Jess planted our first ever garden this year and we’ve already enjoyed the fresh spinach, lettuce, and radishes from of it. Just over our back fence we’ve got a crop of corn growing (last year it was pumpkins) and so we asked Jude a few weeks back what he thinks will be sprouting up soon.

I guess the new Transformers movie is so terrible a Transformer decided to commit suicide.

This last weekend was the Basketball Mardi Gras in Spokane - otherwise known as Hoopfest. They claim to be the biggest 3 on 3 tourney in the country and about half of the congregation at our church participated.

If anyone wants to be on my team next year holla.

This weekend we’re going to attempt our first camping trip with the two boys. Should be fun/interesting/sleep deprived. Can’t wait. Pictures and stories of mayhem to follow.

Having lived in a pretty hippy, earthy community in Nor Cal I remember hearing about protests against Genetically Modified Foods but I’ve never known what the big deal is until Jess and I watched a freaky (and poorly narrated) documentary. If you eat food, I highly recommend that you watch it…

Some highlights:
Big evil companies now have the ability to patent genes. Once patented, farmers have to actually pay to grow food. Other genes like the one for breast cancer have been patented which have created barriers for researching cures and treatments.

Part of the genetic modifications include inserting things like ecoli bacteria and antibiotics into your food. Yummy. Now I can enjoy my cereal and be cured of hepatitis.

Another modification is a patented gene called the suicide gene which causes crops to die after producing, forcing farmers to buy new seeds for the next year. Our government is a co-owner of this patent.

There is no regulation, no testing, and no labeling of GMO foods in the USA. Congratulations! You and I are the test. I can’t wait to see what happens.

P.S. Dozens of countries (like all of Europe) at the very least, label genetically modified food, if not ban it altogether. But we’re smarter than them.

We just got back from a week in my home town/area and had a great time seeing family and some friends. This could potentially be the last time my whole fam is in the same place at the same time for quite a while so we tried our best to take advantage of the time, which unfortunately meant that we weren’t able to get together with as many friends as we’d like.

The whole trip was basically a week long family party that consisted of eating a ton of great food, playing music, golfing, bowling, and hitting a few of our favorite spots in Humboldt. Having left the area over a year and a half ago there are really only 3 things I miss.

1. Family and Friends
2. The Ocean
3. The Redwoods.

These things will always keep me coming back to visit over the years, although being a 12 hour drive away (or an expensive plane ticket) will probably keep those trips from being very frequent.

Jess will be putting up some pictures of this trip on our family blog for those interested.

The last couple of months have been crazy, primarily because of the new member of our family. Having two boys is incredible but it’s caused me to shift where I spend my time. Now that Summer is here things are switching up a bit and although I won’t be any less busy overall, it’ll be more in spurts so I hope to start keeping this blog more up to date with thoughts and such. I’ve been in a bit of a writers block the last year or so and hope to use some short thoughts here to jump start my brain a bit.

What’s on my mind:
My recent visit to Humboldt
Turning 30
Going to China in August
Iran/North Korea
Faith, Ministry, Calling, Vision

Posts to follow shortly.

Ahhhhhhhh

We are excited to share with you an exciting opportunity Andrew has to lead a team from our church back to the Philip Hayden Foundation orphanage (PHF) this August! This is the orphanage we were both at last November just outside of Beijing. The children and the work there captured our hearts and we knew as soon as we got home we’d start planning the next trip back. This time Jess will stay home with the boys, but we hope to go back as a family in a couple years. Andrew will be taking 13 people from our church, a mix of all ages and stages in life – some of whom are students in our youth group, which is really exciting.

As you might remember from our last letter, PHF cares for special needs children with anything from cleft lip and palette to heart problems, deformities, etc. They have a team of doctors, surgeons, special needs teachers, and other volunteers working to care for these abandoned children. Chinese nannies give daily care and are there for long, consistent amounts of time which helps the children feel stable and secure. Our hearts were especially touched by these children labeled ‘special needs’. After one day of being at the orphanage we realized that although they may have some major health challenges they are like any other child- just wanting to play, laugh, be loved and cared for. You can see PHF’s website and read more info online at www.chinaorphans.org.

This summer’s ministry will consist of helping care for the children and running a day camp for them. The staff of PHF also expressed their desire to have us help teach the nannies how to play with the children for emotional and physical growth and emotional connection. Because PHF is a privately funded orphanage depending entirely on support from donors to operate, we will also be lending a hand and doing practical work that needs to be done around the facility that they don’t have the resources to tackle.

We are choosing to invest in an ongoing basis in the work done at PHF and have a desire to see the needs of these children met and the vision of PHF furthered not only for the children in their care but the surrounding area as well as China as a whole. Yes- we are dreaming big, and hoping God can use us in even a small way in the work already going on in China as well as the radical impact this work will have on our team, church, and community.

We ask for your prayer support- remembering our team as we prepare to go. We also need to raise $2000 for Andrew to lead this outreach. If you feel able and moved to give there are two ways you can do this- by sending us a (tax deductible) check made out to ‘Liberty Lake Community Church’ and the memo line reading ‘China Outreach’, or you can donate online.

Thanks for being a part of our lives and the work done at PHF!
In Him, Andrew

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.”
- Jesus, Matthew 25:40