I just got home last night from a short, yet long, trip to Maryland to visit Nicki’s dad. The trip was fun, but when you take a 5 year old and an 18 month old on that long of a trip, it wears you out…and drives you crazy! To make matters worst, the kids get up earlier than God, and since my father-in-laws house only has two bedrooms, that meant we had to get up earlier than God as well! We did not get much sleep, and I don’t think I will ever take an 18 month old in the car for that long of a trip again either, Gavin was fine with his portable DVD player, but we only have one and it is on his seat, so Tristan got bored.
I also had the opportunity to visit my friend Mike Kemper. We visited his church (Charm City Churchy) in the city of Baltimore. West Baltimore to be exact, and when you think about “Downtown” I guarantee you he is no where near the downtown you see in your city. (Here is a slide show from a random website, the pictures show a glimpse of the area, but they do not do it justice. I didn’t see any trash on the streets in these pictures, and no people…the trash along the curb would have come up to about my ankle). Mike’s church does not have all of the flash and bang that a lot of churches have, but I guarantee you he would put a lot of American churches to shame…for that matter…a lot of churches period! He is truly reaching the addicts, the prostitutes, the poor…those who are totally disconnected from God. His vision to reach the city of Baltimore is awesome, and God is sending him people from everywhere. I will be blogging about his church more in a later post, but I know God is going to use Mike Kemper in an awesome way!