb's S.O.S. trip, less than a month away I find myself in a different seat for this experience, but one equally exciting.  I am the sending party in this mission trip and as a result have different and new ideas, concerns, and thoughts about the experience.

This will be Caleb's first short-term mission trip.  I'm not quite certain he is really prepared for the manual labor that awaits for him, but I want him to be very aware of the support he has from family and friends in his decision to go and serve in this way.

As his Dad, I feel the responsibility to help him prepare spiritually for the trip.  I know the youth group at church is doing their prep work each Sunday leading up to it, but I have felt compelled to make sure Caleb understands that his mom and I are his partners in this journey and his work for this mission trip has already started as his intentional preparation is equally important as his service during the trip.

I've struggled, however, in HOW TO communicate such a serious topic to the typical attention span challenged 12 year old that is my son.  If I get too serious with him, he would likely just shut down. If I make it too light, he may not understand what I want to convey to him.  I've found myself feeling rather anxious about this issue of communication over the past few weeks, but what I was reminded about during a sermon a couple weeks ago is that I should be lifting this entire process up in prayer and trusting that God will work in both Caleb and I through this process.  No matter how much I want to control it, I can't dictate how much Caleb absorbs of what I have to share or that he even processes and applies the information exactly as I envision.  The reality is that I really shouldn't try to dictate how he applies any lessons learned.  My prayer is that through our studies and conversations in preparation leading up to the trip, Caleb would be 'armed' with knowledge and the spirit to face whatever God has in store for him on the trip.

Caleb, like most kids his age, loves to listen to music.  So, as mission prep work, we have decided to meet each Saturday leading up to the trip for breakfast and together we listen to a song (one that I've pre-selected) and discuss the message of the song and how it applies to different aspects of mission work.  I'm trying to focus on themes of Attitude, Surrender, Prayer, and Love.  We met for the first time last Saturday and had a great breakfast and discussion on Attitude as we listened to and discussed Josh Wilson's song I Refuse as well as some corresponding scripture.

I know there are a number of other parents doing similar or other types of prep work with their kids and I would love to hear about their ideas, thoughts, and experiences.

Learning from & Challenged by my Boys

I don't pray with my kids nearly as much as I need to, truth be told it's probably a statement about my overall prayer life and an acknowledgement that it is an area I am constantly working to improve.  Having said that, I am daily encouraged by my two youngest boys in my own prayer journey.  

As I previously shared, the boys have taken to remembering Noah and Joshua from the village in Ada, Ghana each night in their bedtime prayers.  Three months after returning from my Ghana trip they remain faithful to their commitment to lift these boys and their families up each night.  What is even more encouraging is to hear their prayers developing and changing.  What started out as simple petitions to 'please bless Noah and Joshua. Please protect and bless their families.' have evolved to include details they are feeling led to pray for or references from their own daily experiences and thoughts about how our friends in Ghana may handle the same issues.  Topics from rain storms to school to family to sunday school lessons have come up in prayers.

So, I'm blessed that my boys are teaching me, reminding me, and challenging me to continue to pray for Ghana and many others outside my daily circle of interaction. Through my boys I am witnessing the personal and spiritual growth that comes as a result of this type of behavior!  How awesome and inspiring is that?!

On the note of remembering to pray for Ghana, Northview Church is sending another small group to Ghana this week. I wish I was part of this team, but I'll remain behind as one of the many praying over their trip.  Please join me in praying for Matt, Chris, and Jenny and that they would have safe travels, remain healthy, build relationships, and that they would have the courage to and be open to being used by God for great things during their time in Ghana.

That (not so) Lonesome Road

It happens to us all from time to time. A song that was popular long ago comes back to us and is stuck in our head for a day or so. It happened to me today and the song was James Taylor's - That Lonesome Road.

The Lonesome Road lyrics

If you're not familiar with this song, it's originally from Taylor's Dad Loves His Work album from 1981.  The song is the last track of what is, in my opinion, a collection of fairly sad songs about the struggles and breakdown of Taylor's marriage and relationship with his wife.  Although full of strong melodies the entire album lacks any sense of hope and the listener finishes the album with That Lonesome Road, a song full of regret and sadness.  Sounds like a great album, doesn't it? Don't get me wrong, I'm a James Taylor fan, but today I am wrestling with the message of That Lonesome Road.

