Keep The Wheels Turning!

I try to blame it on the fact that I have kids, and a twelve-year-old boy specifically, that I giggle like a child at bathroom jokes. You know, the ones along the vein, “Some people think it’s funny but it’s only hot and runny…”? (I admit, it’s not very mature, but stick with me and I promise this email will get meaningful.) So, a couple of weeks ago my doctor and I had a lengthy talk about diarrhea because diarrhea can be a real problem for the international traveler. Since we’re headed off to Africa, I had a few questions about what I was in for, digestionally speaking, and he seemed like the man with the answers. It took all of my concentration to keep a straight face while he explained the details of the subject while repeating “diarrhea” over and over again throughout the discussion. Deep breaths, Alyssa , I thought, you can get through this without laughing! All I could think of was how hilariously my kids would laugh at this story. But I resisted a chuckle and tried n...

Hello friends! Well, we're down to just a few weeks before we begin our adventure! We'll be leaving November 7 from Spokane and we'll be spending two weeks in Ethiopia, visiting the ministries the New Covenant Foundation supports. Much of this year, I, (Alyssa), have wondered about what purpose God has for me in making this trip . A few people have asked, "Why do both of you have to go? Why not just Angelo? What about your kids? Can you afford this?" I've certainly asked those questions myself, and honestly, I haven't had the answers. For those of you who know me well, just "Alyssa being okay with the reality of not having all the answers" is a big thing. Angelo and I would like to ask you: To Pray: for financial provision for our trip expenses and for our at-home expenses while we're away for his vision to look for ways that our friends and church family (Life Center, Spokane) can partner with God's work in Ethiopi...

Hello and blessings, friends! God is a great storyteller, isn’t he? He knows we love a great tale with relatable, developing personalities and satisfying endings. We love to struggle along with the characters and cry and rejoice with them. Hasn’t God forever been in the midst of humanity sharing in our stories and, by his grace and love, redeeming us? Perhaps it’s that thread of redemption throughout the Bible that makes it the best selling book of all time. Psalm 130:7 says, “For with the Lord there is mercy, And with him there is abundant redemption.” He is always drawing his creation back to himself. He has done that with us by redeeming our lives and giving us purpose and value and the best story to tell (Psalm 40, Colossians 3:16). In the midst of extreme poverty in Ethiopia, he is redeeming: the land, the people, the children and babies. Tucked between stacks of insurmountable statistics of malnourishment, illiteracy, poverty and AIDS are his stories ...