Minutes by Minute

It's now been more than five years since I began working with Praying Pelican Missions full time.... Since going on my first trip in 2005 to a little village that many of us have grown fond of over the years- Bermudian Landing, God laid missions on my heart and made clear to me that I'd always be involved in missions and serving the world's less fortunate. In Bermudian Landing's church in 2005 I preached my first sermon and probably led a group or congregation in worship for the first time in my life. I reflect on the story Jason Swartz shared at our 2013 staff leadership conference about how his team in 2005 serving at Bermudian Landing got to church and there was no one at the church, so the team gathered to worship, and eventually wound up attending another church. Although my version of the story is slightly different, the facts are the same. I remember at one point the bus running out of road and turning back the other direction! I was indeed a participant on t...

Last weekend the PPM family gathered in Minneapolis, MN for our annual training conference. We were joined by 100+ leaders throughout the United States who sacrifice their time and resources to make PPM what it is- an organization desiring to serve God through partnerships with local churches and by providing cross cultural missions experiences for groups from the United States. We had the honor of hosting a number of international pastors and staff as well, with leaders traveling from as close as down the road in Minneapolis and as far away as South Africa.Our weekend was filled with spiritual and hands on training to prepare our leaders to effectively mobilize our mission groups and make the best use of the resources God has entrusted to us. As the summer draws near, I'm excited specifically for our ministry in Jamaica. I'll have the opportunity to directly lead four mission trips in Jamaica, while overseeing our entire operation on the island. All in all, PPM will host ove...

Over the past ten years I've served with local churches in Belize and Jamaica after getting my feet wet on a short term mission trip to Honduras while I was in high school. Much of my time and thoughts these days go into what we're doing in Jamaica, how to get more teams involved, and how we can glorify God and expand his Kingdom on the island while striving to support local communities throughout the country. A few years ago this guy named Christopher Coke popped up all over the news. I knew almost nothing about him until the stories broke. Coke was a Jamaican drug lord who led the 'shower posse' gang which was started by his father. The Jamaican government was made aware that the United States had a warrant out for Coke's arrest due to his responsibility for a hefty drug operation in New York. After months of Coke running from authorities and tension throughout the city of Kingston, Coke was arrested in July of 2010. John McAfee is the founder of McAfee anti-...

Please disregard my blog from earlier today- it was meant for my fantasy football league and I posted it to the wrong blog! It's like 60 degrees here today. So warm in fact that I was able to make another nice dent in my ongoing garage project! As we head into Thanksgiving next week, I thought a blog would be appropriate to focus on what I'm thankful for! My savior- His death, resurrection, grace and mercy! My wife My family Great friends Our amazing puppy Chiquita! A job with PPM that is about changing lives A Christ centered church The blessing to be active in sports and activities and to be generally healthy Dave Ramsey, haha! Minnesota Public Radio. Strange- I know. But it's true Heat during Minnesota winters and lakes during Minnesota summers! A certain football team in Green Bay, Wisconsin Our house- a place to call home A future of glorifying God in everything and being used by Him! So many more things that there are to give thanks for! Just gra...

Jamaica is famous for Sandy beaches. That meant an entirely different thing for the island when hurricane Sandy barreled through on the eastern side of the island during the middle of last week. Unfortunately, one elderly man lost his life in the storm. I have not heard of other fatalities in Jamaica tied to Hurricane Sandy. However, the damage reported in three parishes (St. Mary, Portland, and St. Thomas) is extensive.  I have talked with a pastor who lives in St. Andrew, north of Kingston. Even there the damage is very bad. Many residents in that area rely on public transportation to take them on a 45 minute ride down into the city for work. Since Wednesday last week they've been stranded without power or running water. The road is blocked to the city still and they don't expect power to return for at least another week. This pastor shared with me that his church buildings are safe and undamaged, but that many of his church members lost roofs in the storm. The loss of ro...

I'm an ideas guy. I love new ideas and I love improving ways of doing things. The idea of making something simpler, creating a new product or service, or improving on a process excites me. I'm also a fan of cool TV shows. One of my favorite shows from the past few years is called Shark Tank. It's on ABC on Friday nights and is followed by one of my other favorite shows called What Would You Do? The concept of Shark Tank is simple. A panel of wealthy investors welcome entrepreneurs who present their product or service to the sharks. The sharks listen to the presentations, drill the entrepreneurs with questions and attempt to poke holes through their concepts while analyzing the prospect of a successful investment in their companies. Inventors and small business owners come to the sharks with ideas ranging from bakeries to workout videos, from new pickup truck bed products to concierge services. The idea is awesome, educational, and exciting to watch. One lesson I tak...

Currently I'm sitting in a Caribou in Spring Lake Park, MN, not far from my home in Blaine, MN. Actually, I'm about a mile from where our old PPM office used to be and my car is in the same parking lot where our old office used to be. That's because I got to know a guy a few doors down when our office was located there who was doing some small business car sales and repairs. Turns out he persevered and continued his hard work and he now has like 5 or 6 other employees and a booming business of used car sales and a mechanic shop in the same lot where our old office is. I've stayed in touch with him and he's my go-to guy when it comes to car trouble or car buying!  My 2001 Buick Regal is in the shop. It's getting a bit old. I got it in 2007 after my 1995 Oldsmobile 88 died while I was on a trip to Minnesota during college. I've driven my Buick for five years now. My goal is seven years, meaning I need to keep it going until 2014. I drove my previous car for ...