Earlier this year I decided to start vlogging instead of just writing blogs. I’m still trying to get the hang of it. One reason for this change was to give others an opportunity to experience the amazing places I get to visit and people I work with. Unfortunately, here in Asia I am not able to disclose many of our field personnel due to safety measures but I can share the beauty of God’s creation like here in Thailand!
This week is the annual UWM Asia Conference and here is an update of me sharing what I have been able to experience and get out of this time. Thank you for following along!
I am learning that in the fall my travel schedule will be mainly domestic events. These travels consist of meeting with church leaders, other mission organizations, universities, and missionaries that are in the States for home ministry assignment (all that means is they are meeting up with supporters, churches, and family/friends).
Last week I was in Pittsburgh with an organization that we at UWM partner with called GoCorps. It was a week of training some of our new young missionaries and planning for future work together. GoCorps connects Christian young adults with ways they can use their degree overseas along side strategic long-term projects. We partner with GoCorps to mobilize Goers to those beyond the current reach of the gospel by recruiting young adults from all career interests to serve globally using their marketplace skills for two years among the least reached and those in extreme poverty.
Goers serve in the hardest places where culture, history and economics have converged to leave generations without access to a culturally relevant understanding of the gospel. Goers are often the first to tell those in the city that they are placed in, about the good news of life in Jesus Christ. They get the opportunity to work alongside long term seasoned missionaries to reach the most unreached in the world.
It is exciting to help recent college grads and young professionals serve the Lord among the nations with the skills and experience He has giving them!
That isn’t smoke, it is midst rising from the falls. You can see it from miles away.
Every couple of years we gather all of our missionaries from around the African continent for what we call conference. This is a time of renewal, rest, realignment. This was my first time attending the UWM African Conference and it was held in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe…It’s actually called the Afro Conference but I just can’t bring myself to call it that :)… This was my first chance to meet many of these missionaries. I have talked on the phone, Skype, and emailed most of them but there is nothing like face to face time! I spend almost every minute of this week meeting with people to hear their stories, getting to know them, finding out ways I can better serve them, and praying for them. They are long days and I am always exhausted by the time I get back on my plane to head home but I wouldn’t want it any other way! I love what I do!
The Baobab is also called the upside-down tree because when bare of leaves, the spreading branches of the Baobab look like roots sticking up into the air, as if it had been planted upside-down. – This isn’t even the largest of their kind!
I had an opportunity to speak to 3 different groups while I was there and give a brief presentation on how we were going to serve them and their ministries better. My number one goal was to connect with them personally and have them leave feeling like I was for them and their ministry. By the power of the Holy Spirit it went great! I was able to gain their trust, let them see my passion for Africa, and begin building a strong relationship with them. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Psalm 66:3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works! Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You. 4″All the earth will worship You, And will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.”
I was texting Lara one day to tell her how the day was going and she said, “You have the best job in the world!” I think it was because I mentioned to her that I was standing at the glorious Victoria Falls having a delicious cappuccino. My “job” is pretty awesome! I get to travel to amazing places, meet awesome people, help others achieve their dreams, passions, and calling, and I have the privilege of seeing/being a part of the Church taking action by equipping leaders, establishing new churches, and engaging in holistic ministries.
Some crazy, fun parts of my trip to Zimbabwe were:
Two of the great minds and missional hearts that I get to serve alongside! Kevin (expansion) and Tom (strategy)
visiting Victoria Falls – it is mind-blowing at how grand and beautiful it really is!!! NO WORDS!
eating some wild game like buffalo, crocodile (taste like tough chicken), warthog (the best meat I have ever tasted! So tender you need no knife), antelope, ox tail (fatty, I do not recommend it), ox liver (not bad), some other animals liver, and a couple other ones.
rafting sown the mighty Zambezi – No joking here, I thought at one moment I had taken my final breath of air while being tossed around a whirl pool in a class 5 rapid! It was an amazing experience after that! The hike in and out of the gorge was pretty awesome too!
watching elephants from the deck just before dinner come to the watering hole in large herds!
watching the sunrise over the African plain each morning!
Sunrise from my room
One of my favorite pictures! This is the sunset on the Zambezi river.
taking a sunset cruise on the Zambezi leaves you breathless!
Shortly after snapping this picture this little guy attacked me! I was definitely more scared of him than he was of me!
Watching monkeys jump in your room to steal food or jump up on the table in the restaurant to grab the sugar packets never gets boring.
Africa always seems to surprise me with its beauty and awaken my soul to the voice of God. The sights, sounds, smells, taste, and people refresh me every time and leave me wondering when the Father is going to ask my family and I to move there. But until then I am choosing to enjoy this wonderful
journey that He so faithfully is leading me on! Jeremiah 1:4Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
To all of you who prayed for me and for my family during this time I want to say Thank You!
Have you ever meet someone who you are consistently amazed by? I have someone like that in mind. Mark. He is my immediate director at United World Mission, but he is much more than just a boss. Mark is a super hero! He has travelled to and helped set up ministry in over 80 countries, recruited 100’s of people to go to the nations as missionaries, started schools, seminaries, and training facilities on multiple continents, raised 1000’s of dollars for ministry purposes that he has simply given away. And did I mention he played a huge role in saving UWM around 20 years ago from completely going under and being nonexistent. This is the guy that pursued me for this role I have at UWM and this guy along with the leading of the Spirit of the Lord is the reason I took this “job”/ministry position at UWM.
