Welp, we finally got the flight plans nailed down for out two week mission trip to India. We’re leaving December 27th & will be back January 8th. There’s about 8 or 9 of us going total (I think). We’ve got 3 training  dates set up for us to get together & prepare for the trip. This is going to be crazy. I can’t wait!

I still don’t think the reality of potentially moving to India has really hit me yet. I’m excited at the possibility, but I haven’t felt any fear about it… Should I be afraid? Or is it a sign that I’m ready to follow where I’m being lead? Or am I just in denial? Who knows. It’s all happened so fast. Last November at the men’s retreat I came home telling Melisa that we’re not supposed to live here (not in the US was my understanding at the time, but I had no idea where God would lead us).

I’m still really excited about the potential of finding a place with a Business as Mission position. I”m not sure how that would work or what that would look like, but it fits all the objections I had to “being a missionary”… It would put me working right along side the people I’d be trying to reach and it would give me an opportunity to be more than just a foreigner taking up space in a cubicle.

I’m going to try & set up some time with Steven & Stacy (the couple who got back from India not too long ago) to see what God is doing with/through them. I’ve also got to corner Ross. We’re been trying to set aside time with him for a while, but he’s been super busy.

Well, there you go. A little news about a lot of stuff.

I was up running the media for our church this Sunday. (For those of you that don’t know, we’ve got 2 projectors & screens that we use to display song lyrics, Bible verses, & key sermon points on Sunday mornings & I lead up our church’s team of people who run it. This last Sunday was my turn to run things). Anyhow, this means that I was there for both services & got to sing & hear everything twice. I love it! Usually I have to pay a little more attention to the first service to make sure I’m keeping up with the worship leaders & speaker(s), but I’m able to loosen up a bit & really worship & pay more attention the second time around because I have a better idea of what’s coming up.

Anyhow, this week Rodney Howell (yes the same guy Melisa & I spoke with last week) spoke to our congregation. He also brought up a couple from our church that just came back from a year-long stay in India. The focus was on missions & Matthew 25:14-30 (the Parable of the Talent). “We must be faithful with whatever God entrusts to us was the key point.

God had entrusted Steven with the abilities to be a project manager & have wisdom in leading business decisions. He also entrusted Stacy with marketing skills and sales abilities. They decided to use those skills & abilities to make a difference in an area of the world where it’s heartbreaking to see the poverty & pain with SO many people in such a small area (India is one of the most populous countries in the world). They went there to seek out ways to implement & support micro-finance opportunities to help stimulate growth & financial stability for those that would not have any other means to get themselves out of the slums. Very awesome in-deed.

Anyhow, one of the things they touched on was a concept they referred to as “Business As Mission”. A business whose core purpose is to lead & live for God’s purposes. There is a great website that they pointed you to: http://www.businessasmissionnetwork.com

This entire concept really gets me fired up! To use your skills & abilities, not only for financial stability, but in efforts that are specifically driven by the Will of God & for the purpose of furthering his Kingdom!

Up until this Sunday, I assumed we’d be exploring what God may be able to do with us in India. I was assuming I’d be looking for some random tech job, and we’d basically just live out our lives as bright lights in a dark place, offering that light to those around us as they saw something in us they wanted in their own lives. While that is very much the goal still, I am going to be exploring the possibilities of working for/with any of these Business As Mission efforts. I don’t know how that will all pan out, but I’m feeling my heartbeat speed up just typing this out right now!

Anyhow, I thought this was a cool concept & thought anyone out there stumbling on this site, or here to read up on what’s going on in our lives would be encouraged to see these kinds of efforts going on. I really hope that there is room for a techie in some of these endeavors.

Well, we met with Rodney Howell from our church last night. He’s in charge of a lot of the missions work with our church & has been to India a few times on mission trips. He had some GREAT advice & words of wisdom and lots of encouragement for us. We’ll be planning more meetings with some other people who have been to India as well as a couple of just got back from a year long mission trip there (Steven & Stacy).

Anyhow, what we know so far is that we’re still India-bound. We know we’re going for a short trip this Winter (probably December for 10ish days). As of right now we’re still praying & seeking God’s will for what the future holds for us. We’re planning on an eventual move to India and staying there for a couple/few years, but we don’t know much beyond that. It may even turn out that God just wants us to visit, come back, & really connect with the missions going on in India from here. We don’t know, but we’re preparing for the biggest change that could happen just in case that is what God calls us to.

It’s all very exciting. Melisa & I had to finally tell each other to stop talking because we were both lying in bed @ 11:00 last night still talking about details & ideas & things we learned by talking with Rodney.

Continue to pray for God’s guidance & wisdom in our lives & with our upcoming decisions. It’s already been hard as we’ve started to down-size & sell off all the stuff we thought we’d fill another house with some day. We’re really working toward simplifying out lives & possessions & it’s very counter-culture. It’s hard being the odd-man out, but I suppose that’s what I’m going to have to get used to if we’re going to live in a foreign culture.

Yeah, I know, I don’t post enough…

Anyhow, we got a decent bonus @ work this last week, so we’ve got at least half the money it’s going to take to go on a week long visit to India. Melisa is going to watch our nephew during the days over the summer, so that will bring in a little more towards our goal of going. We’re hoping to be able to go this Fall, so we’re getting a little excited & anxious. We don’t really have a plan yet as to what this trip will look like, but we know we’ll be spending some time around New Delhi and some time with our friends in a suburb a couple of hours away.

Other than that, we’re keeping pretty busy. June is the dreaded month for a million Birthdays for our families, so we have no option but to be busy.

I’ve got ton’s of pics I need to put on the site, but I want to explore a new picture gallery set up, so until I figure that out,I probably won’t be posting any new pics. I’ll get around to it soon enough.

I also want to get my hands on some new photography accessories so I can take some decent pictures… I really want to get my hands on n inexpensive studio flash setup, but inexpensive for those is around $260… Oy… It’ll be a while before I’ve got that much expendable cash. Maybe I can pick up some simple photo jobs & build it up that way…

Anyone need some pics taken for an event or occasion? (Joking, but serious…)

Talk @ ya later folks.