I wander as I wonder

Hellen and I are now officially engaged - got on one knee, asked her, gave her a ring, all that. Our plan is to be married in June in Kenya, with a reception here in late June. I'll post details as they come...

Ethiopia... Team: Jon Cordes, Phil Horton, Carolyn Crumsey, April Mininger, Philip Huffine, Rachel Watanabe, Lewis Reid, Carson & Marcia Day, myself. No travel problems - praise God for an honest travel agent this time! We did have an unexpected (by us) stop in Khartuom, and a man on the plane had a massive heart attack landing in Addis - Ms Carolyn was quite helpful. Met with the Warrens, Jim Plunk, other MTW interns (Derek Armstrong, Darcy, Sarah). Team very impressed by the ministry and Andy's story of how God brought it to be what it is now. Especially impressed by the Ethiopian staff: Teddy, Danny, Alemu, Gisaw, Betty, Mekadeh, etc. The ministry reaches out to those in two poor communities affected by AIDS, helping meet their basic needs, taking care of their kids, working with the gov't and local hospitals to improve care, connecting them with support groups, Bible studies, so much more. The team is primarily working on the office/clinic property: building new bath...

Taking a team to Addis Ababa January 17th to work with Andy Warren's ministry there ( ethiopiahiv.org ). The team, which includes Katie's husband Philip, perennial crowd favorite Carson, and a real great group of folks from New City ( newcityfellowship.com )will do some remodeling work as well as work with the ministry staff there. Each member of the team brings strong and unique skills, and they will be used there accordingly. Team members need to raise about $500 each so if you are interested in helping contact me or New City.

Hellen will be here in just a few days and I am beyond excited, thinking of the things to come, of being with her as she experiences all this. Thanks for your prayers!

What an amazing God we serve! Hellen got her visa, no problem. The professor strike ended. The Explorer sold. What a day!

JD passed away Sunday. The funeral is Saturday 12/2 at Mt Olive AME in Slidell. Visitation from 10-11, service at 11, with burial in the Slidell Memorial Garden, right there behind Lincoln Park. We will send flowers to the church, and will collect donations for the family. We hope to give a gift to the mother to help cover funeral costs and to the stepdaughter he loved so much in South Africa. If you would like to give a gift you can send it to New City (2424 E 4th St, Chattanooga, TN 37404) and designate it in the subject. We will then distribute accordingly. What a strange story his is, and how God in His sovereign unfathomable plan brought my life and his into contact, briefly. I'll never forget the first day, when Pastor Keith came down so excited: There's a blind guy sitting in front of his house, with a tree on the roof! We've got to help this guy! And so it began. So many teams spent time with him, so many were blessed by him. I think of the Brown family wh...