The last week

Packing is well underway as things find their way into one of four piles: throw away, give away, store away, or take with me. I've already made my first trips to the dump, the Upper Room, and taking stuff home. It's very freeing in a way. As much as I like to think I live simply, I still have so much I can live without. And I don't think I ever would've cleaned house if it hadn't become a necessity. Anyway, I highly recommend it.

So this past week reality has really started to hit. I watched my last Patriots game, played my last gig, lead worship at church for the last time, went to my last youth group. Today was my last Tuesday in the States for a year. I've started saying goodbye to people that I won't see again before I leave. When thinking about all the things I'll miss while in Africa, I'm realizing how much I really do love about being here. There's something to be said for the traditions of Christmas music and hot chocolate, cold in the air and snow on the evergreens, that make Christmas seem like Christmas because that's how I've grown up. It'll be interesting experiencing many of the same things from an entirely different perspective. For Namibians, Christmas has always been a summer holiday during some of the hottest time of the year. Sand replaces snow (sand replaces most everything there). So it'll definitely be different, but that's part of what I'm looking forward to, understanding life from a different perspective, expanding my small New England mindset on things. Hopefully I can express some of that to you here, but I think mostly you just have to experience it yourself. So come visit me! :)

T-minus 12 days

I just got back from two weeks on the road visiting with friends and family before I head out for a the next year. I've logged almost 3,000 miles from NH to Pennsylvania to Michigan to Indiana to Kentucky to North Carolina, back to PA, and finally inching my way through NYC traffic (it was cloudy and rainy or else I might've stopped) I made my way back home. It was a great time catching up with some friends from college, seeing cousins that I haven't seen in ages, and exchanging 'Christmas' gifts with the fam. It's amazing having so many excellent people who support me in life, whether they realize it or not.

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So yesterday I passed the two week mark and now packing becomes my next priority. I had started working on it before my vacation but now it comes to the forefront. What do I want to keep? What needs to be tossed? What can be given away? What last things do I need to buy here that I won't be able to get in Africa? And then amidst all that is the greater joy of getting together with everybody here before I go. I know these next 12 days will fly by faster than I can imagine. I hope, as always, to live them to the fullest, and as we say in Africa, sleep when I get home.

The Voice in the Wilderness

I often find I connect most with God when in the midst of creation. I know, it's not some grand revelation unique to me. Many of the great forefathers of the faith met with God in the wilderness, but it still feels like a grand secret between God and me. From the sand dunes of Lake Michigan, to the rolling hills of the Kentucky horse farms, to the extravagantly colored hills of the Smokey Mountains in peak foliage, God proclaims His glory through what we see all around us, though often times we're going by too fast to stop and notice it. I wish I had cool photos that could capture it all to share with you, but nothing would quite compare, so it'll remain my little secret, until you drive Rt 40 in early-November.

"Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature." ~Romans 1:20

"The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship." ~ Psalm 19:1

Dollars and Sense

Many people have been asking about how I'll be supported while working in Namibia for a whole year. I will not be traveling around to raise support like many missionaries do. Instead I will be supported by the church community I've been serving with and participating in for the last 22 years. As I mentioned, I will still be on staff at my church as a salaried pastor, I will simply be located in Namibia, hence the term "distributed pastor". However, living expenses in Namibia are far less than they are in the States, so basically to show their appreciation for 5 years of pastoral service Christ's Church is giving me a pay cut and shipping me off to Africa. :)

That being said, the money still has to come from somewhere, and I do understand the joy of giving and making an investment in people's lives and ministries around the world. (If that sounds like a clever ploy to make you want to send me money then I'd be more than happy to chat about a biblical theology of giving.) So if you are interested in financially sharing in this ministry with me, you can make a tax-deductible donation through Christ's Church of Amherst. You can do that in two ways. Our online E-source program allows you to make a one-time or monthly gift through electronic transfer directly from your credit card, checking, or savings account. Simply input your information and put my name under "Purpose of gift." Or you can send a check with my name in the memo to:

Christ's Church of Amherst
58 Merrimack Road
Amherst, NH 03031

Thank you so much for all your prayers and for those who've expressed interest in supporting me financially. It is indeed a blessing to have such a strong support group back here in the States.

Friends and Photos

I love friends that you can jump back in and pick up 5 years later right where you left off. It's been refreshing connecting up with friends from college and extended fam that I haven't seen in years. Everybody grows up so fast. My cousins are so big! So many of my friends are having babies and starting families. I love hearing their dreams about pursuing ministry and what God's been teaching them. I love seeing them in their environments, meeting their friends, and reminiscing old times. It's great knowing such cool people. :)

The Photos of the Day start with Arianna Siegrist, Laura and Dave's miracle baby. She was born with heart troubles but at their 7 month check-up the doctors told them she looked great and didn't need to take daily meds anymore. Cayd Elijah Sespico is Sarah and Chris' newborn. God has turned their mourning into dancing after suffering a miscarriage not long ago. And the last is my aunt and cousins whom I haven't seen in years. It was fun going to youth group, playing foosball and Wii, and making movies with the kids, and catching up with my aunt and uncle. I would love to live closer to my cousins so I could see them more and watch them grow up. In fact, it's too bad all my cool friends and fam couldn't all live in NH so I could hang out with them all, but I guess I have to share them with the rest of the world. :)

So I think traveling has also helped me mentally prepare for being gone to Namibia for a year. I've gotten to share with many people about my vision for the year and help them get on board with what I'm doing. It's cool having so much support and so many people praying for me. I'm getting more and more excited and ready to be there. It seems unreal that it's less than a month away and I know that's gonna fly by with the rest of my trip, then Thanksgiving, then packing. I'm excited, but also a little nervous. A year is a really long time...from this side of it. I know when it's over it will seem to have flown by, that's how it always works. And then I'll be on the flip side of all this about coming back. But I don't have to think about that now, just take it a day at a time, which is all we really have anyway. (To learn more about my year in Namibia check out my African Travel Blog.)