As a family we head to South Africa tonight.  It will be our first mission trip as a family.   The first 10 days we are leading a team from our church to work in a township outside of Pretoria with a ministry called Beam Africa.    We will be helping Beam as they serve kids in the neighborhood by helping feed them and hosting a kids camp.  We also will be offering some business classes for adults to help those in extreme poverty rise above their situation.  We will launch “Sekepe” and give micro-loans to empower them.   (The CCC Project will arrive while we are there and we will overlap for 2 days working with the kids.) We will do a few fun things too like go to a Lion Park and celebrate the 4th with a braai (BBQ).

It’s with a little nervousness that I take my family.  There is a lot of crime.  I am not sure how my boys will do on the long flight or if they will want to go into the township every day.  I am not sure how Jack & Drew will respond to ‘mom’ holding other kids.  I have never lead a team with my family so not sure how divided my attention will be.

But on the other hand I am excited and have been looking forward to this for a year.  I want us as a family to serve together among the least of these.  (And do some fun adventures too.) I want my wife to live out her dream of ‘running an orphanage’ by caring for orphans who live on their own.  I want Luke, Jack and Drew to rub shoulders every day with kids who don’t have everything and don’t complain about the food served them.   I want to take the extra time we have by being there a month to sit and listen to the needs of those within the township and see how Cornerstone can partner long-term there to help bring about real change.  I want to find other ministries like Beam Africa so ‘Sekepe’ can be a blessing to other ministries as well helping many be alleviated from their situation and the Kingdom of God come.

Most of all, I want to experience Jesus.  I want to serve sacrificially – my family, our team, Beam, the poor.   I want to live as He lived loving the lost, the least and the last.

Tomorrow (Thursday) Robin leaves for Long Island, New York to visit her aunt.  She will hook up her mom, sister and nephew in Philly airport and then they all fly that last leg together.   She will be gone until Monday the 6th.

Over the weekend, we had a funny episode. On Saturday at dinner time, Jack went in a moment’s time from whining to sacking out. I picked him up to take him to bed and he woke up whining/crying again and so I started to rock him and he instantly fell back asleep hard.

Of course if I was driving instead of Robin given that I had been driving on other side of road in RSA and that I could barely keep my eyes open this might have happened….

What’s better than a Saturday morning with three sick little boys?

Despite the April Fools joke earlier this week, we are officially out of the crib stage…

We held out as long as we could… Last Saturday Jack decided he was ready fro a big boy bed. Drew said he wasn’t. So we dismantled Jack’s crib and brought up a single bed mattress and box spring that Robin had since college I think. (It’s really old and held together but duct tape.).

For a few nights Jack and Drew shared this mattress. We had a few nights where they kept coming out laughing and making excuses about not going to bed. But for the most part they have stayed there without the bars of the crib.

A couple of nights later, Drew decided he wanted his own big boy bed so we stacked the two crib mattresses on the floor next to Jack’s. But it wasn’t until two night ago that I officially took down his crib and styored int he garage next to Jack’s while Robin read them bed-time stories. Drew kissed it good-bye.

Yesterday morning when I woke up they were out of their beds quietly playing. No more crying for mommy to come get them. No more having to wait until we got up. They are free. I think Robin is a little sad, though.

While Robin was at our Parenting Class tonight I had all three boys since they were too sick for childcare. We walked down the street picking up BB Balls. We ended up in the front of John and Jennifer’s house and they invited us in. John being a nurse noticed Jack’s bad cough and examined him with a stethoscope.

He determined he had a viral congestion in his lungs that could lead to pneumonia. Thank the Lord for good neighbors. So he hunted me down a neighbor’s Nebulizer System (“Mister Neb” brand) and called in a prescription for Albuterol Sulfate. After dinner and Robin got home we ran his first mista mista nebulizer.

Jack was a little scared at first but very brave after a few minutes. He has to inhale the misty medicine every 4 hours.

Never really imagined having three sons. Much less all under the age of 4. Let me share a little bit about my sons and what I am trusting the Lord for them.

LUKE – Was born on June 29, 2002. Luke is 3 and I like to say ‘acts his age’. He loves rocks, nature trails, cars, trains, Spiderman (though he really doesn’t know what a supper hero is or does), books, jumping on stuff and just being outside. My verse for Luke would be Luke 5:10, 11. (After the miraculous catch) Jesus says… ” ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” My heart’s desire is that Luke would one day radically and recklessly follow Jesus leaving everything behind. Right now, Luke is struggling with the reality that the world does not in fact revolve around him. It’s a good reminder for me on how much I must frustrate the Father when I think and act similarly.

JACK – real name John Charles- was born on July 29, 2005. 1 Minute before his brother. Jack loves to smile. He is even smiling in this pic. We think he is going to be very social and outgoing. He always been at least 1 lb and 1/2 larger than Drew. My verse for him is 1 John 3:23 “And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” My prayer is that Jack would be characterized as someone who believes Jesus with simple faith and loves others.

DREW – real name is Andrew Bogan – was born on July 29, 2005. Bogan is a family name on my Dad’s side. Bogan Mask was a Methodist minister in Georgia during the 1800′s. The story goes that he and another man bought a slave to set her free. Drew seems to be the observant one. My verse for him is John 1:35-42. When hearing that Jesus is the Lamb of God, Andrew is one of two who follows Jesus and asks where Jesus is staying. Jesus says, “Come and you will see.” So Andrew goes and stays with Jesus and the first thing he does afterwards is finds his brother and brings him to Jesus. My prayer is that Drew would follow Jesus and bring others to Him.