Friday, May 29, 2009

Time with friends and a mentor

I'm having a great vacation in California so far. Our good friends, Aaron and Mandy Feleay, have been incredible hosts. We're all heading over to the beach in a couple hours to get some cooler weather (it's been in the mid-90s in Visalia all week).

Yesterday I spent the day with an awesome mentor, Dr. Randy White. He heads up the DMin program at BGU, and he has over 15 years of urban ministry experience in the Lowell Neighborhood of Fresno. I had the unique opportunity to participate in a church mobilization project that he has spent the past 11 months organizing. Also, he drove me around his neighborhood sharing stories of the over 30 different families that have relocated to his neighborhood since he moved there.

Julie and I then had dinner at his house, and we were able to aske tons of questions about incarnational ministry. This was very timely as our house in Homewood closes on June 30 and we are preparing to raise our family in the inner city. We're ready to go, and we feel much more equipped having spent this time with the Whites.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Enjoying Pittsburgh... and an A


A good friend of Julie and I named Remi is visiting us from Holland.  We had the opportunity to show him around Pittsburgh today, and it was such a great reminder of how cool this city is.  After church at North Way at the Worship Cafe (which he loved!) we all made our way to Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Art Museum.  From there we walked to Primanti Bros. for some great local food, we stopped at the park for the girls to ride on a merry go round, then we drove over to Mt. Washington.  We rode the Incline, then we stopped at Station Square for dessert.  What a day!

On a different note... I just found out I received an A on my project for Overture I!  I'm so excited!  Can't wait until Costa Rica and Mexico City this summer.