This is a sad song.  The intent of it may be to encourage people to pick themselves up after disappointment and move forward relying on some inner strength.  That by itself doesn't sound sad, except that there is hope in this world and we don't ever have to walk down a lonesome road by ourself.  We were not created to be alone, we were created to crave genuine relationships with people and most importantly with our God and creator. I am thankful to have both kinds of relationships, those with friends and family and with my Saviour.  When life throws rocks or boulders into my road, it's my dependence on and hope in Jesus that carries me through.

The challenge upon all of us is to be more aware of those people around us lacking these relationships, who may in fact feel like their road is lonely.  Especially as followers of Christ, we need to be aware of those who need someone to come along side them and lift them up and share a little love. After all, That's What Friends Are For. 


(Sorry, couldn't resist ending with another hit song from the 80's)

REFLECTIONS from Ghana #5: Community through Mission

We've been home from Ghana for 2 months now and I am really missing my fellow GO team members.  I was very moved by the amazing people I met in Ghana and the lessons learned from them have had a lasting impact on my life.  I was also deeply impacted by the amazing people that were part of our GO Team and I served alongside.  As our team leader reminded us throughout the week, there is nothing quite like your first mission trip and I am certain that the same sentiment applies to your first team as well.

We left Indiana a couple months ago as group of people connected through our common church and a few Saturdays of training and team building.  Twelve days later, we returned to Indiana as a team forged through mission and shared experiences.  I witnessed first hand the compassion of the women on the team who visited with each patient at the hospital just to let them know that someone cared for them. I was humbled to watch doctors and business leaders give of themselves to serve and help in any way they could. Through each day and experience I felt the connection to and my bonds with these people growing and strengthening.

A month ago, I heard our Outreach Pastor at Northview, K. Paul Maurer, describe our bond as a team as "community through missions" and since then I have continued to process what that means and how it really has impacted me. What I believe I have learned is that while we began the journey as individual members of a larger community (Northview Church) we saw common purpose in a mission trip. However, through the experiences of the mission trip and serving alongside each other we've come home with our own sense of community.  Greater than that though is that I believe this is an excellent formula - a biblical formula - for building stronger relationships with my family, friends, and co-workers.  We are called to serve and through obedience alongside people who are important in my life I believe God can continue to bless these relationships and help us grow closer as we serve others and ultimately serve Him.

As for the GO Team, Paul says it best in Philippians 1:3 - "I thank my God every time I remember you." I look forward to our future opportunities to serve together and continuing to build our community through missions.

REFLECTIONS from Ghana #4: Living a Life that is "All-In" for Christ

One of the blessings of this Ghana trip was getting the opportunity to meet and serve alongside the staff and students of Manna Mission. These amazing people are dedicating their lives to mission work and to sharing the love of Jesus everyday - they were great examples for my of what it means to live a life all-in for the sake of Christ. There was no doubt in my mind where their priorities were, they were focused clearly on serving Christ by loving others.

GO Team and Manna Mission Team in Ada

As I spent time with these people, I found myself questioning how someone would view me if they came from another place and observed my life or worked alongside me for a week or so. To be candid, I wasn't excited about what I immediately felt when trying to draw some comparisons. These people work for a mission, after all, and help to care for the sick and needy. Some of them have had opportunities to leave Ghana and pursue a life elsewhere that may have led to greater earthly riches and success, but they have chosen to stay or return to Ghana for the sake of helping others. How on earth could my life really compare to their all-in life?


As I wrestled with this, I got defensive in my self-talk: "It's easy to live like that when you don't have as much" or "I can't do this full time, I have a family to provide for" or "I just don't have those same skills and gifts". As I tried to reason with myself and wrestle with this feeling that I was falling short in my comparisons, I began to see more clearly that it wasn't about comparing my life to someone else's but about how I am allowing God to use me - period. Living all-in for me, will likely look different than it does for my brothers and sisters in Ghana because God has called me in a different way than He chose to call them and rather than comparing the differences in our lives I should be celebrating them.


