I am pretty much a nerd.

It’s OK- I have been a nerd since I can remember. My mother protests that I was a sweet child and that there are no such thing as nerds, but that is because she is a nerd too. In fact, I come from a long line of nerds. Although my daughters are “cool” right now at ages 9, 7, and 4, it won’t be long before they too will become poindexters. That is why, from time to time, I like to emotionally prepare them for the inevitable by photographing them wearing Emily’s glasses.

Although you may be wondering why after that opening paragraph, Emily and I have been appointed as missionary staff with the SIM organization. As teachers, we will serving the next generation of leaders in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for 2 years. Emily will be a reading specialist at Bingham Academy and I will be teaching Academic English and Youth Ministry courses at Evangelical Theological College.

For the past three months we have been connecting with friends and family, sharing our vision, and giving people an opportunity to partner with us in various ways.

We are thrilled to report that our one-time departure costs have been met 100% and our monthly support budget has rocketed to 57%. Thank you to our growing number of partners!

This process of sharing vision and developing partners has been a such as positive opportunity for us both. Our schedule has been tight and nights have been busy, but it has been well worth it! The depth of conversations has been priceless. In the remaining months we look forward to connecting many more with our unique 2-way approach to partnership. If you are interested in some Ethiopian coffee and great conversation, please let us know. We’ll even let you try on our nerd glasses.

FAMILY BAGGAGE

Last week was wild! With only hours notice we sent off 2 suitcases of books, sheets, and kid clothes to Ethiopia via North Carolina with a friend who is traveling there soon. It’s like getting a 90lb luggage bonus for free!

We are grateful to be given such a gift. It was simultaneously exciting and crazy to be thinking about packing this early. The adventure has begun.