All-Star Retreat Highlights

As I mentioned before, a couple weekends ago we took a group of our All-Star Student Leaders on a retreat to Oakwood Inn down on Lake Wawasee. The result was an awesome weekend of focusing on God's plans and His vision for this upcoming school year and how we might fit into those plans. I was really encouraged to see some of the students "get it"--that this year wasn't about them, but that it could be about something so much bigger. I told this group of students that if they want to be leaders, they need to be servants--a far cry from what the world teaches us, but Jesus never really cared much about the kingdom of this world, did he? No, his model of leadership was countercultural--his model of leadership was to put himself below others in sacrificial service to them (see Phil. 2). Probably not exactly the kind of leadership that these high schoolers had in mind, but I think they see it now--there's really no other way to lead.

One of the highlights of the retreat for me was when we began to share visions of what God wanted to do in our student ministry and in our local schools. We then went to three of the most highly represented schools in our ministry, Jimtown, Penn, and Mishawaka, and we laid hands on the school buildings and prayed that God would have His way in these schools this year. I'm excited to see what might come of these prayers, and I expect that some of our students might be used in powerful ways to transform their schools. God is going to move this year! 

Jimtown High School

The students praying for Jimtown.

Praying over my alma mater, Penn High School.

Asking God to move at Mishawaka High School.

Good Times With Great Friends

This entire past weekend was spent catching up with some of my best buddies from high school. We call ourselves The Association, although a few of you lucky ones might remember that we were formerly known as the "Dawgs" some 7 or 8 years ago. But whatever you call us, we are just a group of guys who love Jesus, love each other, and love hanging out together any chance we can get (which at this point, sadly, is only about one or two weekends a year). Still, somehow, we stay connected, and when we get together it always feels like the good ol' days again...

Kyle, Michael, Ben, AC, Natedawg, Ging, Teddy

Kory, AC, Teddy, Ben, Ging, Kyle

Good times...GREAT friends!!!

Welcome to the World, Lance Michael Edison!!!

Congrats to my brother-in-law and sister, Michael and Emily Edison, on the birth of their healthy new son and my first nephew, Lance Michael Edison! After nearly 24 hours of labor (my sister is a trooper!), Lance was welcomed into the world yesterday, July 29th. Here's a sneak peak of the little rugrat...

MaxAC Buys a House!!!

After nearly one and a half years of searching for a house, the search ends at 809 33rd St. in the River Park neighborhood in South Bend. That's right...MaxAC is a homeowner! Here are the top five reasons why I absolutely love this house:

5. I can move right into it...no work needed!

4. Can't beat the location. (Just a few houses down from my brother's new place, close to friends at Bethel, close to downtown Mishawaka, close to shopping, movies, etc.)

3. Got the house for over $25,000 less than the original asking price.

2. Moving in with one of my best buddies since high school, Teddy G.

1. It's MY house!!!

All-Star Retreat

Heading off an an overnight retreat tonight with our All-Star Student Leaders for this coming school year. The goal is to cast the vision and dream dreams together with this core group of students and let them take the vision and run with it. I think God is going to show up in a big way this weekend. Can't wait! 

Highlights From Paraguay

Some highlights from my recent mission trip to Paraguay:

• Spending a day touring Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Spending time in Villarrica with the kids at Alyssa's school
• Spending the night in a Paraguayan host home with Lucas and his family
• Being reminded of my love for the Spanish language (and foreign languages in general) and getting numerous chances to practice speaking Spanish
• Teaching the kids at the church in Villarrica how to play futbol americano (and then running around for the next few hours as the kids tried to tackle me!)
• Enjoying a worship service with the believers in Kapi'i (the Gospel just reached this rural village about a year ago)
• Uniting our hearts in worship and fellowship with the SIM missionaries at the retreat
• Late night talks and royal rumble wrestling matches with the MKs
• Horseback riding outside of San Bernardino
• Hanging out with a really cool team from St. Mark
• Staying overnight in Brazil and seeing the Itaipu Dam (one of the seven wonders of the modern world) and the Iguacu Falls

Some highlights since coming home:

• Soft toilet paper
• Being able to flush my toilet paper
• Hot showers
• Water pressure
• Pizza
• Regular bowel movements (TMI, I know...)

Stay tuned...I'll be sharing some sweet pics from my trip soon!

Good Times in Paraguay!!!

Still keepin' it real down in Paraguay. You can read about it here. I'll be back in 5 days!

¡Vamos a Paraguay!

Heading off to Paraguay tomorrow with a team from the church. We will be helping to lead a conference for the SIM Missionaries serving in Paraguay. Half of our team will be providing VBS for the MKs there, while the other half of the team will be leading the worship services for the missionaries. Danielle and I have been working extremely hard to prepare hours upon hours of meaningful worship experiences for the missionaries. The goal is that they will leave the conference refreshed and renewed in their spirits so that they can continue the difficult work they are doing to reach the world for Christ. Please pray for our ministry there over the next two weeks. I will be keeping you all posted on what God is doing while we are down there in Paraguay here.