This is Joel's Old Blog

Chicago beat the Colts in super bowl XLI?

if you know me, I am not a big football fan but I did enjoy seeing the Colts win last years superbowl and pulled off some great games and finally beating the bears in Miami.

do you ever wonder where the t-shirts end up that are no good?  They end up in orphanages like this one in Zimbabwe... This boy did not know but was sure proud of his T-shirt..We were told that it came from World Vision....

2 Different worlds of suffering

Last week while I was in Zimbabwe, we were discussing the difference in 2 realities within Africa and many parts of the world.  This issue is true for 2 regions where ServLife is engagin (Sudan refugees and Zimbabwe)  What  condition is more hopeless?   People who have experienced a society of abudance and prosperity but the economy collapses and people live with little certainty of the future/stability  OR   a society that has only known harsh and extreme poverty and has never lived within a society of prosperity or opportunity (Sudan Refugess)?

Each place faces hopelesness and despair, but can you measure one place in a better position or worse position than the other? this contrast has puzzled my mind in recent days...

back from africa

We have returned to Indianapolis from our journey to Zimbabwe and south Afirca. Thank you to Steve and Amy Nicholson for hosting and guiding us.   We returned from summer in the southern hemisphere to cold and snow in the mid-west.     The couple in this photo are the pastor and his wife who hosted us in Zimbabwe.  We are hoping to pick up some children in the region in ServLIfe's sponsorship in the months ahead -

Thank  you for your prayers for Elise and I. 

ahh Africa...

        More to come...

$133 bottle of Coke

No wonder that Zimbabwe is in a major plight of confusion.  If you were to fly into the country and know no better, you would exchange at the airport banks and get 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars for $1 US.  Go and by a bottle of coke and you pay 4 million Zimbabwe dollars.  Yes, that is right --  The economy has collapsed.   Most do go to the “black market” and exchange $1 US for 7.5 million Zim dollars

Applause for the King's soldiers around the world..

The plane erupted in applause from Indy to Atlanta... We did not know why but when asked the person in front of us why, they said that their were US  army soldiers heading to Afghanistan. ..The plane celebrated and cheared them on.

I thought of all the soldiers in the world not fighting for a gov't but for the King of Kings who are never encouraged, affirmed, and applauded for.   A host in Heaven applaud for our brothers and sisters who are laying their lives down and proclaiming the gospel in word and deed and being a voice to the voiceless -

Off to Africa

The past few weeks have been pretty full of travel.   Today, Elise and I head to Africa.   We value your prayers. We will be with ServLife staff in the region and be going to Zimbwawe and South Africa -  Much ground work has been done to expand the work of ServLife in the region.

We request your prayers