God has blessed me simply by where I was born. There is nothing like visiting a remote African village to wake you up to that fact! While I have felt called to serve on this short mission trip and I am certain more in the future, I do not feel a calling on my heart to be anywhere else in the world on a full-time basis. I can conclude from that, and take comfort in knowing, God wants to use me here, where I live, each and everyday. My daily mission field is my family, it's my friends, it's the people I work with and interact with each day. I needed to be reminded that I need to be showing God's love to these people everyday, it's part of the challenge I returned home with. I wasn't given the same skills and gifts as others because I am meant to be used in different ways.


I don't have to work for a mission or church to live everyday of my life with an all-in attitude. I am striving to be open to and aware of the opportunities God is placing in front of me each day to apply the talents and skills he has blessed me with to make a positive difference in people's lives. He has blessed me with the life I've been given and it's my responsibility to use this blessing and love others - that is living all-in!


Galatians 5:13-14 (NLT)
¹³ For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.¹⁴ For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

REFLECTIONS from Ghana #3: Mission Minded Children

Now that I've been home from my very first mission trip for about a month, I've had the chance to spend some time reflecting and really digging into what I've learned from the experience.  These Reflections from Ghana are what I feel are the major themes I have taken from this trip and collectively may give insight to the Part 2 of my previous post Why Ghana? 


As I have stated several times, I have hoped and prayed that one of the ripple effects of my own decision to serve on a mission trip would be that it would create a change in my own children's perspective toward outreach. It wasn't that they have been adverse to outreach and missions, but I want to build-up a stronger attitude of service as a guiding principle within our family values.


I have already written about the First Ripple from my trip in a previous post when my son Caleb decided to go on his own mission trip this summer - a decision he made while I was preparing to leave for Ghana.  His decision to go was the first ripple, but the real impact of this decision will certainly show itself during and after his trip.

Noah & Joshua

Another ripple has been my kids simple awareness of others less fortunate than themselves.  When I returned home from Ghana, I shared with all the kids some highlights from our day in Ada Foah and how I met a couple boys, Noah and Joshua, that I really connected with.  Noah was quite the character and very outspoken - borderline rude at times - while Joshua was very quiet and just wanted to walk with me and hold my hand.  There were characteristics about both of these boys that reminded me of my own sons which is probably why I connected with them both so easily.  After sharing these stories with Caeden and Kyron though, Caeden had the idea of praying for Noah and Joshua.  That alone made me proud that he would think of doing that, but it was his idea to pray for Noah and Joshua every night before bedtime that was awesome. "Dad, let's pray for them every night until you go back and see them again!" So, each night since I've been back, Caeden and Kyron take turns praying that God would "Protect Noah and Joshua and bless their families in Ghana."  Pretty simple stuff, but it sure sounds powerful coming from your kids.


These are great first steps, but I am compelled to continue to find ways in which my kids can learn to be more mission minded or more service over self (to steal a phrase from a great organization).  International mission trips would be amazing experiences for each of them, but there are a lot of things we can do as a family in our own city that I want us to be open to as well.  I've recently stepped forward to take on more leadership opportunities with Kids Against Hunger and Northview's efforts to partner with KAH.  As a family we've done these packs in the past and had lots of fun serving in this way, but with more leadership responsibility I hope to help get my kids even more involved in an area of service they have already connected with.


Anyways, I look forward to continuing to share in the coming months how these ripples continues to spread out in our family and we work to become more mission minded on a daily basis.  

REFLECTIONS from Ghana #2: Blessings through Surrender

Now that I've been home from my very first mission trip for about a month, I've had the chance to spend some time reflecting and really digging into what I've learned from the experience.  These Reflections from Ghana are what I feel are the major themes I have taken from this trip and collectively may give insight to the Part 2 of my previous post Why Ghana? 


Without a clear sense of purpose in why I was going to Ghana, but absolute conviction that God wanted me to be part of the GO trip, I started the journey with a  commitment to being obedient through the experience and I prayed that God would give me the strength to say “Yes” to every door that was opened for me to serve.  It didn’t make sense that God would send me 6000 miles from home to say “No” to opportunities He presented.  If I was to experience everything He had in store for me, it was only going to come through surrendering to His will and plan.  What I didn’t realize in saying that prayer - but should have – was that God would answer by giving me many opportunities to say “Yes” in situations that pulled and stretched me personally and spiritually in ways I wasn’t expecting.

