Sunday, April 02, 2006
We've been in the States for awhile now, nearly 4 months. Can't believe how fast time passes. The last time we wrote, we were about to head to World Missions Summit -- an incredible experience. We were able to interact with thousands of students, telling them about the great adventure and mission of Book of Hope. Several alumni drove over which gave WMS a reunion feel and a lot of energy as we shared our journeys and passions with others. The most moving moment was the last service. Those who felt called to missions came forward and it was like an army -- one after another giving part of their lives to reach others with the message of Christ. Each one came to the microphone to speak the country name where they felt called...in Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, the U.S., the Middle East...it was incredible. With each student who said 'I'll go anywhere' or 'To be announced', we smiled hoping they would come with Book of Hope -- to a global call. We already have one young man from WMS who joined us in Rwanda and more on their way. It was an amazing experience.
After WMS we took part in a week of training for our Response Team missionaries working with Book of Hope. It was an incredible week of spiritual challenge and growth. And wonderful time spent with a group of people have become like family to us.
The rest of January and most of February was spent preparing for a Book of Hope event called Hope Celebration. Many of Book of Hope's partners in ministry and International staff joined together for 3 days to celebrate what God had done in the last year, cast vision for the future, and join together to bring resources to reach the children of the world. Amazing reports, testimonies and dreams were spoken of. Each time Ryan and I attend one of these events, we feel God's call again -- stronger and deeper -- to the children and youth of the world.
As we began to prepare for our first trip of the year, opportunities and timing postponed our trip to Rwanda and Uganda -- we're hoping to go this fall instead. And we began prep for a trip to Argentina to follow-up on children, young people, and their families reached through The GodMan, an animated movie of the life story of Jesus as shown from the perspective of a child.
Much of the rest of the year is mapped out and it looks like come the end of April, we'll be busy and working hard on the field. We'll hopefully head to Argentina mid-April through May.
In June we will travel to Swaziland to host 2 teams -- can't wait to see what God has in store! And this fall we'll make our way to Uganda and Rwanda -- another trip we are really looking forward to!
Personally, being in FL a little longer been a major blessing as we have been able to build some strong friendships and accountability relationships. Also, we went through a transition in our home. For 2 years, we've had a fellow missionary staying with us. He is traveling a lot more and we felt it would be good to have some time with just us before we start a family. We were able to get a new vehicle -- an incredible gift from God. Some friends of ours were getting ready to sell their Escape and we were looking for a vehicle. They kept it in great condition -- we were so blessed to get it.
This last week we were in MT with some of my (Jen) favorite people -- the Hochhalters. Tami was my cheerleading coach in high school. She and Lowell were my youth pastors after I was saved. About the same time I came to be with Book of Hope they went to work as missionaries for the MT District's Youth Alive program. I've only seen them a handful of times in the past 7 years. Their kids are growing up and I have missed them so much. This was the first time Ryan spent time with them so that was great as well. My mom and my grandma came over as well and we had a wonderful time with them -- exploring Billings and eating. :) It was an incredible week of making good memories, meeting new friends and cherishing those we love.
Tomorrow, it's back to the office for us and hopefully preparing for our next adventure overseas.
Thanks for reading...I should update more and shorter.
Love,
Ryan and Jen
After WMS we took part in a week of training for our Response Team missionaries working with Book of Hope. It was an incredible week of spiritual challenge and growth. And wonderful time spent with a group of people have become like family to us.
The rest of January and most of February was spent preparing for a Book of Hope event called Hope Celebration. Many of Book of Hope's partners in ministry and International staff joined together for 3 days to celebrate what God had done in the last year, cast vision for the future, and join together to bring resources to reach the children of the world. Amazing reports, testimonies and dreams were spoken of. Each time Ryan and I attend one of these events, we feel God's call again -- stronger and deeper -- to the children and youth of the world.
As we began to prepare for our first trip of the year, opportunities and timing postponed our trip to Rwanda and Uganda -- we're hoping to go this fall instead. And we began prep for a trip to Argentina to follow-up on children, young people, and their families reached through The GodMan, an animated movie of the life story of Jesus as shown from the perspective of a child.
