From the mind of Ben Nunes
Photo creds: Mark Wilson
I am a small group leader.
I co-lead with 2 other awesome adults, and we have the unique ability to bring all of our experiences together seamlessly and serve a group of high school guys who like to call themselves the 429 Tribe. This tribe has been around for almost 6 years now, and even though the name wasn’t established until last year these guys have owned up to the idea of being special, being brave, and being bold. Continue Reading…
Before the holidays last year, Kim and I decided we wanted to lead a short term mission trip to Costa Rica. Shortly after we decided to make 2015 the year we start our adoption process. Both of these events would require some pretty big financial requests from our friends and family. Up until now, we didn’t think about the effects it might have when asking for financial support for the mission trip and our adoption costs. So because we value our family and friendships, we have decided against leading the mission trip with Transit this summer. Our requests for helping fundraise the adoption would be our main focus. This decision didn’t come easily as we both love leading people to experience serving in a new country, we just wanted to be 100% sure we were doing our part in being the best stewards of our relationships. Continue Reading…
The bus arrives, he gets off the bus, and I see him looking at me across the street. His eyes telling me the beginning of a story, before even opening his mouth.
“Dad, this boy poked me in the eye at lunch on purpose, and then this other older boy was messing with me on the bus. I kept telling him to stop, and tried to not sit near him but he followed me, and then pushed my head into the window. These boys pick on a lot of us in the front.”
With tears in his eyes and a quivering lip he stood there on the sidewalk next to me, and waited until the bus passed. I responded by giving him a hug and saying, “buddy.”
I didn’t know what else to say, so I just asked him how he dealt with it and kept trying to encourage him and let him know it’s not his fault some boys choose to be mean, even when he is trying to be nice. In the middle of it all I gave him a little taste of a story I was reminded of in the recent movie American Sniper. As the story goes, I told him about three different types of people: Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs… Continue Reading…
To answer this question presented to us through Andy Stanley’s series at the beginning of the year, I guess I could spend some time listing what bothers me, or another way of answering could even be writing about what seems unfair or unjustified. But instead I want to talk about what bothers me enough to do something about it.
Without thinking about it too long, the idea of being selfish definitely fits within the parameters of the question. Although I am guilty of being selfish more times than I would like to admit, I want to be specific by saying the selfishness I see from myself and others when it comes to parenting is what breaks my heart. I mentioned in this post how I fear I am just standing by watching life happen, and although it still rings true to a certain extent I don’t feel as though I give myself enough credit. Continue Reading…
A couple of Sundays ago, Kim and I got to sit in a meeting for parents of Inside Out students who wish to travel abroad, and since this year Kiersten decided to apply for a trip to Haiti, we had to attend.
It. Was. Nerve-wracking!
A part of me just wants to crack the whip and completely forbid her from going, and a bigger part of me rejoices about the fact she did this on her own. Without her parents.
Sheesh.
So not only are Kim and I heading to Costa Rica again, our oldest baby girl will be doing her own thing in Haiti. How crazy.
We’re all extremely excited as this will be such a great experience, but with three people in the family wanting to go on mission trips, this means triple the cost. So, we need support. Lots of it.
Here’s a basic snippet from both of the trips:
