It’s supposed to be rainy season in Kampala, but it hasn’t rained in days, at least not in the sort of downpour you come to expect most days during rainy season. This morning however, I wake up at 2 am to the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind. Sudden fears about rain coming in … Continue reading A Day At EMI: A Journey to Masaka
Stock up on a pair of brand new running shoes right before you move, because it’ll be two years before you’ll next be at a running shoe store of the quality shoe you prefer and your shoes will be well worn in the red dirt of Africa. Humbly accept when your guard offers to clean … Continue reading 24 Tips for Running Overseas (specifically in my int’l city in Africa)
Extrapolations from “New Seeds of Contemplation” by Thomas Merton. All quotes in this article belong to his above mentioned book. Thomas Merton was a great Christian thinking of the early to mid 1900’s. He was a Cistercian monk who spent much of his time writing and pushing for peace between Eastern and Western religions (though … Continue reading Know Thyself
As I’ve been spending time here, working on a few projects, and trying to think of better ways to build things in our context I’ve come across a new realization. Simply building better buildings for ministries in Uganda isn’t enough. Giving an orphanage a properly designed home, free from the hassles of dealing with a … Continue reading Discipleship
Recently I’ve been wrestling with this dilemma. If God is just and all powerful, why is the world unjust? If injustice can be wiped away by God when he creates the new heaven and the new earth, what is he waiting for? One of the ways I validate and build my faith is through seeing … Continue reading Justice
Why do we do missions? Why do we travel across the world to tell people about Jesus and bring them His hope and love? Besides the warm fuzzy feeling that you get, it is a biblical mandate given to us at the beginning of creation. It also comes from wanting to share the love we … Continue reading Why Missions? Why Relief Work?
We are in the midst of a long transition. We have been for a while, since May, really. We have been planning and looking ahead while also soaking up the last times we do things. Today is a big milestone, my last day working at Pinnacle. My transition has been most obvious in my time … Continue reading Transitions
Last month, Tom and I spent a week in Colorado Springs at EMI’s Orientation for new staff and interns. We flew in early one Sunday morning, enjoyed our reading and coffee (the things you can do when you don’t fly with a lap child!), and nervously/ambiguously shared with a woman sitting next to us that … Continue reading Orientation
This past February, Kelsey and I got to go on a vision trip to Uganda to see what life would be like there. We had a great experience, and our eyes were opened to what we would be able to expect raising a family in Kampala. Continue reading February Vision Trip
In August and September of last year (2017), I went on a project trip with EMI to Uganda to aid the design of the Gem Village. Below is a synopsis of my trip. Continue reading September Project Trip – Gem Village
The Gruen Family 