JANUARY UPDATE

The holidays have come and gone. It is hard to believe that I have been in California for one year now! In spending some time reflecting upon this last year I am amazed at the experiences I have had as well as some of the learning’s. I do apologize indeed for not writing of the happenings in my life over the last several months. It has been a humbling, yet, refreshing season the Lord has brought me through. No need to reflect on all of the learnings in this letter. Yet, I will say that the Lord has been so faithful. I am a blessed man indeed!

During the holidays I had the opportunity to be home. For a good two weeks I was able to get away from some of the busyness and enter into an incredible time of rest. It could not have come at a better time! During these couple of weeks home my family and I traveled to Texas to celebrate Christmas in Waco with my Uncle and Aunt and cousins. It had been such a long time since we last celebrated Christmas with extended family. It was a wonderful time though! After Christmas we began to journey back up North but not without first stopping in East Texas to be with some family friends from Austin who we have known for many years. After several days of fishing, reminiscing, and resting we made the final leg of the journey back to Arkansas were I concluded my time away from California.

The time home went by quickly but I was able to get some great rest, rest that has benefited me over the last several weeks of being home. Although I was gone for only two weeks upon coming back to California I realized that it was probably one week longer than I needed to be gone since I came back to church with a large workload. Yet, it was all worth it.

So what have I been working on might you ask? Well do let me share. I believe I shared in my last update that I am now working as the P.E.A.C.E. coordinator in our college ministry, Crave. In this role my responsibility is quite simply to mobilize college aged students to be active followers of Christ in both our local community and the world. Over the last month the ministry team of Crave and myself have been working towards setting up five global P.E.A.C.E. trips for our students to travel on this summer. In the last several weeks to our joy sixty-five “Cravers” signed up to go on one of the five trips as a P.E.A.C.E. team to Rwanda, Argentina, Czech Republic, India, and Ukraine anywhere between two weeks to one month. Therefore, the last two weeks have proven busy as we have begun preparing these Crave P.E.A.C.E. teams to go global.

On top of all that is happening in Crave I have been preparing to go back to Rwanda for about a month from March 14 – April 11. Pastor Rick has been invited to launch the first nationwide 40 Days of Purpose in Rwanda, an historic and exciting event in a country still working through issues of reconciliation from the 1994 genocide. On this trip I will be leading several teams partnering with some of the local churches in Rwanda to help them get started in bringing their communities through 40 Days of Purpose. Please be praying that God would do big things in the Rwanda during their journey through 40 Days.

This next year should indeed fly by with all that will be occurring! Already it is almost the end of January. So eleven more months to go! By this time next year I have no clue as to where God will have me, which, is indeed something that I ask you to join in prayer with me about. I rest in the fact that God will reveal what that next step is, in the meantime I am focusing on the exciting year ahead I am greatly blessed by you! Thank you so much for your continued prayers and for your support!