Mission Updates
July 2015 Review
As you may have read in our past few blog posts, we are continuing to adjust to the new culture, languages, and life in South Africa. Most of the time, we are successfully navigating our way through our new home town. Other times, such as in the sugar cookies incident, not so much. After the the […]
Sugar Cookies & Culture Stress
Mohammed Ali had it all wrong when he said that he “floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.” He should have said stung like a sugar cookie instead. This is because with a one-two butter-laden combo, Michele was knocked out. Michele’s plan of making sugar cookies for our dinner guests last week failed miserably because […]
May & June 2015 Review
Michele and I stand amazed that twelve weeks have passed since we set foot on the plane that took us to South Africa and into the next phase of our lives. Here we are almost three months later feeling very full and beginning to settle into a new routine in both our work and time at […]
Just Plain Different
I like to think pretend that as we walk around South Africa our family is giving off this vibe that says, “Wow, look at that peaceful, gentle, holy family full of kindness and the Holy Spirit. They must be followers of Christ and I must talk with them immediately to learn more!” I would love […]
London, A McDonald’s Milkshake & Being Culture Investigators
When we traveled through London on our way to South Africa we took in the usual tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace; Big Ben; afternoon tea; the double-decker buses; and the oldest of British traditions, McDonalds. Well admittedly McDonalds actually has nothing to do with London, but the kids appreciated a quick trip to the […]
God, Take My Ugly
Today marks the first day of Project Wurschmidt Home Upfit. We have a long list of home repairs that need to be completed before we can put it on the market to rent while we are in Africa. Leo and I have been watching the house slowly fall into disrepair over the past few years […]
Time to Remember: Why We Are Going to Senegal
We are now sixteen months into having been appointed as full-time missionaries. A lot has happened in that time and we are getting closer to hopefully setting an anticipated departure date. As we continue to work toward the time when we leave everything we’ve known behind us to head toward the work we feel God is calling […]
American Idols
Part of our training this past summer at the Center for Intercultural Training (CIT) was a daily study called Heart of the Missionary through which we examined some core issues that are critical to personal discipleship and growth. One such topic was Idolatry. At first glance, I was tempted to brush this aside, thinking that I didn’t […]
The Emotionally Healthy Me
Since being appointed last summer, Michele and I have had to complete a number of tasks as part of our pre-Senegal process. One part has been to read a number of books that relate to potential weaknesses or problems. Regardless of our life situation, identifying these potential problems is very useful. In cross-cultural missions, though, […]
God’s Breath
This morning I decided to take advantage of a rare occasion of no meetings or urgent responsibilities to go for a quick run after I dropped the kids at school. I started off strong with the wind in my face and a crispness to the air that added a spring to my step and the illusion that I […]