July Newsletter '07

Greetings,

July is all but gone, but what a month it has been. I swear that I’ve just been on a plane more than I care to these past months, but I did have two exceptional trips – one to our CMA office and one back home to Wisconsin. Check out the pictures and articles and learn what’s new with the Flunkers as we count down our last year before mission deployment.

CMA – Asking the Right Questions

Our mission organization Caribbean Ministries Association (CMA) has been going through a period of learning and growing. We’re reaching the point where we need to get much more intentional and strategic in our pursuits and ministries. The reality is that we’ve reached the end of our “Cinderella grace period” where success was easy, and now it’s time to focus our vision and set ourselves up for success with a clear committed leadership structure. I feel the Lord has prepared us as an organization to become the forefront ministry in the Caribbean for teaching and training, yet it is only a lack of vision and creative initiative which will keep us from becoming effective.

Currently CMA is “asking the right questions,” and we’re pursuing how we can become better. This is very encouraging to me, and in my meeting with the leadership team we were able to talk through many of the challenges with the goal of progress and change in view. It’s still going to be a long road, but at least we’re on the right path.

Read more about the CMA meeting HERE.

Room to Breathe

Family, Fishing, and Freedom – from Dallas… need I say more for a perfect vacation. My sister was coming home in July and when I last saw my folks they offered to fly Emily and me home so the whole family could be together. Sadly, Emily was unable to get the time off, but I was all too quick to jump on another plane and head back to the northwoods. I just had an awesome time at home.

The longer I’m away, the more apparent it becomes to me just how important family is. Being in Seminary is a larger commitment than I often consider it, and along with the theology, the distance from home reveals the necessity of keeping in touch with family. There is definitely a part of my heart in those open fields and forests up north - home will always be home.

Check out the web article and pictures HERE.

Update
We didn’t really get much direction as to CMA’s purpose for Freeport or our role in it. However, we’re still pursuing learning more and keeping prepared for both Eleuthera or Grand Bahama. Also as an organization we’re starting to use an online virtual meeting tool to help our communication.

We’ve been getting more involved in helping our homeless friends and we are learning more and more about the plight of the poor and how we can help. I had a very exciting meeting with our Mission’s Representative at church, and in our goal to find a “Local Sending Church” FBC Frisco is looking like high possibility. This November Emily and I will be formally presenting the mission and ministry of CMA to see how our church can partner with us as our local sending church.

Finally, I’ll pass-on a divine appointment I had at the airport in Chattanooga after my CMA meeting. I ran in to a band on their way home from a camp gig, and it turns out they are passionately interested in supporting World Missions. The band was the Billy Foote Band, and Billy gave me two of his new CD’s and said that we could use some of their songs for promotion with their permission. It was a wonderful chance encounter to see others who are using their gifts for the Kingdom of God – you can learn more about the band from their website www.billyfoote.com.

Prayers and Praises
Praise that all was safe and sound in my travels
Praise that Emily is doing great at her new role at Chick-fil-a
Huge praise for great cooperation in working to implement a new communication tool for CMA – we’re now trying to meet as an entire staff online through Virtual Conferencing

Pray for Emily this next month as she’ll be overlapping a week of Kindergarten with Chick-fil-a
Pray for the poor in Dallas and that the Lord’s children will reach out and help
Keep praying for CMA staff as there has been many recent health needs and losses
Also pray for CMA as we keep asking the right questions to maximize the potential the Lord has given us
Check out our answered prayer requests here: CLICK HERE.

Thank you for keeping up with us and our progress in ministry. We so value your prayers and support, and we would ask you to take a moment and pray for our journey and how you can play a part. To find out more CLICK HERE.