Playing with kids in Ada

I boarded the plane with anticipation of serving, serving, serving.  I did a lot of that, but through all the serving I found myself receiving even more.  God was blessing me because I was being obedient to His calling.  He blessed me with the opportunity to serve my fellow team members, to pray over the sick and needy, to assist in serving hundreds of people through medical clinics, to play with kids hungry for any attention, and he blessed me with the experience of praying with others as they made the decision to accept and follow Jesus Christ!  It was awesome! If that wasn’t enough, he also took skills and knowledge he has developed in me over my professional career and put it to use.  I was able to work with Northview’s Outreach Pastor, K Paul Maurer, and co-facilitate a Leadership Workshop for the Bible School students and pastors; met with administrators of the new College of Nursing at Manna Mission to advise on enrollment management issues; and God even used me to deliver the message during the Wednesday night church service – another first time experience in a long list from this trip.  Each of these experiences had a major impact on me personally and spiritually.  Had I not surrendered and said "Yes" each time I was offered the opportunity, I would have missed out on many life impacting moments.

God used the trip to demonstrate how great and mighty He is and can be on a daily basis in my life.  Each day abroad brought a new spiritual high and another example of how much my heavenly father loves me and wants to bless me, if I will continue to be obedient.  I believe whole heartedly that he returned me 6000 miles to my family and my home to continue to provide me opportunities to say ‘Yes’ to what He calls me to do and as a result continue to bless me. 

REFLECTIONS from Ghana #1: It's all about LOVE!

Now that I've been home from my very first mission trip for about a month, I've had the chance to spend some time reflecting and really digging into what I've learned from the experience.  These Reflections from Ghana are what I feel are the major themes I have taken from this trip and collectively may give insight to the Part 2 of my previous post Why Ghana? 


When I boarded the plane at Indianapolis International, I really didn’t know WHAT I would be doing in Ghana.  I had no doubt that God wanted to use me on this trip, but HOW God would choose to do that was beyond my understanding at that point.  Simply boarding the plane was another step of obedience I was taking and I prayed that I would continue to be obedient during the trip.

I could write for several pages about the experiences I had in Ghana and try to explain the profound impact each day had on me personally.  If I described the entire trip as a mountain top experience for me personally and certainly spiritually, each day was simply a journey from peak to peak within that mountain range.

When we returned home, one of the common questions I kept getting asked by friends and family was something to the effect of “What did you do?”  At first I was processing this question as though people were looking for some justification for why I went.  I wasn’t shy about sharing that I really didn’t know the answer to the question ‘Why Ghana?’ prior to leaving (see my previous post). So I think there was some anticipation from friends and family for what I discovered through the trip about indeed, ‘Why Ghana?’

So I started answering this question my first couple weeks back in a justification mode, explaining the trip as a series of activities and the impact I believed came from those activities. 

Then while reading my bible one night, I read I Corinthians 13.  Most of us are probably most familiar with verses 4-7 (Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous….) Verses 1-3, however, have been key in my processing and discovering the answer to the question: Why Ghana?


1 Corinthians 13 (NLT)

¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Everywhere we went, the kids flocked to my friend Sam.
She was a great example of showing LOVE to others.

After I read and reread this chapter (and specifically those three verses), I realized that I had been answering the question in the wrong context.  It wasn’t the stuff we did that was important, or the results of our actions and activity that really mattered.  It was the LOVE we shared with the people we met.  It was our willingness to let Christ’s LOVE shine through us that I needed to be telling people about. As I continued to process this information, God supported this truth through my own favorite moments.  It wasn’t the acts of service that stood out to me as my strongest memories but the time playing with the children in Ada, or sitting in the dirt talking with John in Ada, or building relationships with the bible school students, or praying for the miracle of a child with Linda in Swedru.  These were the moments and many others that were not about a special skill set I brought to the team, but about just spending time LOVING these amazing people.  My teammates have confirmed this as most of their special memories are about those LOVE moments. God blessed me – the entire team - through these moments.

So, as I continue to process the life impact of only my first GO trip, 1 Corinthians 13 is helping me see more clearly WHY GHANA.  It’s also serving as encouragement and justification for why I need to continue to participate in GO trips and why we should ALL step forward and answer the call to serve with great confidence.

