Love of my life and my new hat

At the Boca de Inferno (mouth of hell) with Hannah and my new Sporting hat.

10 YEARS

10 years ago we got married! It's an exciting time to celebrate as I think 10 years is a pretty big deal! As I look back over these past ten years I am thankful to have shared them with my best friend, Hannah. So much has changed; we've lived in Germany, Maryland, Tennessee and Portugal. We've added 3 girls to the family. We've made big adjustments and career changes. But through it all we've stuck together and become closer together.

It would be strange at this moment to not pause and give credit where credit is due. Our marriage works because we both love Jesus and try our best to see His will lived out in our lives. We follow Him and find strength to love each other and create a family for His glory. We pause today to give thanks to our Savior for the past ten years and look forward to many, many more!

Um Ano em Portugal

We've been here 1 year! Time to celebrate, reflect, and anticipate....

Celebrate:

We pause to celebrate the completion of one year, which represents a lot of hard work and transition. We have successfully moved, set up in a new community, and started the process of living life in this new environment. It hasn't always been easy, but God has been faithful and good during this year. We recognize our presence here is a reflection of the deepness of God's goodness and grace. So join us in celebrating our first year in Portugal!

Reflect:

A year is a great time to reflect back and think about what went right, what went haywire, and how it all came together. It's another opportunity to pause and see how God orchestrated many things during this year for His glory. We could have NEVER imagined what the first year would bring, but we are thankful that it happened just exactly like it did. It reminds me of the 5th chapter of James where we're admonished not to worry about the future; instead, we're to trust God and say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that..." This past year we've learned to trust God with our future by not worrying so much about what will come next, but to put our faith into the One who is able...

Some things to reflect upon over the first year and PRAISE God for:
--completion of language training for both of us
--Sahara, Bria, and Tirza completing a year of Portuguese school
--opportunities to share the Word with many people
--new friends in our community; new friends on our team
--ministry opportunities that already are beginning
--an enjoyable first year without sickness or major issues

Anticipate:

It's a great time to anticipate what the future will bring (of course keeping in mind James 5 and not being arrogant about the future! :) by being confident that God is actively working here and He will be faithful to see His activity come to fruition. We trust that His plan for us is best and we pray that we'll walk on His path in these upcoming months and years...

Thanks to those of you who have prayed for us over this past year! We are grateful that we have such amazing people who will lift us up and pray for the people of Portugal. So today, celebrate with us as we give God honor and glory for this past year!

4th of July

Could someone PLEASE eat a Nathans hot dog for me and/or a big, juicy, backyard grilled hamburger??? That would be super! It's just not as easy to run down to Walmart anymore....

So, Happy 4th of July to all you Americans out there. Don't forget to drink plenty of water, put sunblock on, and light your sky up with fireworks. Maybe if we're lucky we'll be able to see some on the East Coast as we gaze across the Atlantic ocean.