Below is our most recent update letter that some of you might also receive in the mail.  Christina and I send out periodic letters to those who support us through prayer and finances to let them know how we’re doing.  If you don’t receive these mailed updates, but would like to, email me with your name and address and you’ll be on our list. Through this, you can also get instructions on tax-deductible donations.

Hello everyone, I hope this letter finds you and your family well! I want to first apologize for not sending these update letters more often.  We love you all and appreciate the time you take to read this and think of us.

The reason why this is letter has taken so long is that I was avoiding writing it. Recently times have been tough for us and many of those who are close to us. It has become  all the more apparent that there is no escape from the brokenness and darkness of sin in this world.  We will always be around it, always be attempting to deal with it.

Sometimes the weight feels unable to bear. How can we really deal with broken families, broken relationships, even death? By God’s own graciousness He has preserved us in these dark times.  And this is the hidden grace that we are finding in the chaos: we understand our need for God more deeply when we embrace our frailty more fully.

Christina and I both thank God that He has kept us in His hand, not removing us from this world and all that comes with it, but by being the strength and safety we need when going through it.
So here goes the current plan: this year, I’m not able to take classes until the summer.  We will be working and saving so that I can finish up next year.  I teach at a private Christian school (mostly Bible classes) and am the worship leader at Orlando Grace, the church we have been members of. I love my jobs.  Sometimes it feels wrong getting paid for them!

Christina is trucking through her third year of teaching. She was given an elective course, Creative Writing, in addition to her normal 7th grade geography classes. This has definitely kept things interesting, but she really is doing well.  In addition to teaching she works part time at Ann Taylor LOFT and is also co-leading a Bible study with a group of friends.

I was originally bitter over the idea of having to take a year off and watch my friends graduate, but God has been working in me on that.  The classes I teach are great applications of my seminary training and the worship leader position has exceeded my expectations.  It’s hard to be bitter when you love what you’re doing.

We are going to be doing all we can to scrimp and save so that I may be able to take classes next year.  We even got two new roommates! Danny and Steven, both cousins of mine, have been staying with us and it’s been great.  We can offer cheap rent, and anything extra we get goes towards the theological fund.

So if you can, please remember us in your prayers.  We need them all the more in these hard times.  Pray that our marriage will deepen as we go through these trials, that we may seek hope amidst hopelessness, that God may provide the means to finish seminary and that our story, as we are going through it, will point others to the light of Christ.  We are just fragmented people in a crooked world who look to God to make us whole.

Also, if you’re interested, swing by our websites and check out what we’re up to.  The addresses are below.  These letters only have so much space! We love you all!