I am doing something for the next couple of days that I don’t know if i have ever done.  I am taking a personal retreat.  I am really seeking the heart of God on many things.  Dreams, passions, vision…etc.  I am so excited to be using The Storyline Conference as a major piece of it! I was struck by how much money and time I spend on so many different things to make my life easier or better or more efficient, but when was the last time I actually spent money, got away and did a serious inventory and self examination of my life. What kind of man, dad, friend, lover, hero, villain, or saint am I? What are my weaknesses, my blind spots and my greatest temptations?

My desire is to have some time to just think on my life; my past, my present and my future.  I want see God in the storyline of my life but also to make some changes so that the trajectory of the story becomes even better.  When I read about the Storyline Conference my heart skipped.  I have appreciated Donald Miller, his heart, his authenticity, his vulnerability and his love for Jesus.

So I watched this and was sold…

So when was the last time you stopped, carved out time in your life to do some focused self-examination? If you are anything like me, the answer is probably, not for a long time…if ever. The time is now.  At least for me!

www.LightTheStreets.com

My good friends at Africa New Life in partnership with humanitarian photographer Esther Havens and film-maker Ryan Youngblood have released a very important and life changing campaign.

I have been to these places in Rwanda.

I have played soccer with these boys that get so hungry that they sniff glue to calm there stomachs.

I have seen the life change that happens in these boys as someone, maybe for the first time, offers them a bowl of food.

I have cleaned wounds on some of these boys feet and have given them new shoes.

The work Africa New Life Ministries is doing is nothing less than supernatural!! Look what Executive Director Fred Katagwa says:

I remember that day, on my way to the market to pick up some things just before Christmas and as I walked toward the entrance these boys in dirty clothes approached me with their hands out and said. “Boss, could you give us some money? We need something to eat.” They were street kids, who had nothing… I couldn’t bear it. So I took a handful of them home for dinner. It was out of that experience that we decided to start our feeding program, which has now grown to several hundred kids every time we open our doors. Feeding, fellowship and fun are great but now the question most of them are asking is “Uncle Fred what’s next”?

Play a part of bringing Light the the streets of Rwanda. Go look at the pictures, read the stories and watch this video….

Let’s be known as a people that don’t just hear, watch and look at pictures but are moved to action!!!

PLAY A PART…

It’s a big day for this Ducks fan!!  Wearing my Ducks gear, sporting the yellow and getting ready for a BIG Oregon Ducks win!  GO DUCKS!!!

Rwanda, a 9 Year Old & A Forever Changed Family

Many of you know about our adoption of our amazing daughter 4 years ago.  It still amazes me that we have her and she is ours.  The complications of the adoption were many and at times we were told it wasn’t going to happen. I will never forget the day I was standing in the Minster of Family and Genders office in Kigali, Rwanda and out of the depths of my heart and holy justice came these words

I will do what you need me to do…I will drive all over your country and get whatever papers you need with whatever signatures you need but I WILL NOT LEAVE RWANDA WITHOUT MY DAUGHTER!!!

I will never forget the look on the ladies face when she just realized Aslan had stepped into her office !!  At the time Rwanda didn’t really work with adoption agencies and so this was an independent adoption.  I had no idea what was going to happen, but after 7 weeks of begin stuck in Kigali, Rwanda and then Nairobi, Kenya and then back in Kigali, Rwanda and then back in Nairobi, Kenya, getting another US Ambassador and US Consular from another country involved, crying and praying and crying some more…we boarded a plane for home!!

It still brings me to tears even as I write this…I wanted to share this Adoption Story through pictures!! Enjoy!!!

What about you??   Why not adopt??

Well…I haven’t been existent online for awhile and one of the main reasons is that I have been on a much needed vacation with my wife.  We left our kids with Grandma and took off for Kauai…we love it here!!

Long walks, fun memories, lots of laughs, doing whatever we want to do and whenever…