It’s an introduction I’ve made many times before….

I was born and raised in Northwest, Ohio and grew up in the Holgate school system, a booming metropolis of….well, not a whole lot. I graduated with 32 kids in my class and one of the more exciting parts about going to college was being within 5 minutes of fast food chains and a Starbucks. Needless to say, I’ve come a long ways since the early days of my life. As a college student, I experienced many different cultures as I traveled to over 13 new cities and lived in Orlando, Dallas, and Columbus. While I have learned to embrace my small town roots, one thing that has not yet happened has been an international experience. After job transitions in the summer, I sought after my passport, the one excuse I always had for not packing up and seeing the world. The day I received that priority-mailing envelope in my mailbox, I felt like I had received a Willy Wonka golden ticket, minus the chocolate unfortunately. But something I was very stern about was good intentions and meaning in my travel. My heart hasn’t desired travel for vacation or leisure, but rather to experience a new culture, to connect with an entirely new experience, and to hopefully be used in some way or another. Those opportunities never seemed to come.


Almost two months ago, a friend of mine had contacted me about a possible trip to Africa that she was looking into. She was looking for my insight, in which I politely recommended keeping her eyes open as the chosen trip seemed both touristy and overpriced for the kind of experience she felt led too. A few weeks later, I received another email from Ashley, this time with information on an orphanage and Christian school in Uganda, Africa that her friend Katie was going to visit in March. This trip immediately caught my eye as I had created a short list of stipulations to help her find the right trip. It seemed to fit perfectly.
1. Try to find someone who has experienced Africa before. Their knowledge will be very crucial in preparation and in safety.
2. Seek after an organization that you can trust and believe in. With any short-term trip, it’s so important to keep the door of opportunity opened to connect with the organization after the trip is completed.
3. Look for something smaller in group size to allow deeper relationships
4. Stay away from purely tourism trips in humanitarian work.


After a few hours of research and some prayers, I gave my personal approval of this opportunity for Ashley. It left me so excited for her, yet wondering if the Lord would ever call me to something like that in the near future. I brought up my thoughts to Ashley and later that week she notified me that there would definitely be a place and desire for a male to be involved in the trip. I faced a series of both enthusiasm and skepticism. I didn’t want to go to Africa simply because the opportunity came. I know that it’s the dream of almost every Western civilization Christian to want their “Africa experience”. It’s something we are naturally drawn too. But I didn’t ever want that. I’ve wanted a God-given opportunity to serve, love, and use the talents that I was blessed with. Beyond that, I’ve been very skeptical of short-term missions trips, as often times it becomes more damaging than good when people come and go within a short time. This trip isn’t about getting my fill, or simply so I can come back with African artwork and pictures with orphans. Prayers of selflessness and the pursuit of wisdom overwhelmed my heart. After a lot of thought and fasting, I was able to know that this was something the Lord had placed on my heart. So here we go.


On March 23rd, I will be flying to Kampala, Uganda, Africa to spend 10 days at My Fathers House and the Royal Hope Academy, an orphanage and partnering Christian school. While I am still learning about my responsibilities, I am optimistic that they Lord is already preparing my heart and challenging me. The tickets have been bought, the support letters are almost on their way out, and I am starting to feel the timing of this happening, as it is only 30 days away.


I will be continually posting more information on our trip to Uganda here. Stay tuned, and know that your encouragement, prayers, and support are well appreciated.

This is a photo taken by Jeremy Cowart, one of my favorite photographers. Years ago in Orlando, I was able to promote his book, “Hope in the Dark” through RELEVANT Magazine, and we even had an entire wall in our office devoted to his photography.