What a week!

Well the past week has certainly been an interesting one. After the steeple was blown off our church on Wednesday, on Thursday Natalie's brother Joel got in the worst car accident that any one in our family has ever been in. He and two of his friends were riding home in his car and before they knew it they were laying upside down in a field next to the road. They all crawled out with only scrapes and bruises. As you can tell by looking at the picture, it was definitely a miracle! Praise God!

Saturday was Aaron and Jenny Lee's wedding. It was great. We are so happy for them.

During the wedding Natalie's dad was injured while lowering a Jet-Ski off of the trailer. Ouch!

Sunday evening we had a pool and game party at the Troyer's. What a blast!

Monday morning we took a group of high school students to Teen Camp. What a week!

A Tornado in LaOtto??

What a crazy night of weather! On our way home from Vacation Bible School at church tonight we saw the freakiest sky we have ever seen. It was a dark swirling cloud line followed by a deep red sky. Natalie took some great pictures (see below).

After we got home, things really got bad in H-town. Natalie and I threw some old blankets in the bathtub in preparation for a tornado. With the sirens going off we got the dogs into the tub and Natalie waited there with them while I scoped out the situation. It was definitely the most severe possibility of a tornado since we moved into our house three years ago. Things finally settled down and we thought the action was over for the night.

NOT SO THOUGH! Little did we know that while we were preparing for the worst in Huntertown, LaOtto was experiencing it. Around 9:20 pm tonight (about 20 minutes after all the kids left from VBS and about 10 minutes after Natalie and I left the church) a tornado (we think it was a tornado) made its way through LaOtto. The church was basically unharmed except for the tree in the courtyard that received a free trim job and also our steeple, which by the way no longer exists. The tornado ripped it clean off of our building. LaOtto was a mess. We just spent the past 2 1/2 hours with some of the greatest people in the world (so many folks from our church) patching up and covering the huge hole in our roof. Hopefully all is well until morning!




As I reflect on the events of the evening, I have several observations. First, I am so thankful to my God who daily protects us and keeps us safe even when we don't realize it. Second, I am so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful church. LaOtto Wesleyan Church is one of a kind. We are so blessed to be a part of the family, and it is truly an honor to be the Senior Pastor of this unique body of believers. Natalie and I love all of you. Thanks!

God is good! We give Him our praise and thanks. Thank you Abba for loving us, for your grace, for your unending goodness to us!

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day on Sunday.

It began with a powerful time of worship Sunday morning at church as we celebrated Abba through song, testimony, teaching, and prayer.

Afterwards, we headed up to the lake to spend some time with our dads. We had a great lunch (grilled chicken, party potatoes, salad, garlic bread, and strawberry pie) thanks to Holly, and despite the rain were able to play some games and spend some time riding the jet ski.

It was a great day. Natalie and I both appreciate our fathers deeply and thank our heavenly Father for giving us the dads that we have.

Fun Time with the Bakers

Well as predicted the Wards and the Lees (to be) had a great time at the Baker house Friday night. We enjoyed some homemade Casa salad, pizza, pop, and cookies. Then it was go time as we played a game of Pounce (Double Solitaire) which the two pastors in the room dominated. It got pretty competitive though. I think every team had at least one chance to call pounce (even Greg - see video below). After Pounce it was out to the campfire for conversation and smores. Thanks for a great night!

Video of "Pounce" with the Bakers

Back to work...

Well after a very relaxing and refreshing week of vacation last week, it was back to work this week. It proved to be a busy one as our new youth pastor at church began on Monday June 5th. Pastor Aaron joined our staff this week and is off to a great start!

It was great to see his passion, his vision, and his enthusiasm for influencing the lives of middle and high school students in our church and community. He's going to do a great job, and I am very excited to be working with him. Thanks for a great week Aaron!

Natalie spent some time Tuesday night at a "Women Only Pool Party" with some women from our church. She had a great time (I hear she was the "laugh" of the party - no surprise there though!) Kudos to Kathy for putting that together. It really is rewarding to do life together.

So two neighbor girls distributed posters last week advertising their lawn mowing services for the summer. We decided to have them mow every other week (YES!!) So they mowed today (what a relief). They did a nice job. Thanks girls. NOTE: Please don't consider me too lazy...we're just trying to be good neighbors helping these girls make a little extra spending money :-)

We've got lots of graduation activities to attend this weekend. We will be sure to post pictures later. Also, the Wards and the Lees (soon to be) will be eating pizza and playing games with the Bakers tonight...definitely looking forward to it (pictures will follow as well).

Happy Anniversary!

Natalie and I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday May 31st. To celebrate this year we spent the week at the Spaw family lake cottage. It was a great opportunity to enjoy each other and to get away from the busyness of life.

We had no cable, no internet, only a beautiful piece of God's creation to enjoy. How relaxing and refreshing it was. It was a great opportunity for us to refocus our marriage and to be reminded of just how much we love each other. It's hard to believe it's been three years already. It certainly has gone by fast and has been full of life and activity. We look forward to many more wonderful years together.

Thank you to Natalie's parents for letting us use the cottage. It was a gift that is appreciated beyond words. Also thanks to Natalie's grandparents who took us out for a wonderful meal and played some very competive card games with us.