Another year is behind us: our 6th together as a married couple and our first as parents. It has not been a year like anything we could have planned or even understood as we experienced it, but we survived it as a family, and we’re getting closer to being able to say we’ve learned from it. As is my custom, and with your permission, I’d like to take a few minutes to review where we’ve been…
We started things out in 2007 learning how to be parents. I’m proud to say that we were pretty well prepared, and didn’t hit many things we didn’t know how to deal with. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a challenge — or a joy either.
Like someone used to say about his parents, our little guy “hit the ground running.” As soon as we could, we brought him to youth group, and shortly after his one-month birthday, Benjamin was traveling across the border to visit his other home country. Soon after that he was on his first youth retreat, and learning how to swim.
It was about at that point that things got interesting. A trip through a glass window started a long string of… challenges that would pursue us throughout the year. And despite remaining steadfast in who we are and in what we believe, sometimes those things don’t stand up against life on their own.
Sometimes people don’t really see who you are.
Meanwhile, the more practical challenges of our pursuit of this adventure began to take their toll. Looking for a break, we decided to take our first vacation ever as a couple… and the hits just kept on coming!
So we ended the year with the wounds, both physical and emotional, still healing. Nonetheless, there are plenty of good things that we take away from 2007…
– Our son continues to be a healthy, happy boy, ahead of his developmental curve and a delight to be around. And then we found out that we would become parents again when we were given the gift of a baby girl that we can’t wait to meet.
– We got to help disciple and guide a dozen of the most incredible teens we’ve ever known, and then send most of them on their first missions trip — then stood back and watched as God challenged them and changed them.
– We got to see my parents “retiring” the way I want to retire — on the missions field in Asia.
– We made huge progress toward solidifying our own financial dreams and goals, thanks to the job I stole from some poor American.
– And if nothing else, we learned a thing or two about ministry, technology and life from some truly amazing people here in New York.
This has not been the easiest, or happiest year that this humble blog has recorded, but it hasn’t been unambitious, and we don’t leave it behind with any regrets (except for the part about putting my arm through a window… I’d probably do that one different, given the chance.)
There will be lessons to absorb from the things we went through this year, but those will present themselves in due time. Right now, we have all of 2008 in front of us, a growing family to guide, and a lot of wonderful friends and family to help us through it.
As always, stay tuned right here to discover with us what God has planned next…

Well it’s 2007. Nic and I didn’t quite ring in the new year with friends — we did make it to a really nice party, but had to cut out at around 10:00 so Benjamin could eat, and we did stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. But before 2006 gets too far behind us, it’s time for my annual recap.
Unlike the last, this year did not start off quiet. It started off intensely stressful, and pushed us to the limit in more ways than one. Emotionally, financially and even in our relationship, our mettle was tested as we figured out how to move from one country to another. But God was there, and He lovingly guided us to an amazing young church, that would have a bigger impact on us than we could have imagined at the time. Of course there was, and still is, some things to adjust to, and some issues to deal with. But our family and friends — both old and new — were there to encourage us, and give us perspective — both on where we’d been, and on where we were heading. And by Easter, we really began to see that God had a plan bigger than just a new job and a new home…
Our new and exciting church was making waves all over the region, and we found ourselves getting drawn closer to the center of that activity. Suddenly all the ministry experiences God had given us in the past year started to make sense. We found out that the seemingly random experiences and skills God had given us weren’t so random after all, and God put us to work in new ways that were both challenging and fun. Our priorities began to shift and we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how God wanted us to shape our lives. In a matter of months, God surrounded us with His faithful servants who taught us and encouraged us to act out what we felt God was directing us to do, and before we knew it, we weren’t just getting our feet wet, we were helping people into the water. And then I had two jobs!
But that wasn’t all that was happening! Earlier this year we began getting ready for our biggest challenge yet. And if it seems like Nic didn’t have as much to do this year, being out of a job and all, don’t under-estimate the job she had in front of her. We were both scared and excited and nervous, but Nic knew almost instinctively what had to be done, and when the time came, we let our friends and family know… we were about to be parents — and I would soon have three jobs (dad being the 3rd title!)
All of these things seemed to come to a head this Christmas season, as my employer decided I was worth keeping around another year, our church opened it’s second campus, and our son arrived just before the year ended! It has been a whirlwind of a year, full of experiences and challenges neither of us could have imagined when we were starry eyed young kids planning our futures. God has been good and faithful, and has blessed us with a good job, a nice home, an incredible church, two wonderful families, and with amazing friends, who filled this website with comments echoing our joy and excitement when our son was born. We wouldn’t be here without you all — we certainly wouldn’t have survived this year without your support. We hope 2007 is an awesome year for all of you. Thanks for reading our site and supporting our little family — we can’t wait to see what God has in store for us this year!