I held myself back from experiencing these blessings years earlier because I doubted my biblical knowledge to be effective on a mission trip. Or I told myself I didn’t have the skill set to work in a medical clinic or help build something for someone else as part of an outreach.  What I continue to learn from I Corinthians 13 though is that none of that stuff matters.  LOVE, my ability to LOVE others and share Christ’s LOVE is all that matters.  God wants to use all of us in this way so much that he hard wired us with the ability the LOVE.  So I hope that we can all find encouragement and motivation to be willing to GO again or for others to GO for the first time - We all already possess the single most valuable skill set needed for a mission trip – the ability to LOVE!

Serving on a Saturday

7am on a Saturday morning is early! When the alarm went off last Saturday morning, there was some grumbling in our house about getting up that early on a weekend, but after some initial resistance the three older kids and I were up and out the door to  go participate in a service project in the Brookside community.  Caleb even managed to convince one of his friends to come join us!

Urban Outreach project with a clean-up day in the Brookside neighborhood

We all quickly got past the early start time and the wet weather and had a great morning working together  to help pick-up trash in a community needing some help.  Serving alongside my kids provided a venue for conversation that our own busy schedules during the week make difficult to happen on a routine basis.  We talked about the differences between our neighborhood and Brookside, what good we were actually doing that morning, and a variety of other topics just related to life.  I'm not sure how my kids felt, but as we worked together to show love to our neighbors in a different community, the entire experience was a love moment for our family as we spent some quality time together talking and sharing.

I was/am so proud of my kids and their willingness to be a part of this project and to serve without any complaining about the time, weather, dirt, or anything else that could be viewed as an inconvenience.   Hopefully we were able to bless this community, but we certainly were blessed ourselves through the work and time together.  I look forward to more of these moments to serve together.

We're back!

We’re just passed 48 hours back in the states and the entire team seems to be re-adjusting to life after our Ghana experience.

What an AMAZING trip and experience!

I can’t express how much the thoughts and prayers from friends and family were appreciated while we were away.  The entire team was well aware that our partners in this mission trip were praying for us throughout our time abroad.

"How was your trip?"

Unfortunately, I was never able to get my iPad to connect to a Wifi signal while in Ghana, so blogging became pretty difficult.  Over the course of the next week, it’s my hope to post a few entries to share stories and experiences from the trip.

In a nutshell, the trip was a huge success!  Between work at the hospital, the church, the school, and the medical clinics in southern Ghana the team was able to positively impact several communities, many individuals, and continue to build the relationship and partnership with Manna Mission. 

Personally, I feel like I have grown and been impacted in ways that I am still trying to understand and process so that I can apply lessons learned through the experience into my life.  I have been asked a hundred times over the past 2 days “how was your trip?”  At this point I can’t completely describe it for anyone, but I’ve been trying to in simple short phrases, I’ve been sort of a walking tag cloud since I got back. 

Stay tuned….

Prayer Calendar: March 19th

With so many people reaching out and asking how they can be praying for the team while we are in Ghana, I have decided to share our team Prayer Calendar each day we are away so friends and family will know what exactly to be praying for based on our agenda/itinerary.  Thank you for your prayers over this mission and for all those participating.

TRAVEL DAY HOME

• Pray again for safe travel and no loss of luggage. 
• Pray we arrive refreshed and ready to share what God bestowed upon our lives while we were gone. 
• Pray we remember to be a testimony not only while in Ghana but also while at home.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer Calendar: March 18th

With so many people reaching out and asking how they can be praying for the team while we are in Ghana, I have decided to share our team Prayer Calendar each day we are away so friends and family will know what exactly to be praying for based on our agenda/itinerary.  Thank you for your prayers over this mission and for all those participating.

CHURCH

TRAVEL DAY

• Pray that we have awesome services. 
• Pray that people will come to know Christ as their Savior.
• Pray for safe travel, no loss of luggage.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer Calendar: March 17th

With so many people reaching out and asking how they can be praying for the team while we are in Ghana, I have decided to share our team Prayer Calendar each day we are away so friends and family will know what exactly to be praying for based on our agenda/itinerary.  Thank you for your prayers over this mission and for all those participating.

SHOPPING AND TOURIST DAY

• Pray that we are able to have an enjoyable day seeing God’s creation in Africa. 
• Pray that we never take for granted the things that are tangible for us. 
• Pray that we show love to the merchants and the people we come across.

Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

    For the director of music. A psalm of David. ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands.