Scott and Tricia Kennedy entered our lives through an email. Friends of theirs, who attend one of our supporting churches, Church of the Hills, in Duluth, GA, suggested Scott and Tricia contact us upon learning their adoption journey would lead them to St. Petersburg. Last winter Tricia wrote to us explaining they would arrive in…

It’s finally springtime, and we are approaching our one year anniversary in St. P. It feels like we are emerging from our winter cocoon, just like the trees and flowers. Reflecting on the school year, we notice the kids’ growth and development in particular. And they are thriving just like the blossoms and new leaves.…

By the end of college I knew that my music degree was not what God was calling me to use professionally. Where I ended up instead was doing camp counseling and then outdoor education for the next year, experience that marked me for life. Among the ways in which this time impacted me was what…

The Orthodox, and even the Protestants here, celebrate Easter on the Eastern calendar. So we’ve taken that up too, and it fell on April 27th this year. Here was my cool idea for a game for my kids, that ended up drawing the other kids in our courtyard in as well:I don’t really go for…

Diana and I had the joy of hosting a young fellow in our home from Georgia – the country – back in 1994-95. We were living in married student housing on the campus of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, where I was a student. David’s father had been the minister of Justice…

I put out this note recently to a local email group of mainly missionaries in St. Petersburg: There are a lot of us who care about the orphans in and around St. Petersburg. But it’s becoming clear to me that the situation ischanging, and our data is quickly becoming out of date. At the monthly…

The following is from our mission’s Lenten Devotional Series for this year that I wrote. CRM Lent DevotionalBrought to you by CRM Empowering Leaders Scripture Reading – Day 19 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of…

Despite the fact that family/team ministry is where I want to go with our crew, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of what this really means. Why is having a ministry as a family important? First of all, I think it’s a forgotten biblical value. God’s mandate to Adam was for Eve…

I wrote my last post about our new ministry at the orphanage nearby just minutes before leaving for my first class teaching English there. I knew nothing of these children and wished I had hindsight right then and there. Well, now I have some hindsight and several stories under my belt. Here’s a recap:week 1:…

I wrote in February about the extraordinary means that the Lord used to show me that He had His finger on this one young woman – of all the hundreds of beggars around the city – for us to establish a relationship with. That process has now evolved from fleeting moments and faith to reality.…