It was exactly 1 year ago today that I meet Mark. I had inquired online about some mission trips and opportunities through United World Mission a week before. Mark emailed me and asked if I wanted to get lunch sometime the next week. I was taking a day off of work to hang out with my oldest son, Mac, and if someone wanted to buy us lunch, I was all in. I knew Mac wouldn’t care because we were meeting at a favorite BBQ spot. – This is the same kid that told his doctor at age 3 that his favorite food was “MEAT!” – We ate, talked about life and missions, and got to know one another for a little over an hour. By the end of our conversation Mark asked me if I would come work for him. I was completely surprised and quickly shared that I enjoyed my current ministry. “Thank you but no thanks.” That wasn’t the end of the conversation as I would learn over the next 7 weeks. This guy saw something in me and the more we met the more this passion for missions would build inside of me.
Now after working with Mark for over 9 months I can honestly say, this guy cares about other people! Not like some of us say we care about people but he actually puts it into action. Mark is one of the most selfless guys I know. His motto for his life is, “I help others succeed”. And he means it. I know I can tend to care more about me getting recognized or getting what I deserve many days, and in the 9 months that I have worked closely with Mark I have never seen that in him. I have seen the opposite. He goes out of his way for others…daily!
I count it a blessing and privilege to serve under someone like this! I know that I have much to learn and this is the kind of person and leader I want to glean from! He is a huge blessing to me. If you could take a few minutes to pray for Mark and for his family I would appreciate it! They have been going through a very long battle with his daughter’s health after she was strangled by her boyfriend on Christmas morning. Please take a look at his blog and Facebook to learn more and to find ways to be praying for them.
Mac having a water fight on one of the last days of school
Summer is off to a good but busy start for the RouseHouse! And man is it hot here in the south! We wanted to pause for a few minutes and share some quick family and ministry updates with you as well as share some ways that you can continue to partner with us in prayer.
Mac, Grey, Elly, PawPaw, and their cousins, Jake and Cole. Everyone loves to sit with PawPaw!
The kiddos are doing great! Mac keeps saying, “it feels so weird to not go to school every day!”, while Greyson is loving a break from the regular routine of getting up and going to school. Sometimes the guys can be night and day different. For Elly I think she is loving this time of having “her boys” at home with her…for the most part they are enjoying her too. They have already spent much of their time at the pool (and yes they have a nice tan already), at Nana and PawPaw’s with their cousins, riding scooters, having water gun fights, playing with the dog, shopping (Elly talks us into this one) and staying up late. There is still so much for them to do this summer!
Scooter ridging is a new family favorite! Elly is a little more concerned with everything matching (all Pink) than most people.
Lara is just getting over the Shingles and starting to feel a little more normal. She was a real trooper! You can tell she really tried not to complain even though she was in horrible pain, scratch even though it felt like a large patch of mosquito bites, and lay around even though that is probably what she should have been doing. She is one tough momma! I wish we had a dollar for every time someone would say, “I thought only old people could get the Shingles.” For the record it isn’t just for old people. This has been a painful and very uncomfortable time for Lara and we are thankful for all of the prayers and support! Other than that she has been busy taking care of these 3 crazy guys. It really is a full-time job! My favorite quote from Lara this summer so far is when Mac ask if it is time to eat again and Lara says, “do I have to feed you everyday!?” For the record Mac thinks it is always time to eat. When he is done with one meal he is planning the next before he gets up from the table.
Move in day! A group of friends and family gathered to pray for us and our new home. It was a very special time!
We are loving our new home! It is an answer to prayer that we had been asking the Father for years to grant us! We regularly look at one another and say with a big smile, “this house is perfect for our family”. We have been able to meet most of the neighbors on our street and regularly take walks to pray for them. God has big plans for the RouseHouse here and we believe that we will see Him transform this community and families for His glory!
I have been busy with some cool things at work but have also had some opportunities to spend a little extra time with the family since school has been out. Summer time can be a little slower for mobilization at UWM (this is the team I serve on) which has been good for me with the move, kids being out of school, and Lara being sick. But I have had the privilege of being a part of some great missional things too. We are in conversations about taking on more of a role with Business as Mission (BAM) and I have been chosen to be on that team which I am very excited about. I have also been able to be a part of some expansion opportunities. Expansion is when we open a new country for UWM or a new type of work we currently are not involved in. I can’t be too specific because of security reasons but we are opening some new African countries, possibly Asian countries, and Middle East areas. Taking the Gospel to some dark places! My team will also be leading a new missionary orientation/training in July for families going all over the globe. Did I mention I am heading to Zimbabwe next week too! I am so excited!
We truly value the prayers of our ministry partners! If you could please spend a few minutes over the next month praying for some of these specifics and anything else the Father brings to your mind we would appreciate it!
Physical good health for our family
Safe travels for Spanky and for Lara and the kids as they head out on a couple of trips
God’s wisdom and favor with all of these new opportunities at UWM and around the world
Peace, the kind that only the Father can give!
And anything else He leads you to be praying for the RouseHouse will be good
For those of you who financially partner with us to see His kingdom come around the World and right here in Charlotte we want to say THANK YOU! Our hearts and lives are blessed daily because of you therefore we thank God for you often. We have begun setting sometime aside to pray a little extra for you on the first Monday of every month. If there is ever anything specific we can be praying for please let us know by emailing us at spanky.rouse@gmail.com.
If you are wondering what it means to be a ministry partner of the RouseHouse you can simply click here. We always need and are looking for new partners! Generally, it means that you are praying for us, financially supporting this work God has given us, and are encouragers to us. We would love to share more with you and have you join this team of family and friends!
fting sown the mighty Zambezi – No joking here, I thought at one moment I had taken my final breath of air while being tossed around a whirl pool in a class 5 rapid! It was an amazing experience after that! The hike in and out of the gorge was pretty awesome too!
The Rousehouse 