Hello everyone!  

Below is my December update about how work with Adventures in Missions is going, what Courtney and I have been doing, and more! Thanks for reading!  

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Courtney and I....  

-Courtney and I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic through our church, Brookside Church. It was awesome to get back overseas and onto the mission field again! The two words we came up with to describe the trip were “confirming” and “refocusing”. This trip just confirmed that we absolutely want to serve God in missions for the rest of our lives, and it also was a good time to refocus and remember the why behind what we do!  

-We were able to build some really sweet relationships with the locals in the rural village we were working in. Almost everyone that we talked to was excited to see us, and wanted to hear more about Jesus and the Bible, since it isn’t the easiest for them to get their own Bible. Much of what we were teaching and discussing was brand new to the houses that Courtney and I visited, and they loved hearing and discussing it! 

-The missionary family we stayed with has roots with both Brookside and Adventures in Missions, so that is a neat ‘coincidence’. It was really awesome to get to see a family living overseas doing missions, and to just get to ask some questions and figure out how they make it work. 

-Courtney and I are in preliminary discussions to go back to the Dominican Republic, for a longer time period, and train underneath this missionary couple. We really love their ministry and the ways that God is using them, and we think it would be wise to learn from them about how to have a successful ministry and also have a great family life at the same time. So pray that God would open the doors that need to be opened to make that happen! 

-Courtney and I were able to spend Christmas here in Nebraska with her family. I think this was the first Christmas in 5 years that both Courtney (missions) and her brother (military) were home! 

-Courtney and I are both ‘experience’ people and not really big ‘gift’ people, and so we decided to do a little getaway as our Christmas gift to each other. We went to a tiny little town in Nebraska and stayed on a boat that has been converted into a hotel on the Missouri River. It was fun to spend intentional time together and get away from the city/suburbs. 

-I have started a Men’s Basketball Group at our church, so every Sunday night we get together and play. The group is growing and I am hoping it becomes something that God uses to connect men in the church and to reach more men in the surrounding community! 

Adventures in Missions

-As far as my job goes, I received some encouraging feedback that I’ve been doing well so far, and so I was asked to take on the other longer-term programs as well. So beginning in January, I started helping with the World Race 11n11 (the trip I did in 2017 for 21-35 year olds) and Semesters (3-4 month trips for college-age) programs, in addition to Gap Year. Previously, I owned the Logistics and Finance side of things for 3 Gap Year squads. Now, I own the Logistics and Finance portion for 3 Gap Year squads and 2 11n11 squads, in addition to helping with the Finance side of things for 3 more 11n11 squads and 3 Semesters squads.

-All of that to say, it’s been a little crazy so far, so just trying to get our project management tool built out so that we can just follow a general template and complete the tasks, instead of trying to remember every little detail of all 11 squads.

-Overall, I’m really enjoying the challenge of trying to do my part for all 11 squads, and I’m excited to see how we’re able to continue to improve processes as we strive to be the best that we can operationally. I truly hope and pray that what I'm doing behind the scenes allows the participants to focus more on the who (God) and less on the how (logistics)! 

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Thanks for reading our December update!  

*Courtney and I are continuing to prepare for the future and develop partnerships with people who believe in what we are doing and who want to support what God is doing in our lives. If you would like to be a part of what God is doing, please message/call Courtney or I, or comment below. If you would like to be a financial partner, you can give by clicking the “Donate” link at the top of the page. Thanks for all your support!