Much of the rest of the year is mapped out and it looks like come the end of April, we'll be busy and working hard on the field. We'll hopefully head to Argentina mid-April through May.
In June we will travel to Swaziland to host 2 teams -- can't wait to see what God has in store! And this fall we'll make our way to Uganda and Rwanda -- another trip we are really looking forward to!
Personally, being in FL a little longer been a major blessing as we have been able to build some strong friendships and accountability relationships. Also, we went through a transition in our home. For 2 years, we've had a fellow missionary staying with us. He is traveling a lot more and we felt it would be good to have some time with just us before we start a family. We were able to get a new vehicle -- an incredible gift from God. Some friends of ours were getting ready to sell their Escape and we were looking for a vehicle. They kept it in great condition -- we were so blessed to get it.
This last week we were in MT with some of my (Jen) favorite people -- the Hochhalters. Tami was my cheerleading coach in high school. She and Lowell were my youth pastors after I was saved. About the same time I came to be with Book of Hope they went to work as missionaries for the MT District's Youth Alive program. I've only seen them a handful of times in the past 7 years. Their kids are growing up and I have missed them so much. This was the first time Ryan spent time with them so that was great as well. My mom and my grandma came over as well and we had a wonderful time with them -- exploring Billings and eating. :) It was an incredible week of making good memories, meeting new friends and cherishing those we love.
Tomorrow, it's back to the office for us and hopefully preparing for our next adventure overseas.
Thanks for reading...I should update more and shorter.
Love,
Ryan and Jen
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
What a year!
It’s 12:09am, December 27th. It seems like hours ago it was October and I was telling Ryan that we needed to update our blog site. Now, 3 months later, days short of 2006, I’ve finally decided that we have to do it NOW and thus, even though it’s late and I really should be sleeping, here I am. In a few paragraphs we’re going to try to share with you September, October, November and December.
In September we worked in a primarily Muslim country in
Next, we met one of our Nomad (intern) teams in
Monday, November 21, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Podcasting...let's give it a try huh?
Podcasting, the newest "big" thing in media communication. Basically one way to describe it is Tivo for Radio. What I am attempting to do is create media content that you would be able to subscribe to ( with a little work of course ) so that any time we post new updates from our travels they would be updated to keep you current. Hey it sounds really great. Wouldn't it be amazing if I could actually figure the whole process out? Let's try it and see what happens...
Listen to Eric's Story by clicking here. The audio file is a 9 minute audio portion of a testimony video Jen and i just finished completing about a young man named Eric Navales. He is from the island of Mindanao, Philippines. He is just such a great story of how youth around the world are reached through the Book of Hope. You will mainly hear the voice of Eric himself as he shares his story with you. The female voice you hear is that of Afel. She is the local Chi Alpha director. Chi Alpha is a campus Bible Club that helps to make the Gospel relevant to students. What a great partnership.
I encourage you to take a few minutes and hear Eric tell you how the Book of Hope was intrumental in chenging his life.
The audio will play through the program "Quicktime." This is a standard piece of software but if for some reason you are unable to play the file follow this link and you can download the newest verion for yourself. Download Quicktime Here
Listen to Eric's Story by clicking here. The audio file is a 9 minute audio portion of a testimony video Jen and i just finished completing about a young man named Eric Navales. He is from the island of Mindanao, Philippines. He is just such a great story of how youth around the world are reached through the Book of Hope. You will mainly hear the voice of Eric himself as he shares his story with you. The female voice you hear is that of Afel. She is the local Chi Alpha director. Chi Alpha is a campus Bible Club that helps to make the Gospel relevant to students. What a great partnership.
I encourage you to take a few minutes and hear Eric tell you how the Book of Hope was intrumental in chenging his life.
The audio will play through the program "Quicktime." This is a standard piece of software but if for some reason you are unable to play the file follow this link and you can download the newest verion for yourself. Download Quicktime Here
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