Full-Time Program!

    I promise you, despite how terrified I look in this picture, I'm actually thrilled to let you all know that I am officially back full-time at program working with at-risk teenagers!!!!!! God has richly blessed me and Emily with so much love and support over the last four months. The whole support-raising process has been new and stretching to us, but we have time and time again seen the hand of God moving. 

    I still have not reached my full target of support yet, but I you all have sent in enough support that they have allowed me back to Plymouth and to my guys! So, with that, I will still be continuing to raise support as I transition back into working full-time in ministry. If you are still feeling led to give and have not been able to do so, you've not missed the boat. Much like a full-time missionary, my support is on-going, so I even after I do reach my official target, I will always welcome new friends and family who want to support me!

    I want to thank you for all of your prayers, emails, meetings, cups of coffee, and encouragement over these few months. I also want to invite you to pray for the hurting teenagers with whom I am now working. Pray that God's Spirit would be moving in them and through me as He draws us to Himself. 

   Again, thank you so much, and I'm so excited that I'm back full-time!!!

Our New Hobby

   Some of my favorite hobbies include playing guitar, painting, and writing. However, a new hobby I have begun developing is of a daily benefit to both me and Emily. Every morning we enjoy a cup of coffee to start off the day. I'd done some researching into ways to make a great cup of coffee. It started off with a Chemex coffee brewer. The more and more research I did, the more I heard about people who roast their own coffee in-home. This intrigued me. Eventually I convinced Emily to let me give it a try.
    There are several ways to home-roast. You can buy fancy machines that cost anywhere from $100-$1000, or you can employ different manual methods. You can simply use a baking sheet and oven, a cast iron pan, a stove-top popcorn roaster, or my current (and very elementary) method: the air popcorn popper.

The great thing about this method is how easily you can find an air popper in thrift/discount stores, making this hobby much more cost effective. Once I had a roaster, I needed to find a place to buy some green (unroasted) coffee beans. I'm still deciding on my preferred store, but three i have used so far are www.sweetmarias.com, www.burmancoffee.com, and www.paradiseroasters.com. Between online sales, bulk shipping discounts, etc. I usually am able to get my coffee for around $5.50/lb on average.

Here are some pictures of a Guatemalan Antigua Finca "Colombia" batch I roasted last week:

   Emily and I love peeking open the jar a few hours after the roast. I never smelled fresh coffee until I started roasting it myself. So many complex aromas, each origin and blend smelling so different. I usually give the freshly roasted beans between 12-24 hours of a resting period. This method combined with my Chemex brewer means that we get to drink some of the best coffee we've ever tasted every morning. What's more, it's even cheaper than cheap and burnt beans like at the supermarket and chain coffee shops.

TWO YEARS!

Although I am far from fully understanding her, big part of me feels like I've known Emily, my wife, forever. We have so many memories of being together, learning each other, and growing in love and devotion to one another, not the least of which is our engagement (one year ago on thursday!) and wedding (seven months ago yesterday). However, today is the TWO YEAR anniversary of us meeting as we boarded a plane to Israel!

HOLY COW! We've both concluded that it is amazing how close we are to each other today when we've literally only known of each others' existence for two years. God has shown us time and time again how His paths for our lives individually brought us together, walking down the same road today. His blessings, wisdom, and grace abound!

Here's a few pictures documenting some of our last two years together!

So blessed.