New to the Family!!!

April 28, 2013

We had been waiting to hear it all morning and then there it was… the togui. Paska blew the conch shell (“togui”), the weekly signal to everyone who attends our gathering on Sunday that it was time for us to start. This was the day, the day that months of teaching had led up too, […]

In Remembrance of Me

March 29, 2013

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” -Luke 22:19 Last night our family had the Passover Seder (a shortened and modified version). It was a little late, but fit nicely with […]

Shadowing Jude

January 26, 2013

The best way I have found to slow Jude down while on a walk through our village is to make him wear shoes. 🙂 Only while his feet are constrained to civilized attire will he actually WALK with me (as opposed to run) as we visit our friends here. Life is like that for Jude-full […]

Growing Along with Each Other

December 29, 2012

I try to never work out. I think I am allergic to physical activity. Anytime I exert energy, I break out in sweat and my heart starts racing, not to mention I feel out of breath. Afterwards, the next day, my muscles feel sore. Recently, however, I got my hands on some professional jump ropes […]

A Very Good Place to Start

August 31, 2012

Maria was right. The beginning is a very good place to start. “Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do” were the first musical notes the Vontrap family children needed to master to become the talented group of singers they would later become. In the classic film The Sound of Music, Maria knew that before […]

These Are A Few of My Favorite Truths

August 9, 2012

When you walk into our home, the first thing that might catch your eye is the large painting that greets you upon your entrance. Beth painted it several months ago and it serves not only as decoration for an otherwise boring wall, but as a vital reminder to us about what is most important in […]

Great(er) Expectations

April 24, 2012

Beth and I enjoyed some small talk with our premarital counselors Todd & Ruth Ann. We were still a couple of months away from our wedding, and each session of premarital counseling brought us closer and closer to the big day. We had asked them to do our counseling since we had observed their marriage […]

This Little Light of Mine

February 26, 2012

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…” (2 Cor. 2:15) We have been in Tigak language & culture study now for nearly three months, and it is tempting to feel like we are still waiting for our “real ministry” to begin. […]

Normal.

January 22, 2012

I’m sitting at our table clicking away on my laptop and I just watched two of our neighbors walk by carrying huge branches on their shoulders slung with dozens of coconuts. Yes it’s true, life here is “different.” We’ve shared a lot about the differences of our lives now that we live in a village […]

Free… to Live for Him

January 21, 2012

Trusting in Jesus Christ isn’t a matter of being perfect, its a matter of being forgiven for being imperfect. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn […]