On The Other Side of the Tracks

What would you do if you woke up one day to the following situation? You do not have your identification, car, job, or cell phone. The only thing you have on you is $3. You need to get into a court ordered detox program because of your alcoholism and fourth DUI. You have two kids at home who need someone to watch them while you are gone for treatment. You only have a few hours to get this process started and you must still eat today.

I am currently a member of the 2007 Leadership Lebanon Valley Class. This is a group of about 36 individuals throughout the Lebanon Valley. We are a mixture of business and community members who are learning how to become better leaders. We meet once monthly to discuss the happenings of our community and to learn how we can take a leadership role in seeing them improve. The above paragraph is the situation that I faced a few weeks ago.

It was a comfort to know that I only had to endure that situation for four hours. It was not comfortable having to ask for help from others. My pride kept me from this on several occassions. This experiment helped me to see the plight of the some 43 million working poor in our country. Sometimes it is easier to call someone lazy or unmotivated rather than try to see life from their point of view. I hope we can all take the time to consider those in our community who are struggling and do something about it.

Mystery Mail

About a month ago I received an email from a man named John Nat Kissi. He asked me to come to Ghana to preach and help with the ministry there. I was flattered by the invitation, but had no clue who he was. I took the academic route and did research on him and the work over there. I was astonished to find out how much God is doing over there. The church there is reaching many people. The church has activities planned every night of the week. It is hard enough to get us Americans together more than once a week. They are good about accountability with their membership. I believe that this could be a great learning experience.

After talking with the leadership of my congregation it was decided that I will be going to Ghana from Oct. 21-30, 2007. I am very excited about this opportunity and looking forward to being used by God in this way. I will soon begin fundraising for this trip. If you are interested in helping fund this mission work please feel free to contact me about this.


I have previously had the opportunity to work in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Canada. I really enjoyed the work these ministries provided. I am a bit nervous about the Ghana trip due to how far it will be. I found out that my flight would be 15 hours each way and that Ghana is 5 hours ahead of my current time zone. I am anticipating some great jet lag from this trip. Please be praying for my preparation for the trip, the congregation in Ghana, the hearts of those who I will work with, and the success of the fundraising. God bless.